National October 201934
National October 201934
National October 201934
C OM | O C TO B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 9
NATI O NAL PARK S
S E C R E TS
T H E A DV E N T U R E I S S U E
WILD
BEAUTIFUL
PLACES
I TA LY
Dolomites by Bike
Explore
A M A ZO N
Italy from Epic Journey in Peru
mountains
to lakes.
AFRICA
Top Safari Trends
+
SPECIAL FEATURE: Women & Adventure
• World Heritage Highlights • Berlin City Guide
• Welsh Magic • Essential Arctic & more!
Go where you can
away.
Follow our story at palmettobluff.com. For real estate inquiries, call 866-321-3652.
Obtain the Property Report required by federal law and read it before signing anything. No federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. This does not
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EDITOR’S NOTE
BY GEORGE!
Nat Geo
In Canada’s Riding Highlights
Mountain National
Park, Clear Lake RUNNING WILD
sets a serene scene WITH BEAR GRYLLS
for kayaking.
In the new season of this
hit series, beginning
November 5 on the National
Geographic Channel,
daring celebs such as rock
climber Alex Honnold and
actress Brie Larson test
their mettle in remote
spots around the globe.
EXPLORATION HAPPENS
BECAUSE OF YOU
A
dventure is about what comes next. It’s about starting something PERUSE THE PARKS
WILD
the desert is
OUR GREATEST
TRAVEL
ADVENTURES— T R AV E L W I T H PA S S I O N A N D P U R P O S E
SO FAR!
EDITOR IN CHIEF PUBLISHER & VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL MEDIA
George W. Stone Kimberly Connaghan
The Adventure
Issue
FURTHER
In the Dolomites,
hiking, biking, and
climbing come with a
prosecco toast. p. 60
WOMEN &
ADVENTURE
A CHILD’S SUMMER
IN WALES
Follow Us
@NATGEOTRAVEL
COVER: MOUNTAIN
PHOTO CREDIT
CATINACCIO MASSIF
IN THE DOLOMITES OF
NORTHERN ITALY.
At Australia’s Lady Elliot
Island Eco Resort, a porch
overlooks waters of the
Great Barrier Reef (p. 102).
ADVENTURES
OF A LIFETIME
Show Us Your 1
Epic Journeys
We asked for your most spectacular
travel photos—and you delivered
N
early 22,000 entries poured into
National Geographic Traveler’s
photo contest to document
the greatest adventures on the planet.
The winning image (opposite; see story
online) frames an idyllic sunrise scene
on Siargao Island in the Philippines.
MARKETA KYNCLOVA AND MATT FIELD,
from Perth, Australia, were exploring the
island interior when they encountered
young locals leaping into the Maasin
River from a rope swing. They happily
joined in, leading to a fast friendship.
“We wanted to keep this moment alive
forever,” Field says, and the next day
they rose before dawn to get this shot.
Traveler’s director of photography, Anne
Farrar, loves the picture’s sense of adven-
ture. “It feels like the beginning of an
epic journey,” she says. —The Editors 2 3
1. Jason Speth
HANG SON DOONG, VIETNAM
2. Alex Dawson
TASIILAQ, GREENLAND
3. Carmen MacLeod
LAUTERBRUNNEN, SWITZERLAND
SECRETS
T H E A DV E N T U R E I S S U E
WILD
BEAUTIFUL
PLACES
I TA LY
Dolomites by Bike
+ A M A ZO N
SPECIAL FEATURE:
Women & Adventure, Epic Journey in Peru
World Heritage
Highlights, Berlin City
Guide, Welsh Magic,
AFRICA
Essential Arctic & more! Top Safari Trends
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
PARTNE R C ONT ENT FO R LUFTH ANSA
As a photographer, Chris is no stranger to capturing the He was on a mission to dive right in (quite literally)
world’s sunniest beaches. Though over time, even the to capture this incredible place like never before.
most warm and beautiful places will eventually become
“If shivering is a form of meditation, then I consider
monotonous. What Chris felt was lacking from his day
myself a monk.”
job was a sense of wonder, a sense of real adventure.
+HZDVHDJHUWRQGDUDUHZLOGHUQHVVRQHWKDWRHUV For Chris, capturing the Norwegian Lofoten Islands
an untrammeled landscape of picturesque mountains, was the life-changing experience he was looking for.
GHHSIMRUGVDQGHUFHZDWHUV Gone were the days of capturing the same old beaches
and the same old photographs. It was time to push
Looking for a new location, Chris decided it was time for
the boundaries of travel and never look back. To seek
a drastic change. He was going to photograph one of the
unforgettable nature experiences in one of the world’s
coldest beaches on Earth.
most incredible places.
“I went to the Lofoten Islands. The islands of the
“I traded touristy beaches for harsh wilderness.
gods. It was like I found this whole new world that
This was the best decision of my life.”
maybe others had simply overlooked. It was minus
23 degrees, icy wind, and three-meter-high waves.”
To discover more #LifeChangingPlaces like
Plunging into freezing temperatures, the experience on Lofoten Islands and to get inspiration for your next trip,
the wild coast of Norway awakened a new passion in him. visit lufthansa.com/places
Diving In
“Everything is flowing,
and you give up the
idea of control.” That’s
how surfer and world
traveler Anna Ehrgott
feels when she’s riding
an epic wave. There
are plenty of those
off the Big Island of
Hawaii, where fellow
surfer and photog-
rapher Sarah Lee
captured this portrait
of Ehrgott during the
magical golden hour.
Lee, who was free div-
ing with just a mask,
fins, and a camera in
underwater housing,
says “the sunset light
lit her up perfectly as
she pushed her board
beneath the waves”
(in a surfing move
called a duck dive).
Though Ehrgott is
based in Topanga,
California, the search
for surf-worthy des-
tinations sends her
around the globe. One
surprising favorite?
Alaska, for the snowy
beaches, solitude, and
animal life. “It’s like
surfing and a safari
all in one,” she says.
Seeing the world’s
wild places has also
stoked her passion for
sustainability. Ehrgott
collaborates with
eco-friendly brands
and runs her own
company, Sagebrush
Board Bags, which
recycles vintage fabric
into cool covers for
surfboards. Travel,
she says, “has helped
me figure out what’s
important in my life.”
SARAH LEE
—Brooke Sabin
Ornamentation
reaches rare
heights at
Meenakshi
Amman Temple
in South India.
WILD
&
TAME
Tasmania’s natural richness comes in many forms: pristine
landscapes in all shades of green, tranquil waterways, and
curious wildlife that thrives in this unique environment.
However you approach its unspoiled beauty, adventure
awaits in Australia’s island state
Complete immersion
I’m told that Maria Island is Tasmania in microcosm — and
if that’s the case, then Di is Tasmania personified. A veritable
frontierswoman at 72 years old, her eyes are the color of the
water at Riedle Beach and, just six months after a double knee
replacement, she’s outpaced me every step of the way on our
hikes around Maria. She grows her own vegetables, brews her
own ginger beer, promotes environmental causes, and has an
in-depth knowledge of every bud, bloom, bird, and beast we
pass. She drives like a pro, too, dodging a masked white owl
in the middle of the road on the long drive through the night
to our next stop in Derby, a former tin-mining town in the
northeast of Tasmania.
It’s home to the Blue Derby Pods Ride, where I fuel up on a
feast of local sourdough and butter, pumpkin, hummus, and
salad ahead of a beginner’s lesson in mountain biking. Set
up in 2017 by 20-something Tassies Steve and Tara Howell,
Blue Derby Pods Ride combines three-day mountain biking
tours with spectacular food and wine, plus accommodation
in one of four wooden pods, which rise out of the mossy forest
like newly germinated seeds. Come bedtime, I feel like an elf
living deep in the heart of the forest. Four years ago, this clever
endeavor never would have worked as there was virtually no
reason for travelers to visit this corner of the island. But in
2015, the Blue Derby — a network of nearly 50 miles of world-
class mountain bike trails — opened and was immediately
lauded as the pinnacle of mountain biking in Australia. Soon
after, the Enduro World Series headed here, and Derby was
firmly on the map.
The biking tours are flexible and can accommodate
anyone from seasoned riders to novices like me. “We want
you to ride the way you’d go out and ride with friends,”
Steve tells me as we whirl downhill through mounds of
fishbone ferns, past tangles of myrtle, and under the thick
branches of macrocarpa trees. Botanically speaking, it’s a
LEFT, FROM BELOW: dream. Exercise-wise, however, my backside hurts and the
Bennett’s wallaby; Blue combination of fresh air, adrenalin, and a new challenge
Derby Pods; Blue Derby means I retire to my pod exhausted, yet contented in a way
mountain bike trails that only a complete immersion in nature can achieve.
³ Why Go Now: Thirty years after the fall of the wall, Germany’s capital is a study in reinvention
The mid-1800s
Landwehr Canal
flows through
central Berlin.
Room Check
Visitors snap selfies O TRENDY
in front of the iconic
artwork of the East O NEW
Side Gallery. O CLASSIC
MICHELBERGER HOTEL
ORANIA.BERLIN
JANA CAVOJSKA/SOPA IMAGES/LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGES (GALLERY); NIKADA/GETTY IMAGES (REICHSTAG);
bars, while inside, roaring
fireplaces, a Steinway
Opt for the Outdoors View Walls as Artwork Visit Prussian Palaces Stay Up Late
Life Is a
Cabaret
1 With more than 2,500
parks, Berlin ranks as
one of the world’s greenest
2 Known as Europe’s
most “bombed”
(graffiti-marked) city, Berlin
3 Berlin’s history is not
all dark and heavy.
For proof, make a visit to
4 For many, Berlin’s
legendary party
scene is the holy grail for
From nature to nightlife, capitals. Its idyllic center- was named a UNESCO City Schloss Charlottenburg, a hedonists everywhere.
here are ways to enjoy piece is the Tiergarten, a of Design in part because sparkling baroque beauty Housed in a former East
this city of many sides former Prussian hunting of its wildly creative street inspired by Versailles. Set Berlin power station,
ground now filled with art. The East Side Gallery, amid manicured gardens, a Berghain may be the
lakes, jogging trails, and with 101 murals splashed carp pond, and an ensem- world’s most hallowed
rose gardens. An airport across a still standing ble of rococo palaces, this techno club. But beware
built by the Nazis— section of the Berlin Wall, 18th-century castle stands of its infamously rigid door
that became a lifeline for is the world’s largest and as a reminder of Berlin’s policy, which favors hood-
West Berlin during the longest open-air gallery. proud Prussian past. Just ies and black jeans, noth-
1948-49 blockade— Urban Nation’s newly a 40-minute S-Bahn ride ing fancy. For more relaxed
Tempelhofer Feld now opened Museum for away, Potsdam is a vast clubs, try Kater Blau and
serves as a public park Urban Contemporary Art UNESCO World Heritage ://about blank. If all-night
where cyclists speed down uses mobile facades to site (the largest in Ger- raves are not your thing,
the runways. And on sunny transform the building’s many) encompassing 150 stroll the Weserstrasse,
days, there’s no better architecture and exterior buildings across 1,200 Revaler Strasse, Simon-
place to people-watch walls into canvases them- acres. Be sure to see the Dach Strasse, and Tor-
than the Landwehr Canal, selves. For an eye-catching crown jewels of Frederick strasse corridors for chill
which winds for more barrage of makeshift the Great’s summer stomp- wine and cocktail bars, live
than six miles through murals, head to Mitte’s ing grounds: Neues Palais music, off-kilter dives, and
the heart of the city. Haus Schwarzenberg. and Schloss Sanssouci. everything in between.
A Culinary Neue Wave Turkish Delights Beer Gardens Not Just Brats
Renaissance Traditional staples get a There are more Turks in Berlin may not be Bavaria, Rivaling the döner in
locavore twist in many Berlin than anywhere else but you can find dozens popularity, currywurst—
Immigrant influences top restaurants, some outside of Turkey, and of outdoor beer gardens slices of steamed pork
and local fare are featuring quirky historical they’ve created a rich sprinkled around the city sausages doused in sweet
refueling the food scene settings. Inside the gym of culinary tradition all their and open year-round. curry ketchup and topped
a 1920s girls school, chef own—most famously, the The most enchanting may with curry spice—once
Dirk Gieselmann creates döner kebab. Some 4,000 be Café am Neuen See, merited its own museum.
five-course dinners (with döner shops dot the city, flanking a lake in leafy Tier- The exhibits are gone, but
a vegetarian version) from but the best is Tadim, in garten park and twinkling you can try the real deal
regional ingredients for the heart of Kreuzberg’s with strings of outdoor at Konnopke’s Imbiss, a
Michelin-starred hot spot Turkish community. At lights. Prater Garten, a famed sausage stall under
Pauly Saal. Area farmers Fes Turkish BBQ, diners Prenzlauer Berg institution, the U-Bahn tracks. Another
supply the lamb and rabbit grill their own marinated has been serving pints and local favorite? Eisbein
at Restaurant Oderberger, black Angus beef and schnitzels since the 1850s. (literally: “ice leg”), boiled
an industrial-chic new- lamb. For spit-roasted Drinks and dancing form a and cured pork knuckle. It’s
comer in an old boiler meats and stuffed eggplant heady mix at Birgit&Bier, been a menu star, with a
room. At Burgermeister, with a view, claim a table an adult playground on side of pea puree and mus-
sample a juicy burger in a at Defne on Berlin’s most the bank of the Spree River tard, at Zur Letzen Instanz
former subway bathroom. beautiful street, Planufer. in Kreuzberg. since 1621.
At Café am Neuen
See, brews and
pretzels come
with a festive
lakeside vibe.
in the Caribbean
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ROAD TRIP
JEFFERSON’S VIRGINIA
³ Miles: 88 O Days on the Road: 3 O Indie Bookshop: Charlottesville’s New Dominion O Delicious Detour: Carter Mountain Orchard off Route 53
Before becoming America’s estate in Virginia. While his D.C., is a region of rolling A young Thomas
third president, Thomas enological experiments foothills ablaze with color Jefferson once
Jefferson was in many ways weren’t very successful, he in the fall, winding roads frolicked on the
its premier traveler. As did create a thirst for the that lead to now thriving farmland that’s now
ambassador to France, grape in his homeland. vineyards, and small towns Castle Hill Cider, in
he developed a passion Road-trippers can visit with big charms (plus tasty Keswick, Virginia.
for fine wines. Jefferson Jefferson’s estate and the pies). Here’s an itinerary
returned to the U.S. with university he founded, that would make the
vine cuttings that he but they shouldn’t stop Founding Father proud.
planted at his Monticello there. The central Virginia —Susan O’Keefe
Piedmont, a few hours
southwest of Washington,
.
PARTN E R CO NTE N T F OR P ERU
PERU
THE RICHEST COUNTRY
IN THE WORLD
Peru has a rich culture and amazing gastronomy, but its vast biodiversity makes it a dream
destination for nature and outdoor lovers. Stunning and multi-hued flora, fauna and wildlife,
spectacular waterfalls, magical cloud forests, and crystal-clear lagoons are just a few wonders
travelers can find in Peru.
Sunrise Surprise House on the Hill Country Comfort Main Street, U.S.A.
A self-taught architect and Old meets new at In 1840 Gordonsville
For spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, master gardener, Jefferson The Clifton inn, built in welcomed the first railcars
UNESCO World Heritage site modeled after the Pantheon in of enslaved people. Don’t hamlets and horse farms. on Main Street to pick up
Rome and built to house Jefferson’s vast book collection. miss the exhibit dedi- Pull off at Castle Hill Cider, pillows and fine linens at
Adding to the grandeur of the Grounds are Jefferson’s cated to Sally Hemings, an 18th-century plantation Laurie Holladay Interiors,
serpentine walled gardens tucked behind each of the 10 mother to six of Jefferson’s that ferments its drinks or dream about decorating
pavilions. Take a stroll over to downtown’s pedestrian mall, children, which relates from heirloom apples. Try your own Virginia country
eight tree-lined blocks featuring stores such as the Pie poignant stories told by the popular Levity cider, estate with 19th-century
Chest, the Impeccable Pig clothing boutique, and her son Madison and other with hints of black cherry, furnishings at Annette
Timberlake’s pharmacy with its original soda fountain. family members. lemon zest, and caramel. La Velle Antiques.
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
PARTN ER CO N TEN T FO R E XPLORE CHA RLESTO N
MAKING
SCENE
THE
I
n Charleston, South Carolina, craft and creativity are woven together
as tightly as the patterns in the Gullah sweetgrass baskets sold at the
Charleston City Market. Like earlier craftspeople, today’s makers
and their vendors draw inspiration from the city’s timeless neighbor-
hoods of oak-lined streets, historic homes, and church spires.
O
nly seven years old, Brackish is a hometown by Mariana Ramsay Hay and Rhett Ramsay Outten, grand-
success story fueled by iridescent feathers daughters of the original founder, bustles with activity at
and friendship. Plotner’s pal and business their store at 308 King Street, the city’s retail thoroughfare.
partner Ben Ross collected wild turkey feathers Upstairs, three jewelers design, restore, and polish pieces
to handcraft one-of-a-kind bow ties as thank with delicate precision. Downstairs, customers peruse
you presents for his wedding groomsmen. The unique gift led display cases searching for the exactly right gift. That’s vital,
Plotner to think there could be a demand for them. Neiman as Charleston excels in the generous gesture.
Marcus, Orvis, and Nordstrom thought so, too, and today “You come to call, you bring a present,” Hay explains.
Brackish employs some 40-fellow Charlestonians in a “That’s just how we Charlestonians were raised.”
suburban office park where they design and create bow ties
in brilliant avian colors. A line of women’s accessories, cuffs, Traditional Charleston heirlooms at Croghan’s include a
and earrings debuted this year. The feathers’ bejeweled hues silver celebration cup on which a child’s birth, communion,
are natural, with peacocks, exotic pheasants, and wood ducks and wedding dates await engraving, and stirrup cups featuring
as favorite species. whimsical animal heads like alligators and foxes. Turn a cup
“We can’t do any better than Mother Nature’s paintbrush,” upside down and it is now a drinking glass. For those taking
Ross says. “It’s the most spectacular brush in the world.” the long view, there is a child’s silver soap bubble wand that
becomes a cocktail stirrer when they grow up.
For retailers, Charleston’s rich tradition of gift-giving
can impart longevity to the best. Croghan’s Jewel Box, More suggestions on where to find only-in-Charleston
established in 1907, has prospered for more than 100 years, products follow. Meantime, you can start planning your trip
tending to generations of families. The 24-person firm run at ExploreCharleston.com
Sample Lowcountry flavor at this Since 1917 this King Street retailer Charleston has nurtured a wave of This local spirits maker specializes
unique grocery store located in has clothed Charleston’s men with small-scale designers and makers. in bourbon and whiskey, including
nearby Mount Pleasant. It’s stocked sartorial flair. “Southerners like This King Street outlet provides one distilled from a variety of
with seasonal produce from historic being seen and dressing well,” a platform for many of their prod- South Carolina heirloom corn
Boone Plantation including jarred explains M. Dumas President and ucts. As the retail arm of the historic called “Jimmy Red” found originally
peaches, blueberries, watermelons, CEO Gary Flynn, and his store Preservation Society, the shop only on nearby James Island. Visitors
and tomatoes. A dairy and meat does the dapper well by offering curates the best local candles, soaps, to the tasting room can try samples
section, café, and displays of other colorful casuals, Italian suits, and accessories, and art. The backroom, (High Wire makes gin and a vodka,
South Carolina products make its own brand of seersucker and stocked with locally relevant books, too) and tour the facility.
Boone Hall a local favorite. blue blazers. makes a cozy traveler’s retreat.
PLACES WE LOVE
UNESCO SITES
1 Enter a realm of
ice and fire
At VATNAJÖKULL
NATIONAL PARK, in
Iceland, the interac-
World tions between ice and
fire formed singular
Wonders landscapes and
ecosystems, such as
geothermal bacterial
Three ways to communities that
discover UNESCO’s have persevered in the
newest inductees extreme environment
for tens of thousands
From the underwater of years. “The listing
glories of the Great underlines how unique
Barrier Reef to the the nature in Iceland
terrestrial mysteries of is, and how important
Stonehenge, places it is to protect it,” says
on the UNESCO World park staffer Helga
Heritage list reveal Árnadóttir. The most
nature’s greatest gifts popular sites are
and humankind’s Jökulsárlón (the Glacier
greatest achievements. Lagoon) and Skaftafell
And they often make nature reserve, in the
dazzling destinations southeastern part of
for travelers. the park, thanks to
This year the World their proximity to the
Heritage Committee country’s Ring Road.
met in the walled city Travelers can go ice
of Baku, Azerbaijan, climbing, roam black
and added 29 new sand beaches, marvel
sites, bringing the total at the blue interiors of
list to 1,121. Noteworthy an ice cave, and kayak
newcomers include along the craggy coast.
Italy’s prosecco wine Vatnajökull is one of
region, Japan’s ancient four natural sites added
burial mounds, and this year, including bird
Iran’s Hyrcanian sanctuaries on China’s
IURIE BELEGURSCHI
.
2 Learn what makes
a timeless city tick
layout following Vedic
architectural principles,
and districts organized
with a honeycomb
facade that lets
breezes in and allowed
according to traditional royal women to see
Capital of the north- Hindu concepts frame but not be seen. Other
west Indian state of the historic backdrop standouts recognized
Rajasthan, JAIPUR got a to a bustling modern this year for artistic
nod for its centuries-old city. Visitor high- and cultural achieve-
yet forward-thinking
ELENA-STUDIO/GETTY IMAGES
lights in the Pink City ment are the ancient
design. Founded in include the Amer Fort archaeological site of
1727 as a commercial (shown), perched on Babylon, Iraq, and the
center, it’s believed the outskirts, and the sacred Buddhist art
to be India’s first truly evocative Hawa Mahal and architecture of
planned city and a (“palace of winds”), Bagan, Myanmar.
model for population
centers that followed.
The rosy hue, grid
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
PLACES WE LOVE
UNESCO SITES
NAT
NAT GE
GE OT
OT RAV
RAV E
ELL .CO
.CO M
M
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
PA RTN E R CONT E NT FOR F RA N KE NM UT H
S ituated along the majestic Cass River in central Michigan lies a small town that piles a
heaping plate of simple joys that you can share with friends and family no matter the
season. Frankenmuth was founded in 1845 by a group of 15 German immigrants and
they knew a charming spot when they saw it. The town those early settlers built continues to
honor its heritage with Bavarian architecture, quaint streets graced by flowers, restaurants and
boutiques that cater to visitors hankering for Old World flavors, and some 18 major festivals
and events throughout the year. It says something about the need for people to experience
a connection with older traditions when a town of 5,000 residents can attract nearly three
million visitors per year.
From the architecture to the restaurant menus, many visitors don’t even realize that everything
in Frankenmuth has a strong and authentic tie to Bavaria, Germany. In fact, on the second
Sunday of every month, St. Lorenz Lutheran Church still offers a worship service spoken
in German for locals ingrained with their German heritage.
PA RTN ER CONT E NT FOR F R ANKENMUT H
WORLDFAMOUS OLDWORLD
DINING BAVARIANCHARM
ESCAPEFROM WORLD'SLARGEST
THECITY CHRISTMASSTORE
Frankenmuth offers a
number of fun things to do
year-round, from horse-
drawn carriage rides and
water parks to zoos and
petting farms. Or just sit
at a café, listen to the
glockenspiel, and watch the
Just dial 1 (800) FUN-TOWN. world go by. A clean and
Yes, that's really Frankenmuth's safe town, Frankenmuth
phone number and they sure
knows how to roll out the
live up to it! With its fair share
of annual festivals and events,
welcome mat.
Frankenmuth has something fun Start planning your trip
for everyone all year long. today at frankenmuth.org!
WHY IT MATTERS
THE ARCTIC
In Utqiaġvik, Alaska,
during the spring whaling
festival of Nalukataq,
successful whalers are
flung skyward in the
traditional trust-building
blanket toss.
C
heryl Rosa will never forget the light and is melting; and the number of caribou that graze the
Where the cold that greeted her on her first trip to land have declined by almost half, according to the
the World Arctic Alaska. “It was extremely windy and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
Connects extremely flat and extremely white,” she says of land- Arctic Program.
ing in Utqiaġvik (then called Barrow), which sits at the Scientists have made it clear that humans are driv-
How to help protect a edge of the Beaufort Sea. Now the deputy director of ing climate change—but if we act quickly and globally,
fragile place and the the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, Rosa first vis- we might be able to reverse some of the damage.
people who call it home
ited the region in 2000 to do fieldwork for her thesis. The Arctic is not just an idea we read about in
By Jenna Schnuer
The landscape grabbed the Massachusetts native the newspaper. It’s land. It’s sea. It has been home
whole. “Travel to the Arctic leaves an indelible to humans for thousands of years. And for those who
impression on the visitor. Its sheer immensity and can make the trip, there’s no better way to connect
the fragility of its environment are two things that with the region than to meet some of its people, stand
really blow people away,” Rosa says. on the vast tundra, or look out on the Arctic Ocean.
The Arctic is ground zero for climate change, I started visiting Alaska from my then home, New
and what happens in the Arctic has an astonishing York City, 18 years ago. The trips grew longer and
trickle-down (or perhaps flood-down) effect on the longer, and I finally moved to Anchorage in 2013.
rest of the planet. The region’s surface air tempera- The Arctic began to feel less remote, less an idea
tures have warmed at two times the rate of the rest of than a real place. I’d meet Arctic scientists while out at
the globe; sea ice is disappearing rapidly; permafrost breweries, and at my local yarn store I’d make friends
Lodge, 225 miles north of Fairbanks and 60 miles above ple can overwhelm small villages. Finding tour groups
the Arctic Circle, in the Brooks Range. His parents that work with local communities is important.”
built the lodge in 1974. It is still his home for half of —Take nothing but photos, unless you buy art or
each year. The nearest neighbors are 50 miles away, other souvenirs from the local people.
in Bettles. Arctic travel grips his guests as soon as they —Learn whose land you’re touring, and ask per- JENNA SCHNUER
board the plane to get there. “The big transformation mission before taking photos of people or their homes. ( @jennaschnuer) is
is on the two-hour flight in here,” he says. “Within 20 —When you get home, tell your friends and family an Anchorage-based
minutes of leaving Fairbanks, they don’t see anything. about your trip and help them understand what issues freelance writer. She
It’s so remote.” Even the villages that punctuate the are in the balance. has written for
landscape disappear from sight within seconds. Says Rosa: “I do believe most visitors leave with a Smithsonian, the New
The other day, I added a new item to the list of better understanding of why the Arctic is important— York Times, and Edible
places I want to experience in the Arctic, a list which and how high the stakes are.” Alaska, among others.
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
GREAT ESCAPES
DOMINICA
Big-Time
Adventure
Nature dictates the
day plan in Dominica—
especially for adventure
travelers. With mountain-
ous rainforests, black sand
beaches, and dramatic purposefully low volume.
underwater realms, this To protect the whales,
island nation located only a few permits are
between Guadeloupe and granted each year.
Martinique has emerged The island has achieved a
as one of the world’s prime remarkable recovery from
ecotourism destinations. 2017’s Hurricane Maria,
Don’t expect the typical making now an excellent
Caribbean tourist scene time for not-so-everyday
here, as Dominica has excursions including fish-
resisted the mass-market ing for an invasive species,
glitz that defines its more trekking to a massive hot
developed neighbors. spring, and canyoning in
Some experiences, such deep gorges. Here’s how
as snorkeling with the to explore a land where
resident sperm whales wilderness rules.
(pictured here), are —Gina DeCaprio Vercesi
SS
ER
DOMINICA
AN T I L L E S
Caribbean Sea
VENEZUELA
HIKE TO A BOILING LAKE RAPPEL INTO A CANYON HUNT FOR YOUR DINNER
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
OBSESSIONS
CEMETERIES
Grave Encounters
Discover how cemeteries can unearth intriguing plots
and little known stories of the dead—and the living
By Katie Thornton
W
hen I arrive in a new destination, I like
to immerse myself in the life of my sur-
roundings. So I go to a place that holds
the grandeur of an art gallery, the fascinating tales of
a history museum, and the verdancy of a public park.
The Victorian-era
I go to the graveyard. cemetery Arnos
Like many seemingly odd fascinations, my obses- Vale, in Bristol,
sion with cemeteries began as a teenager. The massive England, had fallen
into disrepair, but
cemetery near my family’s house in Minneapolis is now an active
became my amateur photography studio, my go-to space with a
wedding venue and
walking trails.
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
TASTE OF TRAVEL
LEBANON
Bekaa Valley
treasures: the
Roman ruins
at Baalbek and
sips at Massaya
winery (right)
Y
ou could say that Lebanon, home to some of the world’s oldest
Wines of civilizations, is a vintage destination. What’s more surprising
NATIVE GRAPES
book Wines of Lebanon. But the industry has kept going and now Living Lebanon offers
includes at least 50 wineries. Two of our favorites for sipping at the personalized winery tours
source: the sublime French-style white wines at Château Khoury that include tastings and
meze. living-lebanon.com
and the racy red blends at Château Héritage.
³ 15 life-changing experiences in North America’s national parks
intrepid traveler
doesn’t have to mean
Travelers are dreamers summiting Mount
who act on their Everest or surveying
inspirations. The new icebergs in Antarctica.
National Geographic Some of the planet’s
book Epic Journeys: wildest places—
245 Life-Changing launchpads for all
Adventures is for sorts of discoveries
the people who go about the world and
beyond their comfort yourself—are closer
zones to experience to home in North
the wild beauty of the America’s national
natural world around parks. We’ve selected
us. The book features 15 mind-blowing
adrenaline-fueled adventures to inspire
forays to all seven your inner explorer.
continents. While
the Nat Geo spirit
of exploration spans
the globe, being an
«
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER
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SIGNATURE EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS
Central Montana:
Adventure Awaits
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rolling plains, Central Montana never
disappoints. Experience the best of
the American West in a destination
where outdoor adventure is all around—
ready and waiting for you!
Start planning your vacation at
CentralMontana.com
Horseback Ride
ALBERTA, CANADA
Saddle up for a pack trip
into the hinterland of
Banff National Park,
Canada’s first. Traveling
by horse allows you to
go deep into the wild,
climbing above glacier-fed
lakes for top-of-the-Rockies
tableaus and crossing val-
PREVIOUS PAGE: DAVID WALL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (CANYON), TAMER KOSELI (ILLUSTRATION)
leys where bison roam. Day
rides often retrace trails
blazed by First Nations and
European explorers.
Sea Kayak
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
THE QUEST
PRAGUE
A
round 10 p.m. on a clear
night in early June, I’m
staring down the end of a
Zamboni-size reflector telescope.
I’m in the eastern dome of the
Štefánik Observatory, in the hills
above Prague’s Malá Strana neigh-
borhood. Unlike unruly Old Town,
things are quiet here. The obser-
vatory sits atop the Lobkowicz
Gardens, and to reach it, I took
a funicular. Exiting the station, I
had passed through a rosarium,
where bushes of pink, white, and
red blooms caught the last of the
evening light.
Overhead, the entire hemi-
sphere of the roof swivels. I can
hear the groan of cogs turning like
spokes on a giant bicycle wheel.
“Aha! Jupiter!” exclaims the Czech
woman who’s in charge, pointing
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
THE QUEST
PRAGUE
it strikes. Gazing up at its cryptic overlay of rotating ourselves at the top of the tower. On four sides, all of Astronomical
disks, medieval numerals, and heavenly symbols, I Prague, with its red pointed roofs and saint-bedecked Sites in Europe
struggle to read the actual time. But that’s because its spires, is bathed in golden light.
Astronomy captured
function is more astrolabe than clock. The front-facing It is an unforgettable panorama, and one I never the minds of countless
hands trace the movements of the sun and moon across would have found had I not let my inner astronomy physicists, architects, and
the zodiac—useful for townspeople who wanted to nerd lead the way. Lesser known than Prague Castle even musicians in medieval
Europe. Its cultural impact
learn the correct day to receive medical treatment or and St. Nicholas Church, this watchtower is a more can still be felt. Here are
buy a new house. gratifying visit, as it affords unbroken views of all those four places to explore.
I spend an afternoon at the Astronomical Tower other sites, minus the long queues.
inside the Klementinum, an old, sprawling Jesuit uni- Walking back to my hotel, I spot a sign that reads HERSCHEL MUSEUM OF
versity in the center of the city. Filled with astronomy “Kepler Museum.” Excited, I follow a narrow alley ASTRONOMY
tools from the 17th and 18th centuries, it is in many down past some buildings but come to a dead end.
Composer William
ways the last intact monument to starry Prague. The museum had since closed, and all that was left in Herschel occupied this
Jumping onto the last tour of the day, I join a group the empty courtyard was a metal sphere, engraved with 18th-century terraced
of 25 visitors and we ascend single file up a tightly a Latin quote from Kepler: “Ubi materia ibi geometria.” house in Bath, England. On
display is a replica of the
wound metal staircase. The tower’s first floor opens Where there’s matter, there’s form. seven-foot telescope that
into the National Library of the Czech Republic, with Esoteric Prague is still here, a quiet contrast to the Herschel used to discover
its spiraling wood columns and collection of celestial city’s “beer bike” tours. If you hunt for it, a sharper Uranus in 1781.
globes, a hall little changed since 1722. If Dumbledore image of choreographed skies and thrilling stellar
CATHÉDRALE NOTRE-
himself had looked up from perusing a giant tome of discoveries comes into view, harking back to a time DAME DE STRASBOURG
spells, I wouldn’t have been surprised. when humans were just waking up to the mysteries
On the floor above, in the boxlike Meridian Hall— of our solar system. In 1842 clockmaker
Jean-Baptiste Schwilgué
an active meteorological station—we stand where installed a four-tiered
Kepler’s contemporaries once measured the positions ALEX SCHECHTER ( @earth2alexsound) lives in Los marvel of celestial
of planets with sextants the size of hockey goal posts. Angeles, where he works as a freelance writer and gadgetry in the cathedral
in Strasbourg, France.
Another 50-some nearly vertical steps, and we find sound therapist. Visitors now show up at
12:30 p.m. daily to watch
the clock come to life.
MUSEO GALILEO
Playful, puppyish,
and preponderant,
some 50,000 sea
lions inhabit the
Galápagos Islands.
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19
GO WITH NAT GEO
UNIQUE LODGES
Sundy Praia is
tucked into verdant
forest sheltering
abundant wildlife.
Wildlife-rich jungles, pristine beaches, and a vibrant culture convene on When forest fires swept In the hills above San José,
through the British Colum- where a muddy motocross
Príncipe, part of an island nation marooned some 140 miles off Africa’s west bian backcountry in 2017, field once languished, lush
coast. With tourism in its infancy here, the SUNDY PRAIA eco-lodge—along with Allyson Rogers—owner of gardens and a tree-shaded
three sister resorts—aims to provide a model for sustainability and community- Siwash Lake Wilderness coffee farm now flourish.
Resort—fought to save Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee
based development. In addition to cooking with a local chef and exploring with her ranch alongside a few Plantation Resort is the
a fisherman in a wooden pirogue, guests can create their own souvenir with a brave staff members. She vision of owner Sylvia
group of women artists known as Mambos da Terra, or priestesses of the earth. then established a nature Jampol, whose purchase
reserve to protect the of the land in the 1980s
You’ll transform recycled glass into jewelry and learn about the artistic process fragile postfire ecosystem. helped revitalize the local
as well as the lives of the Príncipean artists, whose ancestors include enslaved Nature’s resiliency takes community. A stay at the
GÉRALDINE BRUNEEL
peoples and plantation workers. Fill your days with snorkeling, kayaking, and center stage at Siwash, art-adorned hotel comes
where guests can join a fire with Latin-fusion cuisine,
hiking excursions in this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. —Catherine Torphy ecology hike and go horse- panoramic volcano views,
back riding in a dynamic, and an immersion into
BOOK NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC UNIQUE LODGES natgeolodges.com/explore regenerating landscape. Costa Rican coffee culture.
ADVENTURE
BIJOU KARMAN (ILLUSTRATION)
ISSUE
E P I C ACT I O N THE NEW I N TO T H E S P EC I A L S ECT I O N :
I TA LY SA FA R I A M A ZO N WO M E N & A DV E N T U R E
60 74 88 102
This road trip in
northern Italy engages
the muscles and
indulges the senses
BY ST E P H A N I E P E A RS O N
ITALY
ACTION
EPIC
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 61
THE ADVENTURE ISSUE
W
of arresting steeples, pinnacles, and rock walls; then west to
Lake Garda, an inland freshwater sea partly ringed by peaks.
The itinerary had my boyfriend, Brian, and me riding bikes,
hiking to mountain rifugi (shelters), climbing via ferratas, and
sailing on Lake Garda, all while sampling the region’s sublime
proseccos and meeting some of Italy’s most dedicated crafts-
people. We packed this journey into 10 days, but you’d be wise
to linger as long as you can.
COLIN DUTTON/SIME (GONDOLA); NG MAPS AND CRAIG MOLYNEUX, CARTDECO; PREVIOUS PAGES: MARKUS GREBER/SKYSHOT (MOUNTAINS)
tour I’ve arranged with Luca Zaggia, a marine scientist, in an
effort to further understand Venetians’ intricate relationship
with water. Zaggia, in turn, invites Giovanni Caniato, a scholar
and expert on Venice’s boating history. Our timing in Venice is
Whoops of joy escape my lips as towering peaks and bursts of ideal. Tomorrow is the 45th annual Vogalonga regatta, a 20-mile
yellow wildflowers whiz by. I’m in the northern Italian region boat tour in which 8,000 rowers, kayakers, and canoeists will
of Alta Badia riding a juiced-up electric mountain bike on a paddle a labyrinthine course around the city.
downhill flow trail, each bermed corner steeper and tighter than “Coastal morphology is the main issue in Venice, especially
the last. Where I’m from in Minnesota, e-bikes aren’t allowed the impact of large boats,” Zaggia tells us as we walk cobblestoned
on trails, which makes this ride feel extra rambunctious. I want streets infamously sagging under the effects of overtourism.
to put the bike into “turbo” mode, but crashing would put a An estimated 20-million-plus tourists visit annually, while the
damper on our trip. resident population of 55,000 shrinks by the year. I wrongly
I’ve spent the majority of my 25-year career reporting sto- assume that the monster cruise ship I saw being tugged through
ries from out-of-the-way places, and my travel philosophy has the canal yesterday is the worst offender, but Zaggia corrects me.
always been the more rugged and remote the better, which has “Cruise ships often create less damage than cargo ships,” he
led me to catching a ride on a fishing trawler to says. He adds that while cruise ships are far from
an albatross colony off the Falkland Islands and ideal vessels for Venice, one of the best ways for
E U R O P E
to being stranded on Class V rapids in Tasmania. tourists to mitigate further damage is to avoid tak-
STORY
As glorious as it seemed, Italy was never high FOCUS ing private, high-speed water taxis. Their waves
on my priority travel list. It felt too manicured, cause more erosion than slower moving ferries.
Ad
ri
too stylized, too perfect—the exact opposite of ITALY tic
a At Squero San Travaso, an out-of-the-way
Se
me. Where in Italy, I wondered, could I find the Rome a 17th-century boatyard, owner Lorenzo Della
adrenalized beauty I craved? Toffola is building a wooden gondola spine under
I found it on a road trip from Venice north to Medit
e rr a
the bright sun. It will take him 500 hours to com-
n ea
the prosecco-producing hills of Valdobbiadene; n Se 200 mi plete one boat. Brian notices the stern ferro, the
a
on to the towering Dolomites, a mountain range AFRICA 200 km
high point at the back of the boat, is hinged.
62 NATGE OT R AV E L .C OM
The Bridge of Sighs,
which spans a canal
from the marble-clad
Doge’s Palace, proves
that the beauty of Venice
quickens pulses as much
as an extreme mountain
bike trek in the Dolomites
(previous pages).
“Gondolas have big problems,” Caniato tells us, explaining prosecco known for being so pure that there’s no sugar. We sip it
that because of rising water levels, the boats no longer fit under while overlooking the verdant vine-covered hills. Only three days
the bridges during high-water peaks and have to be modified. in, I’m already wondering how Italy can get any better than this.
Our final stop is a 15th-century boatyard that houses the pri-
vate association Arzaná. Caniato, a curator of the association CORTINA D’AMPEZZO: SPORTY & CHIC
dedicated to preserving Venetian boat culture, turns the key in “Cortina is considered the fancy town of the Dolomites,” says
the lock. Inside are ancient rudders and oars, the largest collec- Carlo Cosi. “But this is my garden.” A professional mountaineering
tion of fórcole in the world, and one of the association’s 50 period guide originally from Padua, Cosi has climbed all over the world,
boats. Caniato pours us a glass of red wine, and we make a toast earning a nomination for the Piolet d’Or, mountaineering’s highest
to his beautiful city, which has survived 14 centuries. Despite honor, for a route he opened in Peru. But it’s the Dolomites that
its woes, he says, “I would never leave Venice.” Cosi loves best.
We’re at the base of Tofane mountain, surrounded by red-rock
STRADA DEL PROSECCO: EFFERVESCENCE EVERYWHERE vertical faces with dozens of climbing routes. Ten miles east,
“The power is in the ladies; there are no men,” Giovanni Zanon down Falzarego Pass, is the village of Cortina d’Ampezzo. In 1956
jokes as we power-sip an extra dry brut from Sorelle Bronca the chic alpine resort hosted the Winter Olympics, which brought
estate. We’re halfway into a 32-mile mid-morning cycling loop the Dolomites to the attention of the world’s glitterati, from Frank
on a hot Sunday, and this highly regarded prosecco, with hints Sinatra to Brigitte Bardot. In June the International Olympic
of honeydew and pear, tastes refreshingly crisp. It’s made by Committee awarded the 2026 Winter Games to Milan-Cortina.
Antonella and Ersiliana Bronca, two sisters who took over their Yesterday morning Brian and I
father’s winery in 1988. The women and their families grow hiked five miles on a path hemmed
The 31-mile Prosecco
their grapes on a patchwork of 67 acres scattered throughout Road (top) connects in by red dolomite walls to 6,532-
the region of Valdobbiadene. This, along with the neighboring the two wine- foot Prato Piazza Hut, a beauti-
producing regions
region of Conegliano, became Italy’s 55th UNESCO World Her- fully maintained rifugio sitting in a
of Valdobbiadene
itage site on July 7, thanks in part to its aesthetically pleasing and Conegliano. wildflower-filled pasture under the
checkerboard landscape, where rows of vines grow parallel and Restaurants along shadow of Croda Rossa peak. After
the way include
vertical to the sloping hills. The resulting prosecco is currently lunch we hiked a few miles higher on
La Locanda (lower
the most popular Italian wine worldwide. left), in Col San a World War I path, past a crumbling
Zanon owns Villa Abbazia, an 18th-century palace converted Martino, which serves Austrian fortification to the summit
sopressa (salami)
to a five-star hotel in the village of Follina. It sits across the of 7,569-foot Mount Specie. Tonight
with chestnuts. Bisol
street from a 12th-century monastery founded by Cistercian Winery (lower right) we’ll stay at Rifugio Lagazuoi near the
monks. Villa Abbazia also houses the only Michelin-starred crafts five varieties of 9,114-foot summit of Lagazuoi peak.
Prosecco Superiore.
restaurant in the region. Last night its Puglian chef, Donato A few hundred feet below the rifugio,
Episcopo, prepared us an elaborate, whimsical five-course meal a door opens into a half-mile-long
that included trout marinated with citrus fruits for the entrée tunnel the Italians bored through the rock in 1915 to haul up
and ended with tiramisu—the same recipe Zanon’s family has explosives in order to dislodge the Austrian troops who were
used since 1955—and too much grappa. We dined on an outdoor stationed above them.
patio overlooking the grand palace and a garden brimming with Now, however, our focus is on climbing a thousand feet
lemon trees, rhododendron, and hydrangea, feeling like royalty. straight up on Ra Bujela, a via ferrata that starts near the top
Zanon, the quintessential host, stayed up with guests until of Cortina’s women’s World Cup downhill run. Via ferratas, or
ANTONELLO NADDEO (BIKERS); COLIN DUTTON/SIME (DISH, BOTTLES)
2 a.m., but this morning, his cycling-fanatic side has taken over “iron ways,” are climbing routes that World War I soldiers built
and he’s riding with us on a route of his design that climbs 1,600 by pounding iron-runged stairs into the rock in order to climb
feet through jasmine-scented hills. The terrain is exhilarating, otherwise impassable peaks. The historical routes are so popular
with punchy climbs; long, leisurely downhills; and minimal with recreational climbers that ski resorts and mountaineering
traffic. We stop every few miles to eat and drink with Zanon’s associations across the Dolomites continue to build new ones,
friends. At Pasticceria Villa dei Cedri, a café with pastries that such as the route we’re about to climb. Gazing upward, Brian is
are almost too beautiful to eat, I try the traditional southern frowning. He’s an ultramarathon cyclist, and for the first time
Italian cream puff, tette delle monache. The name, I later learn, in the three years I’ve known him, he looks unnerved.
translates to “nuns’ breasts.” Despite this reminder that Italy is “You go first,” he tells me. “The heights make me a little
slightly behind the curve in #MeToo political correctness, it’s a queasy.” I haven’t climbed much lately, but I’m more comfort-
luscious treat that pairs well with espresso. able with the vertical exposure than he is. Sensing Brian’s unease,
It fuels me for our final climb to the new tasting room at Cosi ropes the three of us together for an extra safety measure, in
Garbara winery, in Cartizze. Cartizze Zero is a light, smooth addition to connecting individually via two carabiners that fasten
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 65
The steep hills of Farra
di Soligo, at about the
halfway point along
the Prosecco Road,
have long grown
grapes that go into
producing Italy’s
most popular wine.
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 67
our harnesses to the cable route. We climb the first pitch straight Piedmont. It’s got smoky notes, reminiscent of coffee and leather.
up a vertical wall to a narrow footbridge suspended between two “This,” says Clemens, “is the elegant part of Italy.”
pinnacles. The reliable footholds and ever present cable give rusty
climbers like me an opportunity to once again feel the exhilaration LAKE GARDA: SMOOTH SAILING
of summiting otherwise unreachable heights. Thanks to George Clooney and his passion for Lake Como, Lake
“The nice thing about the Dolomites,” Cosi says on our hike Garda, to the southeast, is largely overlooked by Americans.
back down the mountain, “is that they are for everybody.” That’s fine by us. Within 10 miles in any direction there are
mountain bike trails, via ferrata and rock climbing routes, hiking
ALTA BADIA: BIKES & BAROLOS trails, and road cycling routes. But we’ve come for the water—the
“For us it is very important to keep Ladin—the food, the clothes, northern third of 143-square-mile Lake Garda is off-limits to
the language, the music,” says Matthias Thaler, our mountain private powerboats, which makes it a mecca for windsurfers,
biking guide, who also happens to be a former ski racer for the kitesurfers, and sailors because the winds whip up like clockwork
Italian national team. “I play the trumpet.” and hold steady for hours.
We’re only 16 miles northwest of Cortina, with the same drop- “The wind machine is working,” says Luca Spagnoli, the
dead views of mountains, but we have entered the world of South owner of Sailing Du Lac, the lakeside windsurfing and sailing
Tyrol, an enclave of Austria before it was annexed to Italy after school at the Hotel Du Lac et Du Parc.
World War I. Here 70 percent of the residents speak German, 26 Lake Garda’s two main winds are the Pelér and the Ora, ther-
percent speak Italian, and less than five percent speak Ladin, a mals set up by a change in temperature over a change in dis-
language from a culture that has existed in these valleys in South tance. The Pelér, a northerly morning
Tyrol for 2,000 years. Thaler is one of 30,000 Ladin people who wind, blows off the mountains and is
Lake Garda (top right),
remain in these valleys. He’s lived here his whole life. Italy’s largest lake, known as the “good-weather wind,”
To cover more territory than we could on a mountain bike, we stretches 30 miles creating sets of small waves that are
long and 10 miles
rented e-mountain bikes this morning from a shop in the village ideal for beginning windsurfers and
wide. Reliable winds
of San Cassiano. We pedaled them up to the Pralongià Plateau, make it a top spot for kitesurfers. It normally dies down
a wide-open space that sits at almost 7,000 feet and serves as windsurfers (lower before noon, just as the Ora comes
left). On its western
a natural viewing platform to 10,968-foot Marmolada Glacier, from the south, generally blowing 15 to
SIMON BRAY (STREET, SHORE, LEMONS), RASMUS KAESSMANN PHOTOGRAPHY (WINDSURFER); PREVIOUS PAGES: COLIN DUTTON (VINEYARD)
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 69
The 75-mile Alta Via 1
is among the most
popular hiking trails
in the Dolomites.
The stretch around
the Passo Falzarego
(nearly 7,000 feet in
elevation) is a thrilling
walking path.
A Flying Phantom
catches wind on
Lake Garda, one
of the world’s best
regatta locations,
with international
sailing competitions
held throughout the
year. Visitors can pick
up skills at lakeside
sailing schools.
Travel Wise: AUSTRIA The Dolomites
Dolomites Region L UNESCO World
SWITZERLAND
O
Y
R S Heritage site
T Sasso della Croce Monte Specie
7,569 ft
H
P
WHERE TO STAY 9,537 ft AUSTRIA
O U T 2,907 m 2,307 m Croda Rossa di Sesto
S (Sextener Rotwand)
s
VENICE San Cassiano 9,728 ft
L
Alta Badia 2,965 m
e
Hotel Casa Verardo Corvara Cortina d’Ampezzo
Pralongià Lagazuoi
This three-star hotel housed in Bolzano High Plateau 9,301 ft
t
a 17th-century palace is a less
than 10-minute walk from Piazza
A 2,835 m
Passo Falzarego
i
San Marco, but it sits away from
Marmolada
m
the fray, down a quiet alleyway. 10,968 ft
Breakfast on the terrace and an 3,343 m E55
o
courtyard garden frame an ideal I T A L Y Udine
Venice day. casaverardo.it
l
Trento
E45 Garbara Follina
o
FOLLINA
Valdobbiadene Conegliano
Riva del Garda Sorelle Bronca Col San Martino
D
Hotel Villa Abbazia E70
Pi
Joy emanates from every corner av
e
of this eclectic, relaxing estate, A27
from the Buddhist statues at the
a
MARTINA T. B/CREATED FOR TEAM MASTERLAN (SAILBOAT); NG MAPS AND CRAIG MOLYNEUX, CARTDECO; PARK DATA FROM THE WORLD DATABASE ON PROTECTED AREAS (WDPA),
ard
Salò
eG
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO classically elegant, Ladin lodge. meals here, such as spaghetti cycling, and mountain biking
Most rooms overlook Mount Sas- with squid ink, since 1949. guides and can customize anything
Hotel Cristallo Resort & Spa songher. Five restaurants and bars algiardinetto.it from a one-day family journey to a
This five-star hotel, built in 1901, onsite include one with a Michelin month-long solo odyssey. dolomite
was temporarily converted to a star. Pinarello Lounge is the most CORTINA D’AMPEZZO mountains.com
hospital—twice—for wounded sporty, with a changing rotation
soldiers in both world wars. After of biking memorabilia on display, El Brite de Larieto CONTEXT TRAVEL TOURS
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the Tofane mountain range across a Fronted by sprawling gardens that
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Hotel La Perla traditional Venetian restaurant a Lagos Marmol and her staff have a a-day lessons, everyone will be
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O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 73
These five trends
are transforming
the traditional safari
experience in Africa
BY C OSTAS C H R I ST
SAFARI
NEW
THE
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 75
THE ADVENTURE ISSUE
S
Mara Naboisho Conservancy in Kenya is
a haven for big cats, including cheetahs.
Conservancies are now where some
of the best safari experiences can be
found. Previous pages: One of the last
refuges for mountain gorillas is Rwanda’s
Volcanoes National Park, where nearby
SAFARIS IN AFRICA, for most of the 20th century, often meant
stalking big game with a rifle. Then a new generation of
camera-toting adventurers showed up. It was the 1970s, and
Kenya was among the few countries that travelers could easily
visit on a continent still reeling from the era of colonialism.
Zebra-striped mini vans were the popular “bush” vehicle and
the only guides were men.
Not anymore. From emerging wildlife havens to women-led
expeditions, the future of Africa safaris has arrived. “Community
conservancies like Naboisho in Kenya were an important turning
point,” says Judy Kepher-Gona, one of Africa’s top ecotourism
experts. “Local villagers went from mostly being porters and
cooks to becoming partners and leaders in protecting wildlife.”
The results are impressive—conservancies in Kenya now encom-
pass more than 15 million acres and protect some of the world’s
rarest species, including the black rhino.
As governments have struggled to effectively manage their
national parks, private organizations have also stepped in to help,
including African Parks, a nonprofit group founded with the sole
purpose of saving Africa’s parks and their wildlife by focusing
on economic development and poverty alleviation. Success sto-
ries include Zakouma National Park, in Chad, which went from
the edge of collapse to becoming a jewel in the crown of wild-
life encounters today. “We are in a game-changing moment of
innovation where local people and travelers alike are benefiting
from a new safari vision,” says Keith Vincent, CEO of Wilderness
Safaris, one of the continent’s most celebrated outfitters.
ANNE FARRAR/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC (CHEETAH); PREVIOUS PAGES: CHRIS WHITTIER (GORILLAS)
WE TOO
dent, to Kenyan conservation crusader Wangari Maathai, Africa Nareyio Koshal (opposite) are members
of Kenya’s Basecamp Maasai Brand, an
has had no shortage of dynamic women leaders. And now a economic initiative that aims to empower
new generation of African women are making it known that Maasai women. Members earn enough
they have what it takes to challenge gender norms in the safari money selling traditional beadwork
online and to guests at Basecamp lodges
industry. “It was typical of men to insist that we did not possess to send their children to school, build
the skills to be good guides,” says Tshepiso Vivian Diphupu, the homes, and purchase livestock.
head of Africa’s first all-female guide team at Botswana’s Chobe
Game Lodge. “But in my experience, women are well suited to Pursuing a passion for learning about
this work. We tend to be better communicators, are more sensi- wildlife and ecosystems, Lorna Serseri
tive to guests’ interests, and are confident and always willing to (above right) made a decision to go to
guide school. She is now a full-time safari
learn more.” Dubbed “Chobe’s Angels” by some, Diphupu and guide and wants to encourage more girls
her colleagues, now 19 strong, are among the first—but not the to enter this field. By being a guide, she
only—women to break into what was once solely a fraternity. says, “I really feel empowered.”
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 79
Male elephants on the
Naboisho Conservancy
spar with their sharp ivory
tusks, which also prove
alluring to poachers.
One of the conservancy’s
goals is the eradication
of poaching and illegal
possession of wildlife
products.
TREND 2
82 N AT GEO T R AVE L .C O M
TREND 3
ANTI-POACHING shepherd dogs instinctually protect sheep and goats from pred-
ators,” says Brett Tollman, CEO of The Travel Corporation, of
INNOVATIONS
which Bushmans Kloof is a part. “So we donated these beautiful
canines to local villagers to protect their livestock. And where
we have introduced the Anatolian dogs, the result has been a
dramatic decrease in poaching of Cape leopards.”
By 2030, tourism to Africa is projected to generate more than In neighboring Botswana, one of the most ambitious animal
$260 billion annually; photographic safaris are driving much of welfare projects is under way to save a species dangling at the
that economic growth—a vital source of jobs for locals. Given edge of extinction. “Our goal is to relocate no fewer than 100
that kind of economic clout, many travelers were startled when African rhinos into safe havens, where we maintain a robust
Botswana—long an ecotourism and conservation leader— anti-poaching presence. To date, 87 rhinos have been success-
reversed course this year to allow sport hunting of elephants fully relocated,” say National Geographic explorers Dereck and
again. With so much at stake, safari companies are now funding Beverly Joubert, who co-own Duba Plains Camp.
some of Africa’s most innovative anti-poaching efforts to protect
wildlife. Take the Anatolian shepherd dog project at Bushmans
Kloof, a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World, in A southern white rhino is relocated from South
South Africa’s Cederberg Mountains. “The Cape leopard is one of Africa, a high poaching area, to Botswana,
by Rhinos Without Borders, an organization
the world’s most threatened big cats, because livestock farmers co-founded by National Geographic explorers
kill them trying to defend their flocks. We learned that Anatolian Dereck and Beverly Joubert.
TREND 4
EMERGING
DESTINATIONS
Ever since President Theodore Roosevelt
set off from Mombasa, Kenya, in 1909
with over 250 porters carrying supplies,
including a library of several dozen books
and a bathtub, going on safari has been
mostly synonymous with East Africa’s
parks and reserves. But as infrastructure
improves and political stability sweeps
across new frontiers of the continent,
lesser known wildlife hot spots have
emerged that are equally as impressive,
if not more so.
Chad may qualify as Africa’s least
known safari destination, but Zakouma
National Park is changing that. “I have
spent 30 years as a private guide through-
out Africa, and Zakouma is one of the
most amazing wildlife spectacles I have
witnessed. Nothing prepares you for the
sight of millions of red-billed queleas
taking flight at sunrise and elephant
herds almost too numerous to count,”
says Michael Lorentz, owner of Passage
to Africa.
More intrepid wildlife lovers are also
heading to Madagascar, home to tens of
thousands of flora and fauna species.
Seventy percent of these, including
almost all of the world’s lemurs, are found
no place else. The third largest coral reef
system in the world thrives here as well.
Then there is the west coast of Africa,
never really considered a viable safari
destination, until the likes of National
Geographic explorer Michael Fay led
an expedition to Gabon and witnessed
hippos swimming in the sea, elephants
roaming white sand beaches, and large
gatherings of gorillas in jungle clearings.
KYLE DE NOBREGA
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 85
TREND 5
SUSTAINABLE
SIGHTINGS
Not so long ago, the roar of a wild lion at
night came accompanied by the steady
thumping of a safari lodge’s diesel gener-
ator. Plastic water bottles were routinely
handed out to guests. The contradiction
between celebrating nature and adding
more pollution to the planet has not been
lost on the growing number of today’s
more sustainably minded travelers. The
safari world has been listening. In 2020,
Xigera Safari Lodge will reopen in the
biodiverse bonanza of the Okavango,
powered by a 4,000-plus-kilowatt solar
farm. A Tesla lithium-ion battery system
will sport charging points for electric
safari vehicles. It will also be free of
single-use plastic. “Our aim is to create
the eco-luxury safari lodge of the future,”
says managing director Mike Myers.
In Rwanda, one of the last strongholds
of the endangered mountain gorilla,
Singita Kwitonda Lodge is also taking
sustainability to the next level. Natural
materials were used to build the walls,
and an innovative ventilation system
draws in fresh air to cool the rooms,
elimating the need for energy-intensive
air-conditioning.
In Namibia, andBeyond Sossusvlei
Desert Lodge is located in the continent’s
only dark sky reserve. “Deserts are par-
ticularly fragile ecologically. We have not
only taken care to cause as little impact
as possible during construction, but we
also have a full recovery program once the
build is complete,” says Joss Kent, CEO
of andBeyond.
Experiencing nature can and should
be about protecting it.
86 N AT GE O TR AVE L .C O M
Sustainable Africa Safari Planner
The experts at African Travel have among the majestic species visitors
mapped out a 10-day Madagascar tour can spot. greatplainsconservation.com
that includes key highlights such as
the Analamazaotra rainforest and the Loango National Park in Gabon is
spiny desert. africantravelinc.com the place where explorer Michael
Fay found ocean-bathing hippos and
An extensive water conservation beach-roaming elephants. Explore Inc
program is in place at Namibia’s takes you there. exploreinc.com
andBeyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge,
recycling more than 25,000 gallons Maggie’s Tour Company custom-
per month. andbeyond.com crafts safaris to Tanzania—with its
diversity of cultures and some of
Community conservancies cover the planet’s most iconic parks and
nearly 20 percent of Namibia, the first reserves—combined with local village
country in Africa to include protecting visits. maggiestourcompany.com
the environment in its constitution.
Big Five‘s conservancy safaris hit all Off-the-beaten-track wildlife experi-
the prime wildlife spots. bigfive.com ences are the specialty of Passage
to Africa, also the go-to experts for
In addition to Cape leopard and the trips to Chad’s Zakouma National Park.
Cape mountain zebra, Bushmans passagetoafrica.com
Kloof, in South Africa, also protects
more than 130 ancient San rock art Roar Africa, a luxury tour operator
sites, which adorn spectacular caves owned by South African Deborah
PERE SOLER ISERN/@PERE.SOLER.PHOTOGRAPHER (ORYX); NG MAPS AND CRAIG MOLYNEUX, CARTDECO; PARK DATA FROM THE WORLD DATABASE ON PROTECTED AREAS (WDPA)
ile
N
CHAD
ZAKOUMA
NATIONAL PARK
A F R I C A
Congo MARA NABOISHO
CONSERVANCY KENYA
AMBOSELI N.P.
GABON Singita Kwitonda Lodge Campi ya Kanzi
LOANGO N.P. RWANDA TSAVO EAST N.P.
Kilimanjaro
19,341 ft Mombasa
5,895 m TSAVO WEST N.P.
TANZANIA I N DI A N
O CE A N
ATLANTIC
O CE A N Duba Plains MOREMI
Camp GAME RESERVE
Chobe Game Lodge ANALAMAZAOTRA
Okavango Delta
NAMIBIA Xigera MADAGASCAR
Safari Lodge
Sossusvlei
BOTSWANA
andBeyond Sossusvlei
Desert Lodge
SOUTH
AFRICA
Bushmans Kloof Cederberg Mountains
500 mi
Cape Town
500 km
An extraordinary
quest traces the
mighty river from
peaks to jungle
BY AUST I N M E R R I L L
P H OTO G R A P H S BY
M A X CA B E L LO O RCAS I TAS
88 N AT GEO T R AV E L .CO M
INTO
THE
AMAZON
THE ADVENTURE ISSUE
W
WE LEFT CUSCO AT DAWN, heading southeast toward Bolivia.
Breakfast was at a roadside café an hour into the drive, black
coffee and a large bowl of chicken stew—a thigh and a drumstick
in a tangy broth of ginger and lime, with chunks of potatoes and
corn kernels the size of my thumbnail. My glasses fogged as I
ate. Then we bundled back up and drove a few minutes more
to the village of Checacupe, turned off the asphalt onto a dirt
track and began to climb into the Andes.
I had come to Peru for the Amazon, having ditched my initial
plan of traveling its broad waterways in Brazil because I was
drawn to the geographical contrasts on the Peruvian side of the
border. I wanted to see how the great river came together. Trek-
king to the source wasn’t feasible—the location is still somewhat
under dispute and isn’t easy to reach—but I could approximate
In the heights (clockwise from top left): Mount Ausangate
is one of the Peruvian Andes’s tallest peaks; a llama
walks along the Chilca River in the Sacred Valley;
the general trajectory of the water, follow the flow of tributaries, guide Armando Tinta explores a frozen cave inside the
from the high Andes down into the rainforest, in an attempt Vilcanota mountain range; an elderly shepherdess takes
to understand the ecosystem of the largest river in the world. in a landscape that includes the Quelccaya Ice Cap.
The Amazon hasn’t always dumped its muddy waters into Previous pages: An alpaca herdsman pauses from
the Atlantic. It was a network of rivers that flowed west until his work in the high Andean pastures near Cusco; the
roughly 15 million years ago, when the uplift of the Andes along winding Yarapa River eventually flows into the Amazon.
90 N AT GEOTR AV E L .C O M
about 11 million years ago began to push the water eastward, Conservative estimates put the Amazon at 4,000 miles in length,
eventually draining the lake and forming the river we know and some experts think it is closer to 4,300 miles, which would
today. The expanse of that ancient freshwater lake is now an surpass the Nile. The river’s rainforested drainage basin sprawls
ecological palimpsest, a zone dominated by the world’s largest across nearly 2.7 million square miles, an area that is almost as big
tropical rainforest, home to the richest diversity of plants and as Australia and twice the size of the planet’s next largest drainage
animals on Earth. basin—that of the Congo, in central Africa. During the rainy sea-
son, the Amazon and its tributaries swell, solid ground vanishing
BY NEARLY ANY METRIC, the size of the Amazon is difficult to in the lowlands as the river floods and nourishes the forest floor.
fathom. Incredibly, there is still debate over the length of the The weight of the flooding river at low altitudes compresses the
river, and over which river is longer, the Amazon or the Nile. Earth’s crust by about three inches. Measuring the river’s flow
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 91
The waters of
the Chilca River
(also called the
Ocefina) originate
in the Cordillera de
Vilcanota, southeast
of Cusco.
is notoriously difficult—some Going-to-the-Sun Road, but with alpacas instead of mountain
estimate that at its peak, the goats, more than twice the elevation, and no guardrails. Con-
A m a z on Amazon carries 11 million cubic sidering the many blind turns and rockslides, and the sheer
PACIFIC
SOUTH feet of water per second. Others drop-offs just a few inches from the truck’s downslope wheels,
PE
OCEAN
AMERICA joke that they can calculate the Leoncio, our driver, was forever blaring his horn, a warning to
RU
Lima
Amazon’s discharge “give or take whoever might be barreling toward us around the next bend.
1000 mi
1000 km the Mississippi.”
The Amazon rainforest— BY MID-MORNING we had leveled out with the stream and had
accounting for more than 60 come to a clearing where the glacially carved valley broadened
percent of the world’s remaining rainforests—functions as the into a boggy flat-bottomed wetland, opening onto our first
lungs of the planet, absorbing some two billion tons of carbon view of Ausangate, one of the highest peaks in the Peruvian
dioxide annually and producing 20 percent of the planet’s oxygen. Andes at nearly 21,000 feet. Scattered about were the homes of
The drainage basin is thought to be home to half of the world’s Quechua-speaking farmers, who live much the same way their
species of plants and animals. It is the most important ecosystem Inca ancestors did for centuries.
on the planet. It is also the least understood. Scientists believe Changes, though, have been coming rather quickly of late
they are aware of only a fraction of the species that live in the Ama- to the Andes. Warmer temperatures have allowed farmers to
zon and have only a rudimentary understanding of many of the cultivate corn and potatoes at higher elevations than ever before,
ones they have documented. Locals, meanwhile, are frequently even as the rainy seasons have become less predictable and the
forced to abuse the ecosystem, resorting to illegal hunting, min- glacial runoff more volatile. The boost in agriculture has been
ing, and deforestation in countries that all too often do little to welcomed by locals, who have also used the expanding high
encourage alternative and sustainable ways of life. And far away, wetlands to water their herds of llamas and alpacas.
the industrialized world churns on, choking the atmosphere with But the growth of the wetlands and farming land is temporary,
carbon at such a rate the rainforest can’t keep up. bound to the fate of the glaciers that still dominate the surround-
The Amazon isn’t a top travel destination. Generations of ing peaks, even as they shrink at an alarming rate. “Ausangate is
explorers promoting heroic tales of often fatal expeditions, helped getting black,” said Efraín Samochuallpa Solis, a biologist and
along by photographers reveling in the exotic,
depicted an inhospitable landscape filled with
savages. It is an image that persists today. This
perception, combined with unsteady (but
improving) infrastructure in the rainforest and THE DRIVE WAS LIKE AN ANDEAN SINGLE-TRACK
VERSION OF MONTANA’S GOING-TO-THE-SUN ROAD,
travelers’ preference for nearby attractions like
Machu Picchu, have kept the Amazon from
attaining the same kind of rugged high-end
status enjoyed by other far-flung destinations
that offer similar wilderness-based adventures.
BUT WITH ALPACAS INSTEAD OF MOUNTAIN GOATS.
It was just this vexing blend of mispercep-
tion and ecological import, there in a place of
such hidden splendor, that made me want to
see it. There was something mystical about the possibility that director of ACCA, a Peruvian environmental group that is dedi-
I could, over the course of only a few days, stand on glacial ice cated to the conservation of the Amazon ecosystem. “It’s melting.
in the peaks of the Andes and then descend into the wet heat of Some parts are melting so fast you can see the mountain, the rock.”
the jungle—moving through a vast range of environments that Up and down the Andes, glaciers are vanishing at a pace that
all lay within the confines of a single ecosystem, bound together threatens the livelihood of local villagers, larger cities, and the
by the world’s greatest river. Amazon Basin itself. If the ice on Ausangate and other peaks is
NG MAPS AND CRAIG MOLYNEUX, CARTDECO
But first we had some climbing to do. The road from Che- gone in 50 years, as some predict, the heart of Peru’s tourism
cacupe rises high above the Ocefina Valley, following a narrow industry will be in a very difficult spot.
cut of silty water that tumbles over rocks and twists through
farmland and pastures. The road is a rough dirt path dug into AT A ROCKY SWITCHBACK, we were flagged down by Santos
the valley’s northern wall, a steep treeless face that is rutted from Cabrera, a stooped 49-year-old alpaca herder who had scrambled
the gushing snowmelt waterways of early summer. Most of the up a path to ask for help transporting his burlap sacks of fiber to
peaks and hillsides were barren by the time we were there, and the other side of the next ridge. We loaded a dozen or so of the
the drive was like an Andean single-track version of Montana’s sacks into the truck as he complained about how much more
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 93
difficult his work had become in recent years. “The rains are Rainforest treks might turn up nocturnal monkeys, which make their
supposed to begin in November, but now it’s starting in August,” homes in tree hollows. Opposite: Mónica Gornikiewicz, a collaborator
with the Soqtapata conservation area, hikes toward a waterfall on the
Cabrera said. “Many of my animals died because of the heavy Saucipata River. Visitors can stay at the reserve in an open-air lodge.
storms. The grass was washed away. They couldn’t tolerate it.”
Cabrera lifted his arm to the peaks looming over us. “All of
these mountains were covered,” he said. “All the way to where long after, trees. We emerged from the fog just as the sun slipped
we are standing now. In 12 years, the glaciers have shrunk so out of reach beyond the Andes.
much. I’m scared we won’t have water in the future.” I trudged
through the mud to a tongue of snow and ice that was spilling A FEW DAYS LATER and several valleys to the north, I was in a
down from a high pass—a vestige of the glacier Cabrera had just canoe downstream of Shintuya, on the Madre de Dios River. We
described. The ice crunched under my boots and the glacier let had left the cloud forest behind and were dropping down into the
off the sound of muffled rain as the meltwater fell away from rainforest of the Amazon Basin. The Madre de Dios was a broad
the mountain in a buried stream. river by now, a few hundred yards across. On its left bank was
We rumbled over the ridge and into a bank of fog as we began the thick of jungle of Manu National Park, a protected UNESCO
our descent. I’d developed a profound respect for what Leoncio World Heritage site and the largest tropical wilderness left on
was able to do with that truck. I had spent years on rough dirt the planet. A large tapir fed on plants at the water’s edge, and
roads in various parts of Africa, but I had never seen driving as macaws flew in pairs high above us.
sure as this. Soon some small shrubs began to appear. And not Suddenly, my guide sat bolt upright and pointed downstream.
94 N AT GEO T R AV E L .C O M
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 95
96 N ATG E OT R AV E L .C O M
Ernesto and
Mateo Jicca pilot a
motorboat along the
Madre de Dios River,
which eventually
flows into Bolivia.
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 97
There on the riverbank stood nine people from an isolated tribe, Cordova said, indicating the apparent fuel traffickers on the
watching as we floated toward them. They clearly weren’t cut off boat. “For the gold miners.”
from civilization entirely, as most of them were wearing clothing, A hundred miles or so to the east lies the Tambopata, a
probably given to them by missionaries or other travelers. Five protected river that flows into Puerto Maldonado, connecting
were young children, two were teenagers, and two were adults with the Madre de Dios before entering Bolivia and going on to
in their 40s or 50s. Alonso Cordova, a biologist with the World become the Madeira River, one of the largest tributaries of the
Wildlife Fund, told me that the WWF has been working with the Amazon. In Brazil, the Madeira runs through parts of the Amazon
Peruvian government to create a protected reserve for isolated Basin that have been hit hard by deforestation. But in Puerto
people. These kinds of collaborations have also worked with local Maldonado, the waterways have become known as the heart of
entrepreneurs interested in offering eco-friendly adventures to Peru’s gold-mining industry. “It used to be quaint,” said Kurt
travelers in conservation zones, providing stable jobs and slowing Holle, co-owner and former director of Rainforest Expeditions,
deforestation and illegal gold mining, and making it increasingly which runs three lodges and a private villa on the Tambopata.
easy to visit fragile and stunning landscapes throughout the “We’d stop by a dredge with some of our guests, say hi, and
Amazon Basin in Peru. take some photos, and the miners would explain the process.”
The people on the riverbank seemed to want us to stop, though That all changed when the price of gold began to jump in the
it was difficult to tell from their gestures. We floated past them, early 2000s. Within a few years, the price soared to $1,600 an
waved a final time, and continued downstream. A short while ounce. “It became big industry quickly,” Holle said. “When the
later, a boat full of plastic jugs sped past. “Illegal gasoline,” price goes up, it’s a massive driver of people relocating to the
98 N AT GE O TR AVE L .C O M
rainforest.” By 2009, there was a huge amount of money invested In this panorama stitched together from several images, a visitor crosses
in gold mining, and the government began cracking down, sinking a bridge leading to one of the 11 tree houses at Treehouse Lodge, along
the Yarapa River. In the center stands the lodge’s observation tower.
barges and chasing out miners. “It was a war zone,” Holle said.
Through it all, Rainforest Expeditions’ lodges have acted
as a local “antibody,” keeping mining and logging out of the sightings. We have to get people interested in insects and birds.”
government-protected Tambopata area by offering viable jobs To make that easier—and to contribute to the never ending
to nearby residents. “With so many areas protected, we need work of learning about the world’s largest rainforest—Holle and
to figure out how to help people make a life,” said Holle, who his team established the Tambopata Research Center, several
recently became the director of WWF Peru. “Cutting trees, mak- hours upriver by boat from Puerto Maldonado. The center boasts
ing farms, mining gold,” he said. “Most people here are just the kind of high-end accommodations you would expect on
honestly trying to make a living.” a luxury safari in Africa, but also includes a laboratory for a
dozen scientists who perform frontline research while assisting
HOLLE WAS BORN IN LIMA and studied forestry in college expeditions to see animal and plant life up close.
before Amazon conservation and ecotourism captured his Outings start early—4:30 in the morning, just as the howler
attention. One trick he had to figure out was how to make the monkeys are starting their racket, like a chorus of blowtorches
rich Amazon ecosystem accessible to travelers. “In Africa you from on high. Parrots and macaws flash green, red, blue, and
get in a truck, drive around, and see elephants, giraffes, hip- yellow at the world’s largest clay lick, a short trip from the lodge.
pos,” Holle said. “We can’t compete with those kinds of wildlife There are jaguars too, but they are difficult to see.
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 99
THE AMAZON RIVER doesn’t officially acquire its name until nowhere zone, 1,000 miles from the glaciers of Ausangate and
the Ucayali River joins the Marañón near Iquitos, more than 3,000 miles from the Atlantic. The river would enter Brazil in
700 miles northwest of the Tambopata. I found a room built in about 300 miles, multiplying in volume several times over on
the crook of an ironwood tree, 50 feet off the forest floor at the its way to the ocean and becoming something unrecognizable
Treehouse Lodge, on the banks of the Yarapa, a tiny blackwater from the waterways I traveled over the course of two weeks in
tributary of the Ucayali that is a couple miles upstream from Peru. It felt too big to comprehend.
the Amazon confluence. Alex had tried to sum it up earlier, when we had stopped at the
With my guide, Alex, I visited Puerto Miguel, a nearby vil- massive and churning confluence of the Ucayali and Marañón.
lage that had been ravaged in recent years by flooding, even He stood up in the boat as it pitched back and forth and spread
as rains had decreased in these lowland areas. Most families his arms wide. “This is it,” he shouted. “This is the Amazon. The
had relocated to higher ground, but we found Raquel Inuma, a king of all rivers.”
44-year-old mother of five, in one of the last homes still standing.
“There’s less rain than there used to be. We feel it,” Inuma said. AUSTIN MERRILL ( @austin_merrill) is a co-founder of Everyday
“It’s sunnier now, and more sun is good.” Africa and The Everyday Projects. He frequently writes about
At sunset, we took the boat into the Ucayali and watched pink the intersection of travel and the environment. MAX CABELLO
dolphins swim by as the sun went down beyond the rainforest ORCASITAS is an award-winning Peruvian photojournalist based
and the sky turned a fiery orange. The broad river grew calmer in Lima. This is his first feature for Traveler. This story was pro-
now. I looked around at the emptiness and felt lost in a kind of duced in collaboration with the Wall Street Journal.
A M A Z O N
Iquitos Amazo
n
MAP DATA: © OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS, AVAILABLE UNDER OPEN DATABASE LICENSE: OPENSTREETMAP.ORG/COPYRIGHT
Nauta
ón
Marañ Treehouse Lodge,
Puerto Miguel
NG MAPS AND CRAIG MOLYNEUX, CARTDECO; PARK DATA FROM THE WORLD DATABASE ON PROTECTED AREAS (WDPA),
B R A Z I L
Uca
1N
B A S I N
ya
P
li
Lake Palcacocha
E
Huaraz
R
MANU
NATIONAL M
JORGE CHÁVEZ PARK d e a d r e Puerto
INTL. AIRPORT D i o s Maldonado
Shintuya
U
Lima 30C
1S Machu Picchu Soqtapata Tambopata
E Cusco Ausangate
Research Center
O C E A N S Lake Titicaca
La Paz
1S
200 mi
200 km CHILE
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 101
21
These trailblazing
women defied
convention to feed
their wanderlust.
Their daring
adventures opened
up the world for
everyone.
VISIONARY
WOMEN
TRAVELERS THROUGH
HISTORY
BY
KATIE KNOROVSKY
ILLUSTRATIONS BY
BIJOU KARMAN
Nellie Bly
Mary Seacole
4TH CENTURY
EGERIA
In the fourth century, a Christian pilgrim by the
name of Egeria set off from the Mediterranean
to reach the Holy Land, using the Bible as her
guidebook. “These mountains are ascended with
infinite toil,” she writes about her intrepid climb
up Mount Sinai, in detailed letters sometimes
called history’s first travel memoir. Her insights
reveal a cultural sensitivity that transcends time:
At each stop she took care to inquire about local
customs and traditions.
CA 985–1050
GUDRID
THORBJARNARDOTTIR
Icelandic sagas immortalize the Viking
wife and mother Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir
as “a woman of striking appearance and
wise as well, who knew how to behave
among strangers.” By many accounts the
most traveled woman of the Middle Ages,
the hardy “far traveler” is said to have
crisscrossed the North Atlantic several
times between Greenland and Iceland.
She also sailed to North America—five
centuries before Christopher Columbus— 1805–1881 V 1831–1904
and to Rome on a religious pilgrimage.
1740–1807
MARY SEACOLE ISABELLA BIRD
JEANNE BARET
Although Mary Seacole earned fame Some people live to travel; Isabella Bird
as a “black Florence Nightingale,” the traveled to live. On doctor’s orders, the
British-Jamaican nurse considered chronically ill Englishwoman set off for
Two centuries after Ferdinand Magellan travel the ultimate antidote for the North America on her debut adventure
sailed around the world, a French “herb limiting Victorian era. Her witty auto- in 1854. The open air suited her well-
woman” disguised as a man became the biography, Wonderful Adventures of being as much as travel stirred her soul.
first female to circumnavigate the globe. Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, recounts The first woman elected to be a fellow
With her chest wrapped in bandages, her exploits tending to cholera victims of the Royal Geographical Society,
Jeanne Baret conspired with her lover—a in Panama and at the front lines of she went on to climb volcanoes, ride
renowned botanist—to earn a spot on the Crimean War. “As I grew into horseback through the wilderness, and
a 1766 expedition. The ruse was up two womanhood,” she writes, “I began to commune with locals, chronicling her
years later (the couple remained in Mauri- indulge that longing to travel which voyages in books about Hawaii, Tibet,
tius when the boat sailed), but Baret’s feat will never leave me while I have health Colorado’s Estes Park, Korea, Morocco,
came full circle upon her eventual return and vigour.” Vietnam, and beyond.
to France in the early 1770s.
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 103
WOMEN & ADVENTURE
1856–1928 W
NELLIE BLY
The first woman elected to the National did more than plant the seeds of
Geographic board (and to have a wanderlust in her readers: Her idea to
photo published in the magazine), Eliza bring cherry trees to Washington, D.C.,
Scidmore likened her travel appetite blossomed into a rite of passage for
In the action movie that was her life, Nellie
to “original sin.” Among the pioneering spring travelers the world over.
Bly always did her own stunts—none more
spectacular than her breathless voyage
around the world in 1889. Moving by train,
steamship, horse, donkey, and rickshaw,
the 25-year-old journalist traversed 24,899
miles in 72 days. She detoured in France
to meet her muse Jules Verne, visited a
Chinese leper colony, and acquired a pet
monkey in Singapore—all with only a small
satchel and a single dress.
1868–1926
GERTRUDE BELL
Englishwoman Gertrude Bell traded upper-
class comfort for desert forays by camel.
A cohort of T. E. Lawrence—but with a
better mastery of the Arabic language—
she embedded herself in local life as she
roved the sands of the Middle East, from
Persia to Syria. Arabia’s “uncrowned queen”
helped draw the borders of modern Iraq,
advised on the writing of its constitution,
and established the Iraq National Museum.
Bell also scaled the Alps and preserved
antiquities on archaeological digs.
1875–1937
HARRIET
CHALMERS ADAMS
Neither vampire bats nor avalanches could
stop Harriet Chalmers Adams from ventur-
ing deep into South America in 1904. She
and her husband covered some 40,000
miles in three years, crossing the Andes by
horseback, wandering the Amazon along-
side jaguars, and canoeing in snake-tangled
waters. Exclusion from the men-only
Eliza Scidmore Explorers Club did not faze her; in 1925
Adams became the inaugural president of
the Society of Woman Geographers.
1884–1959 V
1887–1972
Bessie Coleman
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 105
WOMEN & ADVENTURE
1893–1993
FREYA STARK
Freya Stark
1906–1996
ALOHA
WANDERWELL
In 1922, 16-year-old Idris Galcia Hall
pursued her fantasies to “sleep with
the winds of heaven blowing round
her head” when she answered an
ad to join a world tour. She became
known as Aloha Wanderwell and was
promoted as the “world’s most widely
traveled girl,” eventually driving across
six continents in a Ford Model T.
1908–1998
MARTHA GELLHORN
Pursuing a life “almost explosive in its
excitement,” journalist Martha Gellhorn
took in the “view from the ground” in
53 countries—Barcelona during the
Spanish Civil War, China by sampan and 1926– Mount Everest to break the news of its
JAN MORRIS
horse, and the beaches of Normandy first successful summit in 1953. After
on D-Day. Describing herself as “perma- transitioning to female in 1972 (a different
nently dislocated,” the glam vagabond kind of journey), Morris began writing
based herself for a stint in Cuba as the Prolific Welsh writer Jan Morris lived about places in earnest, revealing an
third wife of Ernest Hemingway, who the first half of her life as James Morris, unparalleled knack for evocative city
appears in her 1978 book, Travels With posted to Palestine in 1946 as an intel- portraits. Her 40-plus books span Venice
Myself and Another. ligence officer and scrambling down to Hong Kong, the U.S. to the Arab world.
Dervla Murphy wrote the book on traveling San Mao, whose real name was Chen Mao
at full tilt—literally. The Irishwoman’s 1965 Ping, launched her bold career as Taiwan’s
memoir, Full Tilt, chronicled her solo bicy- “wandering writer” and translator with her
cle trip from her home to India, by way of 1976 travelogue Stories of the Sahara. (An
Yugoslavia, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. example of her lyrical prose: “Every time I
Subsequent books revolve around similarly thought of you, a grain of sand fell from the
voracious voyages through challenging sky. Thus the Sahara Desert formed.”) The
landscapes, including a three-month slog polyglot bohemian flitted among Germany,
with a mule in the Ethiopian highlands and Spain, northwest Africa, Central and South
a 1,300-mile trek through the high Peruvian America, and the Canary Islands, spending
Andes with her nine-year-old daughter. The much of her life as an expat and inspir-
familiar thread in all her exploits: Embrace ing generations of devoted readers and
the unpredictable. travelers.
1984–
EVITA ROBINSON
Evita Robinson
1987–
ERIKA S. BERGMAN
National Geographic Young Explorer Erika
S. Bergman brings unprecedented depth
to her travels—whether she’s scaling the
hazy rainforest canopy in Costa Rica or
deploying underwater robots in the icy
Arctic. The deep-sea submarine pilot is
most at home probing uncharted waters.
“Anyone can be an adventurer,” she writes.
Her network of engineering camps and
girls’ mentorship programs, Global Engi-
neering & Exploration Counselors, puts that
mantra into action.
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TO SEE THE
WORLD IS A
GIFT.
TO LOVE THE
WORLD IS A
CHOICE.
HERE IS WHAT
TRAVEL
TEACHES US.
JORDAN ROBINS
108 NATG EO T R AV EL .C OM
Conservation
efforts starting
in the 1970s
transformed
Australia’s
Lady Elliot
Island and
its waters
into a haven
for wildlife,
including
green sea
turtles.
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TREAD
AUSTRALIA While most guests at the Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort
off the coast of Queensland were pouring their first cup of coffee,
a few of us were donning wet suits and grabbing masks, fins, and
snorkels, then walking 10 minutes to the far side of the island
BE OPEN
cold as we eased into the pink-tinted waters. Floating facedown
above corals that form the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef,
we drifted alongside Gash, who pointed out underwater won-
ders: clown fish, moon wrasse, parrotfish, painted flutemouth,
TO AWE
angelfish, white-banded triggerfish. A reef shark coasted by,
ignoring our excited gesturing as we made sure none in our small
group missed the sighting. A sea turtle popped its head up before
dipping back down to find an outcropping of coral on which to
BY scratch its shell. The crystalline water was a miracle in itself.
ANNE FARRAR It wasn’t always this way. Before I arrived at Lady Elliot
Island, what I knew of the 1,400-mile-long Great Barrier Reef
was a narrative of devastating coral bleaching that heralded its
imminent death.
Lady Elliot Island itself, named in 1816 by Captain Thomas
Stuart aboard the ship of the same name, was a guano-rich island
mined for a decade in the 1800s, its fish and turtles depleted.
Around 1873, stripped of resources, the island was abandoned
to the sun and shifting winds. In 1969 Australian aviator Don
Adams built an airstrip and accommodations, started replanting
the island, and over time created a no-frills resort. The torch
was taken up by fellow Australian pilot Gash, who brought solar
power, desalination, and composting to the island. He firmly
established the remote resort—now 40-plus cottages and glamp-
ing tents, many of which open directly onto the white-sand
beach—as a leader in sustainable tourism, a model for other
resorts along the Great Barrier Reef.
Lady Elliot Island is especially known for manta rays and
participates in Project Manta, a research program based at the
University of Queensland, Brisbane. Researchers have used
the island as a home base for studying the mantas’ migration,
behavior, and health. May is the early season for mantas, and,
as I bobbed in the waters of a new day, I hoped I’d get a glimpse
of one. It wasn’t until we turned back toward shore that we all
heard someone bellow, “Raaaay!” Masks slapped down into the
water. The manta, spanning more than 15 feet, hovered at a
“cleaning station” so wrasse could groom its gills and fins. We
hovered above on the surface, wishing we too had gills so we
could glide as effortlessly, exploring the ocean’s depths.
110 N AT G EO T R AV E L .CO M
Lady Elliot Island and its surrounding reef system prove that
the story of the Great Barrier Reef doesn’t need to have a tragic
ending. When people fall in love with a place and make a con-
scious effort to protect it, we glimpse a sustainable future where
we can all keep dipping our heads underwater to experience awe.
GO WITH THE
INDONESIA I first learned about the wonders of Raja Ampat from
my friend Tanya Burnett, who has logged thousands of dives
all over the world. “It’s an underwater photographer’s dream-
scape,” she told me. “The reefs just explode with color and life.
EMBRACE THE
charter she was leading. I persuaded my husband to splurge, and
that’s how we found ourselves on the Pindito, a traditional-style
Indonesian schooner, with 15 other divers.
Not long after the boat leaves the West Papuan port of Sorong,
UNEXPECTED
the landscape becomes streamlined. Standing on the bow, I can
see only water and sky and small green islets. The swirling clouds
stage a melodrama overhead, but nothing disrupts the tranquil-
ity. As beautiful as it is, I harbor a feeling of anticipation. I have
BY come expressly to see something that presently remains hidden:
KATE SIBER one of the world’s greatest collections of marine biodiversity.
The next morning, laden with dive gear, I sink under the
surface of the sea, and a fantasy of marine creatures comes into
view. Huge shrimp preside over the reef, their antennae reach-
ing out in all directions. A school of surgeonfish moves like a
cloud until a shark plows through, sending them scattering like
wisps of smoke. At times there are so many fish I can barely see
through the water.
Over 10 days, the Pindito motors 800 nautical miles across
the Upper Banda Sea, stopping at reefs three or four times a day.
It seems impossible that the trip could live up to my expecta-
tions, but each dive serves up new wonders: a manta swooping
overhead, a solitary dolphin rolling around playfully on a reef,
giant schools of snapper and fusiliers whirling around us like
tornadoes, venomous sea kraits wafting through sunlit water.
The landscape is mostly sea, but we occasionally stop on
shore. One day we clamber through a limestone cave and scam-
per down a dark hole to discover a room with a clear, serene
pool. Naturally, we jump in, floating on our backs, suspended
in the stillness. Later in the journey we motor to Banda Neira
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in the Spice Islands. The once rare nutmeg trees that dot this
verdant idyll lured Dutch traders who brutalized the residents
and built a thick stone fortress in the 1600s. Now, locals sell the
spices in fragrant markets.
Most of the time, however, we are in the water. Among the
great delights of diving is never knowing what will appear.
One day, floating after a dive, Tanya spots what look like
dolphins. “No! Pilot whales!” she yells. “Come on!”
We scramble into the dinghy and race over to them. I’m not
sure if these toothed whales are safe to swim with, but before I
know it, Tanya is slipping over the side of the boat like a seal. My
husband and I look at each other and follow suit. When I gaze
down, my fear evaporates. Hundreds of sleek whales undulate in
unison around and below us. I have never felt at once so present
and alive, as if the boundary between human and animal thinned
for just a few minutes. On the surface again, Tanya tells us that
they were in fact melon-headed whales, an elusive oceangoing
Raja Ampat, Indonesia, is a relative of the pygmy killer whale. Even the Pindito’s owner
diver’s dream, with whales,
sharks, and schools of fish, and captain had never had the opportunity to swim with them.
such as yellowstripe scad. Some places can surpass even the greatest expectations.
KINDNESS OF
It wasn’t dissimilar to the scene outside, deep in northwest
China’s Xinjiang Province. As the warm smell of wok-fried mut-
ton and chili drifted in from the dining car, I ducked out of my
compartment, threading between passengers who nodded and
STRANGERS
nudged me in the right direction.
I’d been warned not to travel here. According to China’s state-
run press, it was far too dangerous for foreigners, due to unrest.
Despite warnings, I had no other way to continue by rail from
BY mainland China through Kazakhstan and Russia, partly along
MONISHA RAJESH the old Silk Route, then eventually back to my home in London.
And I was determined not to let anything stop me.
Within hours of my arrival in the city of Turfan, I found the
Turkic-speaking Muslim Uygur community gentle and welcom-
ing, inviting me into their family-run cafés to try bone broth
that glistened, fat chewy noodles, and mutton skewers cooked
on sidewalk grills. Chinese soldiers roamed the streets. From
the closed-circuit cameras placed on mosques and the enforced
restriction on beards and headscarves to the patrolling tanks, a
feeling of unease permeated the city.
Saddened to leave Turfan, I boarded the new high-speed
service to Urumqi, which connects the two cities in just over
an hour, and found a distinct absence on board of Uygur pas-
sengers, most of whom were forbidden from traveling freely
within the region.
Finding an empty table, I sat down just as a Buddhist nun with
a shaved head ran up to me, laughing. Flummoxed, I strained
to catch a few words from her stream of chatter and eventually
extracted “Indian.” A fellow passenger translated, explaining
that she was curious as to whether or not I was Indian, and I
confirmed that I was indeed of Indian ethnicity. Thrilled, the
nun clapped, slapped her thighs, and sat down, swinging her feet
like a child. I learned that the nun was excited to meet someone
of my origin, as India had come to the rescue of the Dalai Lama
and she was grateful. The nun had fled Tibet, and unable ever
to return, she had made her home near Urumqi.
Joyfully, the nun pored over my photos from the Potala Palace
in Lhasa, scrolling through each one with concentration before
realizing her stop was approaching. Pulling out a gold iPhone,
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MOVE WITH
SWEDEN My paddle breaks the silvery skin of the Baltic Sea.
Water drips off the blades. Ahead lie a constellation of rocky
islands and the sea extending to the horizon. It feels as if there
are no boundaries.
INTENTION Buffering Sweden’s capital from the Baltic Sea, the islands
of the Stockholm archipelago—called the skärgården—are a
wonderland of rocks, skerries, and islets with pine forests, fields
AND ENJOY
of wildflowers, and bare granite. The exact number of islands is
debatable, but the general consensus is about 30,000.
The archipelago stretches from downtown Stockholm and
brings wilderness into the city. Although regular ferry services
THE FREEDOM
visit most of the larger islands, I’ve chosen to experience these
glacier-carved isles by kayak.
Exposure to nature is a central part of life in Sweden, where
the country’s constitution guarantees allemansrätten (“every-
BY man’s right”), a freedom to roam in natural spaces. The vast
JILL K. ROBINSON archipelago is ideal for exploration by kayak because one can
linger among the quiet coves and passages.
Only 40 minutes by ferry from the mainland, Utö provides
a quick transition to island time. Once an active mining com-
munity with some of the oldest iron mines in the country, the
island of about 250 people and only a few cars is known today
for its beaches, restaurants, and the famed Utö dark rye bread
that tastes of molasses and anise.
The bread makes an appearance nearly everywhere, including
at seasonal fish restaurant Båtshaket. Hungry visitors arrive
by bike or boat, claim a spot on the deck, and enjoy smoked
salmon and shrimp on rye while letting the brief but intoxicating
Swedish summer sun soak into their skin. Nobody rushes to
leave, and time slows to accommodate even the napping dogs.
Despite having a tent in my pack, I find a cottage at Utö
Värdshus with a view of the island’s main harbor. At the tail
Window
curtains on
the train from
Guangzhou/
Shenzhen
MATTHIEU PALEY (ALL)
to Xinjiang
show a Uygur
woman riding
a camel in the
Taklimakan
Desert.
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end of summer, families are starting to head home for work and
school, but many are enjoying one last summer fling. The next
day, called to the sea, I pack my dry bag.
My guide, Mats Andersson, and I launch our kayaks at Södra
Fladen, a small south-facing bay halfway down the island’s cen-
ter, Gruvbyn. Mats lives on Utö and has paddled among many
of the islands in the archipelago, often kayaking between Utö
and Stockholm. For a skilled paddler, it can take eight hours,
but for intermediate folk, it’s easier as a two-day trip from the
Swedish capital.
A watery obstacle course, the bay is scattered with skerries,
or rocky isles. After navigating the passage through two small
islands, Brunskär and Långskär, we’re no longer in the sheltered
waters. Far out in the southern part of the archipelago, Utö isn’t
protected on its south shore, and we encounter choppy seas as
we paddle toward the island’s northern tip.
The brackish water splashes my arms and face, and I learn to
focus exclusively on my body’s actions—paddle, breathe, paddle,
breathe—like a seafaring meditation. As we pass through the
waves, I notice the landscape at Utö’s edge. Granite boulders with
green-gold lichen curve down to the water. Plants and trees hes-
itate higher up the incline, as if too shy to dip a toe into the sea.
We break for a picnic on the islands of Mellankobbarna and
settle in among the low scrub, ferns, and rosy-pink flowers that
Mats identifies as tjärblomster. Between bites, he schools me
on the rights of allemansrätten. Aside from the requirement
not to disturb or destroy, people can forage, catch fish, swim in
lakes, visit beaches, set up a tent, and access any land as long
as they stay out of private gardens and maintain the stipulated
70 meters (229 feet) from a dwelling.
With so many islands in the archipelago, it seems that every-
one can establish camp in their own space, far from other nature
lovers. But what happens when more than one group chooses
to enjoy the same place?
“When you want a small island to yourself, my father has
decided that the naked stretch is the best way to encourage
others to choose a different site,” says Mats. “He stands within
view, without clothes, and takes a few minutes stretching. He
guarantees people will go away.”
JOHNER IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES
I scan the area to see if any boaters are eyeing our private
island, but nobody’s in sight. Even if there were interlopers,
the island is large enough for a few more people. No need to
ditch my clothes.
From Mellankobbarna, it’s a long, straight shot east to
Huvudskär, one of the archipelago’s final outposts. The water
116 NAT GE O TR AV EL .C O M
out here is deep blue, and I pause as the boat drifts, silently
bobbing on the surface. It’s just us and the sea. In a month or
two, the weather won’t allow such a far-flung trip.
On Huvudskär, heather, cotton grass, and crowberry grow
in rock crevices. A lighthouse rises over small red cottages—all
closed up tight against the elements. There have been fishermen
and hunters here for more than 700 years, but there are no longer
any permanent residents on this remote rock slab.
Archipelagoes stretch I watch gulls soar overhead and let my eyes rest on the unbro-
the length of Sweden’s ken horizon. It’ll soon be time to return to Utö and, eventually,
coastline, perfect for
kayakers both novice Stockholm. Until then, the rocky archipelago surrounds me—
and experienced. a shelter but not a fence, where I can roam far and free.
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The medieval
guild houses
on the Graslei
embankment
are just
some of the
urban draws
in Ghent,
Belgium, best
explored by
bike or foot.
YOUR NEXT proof that adventure can start with a simple push of the pedal.
Ghent, in the northern Flemish region of Belgium, may not
be India, but it has a long love affair with the bike. The city has
ADVENTURE IS
the largest pedestrian zone in Europe, with more than 120 hect-
ares of car-free space to roam. Sandwiched between the capital,
Brussels, and the fairytale city of Bruges, Ghent delights in being
the underdog, but the city is far from being the ugly duckling of
ANYWHERE
the trio. French novelist Victor Hugo described Ghent as “a kind
of Venice of the North,” thanks to the pretty, medieval twist of
streets that cluster around swan-patrolled canals.
Ghent isn’t sleepy in the least though. For 10 days in July,
BY close to two million people turn up to enjoy a riot of free concerts
EMMA THOMSON and street theater known as the Gentse Feesten. And the green
credentials extend further, too. Ghent is dubbed a vegetarian
capital, and every Thursday is a meat-free day with restaurants
and cafés dishing up veggie options for all.
In fact, I find Ghent is a city to be explored with legs and
stomach. So after dipping into Sint-Baafskathedraal to see the
famous 15th-century polyptych Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, I
bump across the cobblestones and turn down onto Graslei quay.
The city’s first commercial port, it’s lined with ancient guild
houses, and I find students cooling their ankles in the water.
Then it’s on to Groentenmarkt, home to Tierenteyn-Verlent,
a 229-year-old delicatessen known for its homemade mustard
doled out of wooden barrels, and stalls selling cuberdons—local
cone-shaped purple candy also known as neuzekes (little noses).
I pass ‘t Dreupelkot, a slip of a café serving shots of jenever (a
gin-like liquor made from malt wine) in flavors ranging from garlic
to grapefruit, then pedal across the bridge to the medieval maze
of Patershol. Once a working-class district home to brothels and
dingy drinking dens, it was gentrified in the ’80s and now conceals
some of the most exciting (and exclusive) restaurants in the city.
For me, biking trumps other modes of transport because you
don’t just see the city, you feel it. The cobblestones judder your
bones, the wind streaks your hair, scents surround you, and then
PETER SCHICKERT/VISUM/REDUX
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W O M E N & A D V E N T U R E : T R AV E L L E S S O N S
WORLD IS BIG can do yoga and be all zen,” he said. I was in; we’d be spending
our coming days atop seaside cliffs, trekking across hot sand
dunes, and sleeping in hammocks. We could use the time in
AND SMALL
Palomino to prepare for the adventure.
Palomino is the type of place where soul-searching European
expats with dreadlocks come to find their tribe. It’s the type
of place I tend to avoid. On our way into town, our taxi driver
ALL AT ONCE
tells us it used to be quiet around here, a home for indigenous
people, but in the last few years travelers came flocking for the
beachy vibe and nearby Sierra Nevada range. Developers came
next, bringing yoga studios, vegan restaurants, and juice bars.
BY After checking into our hotel, we head straight to the beach and
GLYNN POGUE spread out on the sand. The weather is perfect, the sky a clear blue.
I play music on my phone, and Sean buys roasted nuts in
an oil-stained brown paper bag from an elderly man. There are
vendors everywhere. They sell arepas, fresh fruit, woven bags,
and those patterned friendship bracelets seemingly everyone
brings home from trips. A dark-skinned woman walks by hold-
ing up a binder full of images of Kim Kardashian wearing “Bo
Derek” and “boxer” braids, claiming she can replicate the look
for “50 mil pesos.”
A few feet away I see a woman squeezing oil from what looks
like an old bottle of dishwashing liquid onto a man’s sunburned
shoulders. She’s crouched down on a small stool and her firm
brown hands are working on his back, kneading and slapping
and pounding.
She notices me watching and shouts, “You next, mami!”
When she’s done with the guy, she makes her way over to
I’d been hoping that somewhere along this journey I’d have a
moment for this type of fellowship. So often when I’m traveling,
my hair, skin, and body are what set me apart. When I can con-
nect my diasporic dots in the midst of it, I feel a strengthened
sense of self; no matter where I am in the world, I’m at home.
O CT O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 121
W O M E N & A D V E N T U R E : T R AV E L L E S S O N S
ANNE FARRAR ( @afarrar) is National MONISHA RAJESH ( @monisha_ EMMA THOMSON ( @emmathomson
Geographic Travel’s director of photog- rajesh) is the London-based author of travels) is an award-winning travel
raphy. Her feature on Portugal the memoirs Around the World in 80 journalist for National Geographic
appeared in our June/July 2019 issue. Trains and Around India in 80 Trains. Traveller UK, the Telegraph, and the
Times, among others.
KATE SIBER ( @katesiber) is a JILL K. ROBINSON ( @dangerjr) is a
Durango, Colorado–based freelance regular contributor to Traveler who Brooklyn-based GLYNN POGUE
writer, a correspondent for Outside most recently traveled with Gordon ( @bedstuybrat) is at work on a collec-
magazine, and, most recently, the Ramsay for his National Geographic tion of essays on race, class, and
author of a children’s book, National Channel show, Uncharted. She is based traveling while Black, topics she covers
Parks of the U.S.A. in California. on her podcast, #BlackGirlsTexting.
I
n a few weeks I’ll be traveling to Wales to attend the he was of English heritage, he had grown up in Wales. He and
hundredth birthday celebration of my uncle, who my Filipina aunt, my father’s sister, still live in his book-filled
lives in a village on the Gower Peninsula, overlooking family home. Many afternoons, we’d sit reading in their small
a wide sandy bay. The first time I visited him and glass-enclosed porch overlooking the garden. Usually the proper
my aunt there, I was 14. That summer, I developed British gentleman, soft-spoken and witty, he’d let out some mild
a serious crush on Wales. expletive while commenting about some national politician.
The place appealed to a bookish introvert like He wasn’t the type to reminisce about his years serving in the
me. I was deep into my King Arthur phase (to be Royal Air Force during World War II, but he would talk about
replaced by my current Harry Potter phase), and the legendary playing the organ at Cambridge or why he didn’t buy tickets
ruler had connections throughout Wales. Caerleon is the sup- for an all-tuba concert at the Gower chamber music festival he
posed site of Camelot. Merlin is said to have come from the town and my aunt patronize every year: “I couldn’t visualize that. It
of Carmarthen. One day, my aunt and uncle took me and my was a whole evening, wasn’t it, of tuba?” In 2016 his most recent
younger brother pony trekking on Cefn Bryn Common, a windy book, a history of maritime trade in Australia, was published.
heath of bracken and gorse flanking the I’ve returned to Wales several times
sandstone backbone of Gower. There since that summer, but I haven’t gone as
we came across Arthur’s Stone, said to often as I’d like. On my most recent visit, I
have grown from a pebble tossed out of A Child’s came across a heart-shaped piece of inky
the king’s shoe.
Wales’s biggest national gathering
Summer black Welsh slate in a gift shop, with the
word hiraeth painted on it. I asked what
is the annual Eisteddfod, a festival of in it meant and was told it didn’t trans-
poetry and music. Bardic tradition is a
point of official pride. Literary celebrity
Wales late to one equivalent word in English.
Hiraeth conveys nostalgia, yearning for
Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea, the something lost, homesickness—but not
gateway city for Gower. (He called it an BY AMY ALIPIO merely an ache for the four walls of home
“ugly, lovely town.”) ILLUSTRATION BY but for something bigger, a land-longing,
My uncle introduced me to the Welsh GRACIA LAM a people-longing.
alphabet, with its unusual characters I ended up buying the souvenir; it
such as ll, which appears in everyday spoke to the way I feel about Wales and
nouns like llan (church) and names like Llewellyn. A Welshman family when I’m not there. And I like the idea of a word so over-
later told me the sound is pronounced “like the engine of your flowing with meaning that it takes a bunch of other words to
car starting.” begin to understand it.
That summer was the first time this suburban girl began Ever since that first Welsh summer of legends and beauty,
to think about words to describe the natural world. Wales is a words and travel have been inseparable for me. In both leisure
landscape of imagination, writ with magic and chivalry. From and work—including 18 years at this magazine—I am forever
the Gower Peninsula’s Worm’s Head, a serpentine headland in search of precisely the right words to illuminate places. I
that is the perfect spot for a sunset stroll, to misty Tal-y-llyn learned back then that these words, strung together to create
Lake in Snowdonia National Park in the north, this is scenery to true stories, can forge rock-hard bonds of soulful connection.
stock a dictionary with. Each new word I unearthed—cairn, tor, So here’s to wheeling a hundred times around the sun, Uncle
marsh mallow, oystercatcher—led to more words—bryn, cwm, Howard! I thank you for giving me Wales—and all the wonder
dyffryn—until it was a landslide of language. Name it and the and words that have followed. Words, especially, such as hiraeth:
world seemed brighter, more knowable, but at the same time remembrance, longing, love, gratitude.
profoundly mysterious.
The fact that my uncle was as bookish as I was cemented Senior editor AMY ALIPIO ( @amytravels) has yet to meet an
my attachment to a country that celebrates poets. Although afternoon tea in Britain she didn’t like.
O C T O B E R / N OV E M B E R 2 0 19 125
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