Indice dei contenuti per July - August 2018 in Wanderlust

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2018 London, until 1 July www.nhm.ac.uk Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD. From £14. Buy online or at the museum. The final call to catch this year’s class of spectacular nature shots, with 100 photos peeling back the beauty of our wild world, from tiny insects to big beasts. POLAR RGS TALK London, 11 July www.rgs.org.uk Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR. Doors open at 6.15pm; tickets £25, with proceeds going towards the Scott Polar Research Institute. Book online. Adventurer Ranulph Fiennes chats about his record-breaking expeditions and feats of endurance at this annual lecture dedicated to polar pioneer and scientist Dr Charles Swithinbank, a man whose legendary achievements in his field inspired many of Ranulph’s own adventures. BIRDFAIR 2018 Rutland, 17–19 August…

VITAL STATISTICS Capital: Port Moresby Population: 8.3 million Language(s): Tok Pisin unifies a nation of 832 languages. Pidgin is a derivative of English, so it’s easy to be understood. Time: GMT+10 International dialling code: +675 Visas: Required by UK citizens but available free of charge on arrival. Money: Kina (PGK), currently PGK4.5 to the UK£; ATMs are found at the departure port of Madang but nowhere else in Sepik. When to go Lowland Sepik Papua New Guinea (PNG) is hot (about 30ºC) and steamy year round. ■ Low season – most months receive rain here, but ‘wet season’ can be intensely monsoonal on the northern coast, with cyclones striking at any time. ■ High season – cooler and drier. August sees the annual tribal sing-sings at the Ambunti Crocodile Festival…

VITAL STATISTICS  Capital: Muscat Population: 4.6 million Languages: Arabic; English is widely spoken, though less so in smaller villages Time zone: GMT+4 International dialling code: +968 Visas: Required by UK nationals. Recent changes to the law mean visitors must apply online (http://evisa.rop.gov.om) prior to travel; 30-day visas cost OMR20 (£39). Money: Omani rial (OMR), currently around OMR0.51 to the UK£1. When to go Monsoon season – known locally as kareef, locals escape to the south to enjoy the cooler weather. It can be very humid and hotel prices increase, so avoid. Post-kareef – monsoon, Salalah is particularly green and beautiful. The tourists are gone and hotel prices are more reasonable. Winter – A good time to visit with highs in the 20s (ºC) and cool sea breezes. Pre-kareef – the heat…

Open to amateur photographers only; free entry. All entrants are deemed to have agreed to be bound by the full terms and conditions at travelphotooftheyear.co.uk . For further info, call 01753 620426. NOTE: The following are abridged terms and conditions; full terms available on our website THE CATEGORIES There are four categories: (i) People (ii) Wildlife (iii) Landscape (iv) Travel Icon (classic images that sum up a destination). You may enter up to four photos IN TOTAL. This can be across all categories or within selected categories (eg, four shots in one category OR two shots in one, two in another OR one in each, etc). One submission per individual. ONLINE ENTRIES You can submit competition entries for free at www.travelphotooftheyear.co.uk POSTAL ENTRIES You can…

AVOID LIGHT POLLUTION Nothing dilutes a northern lights display like artificial light pollution. Therefore many of The Aurora Zone’s destinations are situated outside any towns, cities or large ski resorts in order to give travellers a truly dark sky experience. LOCAL EXPERTISE & GUIDES The Aurora Zone’s guides are born-and- bred Laplanders or have lived in the area for several years and have gained an insight not only into hunting the northern lights, but also the Arctic Circle’s shifting weather conditions – in winter the mercury regularly drops below -30°C. It is absolutely imperative to have a guide who knows the terrain. REAPING THE BENEFIT OF THE KP INDEX The northern lights frequency and vividness are determined by the strength of the geomagnetic storms that cause the lights to occur.…

CROWD RISKS Joining in at a street festival brings you into close contact with lots of people. Fortunately, apart from the obvious risks of getting lost or squashed, the chances of catching an infectious disease are minute. Diseases acquired by living in confined, poor accommodation, including tuberculosis and leprosy, are not spread through fleeting contact of the sort travellers experience. There may be risk of meningococcal disease or influenza, for which there are excellent vaccines. Busy markets and other dizzying presses of humanity can have you imagining there is a huge risk of infection. I have certainly been guilty of over-thinking risks during disease outbreaks. This is one excellent reason to be as fully immunised as possible – check www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk for all outbreak information. It is also crucial to ensure…

With the wind direction in our favour, we crept stealthily over the rocky ground to within 75m of our quarry. Nantos was earth-coloured from dust bathing and hard to spot as he snoozed under a tree; he looked more like a giant boulder until his trumpet-shaped ears suddenly began to twitch. Black rhinos make up for their poor eyesight with extremely good hearing. A rock shifted and he was on his feet, moody and staring in our direction. I held my breath; it was fight or flight – not for me, I’d been told not to move, but for Nantos. Luckily, he chose flight and disappeared in the opposite direction at an astonishing speed. I was staying at the remote Desert Rhino Camp in the private Palmwag Concession, spread over…

“This may be the ultimate day walk for anyone wanting to see the citadel of Machu Picchu. Perfect for those who don’t have time for the full four-day Inca Trail or who don’t want to camp, this covers a small portion of that route and is completed in a day, with plenty of ruins, including the grand Chachabamba gatehouse, along the way.” Rosanna Neophytou PR Manager Visit our website to submit your suggestions for next month’s tips on ‘your first solo trip’…

Picking the wrong seat “I sat next to a monk on a bus in Thailand. Everyone on the bus lurched quickly towards me in horror, in order to remove me as quickly as possible!” Kiara Gallop It’s rude to point “I was working in Bhutan and went to a temple with one of my colleagues. I pointed to ask who the statue was of and she was aghast! Never point at anything in Bhutan, use an open hand instead.” Julia Saurazas The hateful eight “I gave roses to my host in Russia. I handed her eight of them but didn’t realise an even number of flowers symbolises that someone has died. Oops!” Catherine Macnab Fell into the wrong hand “I tried to pay at a market in Goa, India, using…

With huge swathes of the USA, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia poking beyond 66° north, travellers enjoy a freedom beyond the usual cruise schedules and seasons in the Arctic. Whether hunting down the northern lights in winter, following a reindeer migration in spring, hiking the Kungsleden in summer or heading off on early autumn cruises to spot polar bears in the Russian Arctic, the north gives you plenty of choice. With people also comes culture. The Arctic is a richer experience in terms of human history. Occupied towns are found as far north as 78›, and indigenous peoples as diverse as the Sámi (Lapland), Chukchi (Russia) and Inuvialuit (Canada) welcome curious visitors. Then there’s the history, from Viking ruins in the High Arctic to the ghostly mining towns…

DURATION: 15 DAYS Start/finish: Anadyr (Russia) WHY GO: Explore wealth of Arctic wildlife and indigenous cultures. Russia’s ancient Chukotka coastline and the wild islands off its northern fringes are what makes this route utterly unique. Like much of this Arctic region, the pack ice that clogs up the Chukchi and Bering seas makes them impenetrable during winter, but the summer thaw brings smoother waters and a brief window to discover a remarkable land of barren steppe, Chukchi culture and more polar bears you ever thought likely. Most trips (Aug-Sept) set off from Anadyr, working their way up the Chukotka coast and past the eerie Whale Bone Alley of Yttygran Island before hitting Arctic waters. Here, the Inuit villages of Cape Dezhnev lie at the tip of Eurasia, their culture and…

DURATION: 1+ DAYS Start/finish: Longyearbyen (Norway) WHY GO? Polar bears, ice sleeps and the most northerly town on Earth. Daily flights from the UK via Oslo almost make a mockery of quite how remote the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard actually is. Spitsbergen’s Longyearbyen lies at over 78° north, making it the northernmost town of its size on Earth, yet you’ll still find a local brewery here, great food and a museum detailing its mining past. Ghost towns like Pyramiden remind us of quite how tentative life on the frozen edge is, but then that’s all part of the appeal; hiking and sledding trips to the caves of Lars Glacier let you sleep on the ice, and trekking the wilds roamed by reindeer and Arctic fox can take you to the…

DURATION: 4-8 DAYS Start/finish: Dawson City, Canada / Trondheim & Tromsø, Norway WHY GO? Strap on your all-weather tyres (bring a couple of spares), grab a satphone, take plenty of supplies and set off into the lonely wild. Flights and cruises are all well and good, but there’s nothing like the feeling of tarmac beneath you. North America has some epic car journeys, but few as stark as Canada’s 735km-long Dempster Highway, which begins in Dawson City (Yukon) and finishes over the border in the North-West Territories town of Inuvik. Cruise past the Arctic Circle, gold rush settlements and wild trails, before taking the newly opened 137km extension up to Tuktoyaktuk, the remotest Inuvialuit village in Arctic Canada (just 898-strong), savouring every empty horizon along the way. Just as breathtaking…

Unlike its northern cousin, the Antarctic is no friend to the traveller on a whim. This is a land of grand voyages, ice-strengthened hulls and icebreakers, requiring time, planning and the resources to match (typically £2,500-£23,000) – and therein lies its appeal. Antarctica is the trip of a lifetime. In the west, ships barrel out of Ushuaia (Argentina) or Punta Arenas (Chile), rounding Cape Horn for the wildlife-packed sub-Antarctic islands and the Peninsula beyond; to the east, they depart Hobart (Australia) and Bluff (New Zealand) for the longer, more unpredictable Ross Sea and its vast ice shelf. The larger ships offer a more stable ride, but only 100 people are allowed at a time, so it pays to go small. However, while there is less autonomy in the south (cruise…

DURATION: 18-21 DAYS Start/finish: Ushuaia (Argentina) WHY GO? King penguins, Shackleton heroics and far-off UK outposts. Wild shores and tales of explorers past make Britain’s sub-Antarctic islands some of the best reasons to head south. One classic route is to loop up from Ushuaia to the Falkland Islands, where routes – depending on the weather – typically build in visits to its raw west. Here, visits to the penguin breeding grounds (gentoo, king, Magellanic, rockhopper) of Saunders Island and hikes along the tussocked shores of Carcass yield close encounters with a gabble of seabirds. Some routes squeeze in visits to colourful capital Stanley, too, with 4WD trips across the island to spy wildlife and clippers stranded here about a century ago. From there, ships plunge then down to South Georgia,…

DURATION: 33 DAYS Start/finish: Ushuaia (Argentina) / Invercargill (New Zealand) WHY GO? Short of going into outer space, this is the next best ‘brag’. For anyone capable of spending over four weeks on an expedition ship, this is the ultimate feather in your cap. Trips don’t come around all that often, though, with just a few ships capable of the journey. The next one goes in 2020, with the MV Ortelius inching its way from Ushuaia (Argentina) to Invercargill (New Zealand) the hard way. It’s a heck of a ride, first crossing Drake Passage for the Peninsula and then the Amundsen Sea, crunching past huge ice floes as groups of seals flop into the water and minke whales dive off your bow. Then it’s on to the Ross Sea, Cape…

Before you arrive Edinburgh is known as the ‘Festival City’ with good reason. We are not just talking about the world-famous Edinburgh Festival in August – actually a string of concurrent, multi-faceted festivals – but a string of parties year round, including the fireworks of Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) and the Edinburgh Science Festival (sciencefestival.co.uk) in April. As such, you’ll need to book transport and rooms well ahead of your arrival. Fresh arrivals to the Scottish capital should be aware that since the Independence Referendum was announced back in 2012, politics has never been far from the forefront of people’s minds. Showing a genuine interest in the complex issues involved (when the conversation is initiated by a local) may help win you new friends. Re-hashing things you’ve only read in…

You’ve climbed the Empire State Building, stood on Times Square and skipped through Central Park. According to popular wisdom, you’ve ‘completed’ New York City. But we know there’s more to a place than a handful of icons, and so do the snappers involved in new book Streets of New York. For the project, more than 40 photographers contributed their own unique perspectives on the Big Apple, whether it’s prime views of Brooklyn Bridge or hidden Manhattan life. It’s a potent reminder that everyone’s views a city in different ways and, more often than not, there is too much to see in one go. That’s what makes travel so addictive! Streets of New York (teNeues/MENDO, £45) is out now. www.teneues.com & www.mendo.nl…

1 Men in the River Sepik region of Papua New Guinea undergo cutting ceremonies to make their skin like that of a crocodile – a symbol of power; p24 2 Khor Rori, an archaeological site in Oman, was once home to the Queen of Sheba; p52 3 The Palmwag Concession in Namibia’s Damaraland is one of few places in the world where black rhino numbers are increasing; p88 4 Antwerp once had a network of medieval canals but they were bricked up by the 1800s due to pollution – they now form its sewer; p139 5 Architects tried many cunning ways to straighten the Leaning Tower of Pisa’s wonk, including making newer floors taller on one side; p141…

‘A little adventure is better than no adventure at all’ Work. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. It’s a dreary routine many of us are familiar with when not trotting around the globe. But, unsurprisingly, more of us are breaking the habit, increasingly taking quick, thrilling escapes where we can. It’s a phenomenon known as the ‘microadventure’ and can range from an overnight kayaking trip to catching the sunrise somewhere remote. But why is it on the up? “It’s a combination of people becoming more adventurous, but also busier,” says Alastair Humphreys, who first coined the term in 2011 and later popularised it in his book Microadventures. “We are extremely pressed for time and money – enter the microadventure, the idea that a little adventure is better than no adventure.” The notion of…

Few dishes speak to a country like ajiaco stew does to Cuba. But if visitors look past the ingredients of meat, vegetables, spices and peppers, they’ll discover that it’s also a nifty metaphor for Cuban culture. Its roots can be traced back to when the Columbus-led Spanish fleet landed in Cuba in 1492. They were met by the sight of the (doomed) Taíno people cooking a meat and veg broth, seasoned with the local aji pepper. The Spaniards set about swapping the original meats – which included reptiles, fish and rodents – from the livestock they introduced to the island. Vegetables like yuca and sweet potato were kept, but African slaves working the sugar plantations added their own stamp of plantain and yams, while Asian immigrants added spices. Word of…

The desert’s great for inspiring some meditative writing, perhaps because this brutal, beautifully blank terrain – which covers a third of the planet’s land surface – confronts you with yourself. Visiting eight deserts, ranging from Oman to Australia, to the USA, William Atkins learns a little about himself and a whole lot about the people and rich history that haunts the sand and rocks. The Immeasurable World (Faber & Faber; £20) is a fascinating and thoughtful study of the Earth’s most inhospitable corners. For very different reasons, Iran’s hospitality is much misunderstood, which is why Stephan Orth has set out to discover the reality behind the headlines. Travelling through the country, Couchsurfing in Iran (Greystone Books; £13) finds him warmly welcomed by a people used to carefully navigating the risky…

Exodus Travels’ team member Tom Melhuish on popular UNESCO World Heritage destinations… ITALY: ‘The Boot’ is home to 51 UNESCO World Heritage-listed sites, more than anywhere else in the world. The Amalfi Coast is one of the most celebrated, thanks to its steep mountainous backdrop, Mediterranean shore and 11th century architecture. According to legend it was named after a nymph who was much loved by Hercules, who then buried her in the place he believed to be the most beautiful on Earth; demigods seem to have good taste. MEXICO: The Mayan people mapped the heavens, mastered mathematics and built elaborate city states across Central America, and it’s the latter that is celebrated by UNESCO. Chichen Itza really is a once in a lifetime experience. The Temple of Kukulcan in its…

FOLDABLE OR RIGID While most will be familiar with the reusable hard plastic or metal bottles, it may be worth noting that completely foldable bottles are available, too. They are great to scrunch down in your hand luggage, to take through security (then refill before you get on your plane), or as a just-in-case option. Bear in mind, though, that they probably won’t stand up well once you’ve drunk some water from it, and do have a habit of springing leaks at the seams following extensive use. DURABILITY No matter how careful you are, you will always end up dropping your bottle at some point, so look for a rugged build that will withstand this. MATERIALS There’s lots of options out there. If going for plastic, look for BPA-free –…

VITAL STATISTICS Capital: Windhoek Population: 2.48 million Languages: English is the official language; Oshiwambo, Afrikaans, German and many tribal languages are also spoken. Time: GMT+1 International dialling code: +264 Visas: Not required by UK citizens for stays of up to 90 days. Money: Namibian dollar (NAD), currently around NAD17 to the UK£. South African Rand (ZAR) are also accepted and there are ATMs in cities and major towns. Credit cards are accepted at most hotels and supermarkets but you’ll need cash for the cheaper establishments, craft markets and tipping. When to go Dry season – typically the best game-viewing is found in Etosha between June and October, when wildlife gravitates to the watering holes. Days are warm but nights can be cold, especially in the desert. Wet season – between…

The highlight: Ambling the thought-provoking and evocative streets of Île de Gorée. Its colonial beauty lies in stark contrast to its dank slave-holding houses. Must see: The colour of Lac Rose (Lake Retba). Whether it’s red, pink or orange, there is peace to be found in hopping on a pirogue to meet the salt-gathering locals. Top tip: Look up – at all times. There are black kites effortlessly having fun on the thermals whether you are in the country or right in the middle of the city. Cautionary tale: Being led 50m to a taxi at the airport by an official-looking man cost us a tip. Oh, and the airport is about an hour from central Dakar. I wish I’d known... Diving would be so chilly! The mystery of the…

POPULATION 4,000,000 People live in the Arctic TEMPERATURE 0 TO -40ºC Average mean temperature WILDLIFE 19 Sub-populations of polar bears CULTURE 40+ Indigenous peoples LANDSCAPE 8 Nations within the Arctic circle POPULATION 1,000-4,000 Scientists live in the Antarctic TEMPERATURE -28 TO -60ºC Average mean temperature WILDLIFE 20,000,000 Breeding penguins CULTURE 6 Intact historic explorers’ huts LANDSCAPE 98% Of continent covered in ice North or south? Polar bears or penguins? Choosing your polar escape is about setting your goals. The north is far easier for most of us to get to, defined by a frozen sea and a latitude that sweeps the USA, Canada, Norway, Greenland, Sweden, Finland and Russia. But while the great continent of Antarctica is typically a much longer journey, and has nothing like the variety of landscapes…

DURATION: 27-30 DAYS Start/finish: Tromsø (Norway) to Nome, Alaska (USA) WHY GO? The great Arctic journey you don’t know about. Just as warming Arctic seas have opened up Canada’s North-West Passage, the same goes for its lesser-travelled Russian equivalent. Yet, until recently, the North-East Passage – which runs from the Bering Strait through to the White Sea – was off limits to all but local ships. Then, in 2014, the first non-Russian cruise cast off, and now a handful of vessels are following in its wake, opening up frozen Siberian islands, far-off cultures and little-seen seas during August and September. Trips typically begin in the Chukchi Peninsula (see ‘Russian Arctic’) amid the wild flora of the Medvezhye Islands, before crunching through ice floes to the Kara and Barents seas, scanning…

DURATION: 1-10 DAYS Start/finish: Flights/ships go via Akureyri / Reykjavik (Iceland) WHY GO? Monster icebergs, Inuit culture and a side to Greenland few see. Busy is a relative term in Greenland, a country that sees fewer than 18,000 visitors a month in peak season. But if there is a ‘busy’ part, then the eastern coast isn’t it. Settlements are sparse, with most towns scattering the Ammassalik district, an area the size of the UK but with fewer than 3,000 inhabitants. Here, the main town of Kulusuk (flights link it with Iceland) lies just outside the Arctic Circle, with kayaking tours to the sheer ice walls of Sermilik Fjord able to take you to the very edge of 66° north. For true Arctic grandeur, head north to the only other inhabited…

DURATION: 5+ DAYS Start/finish: Yukon, North-West Territories & Nunavut (Canada) WHY GO? Inuit culture, river rafting, and the northern lights. Nature dominates the upper reaches of North America, much of it impenetrable but for ships and single-propeller flights in and out. The islands of Nunavut are especially remote, with the wild tundra and glowering peaks of Ellesmere Island’s Quttinirpaaq NP less than 800km from the North Pole. For the truly adventurous, summer-run charter flights land here, with wilderness guides leading backcountry treks (Jun–Jul) across its glacial caps and tundra to spy roaming musk oxen and caribou in a land that received just 21 visitors last year. Just as impressive are the Arctic parks of Baffin Island to the south. Here, visitors can ski, snowmobile or dogsled their way in during…

DURATION: 8-14 DAYS Start/finish: Punta Arenas (Chile) / Ushuaia (Argentina) WHY GO? The go-to Antarctic cruise where all newbies begin. There are few experiences in travel to match pulling away from South America and entering the roiling seas of Drake Passage: that sense of anticipation for sights beyond mixed with two days of trying to keep your breakfast down. It’s a rite of passage, however, joining every bone-shaken Antarctic voyager back to the great explorers of old. Next comes the South Shetland Islands, where you’ll catch your first glimpse of the region’s vast penguin rookeries, and beaches washed grey with Antarctic fur and southern elephant seals bellyflopping the sands. The collapsed caldera of Deception Island is particularly impressive, its lunarscape great for hiking and taking the odd hot-spring dip; and…

DURATION: 11-14 DAYS Start/finish: Ushuaia (Argentina) WHY GO? Incredible wildlife and some monster icebergs. Most Antarctic cruises tend to drift the Peninsula’s western side; far fewer venture into the Weddell Sea to the east. The reason is simple: this can be a treacherous region of crashing tabular icebergs, vast ice floes and unpredictable conditions – not for nothing did Shackleton’s ship Endurance meet its end here, crushed by ice. But these same conditions are exactly what make it such an incredible wilderness The Weddell Sea is home to enormous swarms of krill that draw baleen whales and other wildlife, while the thick pack ice is ideal for penguins and seals. Colonies of chinstrap, gentoo and Adélie penguins are commonly spotted, with some 200,000 of the latter nesting at Paulet Island.…

Jacket – waterproof, windproof and big enough to fit over plenty of layers. Many tours will supply their own; but if not, bright colours are safest in the event of any accident. Waterproof trousers – these are needed for any Zodiac and land excursions, to protect your body from getting wet and cold. Wellies – check they aren’t supplied, but you will need a pair for any wet landings. Base layer – keep the chill out, and don’t forget to include some thermal underwear while you’re at it. Gloves – you’ll need two pairs: a thinner layer for handling equipment (cameras, etc) and a thick outer glove for the cold. Hat and scarf – be sure to cover your head and neck, to stop getting chills. Swimming outfit – in…

DURATION: 27-30 DAYS Start/finish: Bluff (New Zealand) / Hobart (Australia) WHY GO? To skip the crowds and see the towering Ross Ice Shelf. Compared to the western Antarctic, a tiny fraction of cruises cross the Ross Sea in the east; strong winds, rough seas and its sheer distance from land (it takes up to ten days from Bluff, as opposed to four from Ushuaia) complicate matters. Sea voyages last a month in total, with itineraries at the mercy of the fickle weather, though day-long flightseeing trips are an option for those short on time. It’s not all being stuck at sea, though. Australasia’s sub-Antarctic islands hold plenty of wild appeal, with Macquarie home to 100,000 seals and around 4 million penguins (it’s the only breeding ground for royal penguins), while…

• Essential Info Population – 507,170 (2016) Languages: English, Scots and Scottish Gaelic. Timezone: GMT International Dialling Code: +44 Visas: Not required by UK citizens. Currency: Sterling £ (GDP). Highest Viewpoint: Arthur’s Seat stands at a towering 251m, with views from the top gazing out across Edinburgh. It’s easily walkable from the city centre and makes for either a bracing start to a morning in the capital or a good spot to watch the sun set over the horizon. Health issues: Same as rest of the UK. Recommended guidebook: Lonely Planet Edinburgh (2017) is a relatively up-to-date resource; free local monthly magazine The List (list.co.uk) provides more current information about what’s on. For wider tourist information, the author of this guide brought along the second edition of his National Geographic…

Jasper Winn Author & adventurer Writer-adventurer Jasper has horse-trekked across Patagonia and circumkayaked Ireland. His new book, Water Ways, is an altogether more local affair, though, as he charts Britain’s canals and shares tips on how to have your own watery escape (p74). Mountain, desert, ocean or jungle… which are you? I seem to alternate between wide open spaces and water. First great travel experience? A four-month stop-start trip across West Africa on a £20 single-speed bike, playing music, pruning palm trees and crewing river boats in exchange for food and places to stay. Favourite journey? Always the trip I’ve just done or am about to do. Now it’s the months I spent walking, cycling, kayaking and boating along the waterways of Britain. Top five places worldwide? Morocco; Patagonia; the…

“The Northumberland coast is like a secret retreat with hardly anybody there” Countryfile turns 30 in 2018. During that time we’ve seen a real change in the way travellers view the greener parts of the UK, with the rise of digital detox trips and microadventures. Is this something that you’ve noticed as well? Well, on a recent piece for Countryfile I slept on a portaledge off a cliff on Dorset’s Jurassic Coast, and things like that are more adventurous ways of getting outdoors. But I guess that’s the way nature’s always been used. Even before, people were going up to Ilkley Moor and Malham in Yorkshire, or the Peak District and going climbing. I lived in West Yorkshire and the countryside was on my doorstep. We wouldn’t go off on…

YES Nick Perry, Wanderlust reader Hell yeah, I d mind. For me, it’s not the attraction but the journey that I’m on. I don’t think ceremonies should be staged as it takes away from the discoveries that travellers make. That’s the reason I travel, to make those sorts of organic discoveries, and that’s the beauty of the world and cultures that surround us. Travel is all about forgetting your itinerary and getting lost in where you’re exploring, and these ‘staged’ experiences are the exact opposite of that.” NO Rhodri Andrews, Wanderlust assistant editor “I don’t think it matters if tribes are performing just for visitors. As long as the essence and heritage of what they perform is authentic, why shouldn’t they do it to benefit themselves, either financially or for…

The Aurora Zone is offering one lucky Wanderlust reader the chance to win two spots on its Wilderness Hotel Inari – Autumn Lights Over Lake Inari trip, including flights. To be in with a chance of winning, just answer the following question: Q: What is the capital of Finland? a) Stockholm b) Oslo c) Helsinki To enter and for full terms and conditions, please go to wanderlust.co.uk/competitions  or send your answer to the Wanderlust office (address p2). The closing date is 1 August 2018. State ‘More info’ if you want to be contacted by Wanderlust or its sponsors.…

Why did you choose a canal boat trip? My dad and I regularly enjoy mini adventures, and our latest one was on a boat on the Llangollen Canal, drifting past the rolling plains of Cheshire, taking us from Whitchurch Marina to Ellesmere and back again. Why did you pick that route? We picked a route that didn’t involve any locks, but it did include brick and lift bridges, shallow areas and 90° turns. It was a sensible decision but still challenging at the same time! Did you have any guidance at all before you started? The team we hired the boat from gave us an instructional tour, and they made sure that we had watched a safety DVD and introduced us to our home for the week: the Great Crested…

1 Bialowieza Forest, Poland This huge primeval forest is an important refuge for European bison – remarkable when you think it was extinct in the wild in the 1920s. It’s not the only mammal worth spotting while wandering the snowy tracks – grey wolves, deer, Eurasian beavers and lynx all roam its wilds. 2 Gibraltar Climbing up its iconic Rock might be top of many vistors’ wishlists, but while you’re there, spy a cornucopia of birds: honey buzzards, booted eagles and black kites all can be found circling its summit. On its slopes you can also spy Barbary macaques – Europe’s only primate – and boating trips seek out dolphins and whales. 3 County Cork, Ireland Head for the Emerald Isle’s southern tip and you’ll find a raft of nautical…

1 Timing is everything Setting up a tripod or using your camera at a popular spot in the middle of the day will be difficult. Try to visit early in the morning or later on, when there are fewer people and, usually, better light. The midday sun can often lead to harsh light with strong shadows, which makes it more difficult to capture a good image. 2 Water works Water always photographs well with longer exposures, especially at dusk, so try and include it. Water can capture the streaks of colour from urban lights and if there is no wind it can act like a giant mirror, reflecting parts of the scenery. 3 Stray off main street Often there are spectacular images to be had in areas slightly off the…

How we did the test… Manufacturers were asked to submit water bottles they felt were a good option for travellers. Our editor-at-large, Phoebe Smith, took them out on the road to see how they stood up to the test. These 12 are the best of the bunch… NALGENE Tritan Wide Mouth Bottle 500ml £11 For over 50 years, this US company has been making wide-mouth bottles, forcing (or so they claim) rucksack designers to make wand pockets large enough to fit them. The jury’s still out on that, but it’s durable, BPAfree and has measurement markers for keeping track of your intake and cooking. But drinking from it when half full can be tricky due to the wide mouth, and despite its 500ml capacity, it’s the seventh lightest (179g) on…

YOUR TIPS ON… BEST DAY WALKS From hiking volcanoes in Fiji to treading spectacular coastal paths in the UK, here are some of your favourite day walks… Tongariro Alpine Crossing Tongariro National Park, New Zealand “It was very hard work and you need to set off early, but it’s worth the effort. There’s views of emerald lakes and volcanoes that featured in the Lord of the Rings movies. Beware of the steep Devil’s Staircase (it’s quite early on) – my sister sat down halfway up and had to be coaxed to continue further for about half an hour!” Olivia Routledge Nakasendo Way Honshu, Japan “My favourite day walk is the Magome-to-Tsumago section of the Nakasendo Way. I loved that we were able to get out of the city easily, to…

Elephant encounter I was very interested to see your Walking With Giants article [May 2018, issue 186]. Zimbabwe is a subject very close to my heart, as I was born there, and I’m saddened by its sharp decline in recent years. I had the opportunity to return there to work with Raleigh International on a three-month project a few years ago, and the images have stayed with me ever since: a young male elephant trumpeting as he ran after our truck, a bush shower with views of giraffes and zebra walking across the distant plain, the scent of jacaranda trees, elephants rumbling in the camp all through the night and, best of all, the sighting of two rare black rhino within hours of touching down in Zimbabwe. Hopefully, the recent…

Singing Slovenia’s praises: “We went there for the first time last year. The scenery is stunning and I hope to go back one day and stay in Kranjska Gora.” Tracy Martin Exploring Portugal s hidden corners: “Loved our visit to Sintra from the UK. It’s such a lovely place and there’s so much to see.” @vicg0808 Inspired by big-screen travel: “Just saw the film Edie. Brilliant and very inspiring as well.” @Travelalphabet1 Loving the epic views the Azores serves up across its volcanic islands: “The view of Mount Pico is iconic.” Nikita Krivtsov Revelling in Uganda’s aesthetic qualities: “Uganda is beautiful and that’s why it’s the Pearl of Africa!” @KamaleJohn Taking Wanderlust’s solo female travel safety tips on board: “They’re very sensible. I didn’t realise the tips are pretty much…

DURATION: 14-24 DAYS Start/finish: Kangerlussuaq (Greenland) to Nome, Alaska (USA) WHY GO? To complete one of the great journeys of our age. As far back as the early 1600s, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via Canada’s Arctic archipelago was the Holy Grail for explorers. Success promised new trade routes and accompanying riches, but while Roald Amundsen first threaded the needle in 1903-1906, rounding the tip of Baffin Island to weave through Lancaster Sound before dipping south to skirt mainland Canada to the Bering Sea, it wasn’t until the early 2000s that things changed. The Arctic climate warmed and its infamously thick pack ice began to melt (it became fully clear for the first time in 2007). Now, every late-summer (Aug–Sept), ice-strengthened ships forge courses that once confounded the bravest…

DURATION: 3-14 DAYS Start/finish: Murmansk (Russia) / Longyearbyen (Norway) WHY GO? Bragging rights and to set foot where so few have been. Unlike the proverbial Carnegie Hall, there are two ways to get to the North Pole: by air or sea. Trips come at a premium, though, and which you prefer may depend on the time you have available. But both result in the only thing that matters: standing at 90° north. The simplest but no less breathtaking route is to fly from Longyearbyen (Svalbard), a 2.5-hour charter flight to the ice runway at Barneo Ice Camp. This permanent site is run by the Russian Geographical Society and lies on the cusp of the pole (89°, to be precise). Trips only happen in April and cost a hefty £15,995 for…

DURATION: 3-16 DAYS Start/finish: Kangerlussuaq / Ilulissat (Greenland) WHY GO? Dogsled, hike and meet the world’s most northerly indigenous community. While Greenland’s east coast is as remote as it gets, there is more variety for adventures in the north-west, not least in the 164km Arctic Circle Trail (Jun-Aug) that winds out of Kangerlussuaq to Sisimuit. This is solitary backcountry hiking but polar-bear-free, and you arrive in a town where there’s one working dog for every five people, so sledding trips are de rigueur. Further north, the UNESCO-listed icefjord of Ilulissat is Greenland’s most popular sight, offering frozen panoramas of a region where 35 billion tonnes of icebergs pass through every year. It’s a 56km inlet of Disko Bay, and ships sail out past its monster icebergs, up the Davis Strait…

DURATION: 3-7 DAYS Start/finish: Alta, Norway / Kittilä, Finland / Abisko, Sweden WHY GO? Live alongside the reindeer-herding Sámi people on year-round trips. The bulk of Lapland lies within the Arctic, where it accounts for 30% of northern Finland (and just 3% of its population) and spills into Sweden and Norway. No matter which area you visit, you’ll find dogsledding, snow hikes, reindeer treks, northern lights excursions and ambitious ice hotels. Yet what truly makes a visit here are encounters with Lapland’s indigenous Sámi people, who still make a living herding thousands of reindeer through the boreal forests of Arctic Scandinavia. Stays in Lappish communities, huddled in a lavvu (tent) and devouring wood-smoked reindeer, give an insight into a people still tied to the rhythms of their livestock. Some trips…

Aurora spotting Such is Norway’s reputation that some cruises offer free follow-up voyages if you fail to see the northern lights. Dramatic fjords and whale-watching make the Norwegian coast a thrilling consolation while you wait for night, with some cruises making it as far as the Arctic waters of Kirknes. Arctic hiking Sweden’s Kungsleden is one of Europe’s remotest summer hikes. Its 440km can be broken up into more manageable sections, though, and the final 110km between Kiruna and Abisko reward with mountain views, Arctic saunas and the glare of midnight sun. Follow in Shackleton’s footsteps In the sub-Antarctic west, trek from Fortuna Bay to Stromness and retrace the final steps of Ernest Shackleton’s famous hike across South Georgia to save his crew, then pay your respects at his grave…

DURATION: 1-8 DAYS Start/finish: Punta Arenas (Chile) / Cape Town (South Africa) WHY GO? For those without weeks to spare – and cash to burn. Flightseeing trips are pretty regular and launch from Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. But an increasingly common option is the fly-cruise, which takes off at Punta Arenas and skips two days of sailing the rough seas of Drake Passage to land at Frei Station (King George Island) in the South Shetland Islands. It cuts four days off a return trip to the Antarctic, letting those short on time squeeze a Peninsula visit into just one week. But the most adventurous Antarctic flights involve a pair of seasonal tented camps equipped with ice runways. Union Glacier Camp lies within sight of the imposing…

DURATION: 11-14 DAYS Start/finish: Ushuaia (Argentina) WHY GO? Achieve a milestone that few others (even those who have set foot on Antarctica) have. While the Arctic region is mostly defined by a sea and a latitude, its southern equivalent is different. It’s a continent – if you see it or set foot on it, you’ve been there. Yet, curiously, parts of Antarctica don’t actually fall within the Antarctic Circle, with the tip of its great Western Peninsula actually lying outside 66º south. This is also as far as the majority of cruises get before turning back, so by a bizarre quirk of geography, a large number of people who set foot on the Great White Continent don’t cross the Antarctic Circle. In the eastern Antarctic, all routes that make landfall…

Arctic Tern (Antarctic/Arctic) This bird migrates between the poles (about 70,000km), flying from its breeding grounds in Greenland to the shores of the Antarctic. Polar bears (Arctic) Wrangel Island has some 400 polar bear dens – the largest density in the world. But to see them, you have to wait until the ice breaks up in July/August. Narwhal (Arctic) Sledge out to Pond Inlet, Baffin Island, where you can don a wetsuit and dive in to swim with these unicorns of the sea. Walrus (Arctic) Walruses have been protected in Svalbard since 1952. Spot them in summer on cruises to Prins Karls Forland island. Reindeer (Arctic) Stays in the Norwegian Finnmark region let you walk in the footsteps of generations of Sámi reindeer herders. Humpbacks (Antarctic/Arctic) As many as 300…

The lady behind the bar looked defiant. “If the village goes, this is all gone. Then we go.” The man sat beside me raised an empty beer glass – it was as apt a summary as any. Yet as I gazed outside at couples taking selfies by graffitied walls, the doomed village of Doel seemed anything but. Life on the edge of Europe’s second-largest port is a world away from the city it overlooks: Antwerp. There, a neo-Gothic station (having recently added a comics-themed amusement park) and medieval centre prove Belgium’s doyen of style has made an art of preserving its past in fun ways. Bistros crop up in old port buildings and tours of its sunken vaulted canals make even the sewer into a great day out. I’d wandered…

Get orientated Like it or not, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is famous for one simple geometrical reason. But it was never intended to be that way. Its foundations were laid on 9 August 1173, and for a while it stayed true. But by the time builders came to add a third storey five years later, things were already awry. Some would call it destiny. The tower’s shallow foundations were built on clay soil, which was a recipe for disaster. Inter-city conflicts then stalled its completion for nearly a century, by which point architects were vying to correct it in ever grander ways, from making newer floors taller on one side to, more recently, adding lead weights to balance it out. However, Pisans learned to love their folly. Now, after…