A WORLD OF ORIGINAL TRAVEL IDEAS F THE CREATIVE SOUL OF MEXICO CITY F TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR WINNERS APRIL 2020
F NEW TRIPS TO CELEBRATE SPRING F ON THE TEA TRAIL IN KENYA
FIND YOUR PE RFEC T
Greek Island
Secret experiences the locals love, from Anafi to Zakynthos
21 sustainable places to stay
TEAR- OUT GUIDES TO MADRIDF MARRAKESHF NAPLESF SARA JEVO
PHOTOGRAPH: STEVE RYAN, ROBERTO MOIOLA/SYSAWORLD/ GETTY IMAGES, DANNY IACOB/SHUTTERSTOCK
Editor’s note
The world’s gaze has recently turned from the bushfires in Australia to efforts to contain a new form of coronavirus in China. Such cataclysmic events have far-reaching effects on travel, and in turn give us cause to consider the impact of the travel choices we make. Against a baffling backdrop of populist politics and greenwashing, it’s fair to ask: ‘What does sustainable travel even mean?’ According to the World Tourism Organization, it ‘takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.’ As we explain in the foreword to our new book, Sustainable Escapes (more on that on p22), ‘in a nutshell, it’s tourism that delivers meaningful guest experiences and benefits locals without negatively influencing communities and the environment.’ Across my decade of editing Lonely Planet magazine, I believe we’ve lived these values, yet want to do more: our subscriber edition is now delivered in easily recycled paper envelopes; we off-set all our travel; and we’re arming you with ideas to reduce your footprint while travelling – I hope – in a more fulfilling way than ever before. Peter Grunert, group editor @peter_grunert petervg73
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Clockwise, from above: Locals guide us on an odyssey through the ancient history and culture of Crete (p40); a diverse array of sustainable places to stay, from a lakeside eco-spa in Italy to an off-grid lodge in Sweden (p84); green shoots of hope for the British cuppa, via Kenya (p96)
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APRIL 2020
In this issue... EXPLORE
The best of this month’s new trips 8 A legendary look at Ireland’s north 10 Back to Egypt’s many-coloured Red Sea 12 Hiking one of Europe’s mystery countries 14 Imaginative new hotels in Amsterdam, Kyoto and Beirut 16 Tantra explained at the British Museum 18 Anniversary time in Maine and Svalbard 20 Travel news round-up from Lonely Planet
Win! A TRIP TO MEXICO
Turn to p129
Explore p7
STORIES
Our latest short tales from the road 26 Sir Ranulph Fiennes doesn’t do holidays, but still says that laziness is a fault of his 30 Life changer: coming of age on a sailing boat trip across Australia’s Coral Sea 33 Big Adventures on a Small Island: a most reluctant surfer tackles Devon’s waves 34 Photo challenge: rainbow 38 Snapshot from Cambodia 39 What I’ve learned: the tree expert
FEATURES
THE URBAN EDIT
Time well spent in the city 105 Tear-out guide: eating in Naples 107 Tear-out guide: shopping in Marrakesh 109 Tear-out guide: night out in Madrid 111 Tear-out guide: best of Sarajevo 113 Icon: coffeehouses in Vienna 114 Superlative eats: Stockholm 115 My perfect day: Cape Town 116 Distilled: the Singapore sling 117 From the gift shop: National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh 118 In the neighbourhood: West Brooklyn 130 Mind the gaps A quiz in one image
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Stories p25
THIS MONTH’S COVERS
Not all Greek island towns look like clusters of sugar cubes, as our newsstand cover shows. Gialos, the seaside part of Symi Town, has an array of mansions in ice cream colours thanks to the island’s sponge-fishing past. Read up on Symi and other Greek islands on p52. There’s no drabness either to Mexico City, the subject of our subscriber cover and a local’s love-letter (p64).
SUBSCRIBE P22 Subscribe to Lonely Planet magazine for just £19.99 every six issues – a saving of 28 per cent on the newsstand price – and receive a copy of our Sustainable Escapes book, worth £14.99.
NEWSSTAND COVER IMAGE: RAFAL ROZALSKI/ALAMY. SUBSCRIBER COVER IMAGE: LEILA ASHTARI. CONTENTS PHOTOGRAPHS: DINODIA PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES, @FISHGOWANDER, PETER FISCHER/AWL, LEILA ASHTARI, JEREMY WOODHOUSE/GETTY IMAGES
A longer look at travels near and far 40 The largest of the Greek islands is almost a world of its own: discover divine myths (and landscapes, and food) in Crete 52 Hop through the archipelago to find the best Greek islands for 14 experiences, from farmstays to sunset spectacles 64 Mexico City is a training ground for all kinds of creativity – a local journalist picks his top cultural ambassadors 76 Our favourite views of the world from Travel Photographer of the Year 84 Making destinations more sustainable with 21 beautiful and well thought out hotels, lodges, village stays and more 96 Take a trip through a Kenyan landscape that might be the source for your cuppa
DESTINATION INDEX
Unique Greek island experiences p52 Eco-friendly sleeps p84
Mexican makeover p64 OUR PROMISE TO YOU
Lonely Planet magazine provides trusted, independent travel advice and inspiration. At times our writers and photographers receive support from travel providers, such as tourist boards, tour operators, hotels and airlines. Before accepting that support, we complete thorough research so we can be confident we’re recommending experiences that are right for you. We never exchange third-party support for a guarantee of positive coverage, and always deliver a balanced view.
Look for these symbols to quickly identify listings in our tear-out guides each month Sights
Activities
Entertainment
Eating
Shopping
Drinking Sleeping
Prices throughout the magazine correct at time of going to press. Prices for hotel rooms are for double, en suite rooms with breakfast in low season, unless otherwise stated. Flight prices are for a representative return fare, including one piece of hold baggage, unless otherwise stated.
p12 Albania Argentina Iguazu Falls p87 p30 Australia p92 Uluru Austria Vienna p113 Belize p89 Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo p111 Burkina Faso p83 Cambodia p38 Canada Newfoundland p89 Chile p77 China p81 Croatia p93 Dominica p84 England Devon p33 London p16, p76 Egypt Sharm El Sheikh p10 p94 Ethiopia p20 Germany Greece p52 Crete p40 India p16, p76 Indonesia Bali p89 Ireland p8 Italy Lake Garda p92 Naples p105 Japan Kyoto p14 Kenya p96 Laos p94 Lebanon Beirut p15 p91 Madagascar Mexico Mexico City p64, p129 p95 Mongolia Morocco p90 Marrakesh p107 p95 Nepal Netherlands Amsterdam p15, p86 New Zealand Kaikoura p90 p8 Northern Ireland Norway Svalbard p18 Palau p83 Peru p88 Romania p20 Scotland p78 Edinburgh p117 p116 Singapore South Africa Cape Town p115 South Sudan p82 Spain Madrid p109 Sweden Lapland p20, p86 Stockholm p114 Thailand Bangkok p20, p85 Uganda p87 USA Maine p19 New Orleans p20 New York City p118 Washington p91
April 2020
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Book your appointment with a Travel Expert in your local store today
Explore
PHOTOGRAPH: DINODIA PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
THE BEST OF THE MONTH’S NEW TRIP IDEAS
A new tour on the isle of Ireland ) Flights return to Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh ) Hiking in the Albanian Alps ) The British Museum puts on an exhibition of Tantra ) Celebrations in Svalbard and Maine
April 2020
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April 2020
NEW TOUR
Land of legends
As the Emerald Isle returns to its signature colour in the spring, a ten-day tour from Trafalgar offers a fresh look at the island’s upper half. ‘Ireland’s Legendary North’ begins in Dublin, home to generations of literary icons, before turning towards Belfast, where you’ll learn about the world’s most famous (and famously doomed) ship. Along the Antrim coast lies the Giant’s Causeway (pictured), the mythical legacy of a battle between Irish and Scottish titans. Not all legends are so hard-edged, though, as a visit to the pottery studios of Belleek proves. And on the loop back south and east towards Dublin, you’ll stop in Galway, currently enjoying its turn as European Capital of Culture.
PHOTOGRAPH: LUIGI VACCARELLA/4CORNERS
Ten days from £1,764; trafalgar.com
April 2020
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RETURN TO EGYPT
Turn on the Sharm The coast of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula has always been a threshold of ultimate contrast: stark desert above, and the most colourful of coral gardens below. Security concerns brought a fall in visitor numbers in recent years, but direct flights from the UK are now resuming for the first time since 2015, on TUI and easyJet. Sharm El Sheikh is returning to its role as the Sinai’s main resort town, with PADI-approved scuba courses for anyone keen to explore the world not hinted at above the waves.
PHOTOGRAPH: WATERFRAME / ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
travel.padi.com/d/sharm-el-sheikh; gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
April 2020
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NEW FLIGHTS
The launch of easyJet flights from London Gatwick to Tirana’s Mother Teresa International Airport is just one sign that Albania is cropping up in travel plans as never before. Writers have wondered for centuries how a country located between Greece and Italy could remain one of Europe’s great unknowns. The barrier of the Albanian Alps, also known as the Accursed Mountains, must explain some of Albania’s historic isolation. Now, though, these peaks are more often a reason to visit. Hiking specialist Walks Worldwide counts its three Albanian itineraries among its most popular tours, and with winter gone, the mountain paths are open again. Two of the tours head north to the peaks (pictured) that border Montenegro, while a southern coast alternative takes inspiration from the travels of Lord Byron – one outsider who did venture in, and fall in love with Albania. Eight days from £849; walksworldwide.com
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April 2020
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PHOTOGRAPH:LENAR MUSIN/ GETTY IMAGES
NEW DESIGN HOTELS
Three fascinating cities, three hotels to match
The month of April in Japan’s historic capital is bookended by two week-long periods of excitement: a pink-tinged one when the city’s cherry trees burst into life, and the national holiday cluster of Golden Week beginning on the 29th. It’s during the slight pause in between that Ace Hotel Kyoto will be welcoming its first guests. The design hotel group, which began in Seattle in 1999, picked renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma to oversee the project for its first opening in Asia. Built partly in a heritage building (the brick-clad 1920s former Kyoto Central Telephone Exchange) and partly in an extension that echoes the wooden grids of the city’s traditional townhouses, the 213 rooms are kitted out with artisan textiles and other craft details. The hotel is at the crossing of Kyoto’s two subway lines, allowing quick access to historic sites, while the Kyoto International Manga Museum is a short walk away. acehotel.com/kyoto
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Top left: A balance of Japanese and Western design at Ace Hotel Kyoto. Above: An evening view over Kyoto from the terrace of Kiyomizu-dera temple. Left: Most of the rooms come with turntables
PHOTOGRAPHS: STEPHEN KENT JOHNSON, JONATHAN GREGSON, ©NHOWAMSTERDAM, MATT MUNRO, GUILLAUME DE LAUBIER, KATEAFTER/SHUTTERSTOCK
Kyoto
Amsterdam
Since 1961, a totem-pole-like advertisement hoarding known as Het Signaal has stood in Europaplein, a big square two miles south of Amsterdam’s Old Town. The triangular segments of this local landmark have now been echoed in spectacular style by a new neighbour, the nhow Amsterdam RAI. This just-opened hotel is the largest in the Benelux region, with 650 rooms, and is linked to the RAI Convention Centre next door. The three giant triangles seem to point to distant horizons, appropriately enough in a city built on centuries of global trade. Rooms sport rich and far-flung designs, from Indian lattices to Japanese kimono patterns. Thanks to a Metro line opened in 2018, the city’s historic heart is just three or four stops away, but there’s also much to be gained by exploring locally on foot or by bike, from the mishmash of cuisines and shops in De Pijp, to green spaces such as Amstelpark, with its Riekermolen windmill. nhow-hotels.com/en/nhow-amsterdam-rai Clockwise from top left: The 91-metre-high tower that houses nhow Amsterdam RAI; the favourite way to get around town; Mexican inspiration in one of the hotel’s public areas
Beirut
Left: The Corniche wraps around Beirut’s Mediterranean coast. Above: A peaceful corner at Arthaus Beirut
It’s been a long time coming, but this spring should see the opening of Arthaus Beirut – book a trip before word spreads, or high summer in the city. A villa dating back to the Ottoman era has been turned into a graceful 26-room boutique hotel. Owners Nabil and Zoé Debs have been active in the struggle to preserve the heritage of the Lebanese capital, where old buildings that have survived both conflict and modern development are often in a neglected state. The Debs’ efforts first turned to making an exhibition space in the house for both Lebanese and international art, including Cuban murals. The gallery-like experience will continue in the villa’s new guise. The surrounding Gemmayzeh neighbourhood has until now been light in quality hotels, though it’s one of the best places to eat out and shop in this famously high-energy city. The bar scene here has matured, too, though light sleepers may yet disagree. arthaus.international
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NEW EXHIBITION
Some exhibitions don’t need much in the way of explanation to draw the crowds (witness the Tutankhamun spectacular now in its last weeks in London). The British Museum – on the other hand – is about to tackle a subject that’s been at the heart of spiritual life in India and many of its neighbours for 1,500 years, but is most often thought of in the West as having something to do with advanced sexual techniques. This new exhibition, ‘Tantra: enlightenment to revolution’, brings together objects from India, Tibet, Japan and beyond (including a Bengali depiction of the goddess Kali, pictured here), to explore the diverse ways that Tantric philosophy changed the practice of Hinduism and Buddhism, and even came to shape 1960s counter-culture. Kali herself embodies much of the mystery of Tantra: often cloaked in violent imagery, yet also worshipped as a symbol of maternal love, and more recently seen through a feminist lens. Tickets £15; 23 Apr–26 Jul 2020; britishmuseum.org
THREE TANTRIC SITES IN INDIA, CHOSEN BY EXHIBITION CURATOR DR IMMA RAMOS
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During India’s Medieval period, rulers commissioned temples that incorporated Tantric goddesses as guardians, such as the 10th-century Hirapur temple in Odisha. Sixty-four goddesses known as yoginis, seductive yet dangerous, encircle the interior walls. Tantric masters sought to access their powers, from shapeshifting to immortality and flight.
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Crowning a hill on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, the temple of Kamakhya in Assam is regarded as the most revered site of goddess worship in South Asia. Every summer, the Ambubachi Mela (‘issuing forth of rain festival’) celebrates the goddess Shakti’s annual menstrual flow, which is believed to nourish the earth.
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The annual Kali Puja (‘Kali Worship’) festival is celebrated every autumn across Bengal. Hundreds of painted clay icons of the Tantric goddess are made to adorn temporary shrines (pandals) for the festival. In the days leading up to Kali Puja, visitors to Kolkata can see the preparations first-hand in the backstreet workshops of Kumartuli, a traditional potters’ quarter.
KALI STRIDING OVER SHIVA, PROBABLY KRISHNANAGAR, BENGAL, 1890S. ©THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, HIRAPUR PHOTOGRAPHS: TEMPLE ©THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, HIMANGSHU SEKHAR / ALAMY, DANITA DELIMONT STOCK/ AWL
The true meaning of Tantra
Flung out halfway between Norway and the North Pole, Svalbard is a wilderness archipelago of polar-bear-dotted glaciers, dramatic coastlines and historic frontier settlements. For the best in high-Arctic adventure, book with the experts at Best Served Scandinavia. SAVE £55 PP Book by 31st March
NORTHERN LIGHTS IN SVALBARD
SVALBARD SUMMER ADVENTURE
This is the ultimate Arctic experience where, alongside a stay at the excellent Radisson Blu Polar, you’ll enjoy an included wilderness evening with drinks and dinner at a remote camp. And, with days left free, there’s the option to add in everything from snowmobiling and snowshoeing to dogsledding and a Northern Lights hunt by ‘snowcat’.
Come summer, Svalbard opens up. Iceberg-studded fjords bring you between walrus colonies and Russian outposts while, back on land, there’s everything from optional glacier hikes to wheeled dog sledding. Each night you’ll be treated to the cosy fires of your hand-picked accommodation and the ethereal Midnight Sun.
›› PRICES FROM £995 pp incl. return flights, 3 nights B&B at Radisson Blu Polar & an evening at Camp Barentz incl. dinner with wine/beer.
›› PRICES FROM £995 pp incl. return flights, 3 nights B&B at the Radisson Blu Polar & a hybrid catamaran trip to the Russian settlement of Pyramiden.
020 7664 2254 | best-served.co.uk Prices correct at the time of going to print and are subject to availability. ATOL Protected.
100TH ANNIVERSARY
Happy birthday Svalbard
PHOTOGRAPHS: PHILIP LEE HARVEY, RUSH JAGOE
On 9 February 1920, representatives of 14 nations signed a treaty stating that the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard – previously an international free-forall – was part of Norway. A century on, the starkly beautiful islands are home to some 2,600 people. Thanks to concessions in the treaty, many are Russian, living in a town that’s like a lost piece of the USSR. The date most locals will be having a party for is 8 March, when the sun returns after four months. en.visitsvalbard.com
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April 2020
200TH ANNIVERSARY
Happy birthday Maine
PHOTOGRAPHS:
On 15 March 1820, Maine ceased to be a detached part of Massachusetts and became the 23rd US state. After some disputes about where in the Great North Woods its border with British-ruled Canada should run, the Pine Tree State gained its current, rugged shape. Bicentennial events are running over the next few months, including town parades, music performances and a festival of sailing ships. You can bet that many will be celebrating with Maine lobster. maine200.org
Month April 2020
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More reasons to get out there BIG EASY LISTENING
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest for short) returns on 23 April for a week of musical action starring The Who, Dead & Company, Lionel Richie, Erykah Badu and more (nojazzfest.com).
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WHAT LYNX HERE?
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SUPREME TORTE
Staple of 1970s menus or treasured German speciality? Make a trip in honour of Black Forest gateau day on 28 March to decide (blackforest-tourism.com).
THAI IN THE SKY
A 78th-floor observatory is one of Bangkok’s new draws. Trade any fear of heights for being far above water-pistol range at Thai New Year (king powermahanakhon.co.th).
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Every day, get inspired to travel at lonelyplanet.com/news
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April 2020
KEEP IT BOREAL
The new ‘Local Lives: Arctic Sweden’ tour makes the most of short summers in the north with stays in a Sami tented camp and forest walks to learn about foraging (discover-theworld.com).
PHOTOGRAPHS: DOUGLAS MASON, ©DSLR/SHUTTERSTOCK, ERWIN PURNOMO SIDI/ GETTY IMAGES, GRAEME RICHARDSON, KING POWER MAHANAKHON
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Europe’s largest wild feline is always elusive, but a six-day tour through Transylvania when snow is still on the ground means more likely lynx sightings (responsibletravel.com).
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If you enjoy our feature on Sustainable Places to Stay on p84, you can find more ideas in our new book – or share it as a gift. From eco-lodges to tours designed to look after wildlife and empower communities, the escapes listed in these pages will make you feel better than ever about getting away.
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Stories OUR LATEST SHORT TALES FROM THE ROAD
PHOTOGRAPH: INSTAGRAM @FISHGOWANDER
) The travels of Sir Ranulph Fiennes ) Life changer: sailing the Coral Sea ) Surfing in the Southwest ) Photo Challenge: rainbow ) Snapshot from Cambodia
April 2020
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Travel means something different to Sir Ranulph Fiennes than it does to most of us – find out how he stays on course
ir Ranulph Fiennes has been labelled the world’s greatest living explorer by Guinness World Records. Some of his monumental efforts, such as travelling around the world’s surface vertically, crossing both its poles in the process, have yet to even be attempted by anyone else since his doing so. Yet this inspiring man, who has climbed both Everest and the North Face of the Eiger in his sixties, and cut off his own frostbitten fingers in his garden shed, has human frailties you wouldn’t expect: a fear of heights and propensity to be lazy. We sit down with the living legend to learn about his life, travels and goals. On your expedition by hovercraft up the White Nile in 1969, you didn’t even stop to see the Pyramids of Giza. Are travel and exploration good bedfellows, or can one get in the way of another? During that expedition we were all on leave from the army, so the driving force in the back of our minds was that we wanted to cover the entire river, some 2,000–2,500 miles, in the time we had available. We needed to get back on time. To some extent, it was that I was fighting a war in Oman and we were outnumbered; if I turned up late from leave it would look like cowardice. So we had every reason mentally to be in a rush, and therefore we didn’t slow down to appreciate local culture.
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When you’re exploring without such constraints, do you take the time to enjoy the surroundings or are you solely focused on the goal ahead? It depends. If you’re in the Arctic or Antarctic, there is nothing to enjoy except for ice. If there is something other than whiteness, then it is likely not a good thing. In the Arctic it means trouble; other colours could be open water, which you don’t want when you’re man-hauling, or pressure ridges of ice blocks up to 20 metres high getting in the way. In the Antarctic it’s similar: changes of colour usually mean crevasses. So in these environments, you want just whiteness and boringness. That said, when you’re being paid to write a book about it, you want it to be exciting. Even if you have a thesaurus, 100,000 words to describe whiteness is challenging. Of course you don’t want people falling into crevasses and dying on an expedition, but dramatic problems are helpful in filling pages. What do you think about while moving through the whiteness? You are constantly ensuring you are on the right bearing. You constantly wonder if you should be going a bit left, a bit right, a bit east instead of north-south to stop damage to the sled runners if you go through sastrugi (grooves in the snow) at the wrong angle. When you travel for leisure, do you still find yourself exploring? On a holiday? I have to say that I haven’t been on holiday in years. And I’m not sure I can remember
INTERVIEW BY MATT PHILLIPS. PHOTOGRAPH: © GARY SALTER
‘I haven’t been on holiday in years’
Sir Ranulph Fiennes is part of a select group of people to have mounted expeditions to both poles and the summit of Everest
what one does on holidays. With my late wife Ginny I went on quite a lot of holidays. But now it’s mostly travelling for lectures. Before my daughter went to school, she and my wife Louise would travel with me. By the time Elizabeth was four she already had more than 100 stamps in her passport. Speaking of growing up, who was your biggest influence? My dad. His life inspired me to want to be what he was: Colonel of the Royal Scots Greys regiment. But because I didn’t get A levels I couldn’t get to Sandhurst, which meant I couldn’t rise above the rank of captain. He passed away before you were born, was it your mother who regaled you with stories of him? Yes, she certainly did. And when I went into the army there were quite a few who still remembered my dad, all with affection. His nickname was ‘Lugs’. He must have had big ears, although in the photos I’ve seen they don’t look big. But someone who knew him said they were like Tony Blair’s. Some of your expeditions, such as summiting Everest at the age of 65 have received much press and accolades. Are there some that were a particular favourite of yours that didn’t get the hype you thought they’d deserve? The Transglobe Expedition was really the first trip around the Earth vertically, and yet because PR wasn’t something we knew about in those days the journey wasn’t widely reported. Somebody did manage to get the Observer to provide exclusive coverage, but that only managed to dampen down general press coverage because other papers couldn’t run it. So it wasn’t until two years through the expedition, after completely crossing Antarctica (which had never been done by a single team before) and on our way up through the Northwest Passage – the first open boat journey through the route – that our expedition became known to the greater public. And that was only because ITN captured footage of our base camp virtually burning to the ground. One of your expeditions that caught my attention was your search for the lost city of Ubar in Oman. Yes, that was eight different expeditions in the same desert. It wasn’t until the last one that we actually found the city. In the end it was good luck rather than anything provided to us by NASA. The space agency helped us find where it wasn’t, which was actually useful via elimination. Yet it came down to me overhearing some officials from Oman’s Ministry of Heritage speaking on the other side of a building (they didn’t know I was listening); they’d come to the conclusion that our American film crew were happy just to be in the country, and had no intention of finding Ubar. With fear that they’d report us to the Sultan, who’d only given us permission to film as part of a search for the lost city, I rushed to our archaeologist and said: ‘Yuri! You have to get your team to start digging or these officials are going to go to the Sultan and say we are not genuine.’ Reluctantly,
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he got his team to start digging near our base camp where there was a waterhole. Within three days, Yuri was plucking out 2,000-year-old chess sets. And that was that, we’d found the city. You’ve climbed Everest, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus and even the North Face of the Eiger. What is your favourite climb? My least favourite is anything that has drops. Everest doesn’t have drops. On either of the standard routes up the mountain you have a rope, and when you look down you have a white slope; not a drop, but a slope. And it’s the drop that gives me vertigo. The last bit of the climb before the summit has a bit of a drop at the Hilary Step, so we did it at night so that I couldn’t see it. Given your battles with vertigo, how did you handle the North Face of the Eiger? I hated the Eiger. It cured me of ever wanting to go up another mountain. What would be your darkest moment of any expedition? That is not an easy one to answer. If someone had ever died, I would have said that. And what would be your highest moment on expedition? I would say it was on the Transglobe Expedition. It had taken us seven years of working unpaid full time to plan, and three years of constant travelling from setting out to finish – ten years of our lives. Knowing we might fail at the last minute, which we nearly did, made completing the last hurdle a highlight. It was when our Arctic ice floe, on which we’d been floating for three months, came into touching distance of our waiting ship (also lodged in ice). The odds of our ice floes meeting must have been ten to one against.
PHOTOGRAPHS: © FIELDCRAFT, © SIR RANULPH FIENNES, SIR RANULPH FIENNES/ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY VIA GETTY IMAGES
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A South Pole greeting party on the Transglobe Expedition in 1979. Left: Sir Ranulph Fiennes competing in the Marathon des Sables. Below: With his Sherpa climbing partner at the summit of Everest in 2009
Given your polar expeditions, and having also taken on and completed the Marathon des Sables, is cold or heat your bigger adversary? Cold is more difficult, but don’t underestimate the difficulty of keeping cool in the heat. How do you manage risk? I carefully study why my predecessors have failed at similar records, and it’s always because they hit a risk. And while those expeditions did their best to work out a way to overcome that risk, I don’t think of another way to solve it. Instead, I take the approach that it’s better to just try and avoid that risk altogether, even if it meant going extra days in the wrong direction. How do you weed out the thousands of applicants for your expeditions? I paint a black picture. On one occasion I needed to pick just two people out of 8,000 applications, so we warned all of them that I’m horrible, the expedition would be horrible – no pay, no expenses, nothing for three years, no glory. Those that stay can’t complain. I also make all applicants join the territorial SAS. I’ve read that you’ve said your worst attribute is that you have to fight against laziness – given
your record of achievements, I find that hard to believe. How did you overcome it? I don’t think I did. Were you born a leader, or did some experiences turn you into one? I wouldn’t say that I’m a born leader. I just much prefer to be the leader than to suffer the consequence of someone else’s bad decisions. You’ve made a habit of achieving incredible ‘firsts’ in the world’s polar regions. What made you first look at the poles as a target? It was really the Transglobe Expedition, which took in both poles. After that success, we started getting more specific with polar firsts, whether unsupported, with no machinery etc. What is the greatest polar challenge left? I know what it is. I failed attempting it three years ago. Crossing Antarctica during the polar winter. How do you think climate change will affect polar exploration? In the Arctic it already has. There is more water and less ice. In Antarctica it will change much more slowly due to the sheer amount of ice atop the landscape. What is next? My exploration partners – Anton Bowring, Mike Stroud and Oliver Shepherd – are looking at it at the moment, but the only thing I can say without alerting the opposition is that it is north and not south. What would you like to see as your legacy? I haven’t really thought about it. When you’re dead, you’re dead. It doesn’t really matter. Matt Phillips was talking to Sir Ranulph Fiennes at the Adventure Travel Show (adventureshow.com).
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Life changer Each month, a travel writer reflects on a trip that made them think a little differently about the world. Here, Ruth Cosgrove shares her coming-of-age story of sailing the Coral Sea
PHOTOGRAPH: TRAVELSCAPE IMAGES/ALAMY
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was 12 years old and my mum had just %'4#, +# +7 Ì012 "'%'2 * 5 2!&Æ&#x; '22',%*7Æ I was using it to keep time on my other Ì012 5 2!&Æ 1-*- .0#Ƥ" 5, 12',2 -, 2&# "#!) -$ -30 1 '* - 2 1 5# !0-11#" 2&# -0 * # $0-+ '0,1 ', 3120 *' 2- #5 3',# Æ&#x; 5 1 1)'..#0',% 5&'*# +7 $ +'*7 1*#.2 #*-5Æ ," $#*2 1- %0-5, 3.Æ&#x; &#, 5#,2 3. 2- 2&# -5 2- !&#!) 2&# 0-.#1Æ *--)#" -32 2 2&# /3'#2 -!# , ," !-,2#+.* 2#" 2&# $ !2 2& 2 5# 5#0# 25- " 71Æ° 1 '* $0-+ ,75&#0#Æ&#x; '1',% +7 % 8# -4# 2&# "'+ &-0'8-, 2- 2&# &# 4#,1 -4# 2& 2 5#0# *'2 7 12 01Æ 5 1 &7.#0Ƥ 5 0# 2& 2 '2 5 1 (312 2',7 +# Ì®- 2',% -, -30 + 11'4# .* ,#2Æ&#x; 2#0Æ 5&#, 5 1 *--)',% "-5, ',2- 2&# "##. 5 2#0Æ 1 5 120# +#01 -$ 2',7 *'%&21 !30*',% 2&0-3%& 2&# " 0),#11Æ&#x; 2 Ì012 2&-3%&2 '2 5 1 2&# 0#Ì®#!2'-, -$ 2&# 12 01Æ 32 1--, 0# *'1#" '2 5 1 0' -,1 -$ '-*3+',#1!#,!# 12'00#" 3. 7 .-" -$ "-*.&',1 5&-Æ°" "#!'"#" 2- (-', +#Æ&#x; *2&-3%& 2&#7 #,"#" 3. !!-+. ,7',% 31 *-,%1'"# -30 - 2 $-0 2&# ,#62 " 7 -0 1-Æ .* 7',% 2 2&# -5 ," 2&0-5',% 31 %* ,!#1 $0-+ 2&# 5 2#0Æ '2 5 1 2& 2 # 0*7 +-0,',% 5&'!& 5'** 203*7 ,#4#0 $-0%#2Æ¢ 2&# -!# ,Æ 2&# /3'#2 ,'%&2 ," 2&# 12 01Æ 2&# ,'+ *1Æ +#Æ %0-5',% 3. ', 2&# 5-0*"Æ&#x;
THE TAKE AWAY Travel can make and maintain a sense of wonder that drives everything in a better direction.
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ON SALE
20 March Our pick of long weekends in Europe and other urban explorations further afield
s BIG ADVENTURES ON A SMALL ISLAND
All at sea
Everybody’s gone surfing, apart from Oliver Smith who is terrified of the sport ever since he was rescued by a lifeguard in Cornwall. He rides the waves for the first time in a decade @OliSmithTravel
PHOTOGRAPHS: ROMARJ/GETTY IMAGES, DMITRY_TSVETKOV/SHUTTERSTOCK, ANNA.ZABELLA/SHUTTERSTOCK, ADRIENNE PITTS/LONELY PLANET, SHUTTERSTOCK, PADUNG/SHUTTERSTOCK
PICTURE THIS HAPPY SCENE: IT’S A
sunny afternoon on a North Devon beach. A labrador is chasing a frisbee. Out on the waves, the Littlest Devon Surf School is getting a tutorial. And I am also on the shore, wetsuit-clad, board in hand, in a state of paralysis at the thought of entering the waves. Strange, because once upon a time I was actually a surfer. Or rather, my friends were surfers, and I was an apprentice. Together we surfed distant corners of the world: from Morocco to Mawgan Porth. In minor ways I joined the fraternity of surfers. They taught me about the ‘surf stoke’ – ,-2 130Ě,% 2-)#Ƥ-,Ƥ 0#,2Ć 32 2&# ',"#Ě, *# 388 -$ " 71 #7-," 2&# breaks. And other things that made 130Ě,% %0# 2ĆĄ 1 ," ', 7-30 & '0 2 bedtime, and beaded necklaces. 32 5 1 *3"'!0-31*7 "Ć&#x; 30Ě,% $-0 me was a kind of lateral drowning action. Catching waves was only an unintentional consequence. While my friends were riding tubes, I did my best to remain inconspicuous, mostly being submerged, scraping along a reef with a John Dory up +7 5#213'2 1*##4#Ć&#x; &'*# 2&#7 ĚŽ 3,2#" their skills, I lay in a sandcastle moat in the recovery position. , 1.0',% ďż˝ďż˝ďż˝ďż˝Ć +7 130Ě,% ! 0##0 ! +# to a head one day at Constantine Bay in
Cornwall. We all paddled out among mighty, watery ranges. And one-by-one, the other guys inched out of sight. I was alone and panic set in. Rip tides (more correctly ‘rip currents’) are dangerous currents that drag swimmers out to sea – the key lesson is don’t paddle against them, but paddle sideways. A helpful analogy is breaking down on a motorway – pull in at the hard shoulder, rather than doing a U-turn back to the nearest Welcome Break. I paddled against it, exhausting myself quickly. I was cold. I took a pee in my wetsuit, and warmth dispersed across my torso. For one happy moment there was the snug sensation of being by the Ě0#1'"# 2 &0'12+ 1 $2#0 2&# 3##,Ć°1 speech. Then I was cold again, drifting 2-5 0"1 12,#2Ć & ,,-, ," '280-7Ć&#x; HOOOONK. The RNLI lifeguard on the beach sounded his alarm, and began charging towards me. Salvation came in 2&# $-0+ -$ +7 $0'#,"1Ć 5&- Ě1&#" +# out. I spent the rest of the holiday indoors, doing a jigsaw of kittens in 1)#21 ," ĚŽ',!&',% #4#07 2'+# 2&# *-ĚŽ31&#"Ć&#x; & 2 5 1 +7 130Ě,% ! 0##0 -4#0Ć&#x; Until now. I waded out, breathing steadily, slowly accustomising myself to the salty slosh of the sea. After half an hour out on the swells, I spied a dark
+ 11 -, 2&# &-0'8-, 2& 2 2&-3%&2 +'%&2 be Lundy island. It loomed closer, and it was clear this was the wave destiny had dispatched to me – the one upon which I would glide silkily to shore. Paddling frantically, I caught it, slicing manically 2&0-3%& ĚŽ-2'** -$ ',ĚŽ 2 *#1Ć&#x; Even for a novice – crashing about like a teddy bear in a washing machine – 130Ě,% '1 1.-02 *')# ,- -2&#0Ć&#x; 2 & 1 venue like no other: no-one stares at a tennis court or a football pitch the way 2&#7 *--) 2 2&# 1# Ć&#x; 30Ě,% '1 0'23 * that was holy to Hawaiians, practised in communion with the ocean, the gravity of the moon, the rotation of the Earth. And on the board I remembered those sensations that tug at surfers’ hearts, like outgoing tides. The weightless rush of being propelled by water; the homecoming feeling as ice cream vans, parasols and dunes hurtle towards you. Back on the beach, I walked tall past the students of the Littlest Devon Surf School, sitting on the sand eating Dairylea Dunkers. I was off to buy beads. The trip in statistics 3 hours deciding whether or not to go surfing 30 minutes surfing 7+ days bragging about going surfing For this adventure you will need 1 surfboard or bodyboard – resist the
temptation to pay for cheap polystyrene bodyboards; rentals of quality boards are easily available in surfing hubs like Croyde 1 wetsuit (NB: never pee in rented wetsuits) What I’ve learned
Conquer your fears and become a stronger person for it. Unless you’re really bad at surfing, in which case it might be safer to stick to sandcastles.
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Photo challenge: Rainbow We reveal the winning images from our latest Instagram challenge, this month on the theme of ‘Rainbow’ @lonelyplanetmag
My girlfriend and I visited Burano, Venice, and still talk about which house we’d like to live in @amslebrun
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We stayed in this camper in Rancho de Colores, in the town of Joshua Tree, California @poejarker
Canang sari are colourful Hindu offerings to the gods, here seen in Seminyak, Bali @red_tinted_frames
A dancer from South Africa‘s Gasa clan wears a traditional Zulu courtship necklace @faunographic
My husband and I finally made our dream a reality and went to Tanzania on safari. We were deep in the Serengeti National Park when a burst of lilac and sapphire shot through the sky. The colours were so bright, it was as if a tiny rainbow was reaching across the African skyline. I couldn’t take my eyes off this bird and it landed just long enough for a photograph. It was a surreal moment because, although we were there to see the Big 5, it was this tiny lilacbreasted roller that completely took my breath away. Every time I look at this photo I am humbled by its magnificence @tashvsworld
Westminster Abbey, London, during the Lumiere festival. The lights slowly changed colour @FishGoWander
Coloured streamers are fired in the air at the Festa di San Sebastiano in Sicily @federico.bonifazi.photo
Strolling in San Francisco‘s gay neighbourhood, Castro, we reached the rainbow crossing @novembersynje
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The fun Ministry of Information, Communications and Arts (MICA) building in Singapore @FlyingFyllis
In an alley in Croydon, London, I noticed these brightly painted air-con boxes @ertugekenler
Light reflections on the organ in a quiet corner of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona @sianybee22
I was in Seattle photographing a storm as it rolled in over Elliott Bay and witnessed this intense rainbow. On a clear day, you would see the Olympic Mountains on the horizon. I was looking to capture the storm clouds and possible lightning over the mountains, but instead caught this. I suppose you just never know what nature has in store. I love how it seems as though the small ship is caught inside the rainbow. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a strong enough telephoto lens to capture the pot of gold and leprechaun onboard @navidbaraty
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A LGBT-friendly rainbow path flows through the centre of Seyisfjörur, Iceland @roadtripsandoceandips
This dancer’s outfit caught my eye at the Fiesta de la Candelaria in Puno, Peru @erick_andia_photo
St James Tidal Pool, South Africa, was a stop on our coastal drive towards Plettenberg Bay @dora_gonda
During a bus trip across Costa Rica, I spotted this artist’s studio by the road @tiffanyclapp
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Snapshot from Cambodia This shot was taken in Banteay Chhmar, a small town in the northwest of Cambodia. I spent a couple of days there, staying in a simple house and enjoying the peaceful ambiance, compared to sights like Angkor Wat. While the men here mostly farm the rice paddies, many of the women work at Soieries du Mékong, a silk centre run as a social project (soieriesdumekong.com). I visited with a local guide who is also a teacher in the town’s elementary school, and I asked him to help me to communicate with some of the families who survived the regime of Pol Pot. This lady’s name is Thoeun Tor, and she was weaving a scarf at that moment. I asked her if I could take a picture, and she said yes. She was lost in thought with the repetitive movements of her silk yarn, and I stayed there for a while to imagine what she was dreaming about. DENIZ YILMAZ AKMAN is a writer and travel photographer based in Istanbul
photostorming
Would you like your picture and its story to appear in the magazine? Email us at stories@lonelyplanet.com
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What I’ve learned... as an expert on the world’s trees
Jonathan Drori is a trustee of the Woodland Trust and the Eden Project, an ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund, and a member of the International Dendrology Society Curiosity is the basis of science. I remember holding my mother’s hand, watching autumn *# 4#1 $ **',% ', '!&+-," 0)Ơ 1&3$̮',% 2&0-3%& 2&#+Ɵ &# 5 1 2#**',% +# -32 20##1 ," 5',2#0 ," 5&7 *# 4#1 230, "'$$#0#,2 !-*-301Ɵ & 2 20'%%#0#" *-2 -$ /3#12'-,1Ɵ
The people of Madagascar have wonderful stories and traditions about trees. *-4# 2&# -,# -32 2&# - 1 & 4',% ##, ̮3,% 2- 02& 3.1'"# "-5, #! 31# -$ 1-+# +',-0 20 ,1%0#11'-, % ',12 2&# 13.#0, 230 * .-5#01 2& 2 #Ɵ
The tree that has surprised me most is the Japanese lacquer tree. I knew about the !0 $2 -$ * !/3#05 0# 32 5 1 1&-!)#" 2- *# 0, 2& 2Ơ 3,2'* 2&# ��2& !#,2307Ơ !#02 ', 1!#2'! +-,)1 31#" 2- "0',) 2# + "# $0-+ 2&# 0) -$ 2&# * !/3#0 20## ', -0"#0 2- #%', 2- #+ *+ 2&#+1#*4#1 5&'*# 2&#7 5#0# 12'** *'4#Ɵ
The cedar of Lebanon is a reminder of our ancient relationship with trees, and the 3,# 17 0#* 2'-,1&'. #25##, &3+ ,1 ," 2&#'0 #,4'0-,+#,2Ɵ The Epic of Gilgamesh was inscribed by 3+#0' ,1 -, !* 7 2 *#21 �Ơ��� 7# 01 %-Ơ ," !-,2 ',1 **#%-0'! * . 11 %#1 -32 2&# *-11 -$ 2&# !#" 0 $-0#121Ơ 5&'!& 5#0# *0# "7 #',% "#.*#2#" $-0 2&#'0 0#1',-31 2'+ #0Ɵ
‘The quiver tree thrives in the Namib desert, seemingly against all odds’
The quiver tree, a surprisingly large relative of aloe vera, thrives in the barren Namib desert, seemingly against all odds. 2 '1 +' ' ư1 , 2'-, * 20## ƺ.'!230#"ƻƠ 5&'!& +# ,1 2& 2 #4#07-,# 1+'*#1 5&#, 2&#7 1## '2Ɵ 2 & 1 .-5"#07Ơ 5 67 !- 2',% 2- .0-2#!2 '2 $0-+ *'%&2Ơ 5&'!& *1- + )#1 .#-.*# 5 ,2 2- 2-3!& '2Ɵ $ 5 1 20##Ơ 2&'1 '1 2&# -,# ư" *')# 2- #Ɵ
Indiaappealstoallmysenses. #! 31# %0#53.', -,"-,Ơ1-+# 1.#!21-$ ,"' ư1!3*230# 0# $ +'*' 02-+#Ơ 325&#, ư+2&#0# ư+ *5 711203!) 7'211&##0$03120 2',%*--.',#11 ,"'211-3*Ɵ
AS TOLD TO SOPHIE DENING. PHOTOGRAPHS: JONATHAN DRORI, MARK READ
, 4'** %# ', +'* "3Ơ 5 1 -$$#0#" 4 0'-31 ̮ 4-301 -$ +'*)1& )#Ɵ .-',2#" 2 1 .-"'** 20## ," 1)#" $-0 2& 2Ơ 31',% 2&# *-! * , +#Ơ !&')3Ɵ &# 12 **&-*"#0 5 1 0#*3!2 ,2Ơ 32 %0##" -,!# -$$#0#" 2- . 7 3.$0-,2Ơ ," 0# 1130#" &'+ 2& 2 2&# !&')3 !-3*" # 31#" 0 5Ɵ $2#0 +3!& 50 ,%*',% 5'2& *'/3'"'1#0Ơ +7 "0',) 5 1 0-3%&2 ," 1+ ** !0-5" % 2&#0#" 2- 5 2!&Ɵ & " 2&# %& 12*7 0# *'1 2'-, 2& 2Ơ ', 2&'1 . 02 -$ ,"' Ơ 1 .-"'** 1 5#0#,ư2 ! **#" !&')3 ƥ ," 2& 2 -,# -$ 2&# !&'!)#,1 03,,',% 0-3," 3,"#0 2&# 20## & " #,"#" 3. ', +7 +'*)1& )#Ɵ
Around the World in 80 Trees is out in paperback on 16 March, published by Laurence King (£12.99).
I love Jerusalem Botanic Garden, 5'2& "'1.* 71 -$ .* ,21 2& 2 0# +# ,',%$3* 2- .#-.*# 5&-1# 0#*'%'-31 -0 !3*230 * 0--21 *'# ', 2&# 0#%'-,Ɵ &# 1#,1'2'4# ',2#0.0#2 2'-,Ơ ', # 0#5Ơ 0 '! ," ,%*'1&Ơ '1 0#+',"#0 2& 2 2&# .#-.*#1 -$ 2&# 0#%'-, +312 *# 0, 2- *'4# 2-%#2&#0 .# !#$3**7Ɵ
-3,% .#-.*# 0# %#22',% 2&# +#11 %# 2& 2 5#ư0# ', , #,4'0-,+#,2 * .'!)*#Ɵ 2 %'4#1 +# &-.# 2& 2 '2ư1 #!-+',% + ',120# + .-*'2'! * '113#Ɵ
ư4# *5 71 ##, 1203!) 7 &32 ,ư1 *-4# -$ 20##1Ɵ &#'0 +','+3+ 12 232-07 20## !-4#0 $-0 2&# !-3,207 .321 2&# 5-0*" 2- 1& +#Ɵ *1- "+'0# 2&#'0 *# "#01&'. ', 2&',)',% -32 +# 130#1 -$ &3+ , & ..',#11 ," $3*̭*+#,2Ơ 0 2&#0 2& , 207',% 2- + 6'+'1# Ɵ ,*'%&2#,#" 2&',)',%Ơ $0-+ 5&'!& 5# 1&-3*" *# 0,Ɵ
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G DS OWN C UN Y Beyond the harbours and white-sand beaches of Crete lies a land rich in history and myth, home to deities and monsters from the Minotaur to the thunder-god Zeus himself. We embark on a quest to discover this island’s legendary legacy
WORDS CHRISTA LARWOOD @clarwood PHOTOGRAPHS MATT MUNRO @mattmunrophotos
the Bronze Age (c. 2700 to c. 1450 BCE). &'1 5 1 30-.#ư1 ̭012 "4 ,!#" .#-.*#Ơ who developed a unique system of writing, built sophisticated palaces, and presided over a golden age of prosperity that lasted more than 500 years. And it was this advanced era in Crete that storytellers like Homer evoked when laying the foundations of Greek mythology. Crete is the setting of many of the great Greek myths. Odysseus sailed here, Hercules laboured here, and it was from Cretan cliffs that Icarus soared on wings of feathers and wax. This is where the hero Theseus battled the fearsome, bull-headed Minotaur. And the king of the Greek gods, Zeus – of the mighty thunderbolt and even mightier sexual appetite – was reputedly born in Crete. Locals will still tell you he %0#5 3. &#0#Ơ # 2',% ̭,# *-! * &-,#7 ," drinking the milk of a she-goat goddess. My plan is to cross this island and explore its many myths, but when I mention it to a lady in an old-town bakery, it prompts a raised eyebrow and a wry smile. ‘Good luck,’ 1&# 1 71Ơ & ,"',% +# -6 -$ 1.', !&Ƥ̭**#" pastries. ‘Everywhere in Crete has a myth 22 !&#" 2- '2Ɵ $ 7-3 207 2- ̭," 2&#+ **Ơ you’ll be here a very long time.’
PHOTOGRAPHS:
In the early morning, the pastel-hued buildings along Hania’s curving harbour are painted with golden light, each doubled in the gently shifting waters of the bay. It’s quiet, with just a few taverna-keepers setting out chairs, and a grey-bearded man wading thigh-deep in the water, using a hook to capture sea urchins and drop them, black spines glistening, into his bucket. A glance around this waterfront on the northern coast of Crete hints at one side of this island’s history, a tale of conquest and occupation. The apricot-domed church by the water’s edge was a mosque when the Ottomans ruled here from the 17th century – it still bears the scars of a toppled minaret. For hundreds of years before that, the Venetians were in charge, building the colourful harbourside warehouses that are now home to boutique hotels and upmarket restaurants. But as I wander beyond the harbour, the true nature of Crete’s past is revealed – an extraordinary history stretching back to the dawn of Western civilisation. Humble sites of excavated earth are dotted here and there through the streets of Hania, displaying remains of the Minoan empire, powerhouse of the Mediterranean during
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The Greek Orthodox Church of the Trimartyri in Hania. Right, from top: The drive into the White Mountains; a sign at the Iron Gates
I
drive south through sun-warmed Cretan countryside. A riot of golden Spanish broom and red poppies crowds the roadside, and beyond are groves of orange trees polka-dotted with bright fruits. Ahead loom the White Mountains, named for their ghostly pallor and the snowcaps that cling on despite the early summer heat. It’s high among these peaks that the landscape breaks open into a jagged gash that stretches ten miles towards the southern coast – the Samaria Gorge. The gorge’s towering walls were carved over millennia by a stream that still rushes over the rocks below, and a walking path of pale stones now traces its curves. Local guide Nikki Stavroulaki has often walked this gorge, and she navigates the tricky
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terrain on nimble feet. ‘I love it because each time I notice something new; each time it’s different,’ she says with fervour. The path winds steeply down, crossing back and forth over the stream via creaking log bridges. Above, the sheer limestone cliffs change colour from rosy pink to streaked grey and gold. There’s a hum just audible above the shushing of the water, as hosts of bees feast on the purple blooms of wild thyme that grow between the rocks. In quiet moments like this, you can see how the gorge may have awed ancient visitors and inspired them to create stories about playful nymphs emerging from the rocks, river and trees. It was a local nymph that brought mythological fame to this region, thanks to a divine dalliance with the god of music and
light, Apollo. ‘He came to a place called Tarra and fell in love with Akakkalis, a beautiful nymph,’ Nikki tells me. ‘He spent the night with her, but he had such a nice time that he forgot to wake up in the morning. The sun didn’t rise until he woke, and that was the longest night humanity ever knew.’ We reach the point known as the Iron Gates, where the gorge walls draw in so tight the wind whistles through the gap. Nikki makes her way along the narrow wooden walkway and gestures to the mountainous landscape that greets us on the other side. ‘Myths like that tell us something about the allure of a place,’ she says. ‘To the people who told those stories, the meaning was clear – this place itself was so special, it seduced even the gods.’
LEGENDS OF CRETE Guide Nikki Stavroulaki crosses the river in front of the ‘Iron Gates’ passage in the Samaria Gorge. Previous pages: A view out to the Aegean Sea from Hania’s port
IT WAS L CAL NYMPH AT BROUGHT MYTH LOGICAL FAME TO IS REGION, THANKS T A DIVINE D L ANCE WITH THE G D OF MUSIC AND LIGHT, P LLO
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LEGENDS OF CRETE
Paraskevas holds a tray of baklava at his family’s bakery in Rethymno. Above: Coastal views from the road near Rethymno
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journey northwest through shaded green valleys brings me back to the northern coast and the seaside city of Rethymno, with its proud sandstone fortress and cross-hatching of slender alleyways. There are myths here, too – some scientists believe ancient dwarf-elephant fossils found in nearby caves may have inspired stories of the terrible Cyclops – but I am on the trail of a more recent local legend. In a former Venetian mansion in the heart of the old town, 52-year-old Paraskevas Chatziparaschos rolls a sheet of pale dough to paper-thinness and billows it out like a bedsheet over a huge wooden table. This will soon be folded and folded, !0# 2',% !-3,2*#11 * 7#01 -$ Ě*- . 1207 2- # baked into the family’s famous baklava. Golden rows of these pistachio pastries stand by the entrance, each bite a crispy, nutty glory that oozes with honey. Paraskevas learnt his trade from his father Giorgios, who has himself spent 73 years perfecting his technique. ‘There is no one recipe,’ Paraskevas says, giving the . 1207 ,-2&#0 #6.#02 ĚŽ'!) -$ 2&# 50'12Ć&#x; ‘It changes, depending on the weather, the humidity. It might need more salt one day, or to rest it under some damp hessian. This,’ he says with a gesture towards the expanse of delicate dough, ‘is truly the work of a lifetime.’ The family’s pastry is prized across Rethymno, and the city’s top chefs use it to add delicate crunch to their own dishes. I wander along streets lined with shops selling raw sea sponges and carved olive wood to Avli, a lively restaurant with a shaded courtyard bursting with blooms. Here, the crispy, thread-thin strands of the Chatziparaschos pastry are wrapped around tender aubergine with spearmint and tangy gruyère. I eat this, along with a deconstructed potato-and-cheese boureki 2-..#" 5'2& .30.*# + **-5 ĚŽ-5#01Ć ," side dish of feather-light courgette blossoms stuffed with goat’s cheese. Crete is renowned for its exceptional produce, and local pride runs deep. When I mention my interest in the island’s mythology to the waitress, a lady from the next table leans over, her gold necklace swinging, and points to my plate. ‘What more evidence do we need that Zeus grew up on this island?’ she asks with a grin. ĆŻ # ! , 2 12# '2Ć&#x; 0#2 , $--" '1 Ě2 2nourish a god.’
A restaurant sign in Rethymno. Below: Traditional taverna lunch including the universal Greek salad
Lunchtime in Rethymno. Below: Sights and curiosities from around the town
LEGENDS OF CRETE
The Palace of Knossos, once the centre of Minoan civilisation, has been partially reconstructed. Right: Wild Ebenus cretica near Rethymno
THIS C ULD HAVE BEEN E ORIGIN OF THE MIN TAUR LEGEND, MAN WI THE HEAD ND SH ULDERS OF A BULL AT FEASTED ON HUM N FLESH
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F
ifty miles to the east of Rethymno lie the remains a great Minoan structure, the Palace of Knossos. Until the 19th century, locals knew the site as nothing more than an unremarkable hill overgrown with olive trees, but careful excavation revealed it to be the centre of the Minoan empire. Today the ruin stands revealed, a network of stone foundations and crumble-edged walls drenched in sunlight. The only residents are peacocks that patrol the perimeters and whose loose piercing cries echo among the stonework. The palace was "#120-7#" ', ̭0# ', 2&# ��2& !#,2307 but restored sections show striking frescoes with bright designs of leaping dolphins and charging bulls. Terracotta pipes running between buildings brought residents fresh spring water, and archaeologists discovered 2&# ',- , /3##, #4#, & " ̮31& *# 2-'*#2Ơ #*'#4#" 2- # 2&# ̭012 ', 2&# 5-0*"Ɵ Local guide Katerina Tsagaraki leads me through the site, looking glamorous in a ̮-5',% *3# "0#11 "#1.'2# 2&# "312 ," heat. She directs me to a wide-open space
that was once a central arena, where shrieking crowds would watch youths perform the extraordinary feat of jumping over charging bulls. This, scholars believe, could have been the origin of the Minotaur legend, a man with the head and shoulders -$ 3** 2& 2 $# 12#" -, &3+ , ̮#1&Ɵ , 2&# +72&Ơ 2&#,' , 7-32&1 5#0# 1 !0'̭!#" 2- the Minotaur, until the creature was slain by the brave hero, Theseus. ‘You can see how it was born into the fantasy of the people,’ Katerina says, ‘that the Athenians were sent to be eaten by the Minotaur monster, when in fact it was to jump over a bull. Perhaps the only one to succeed was a young man called Theseus. From mouth to mouth, generation to generation, that’s how we have this history today, written as a kind of fairytale.’ For Katerina, these stories are more than +72&1Ơ 2&#7 0# . 02 -$ 2&# 0#2 , '"#,2'27Ɵ Ư 2 '1 ', 2&# *--" -$ 2&# 0#2 ,1Ơư 1&# 1 71 with pride. ‘We’ve always had our own character, our own traditions, our own customs, and we’ve honoured our own god, Zeus. These myths are our history.’
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LEGENDS OF CRETE Windmills and a church on the Lasithi Plateau, on the drive to the mountains. Left from above: A Greek Orthodox priest stands by the roadside; the cathedrallike Dikteon Cave
ccording to the legend, Zeus was born in a cave, hidden from the gaze of his cannibal father, Kronos. While Crete has many caves, there’s one high in the Dikti Mountains that’s considered the most likely candidate. I head southwest of Knossos along a steep, curving road lined with wild pink oleander to the edge of the Lasithi Plateau, cradled by a crescent of rumple-backed mountains. In case I’m in any doubt, a municipal sign by the roadside reads, ‘Welcome to the birthplace of Zeus and the beginning of Europe.’ It’s a steep climb on foot to reach the Dikteon Cave, on a pathway of stones buffed by countless feet to an iron-blue gleam. Sheer walls of green-stippled rock loom then split to reveal the cave entrance, as if the mountain itself has stirred and opened its ferocious maw. With each step down into the cave, the temperature drops; the heat of summer is forgotten in moments. Ahead is an eerie warren of alien shapes and boundless dark. Green stalactites hang $0-+ ! 4# !#'*',% 2- ̮--0 *')# +'%&27Ơ twisted roots. The cave is deep, reaching far back out of sight, and every surface is gleaming wet. In the half-shadows it’s possible to see all sorts of gods and monsters in these rocks. Electric lights illuminate the cave today, but it’s all too easy to imagine how those who came here in ancient times might have peered into the darkness beyond 2&#'0 ̮'!)#0',% 2-0!&#1 ," !-,1'"#0#" 2&'1 a place best left to the gods. I emerge into the light and take in the view across the plateau, a broad patchwork of neat ̭#*"1 ," -0!& 0"1 "-22#" 5'2& 5&'2#Ƥ1 '*#" 5',"+'**1Ɵ 7 (-30,#7 & 1 -$̭!' **7 !-+# to its end, but the myths of this land continue. Perhaps it was across this landscape that the sea-god Poseidon’s enchanted bull rampaged? And further east must be where Zeus brought the Phoenician princess Europa, to have his wicked way with her. And south, beyond the coast, I’ve heard the Isle of Hrysi may be the whitesanded paradise where Odysseus stayed enchanted by a witch for seven years. I’m reminded of the baker’s friendly warning at the start of my journey: that discovering all of the local myths might take a very long time. Standing here, with all of Crete at my feet, it seems to me there are far worse ways to spend a lifetime than seeking out the legendary stories of this island and helping them last a thousand years more.
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CHRISTA LARWOOD
received support from the Greek National Tourism Organisation. A writer with an interest in classics, she is also co-host of the BBC’s The Travel Show.
M A K E
I T
H A P P E N
CR E
GETTING THERE Direct flights run from the UK to Crete between April and October on Aegean Airlines, BA, easyJet, Norwegian and other airlines. Fly into Hania (often written as Chania) or the island capital Iraklio, also spelled Heraklion (from £100; easyjet.com). During the colder months, you can fly to Crete via Athens on Aegean Airlines (from £170 to Iraklio or Hania; en.aegeanair.com). GETTING AROUND For freedom and flexibility, it’s best to hire a car. Drive with caution in remote rural areas as road edges can become unstable after heavy rain, and opt for a small vehicle if possible as driving and parking in Iraklio’s Old Town centre can be a tight and tricky
business (from £10 per day; rhinocarhire.com). WHEN TO GO Crete is warm in spring and autumn, so avoid the midsummer crowds and go in May/June or September/October to experience the best of the island. Our team travelled in June when the landscape was covered in wildflowers. FURTHER INFO Delve into the history of the Minoans and the modern struggle to decipher their language with Margalit Fox’s The Riddle of the Labyrinth (£9.99, Profile Books). For trip-planning, pick up our Crete guide (£12.99; lonelyplanet.com). See official tourist board websites, visitgreece.gr and incrediblecrete.gr.
MAP KEY
Dikteon Cave Douloufakis Winery Elafonisi Beach Hania (Chania) Hrysi (Chrissi/ Gaïdouronisi)
Iraklio (Heraklion) Knossos Rethymno Samaria Gorge Vaï Beach
CRETE’S BEST BEACHES Elafonisi Beach If one beach is emblematic of Crete, it’s Elafonisi, in the southwestern corner of the island. This beach has a baby-pink ring at the waterline, created from crushed coral and shells, which curves against white sand and aquamarine water to create an otherworldly effect. If you tire of this beach, you can roll up your trousers and slosh to another one on a picturesque islet just across the water. It’s a 1½-hour drive here from Hania through striking countryside. Stay at the Elafonisi Resort, a small hotel with an excellent seafood restaurant attached (rooms from £50; elafonisi-resort.com).
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Hrysi Island Local lore has it that Hrysi (aka Chrissi or Gaïdouronisi) is where Odysseus was waylaid on his journey back from the Trojan Wars, and one glance at this island off the southeast coast shows why the famed hero might have found it hard to leave. Here, wooded hills look down on white-sand beaches ringed by water so vivid that in bright sunlight it’s almost shocking. Hrysi is accessible only by ferry from Ierapetra (purchase tickets from agents around the harbour for £20). Stay at the Cretan Villa Hotel in Ierapetra, with stone-walled rooms and a courtyard (rooms from £40; cretan-villa.com).
Vaï Beach Located on the northeastern tip of Crete, the secluded inlet of Vaï Beach is backed by a forest of date palms. Theories about the presence of this non-native species suggest the first palms grew from date pits cast overboard by ancient Phoenician soldiers, Roman legionaries or even pirates. Today, the palms overlook golden sands, emerald-green waters and a picturesque trio of rocky outcrops. Around a ten-minute drive from Vaï Beach are the Esperides Stone Houses, self-catering villas set amid an olive grove with views over the water (rooms from £44; palaikastro.com/esperides).
LEGENDS OF CRETE
5 STEPS T
DIVINE DVEN RE
1
Explore Hania Arrive in the ancient harbour city of Hania, and spend the day exploring the picturesque Kastelli waterfront and Old Town, keeping an eye out for excavated Minoan sites. Stay overnight in the Elia Estia hotel, a collection of unique apartments in the Kastelli district. Spacious and quietly stylish – deploying pale colours, tasteful furniture and industrial-style light fittings – each comes with a view, either over the harbour or the Old Town and mountains (from £62 per night; eliahotels.com).
2
Hike the Samaria Gorge Drive 1½ hours southwest and check in at the Monastery Estate Retreat in the Sougia region. The hotel can arrange drop-off at the Samaria Gorge trail-head and pick-up from Sougia at the other end (around £50). Hike down the gorge, allowing at least six hours (£5 entry; samaria.gr), then catch a ferry from the harbour at Agia Roumeli on the southern coast (£10; anendyk.gr) to the port of Sougia, ready for transfer back to the hotel. Spend the night high among the mountains at the Monastery Estate Guesthouse (right). Each suite is styled with a subdued palette – bleached wood and exposed concrete – and has a private plunge pool (open from April; pool suite from £155; monasteryestate.com).
3
Discover Rethymno Enjoy a Cretan breakfast of crispbreads and local cheeses, then hit the road north and loop east for a two-hour drive to Rethymno. Wander the streets of the Old Town and explore the 16th-century waterfront fort before stopping for a meal at Avli restaurant (left). Ask for a seat in the leafy courtyard and sample modern versions of local dishes, such as sole fillet served with bitter almond sauce (from £8; avli.gr). Spend the night in the heart of the city’s medieval quarter at the Rimondi Boutique Hotels, where you can choose either a converted Venetian palazzo or a modern building with mezzanine suites and barrel ceilings (open from April; rooms from £95 and suites from £145; hotelsrimondi.com).
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Coastal drive and winery After 8am, head to the Chatziparaschos bakery for baklava fresh from the oven (from £5 a box; Emmanoil Vernardoy 30, Rethymno). Drive an hour east along the northern coast, then skirt the city of Iraklio and head to the Dafnes wine region, where vines grow amid olive groves. Stop in at Douloufakis Winery (pictured) for a taste of their award-winning dry red, Liatiko, and a visit to their hillside vineyards (bottles from £12; call ahead; cretanwines.gr). For dinner, head into Iraklio to Karnagio, a tavern serving Cretan dishes such as mussels with saganaki cheese (mains from £6; karnagio.gr). Bed down at the Olive Green Hotel, a pared-back hotel with an eco-friendly ethos (from £42; olivegreenhotel.com).
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Visit Knossos and Zeus’ cave Only a 15-minute drive south of the Cretan capital is the Bronze Age Minoan capital of Knossos, Crete’s most notable archaeological ruin. Arrive early to avoid queues, and spend the morning exploring the expansive complex (tickets from £7.50; etickets.tap.gr). From there, head southeast for 1½ hours via curving mountain roads and small, white-painted villages to the edge of the Lasithi Plateau and the Dikteon Cave. Follow the steep trail up the mountainside before descending into the ancient gloom of the cave (tickets £5; visitgreece.gr). Be sure to stop and buy some of the famous local honey at a roadside stall (pictured) before heading back to Iraklio for your flight home.
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Treasured With more than 6,000 islands and islets scattered off its coast, the Greek archipelago offers ample opportunities for escape. Here we outline the most original slow-travel experiences across the Aegean and Ionian seas, from local festivals to hidden beaches – and beyond
WORDS OLIVER SMITH
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@OliSmithTravel
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Islands
PHOTOGRAPH: PETER FISCHER/AWL
Savour a sunset without the crowds in Folegandros Santorini is known for its epic sunsets illuminating whitewashed houses, volcanic slopes and shimmering blue seas, but, less pleasingly, it’s also known for epic crowds. Happily you’ll find all the same ingredients (minus the hordes) in nearby Folegandros, a hiccup of land at the southern edge of the Cyclades, and a place of exile for political dissidents in Roman times. You might well chance insulting a tyrant to savour the sunset from Hora – one of the loveliest villages in the archipelago. From its higgledy-piggledy core, follow a footpath to Panagia: a church standing sentinel over the island, whose hilltop perch means it catches the last drops of the day’s sunshine. ) Ampelos
Hotel has sparse, comfortable rooms looking up to Panagia (from £100; ampelos-resort.folegandros.top-hotels-gr.com). ) Santorini has the closest airport to Folegandros. EasyJet, among others, flies from London Gatwick and Manchester (from £95; easyjet.com). It’s roughly 40 minutes by fast boat to Folegandros (£80 return; seajets.gr).
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GREEK EXPERIENCES
Discover Symi’s secrets Sailing into Gialos (pictured right), you might think your ferry has taken a wrong turn: Italianate mansions flank the quays, bringing the palazzi of Amalfi and Portofino to mind. Symi was under Italian rule from the 1920s to the 1940s; holidaymakers come from Rhodes to taste la dolce vita in the Dodecanese. Few stay the night, fewer still leave Gialos. Idle the afternoon away in Nimborios, with its pebbly beach and lively taverna, or bless your onward odyssey by following a zigzag lane to Moni Taxiarhou Mihail Panormiti – a monastery with 5th-century origins dedicated to St Michael, protector of sailors. ) Set inside Gialos’ former market building, Old Markets’ themed rooms take their inspiration from Symi’s Venetian and Ottoman past (from £170; theoldmarkets.com). ) The closest airport to Symi is Rhodes – Ryanair flies from East Midlands, Liverpool and others (from £150; ryanair.com). From here, Dodekanisos runs services to Symi of around 50 minutes (from £32 return; 12ne.gr).
Hydra is vehicle-free; mules, donkeys and walking are your only options for exploring this long, slender Saronic island. Fortunately, it’s only an idle tenminute stroll from the ferry terminal to Techne (pictured above), one of the brightest culinary stars in the Aegean: a restaurant serving modern Greek cuisine with a side order of views out to the Peloponnese. Dishes are centred on local, seasonal sustainable ingredients and seafood landed fresh from the waters below, such as sea bream fillet, mussels, fine beans, Jerusalem artichoke, saffron sauce and pistachio (pictured above). Walk off your lunch with a hike into Hydra’s wild interior, following cobbled paths through pine forests, quiet but for the splash of the faraway sea and the occasional wheeze of a distant donkey (small dishes from £4; techne-hydra.com). ) Cotommatae
offers rooms in an antique-studded 19th-century mansion overlooking the port in Hydra Town (from £110; cotommatae.gr). ) High-speed ferries link Hydra with Piraeus – Athens’ principal ferry port, taking about 90 minutes (£50 return; hellenicseaways.gr).
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PHOTOGRAPHS: AGNIESZKA SITARZ, FRANZ MARC FREI/GETTY IMAGES, JOHANNA HUBER/4CORNERS
Eat a meal you’ll feel good about for months in Hydra
Experience traditional island life in Tinos
TINOS LOCAL TIP
The festivals that take place in every village during the summer are a must, especially the Rakizio festival in the village of Falatados. Every year on the second weekend of September, locals celebrate the production of their famous raki, with much drinking and dancing. Thanos Georgilas, Winemaker T-Oinos Wines (toinos.com)
Tinos claims one of the holiest sites in the Greek Orthodox faith – the Church of Panagia Evangelistria, centred on an icon of the Virgin Mary that can perform miraculous cures. A pilgrimage around the rest of the island is also restorative – it’s one of the best places in the Cyclades to immerse yourself in village life. Rent a car and make a circuit from Tinos town: first stop hilltop Ktikados, overseen by a beautiful blue-domed campanile. Continue to Tarabados – here you’ll find grand dovecotes of the Venetian era (pictured left), which look more like a doge’s palace than a dwelling for pigeons. Come home to roost in little Dio Choria, where the cafés provide perfect perches for people-watching. )Stay at Tinos Habitart, with seven traditional villas, including a Venetian-era
dovecote converted for human guests (two-bed villa from £125; tinos-habitart.gr). ) Fast Ferries run from Rafina, east of Athens, to Tinos, taking roughly four hours (from £54 return; fastferries.com).
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GREEK EXPERIENCES
Explore the crowd-free villages of Chios
Byzantine emperors and Ottoman sultans were partial to chomping mastic – the Wrigley’s of antiquity, it’s a resin from the mastic tree, releasing a cedar-like taste when chewed. Its place of origin is also worth sinking your teeth into: the island of Chios (pictured below) in the Northeastern Aegean, within, err, spitting distance of the Turkish mainland. Eco-operator Masticulture runs tours of the mastic heartland in the south of the island, showing guests how to harvest the resin from centuries-old groves. Be sure to stay in the so-called ‘mastic-villages’, where you can amble crowd-free cobbled alleyways, passing mansions built by the gum barons of bygone generations (tours from £15; masticulture.com). ) Medieval Castle Suites in Mesta has apartments spread around the 14th-century town walls – some have patios on the battlements (from £50; mcsuites.gr). ) Aegean flies to Chios via Athens from UK airports including Heathrow (from £250; aegeanair.com). Alternatively, ferry services to the Turkish mainland take 20 minutes (from £21 return; erturk.com.tr).
CHIOS LOCAL TIP
Eleni Paidousi, Chios Mastic Museum
Harness turtle power in Zakynthos Every summer, Zakynthos has an influx of visitors arriving to bask on its Ionian sands. Not the usual work-weary crowds, but the endangered loggerhead turtle, for whom its beaches are the most important breeding ground in the Mediterranean. Visit from May, when up to 1,500 nests dot the Bay of Laganas, and learn more at the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, based at Gerakas. This cliff-hemmed beach is equally appealing to humans and reptiles. Alternatively, snap up the chance to be a volunteer for a month or more, identifying nests and cleaning plastic from the shores; placements end in October, when turtles depart on autumn tides (archelon.gr). ) Zakynthos
Windmills has apartments in two restored turbines on the north coast of the island, with views out to Kefalonia (from £120; potamitisbros.gr). ) Zakynthos Airport has flights from across the UK, including Jet2 from Leeds/Bradford and Belfast (from £220; jet2.com).
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PHOTOGRAPH: PHILIP LEE HARVEY, NICKKONT/SHUTTERSTOCK, YANA GEORGIEVA/SHUTTERSTOCK
The famous beach in South Chios is Mavra Volia. Less well known but equally spectacular is Foki, next door. It’s a marvellous landscape of black pebbles, where you can smell the natural perfumes of the sea.
Roll in the deep in Paros and Antiparos Paros has beaches to suit all tastes. Snorkellers can come eye-to-eye with scuttling crabs among boulder-strewn Kolymbithres in the north and windsurfers can take flight beside the golden expanse of Hrysi Akti in the south. More idle souls might choose Santa Maria, lined with sun loungers, as the perfect place to power through a paperback. Paros also claims a small sidekick – the island of Antiparos, whose shores are suited to deeper exploration. Blue Island Divers in Antiparos Town is able to arrange PADI courses and expeditions: divers might find themselves among silvery schools of barracuda or soaring over a seabed scattered with millennia-old amphorae (Open Water Course from £350; blueisland-divers.gr). ) Beach House Antiparos, at the southern shores of the island, has nine suites set in leafy gardens (from £70; beachhouseantiparos.com). ) Aegean offers flights to Paros, changing in Athens, from UK airports (Birmingham-Paros from £280: aegeanair.com).
PAROS LOCAL TIP
If for some inconceivable reason I had to leave Paros, and years later come back just for one day, then I would definitely do three things: swim in the crystal-clear waters of Laggeri beach, eat traditional sundried gouna fish accompanied with herring salad, and stroll endlessly through the narrow streets of the village of Naoussa, preferably in June or September. Xenia Marmarometry, Jewellery Artist (marmarometry.co)
GREEK EXPERIENCES
PHOTOGRAPHS: ADRIENNE PITTS, DESIGN PICS INC/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Shop consciously in Sifnos In ancient times, Sifnos grew rich on gold and silver deposits – its landscape became studded with mines, and its citizens were the wealthiest in the Cyclades. Sadly the gold ran out, as did the silver, but Sifnos’ artisanal streak never quite went away: today, locals still mine this little landmass for inspiration, with rich pottery (pictured above) and weaving traditions enduring. Lose an afternoon pottering about the boutiques in the labyrinthine village of Apollonia. Afterwards take a turn into neighbouring Artemonas to find Sifnos Stoneware – a pottery dynasty now in its fifth generation, making kitchenware cast in the turquoise hue of the sea, or the deep blues of the Cycladean sky. Keep your plates well clear of Greek weddings (plates from £10; sifnosstoneware.com).
) Petali
Village Hotel has rooms with four-poster beds and shady balconies spread over a minor maze of buildings outside Artemonas (from £75; sifnoshotelpetali.com). ) Ferries from Piraeus, outside Athens, take around three hours to reach Sifnos (from £65 return; minoan.gr).
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The home of the Venus de Milo and some of the most dramatic rock formations in the Cyclades, Milos’ coastline of limestone cliffs and azure waters is one of the most familiar images of the Greek archipelago, but this was largely an island of farmers and fishermen until recently. It’s best admired from the sea, and sightseeing boats, speedboats and yachts all nudge and nose at its craggy capes and inaccessible beaches. The best way to get up close to the cliffs and into otherwise unreachable sea caves is to captain your own kayak, giving you the freedom to go aground in little bays, capsize with merry abandon and hear the crash of the waves without the rattle of an engine drowning it out. Join Sea Kayak Milos for a guided paddle to the most dramatic spot of all, on the island’s southwestern tip. Kleftiko translates as ‘pirate’s lair’, where kayakers can pass under swooping rock arches, looking for legendary mislaid loot in sea caves lit by the blue fathoms below (day trip from £70; seakayakgreece.com). ) At Salt Suites, apartments come with sea-weathered timbers, nautical objets d’art and heroic views of the Aegean (from £120; salt-milos.com). ) Aegean connects Milos to the UK, including London Gatwick, via Athens (from £250; aegeanair.com).
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PHOTOGRAPHS: SIVAN ASKAYO, WWWGUIZIOU FRANCK/ HEMIS/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, HITDELIGHT/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Paddle to a smuggler’s cove in Milos
GREEK EXPERIENCES
MILOS LOCAL TIP
The lagoon of Sikia is something extraordinary: a lagoon that was a sea cave, with sheer walls up to 50m high. It is connected to the sea by a tunnel that’s just about big enough for a small boat to pass through. It’s on the remote west coast of Milos; you can take a twohour hike from the monastery of St John, or arrive by sea. Rod Feldtmann, Sea Kayak Milos
Find a peaceful patch of sand in Anafi Legend tells that Anafi was created by Apollo as a place of refuge for Jason and the Argonauts, and in the 21st century it endures as a haven from the busier Cycladean islands. It’s home to 270 people, one village and an uninhabited monastery. Out of season, its beaches are wonderfully serene: popular Roukounas beach has sweeping views of Monastery Rock, the so-called Gibraltar of the Cyclades, while Klisidi claims a strip of sand backed by an excellent taverna. Scramble along the coast further west, however, and you’ll reach the jewel in Anafi’s crown: the sandy beach of Agioi Anargyri (pictured above). There are no tavernas, no crowds, no parasols and (usually) no people, just a lonely chapel watching out over rolling swells. Climb to the scrubby headland for views out to distant Makra and Pachia – uninhabited islands that are even quieter than Anafi. ) Margarita’s Rooms offers rustic accommodation and great food (including home-baked bread) overlooking Klisidi Beach (from £70; margarita-anafi.gr). ) Santorini has the closest airport to Anafi; easyJet, among others, flies from London Gatwick and Manchester (from £95; easyjet.com). From Santorini, ferries take 90 minutes to reach Anafi (from £100 return; anek.gr).
Head to Skiathos – the new destination for LGBT travellers In socially conservative Greece, Mykonos has long been a landmark destination for the gay community, but coupled-up LGBT travellers are now favouring Skiathos (pictured right). Disembark at the Old Port – a filming location for the original Mamma Mia! – before heading west to Little Banana Beach, a gayfriendly strip of sand under pine and olive trees with views to the mainland. With a library of spirits and liqueurs, De Facto in Skiathos Town is the island’s only dedicated gay bar, but other tavernas and cafés are increasingly welcoming to the LGBT community. ) Hotel
Mystery is a gay-friendly hotel in Skiathos, with balconies overlooking the rooftops of the old town (from £80; skiathosmystery.com). ) Among others, Jet2 offers flights to Skiathos from London Stansted and Manchester (from £300; jet2.com).
Ikaria is supposedly named after Icarus, who crashlanded off its shores after flying too close to the sun; if it was intended as a lesson in restraint, then it didn’t catch on. Ikaria is famous for its panigyria (pictured above) – summer saints’ festivals more akin to raves than British village fêtes. Over a dozen take place across the island, with villages hosting boisterous celebrations through short, balmy nights. Expect dancing in cobbled squares, stewed goat on the tables and Ikarian wine in abundance. Perhaps the largest is Hristos Rahes, known locally as ‘the village that never sleeps’. Its residents were said to have developed nocturnal habits to avoid the attention of passing pirates by day, which makes them veteran revellers (for dates, see visitikaria.gr). ) Stay
at Toxotis Villas in Armenistis – seven villas feature exposed stone walls, muted palettes and views out to sea (from £100; toxotis-ikaria.gr). ) Aegean connects Ikaria to UK airports, including Edinburgh, via Athens (from £333; ægeanair.com).
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PHOTOGRAPHS: PERCY RYALL/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO, EVAN MAVRIDOGLOU/SURF CLUB KEROS
Join the party in Ikaria
GREEK EXPERIENCES
PHOTOGRAPHS: AGRIKEA/EMOTIONAL FRAMES/EMOTIONALFRAMES.GR
Stay on a farm in Kea Farmstays don’t get more luxurious than Agrikea (pictured right), a boutique property set among shady almond groves on the island of Kea. Guests can catch a glimpse of bygone life on this island, which is too often associated with holiday lets. Fig, olive and pomegranate trees help in stocking the kitchen, while pecking chickens and guinea fowl amble freely on farm terraces restored after 60 years of neglect. Less obviously connected to Hellenic farming heritage is the infinity pool and massage service. Stay in winter or spring to join guided horticultural tours of the island, following cobbled paths through meadows of swaying wildflowers. ) Rooms at Agrikea are divided between little studios, the main house and the former stables (from £200 for two-night minimum stay; agrikea.com). ) Ferries take one hour to Kea from the port of Lavrio on the Greek mainland, roughly an hour’s drive south of Athens (from £22 return; bluestarferries.com).
KEA LOCAL TIP
Take a 45-minute hike to the coastal ruins of ancient Karthea. An old stone path descends through a ravine filled with aromatic plants, emerging at a pristine beach. The temple ruins and the recently excavated theatre will take you back in time – be sure to go snorkelling over Karthea’s submerged sea wall too. Haris Fevgas, Owner of Agrikea
Pitch up with the family in Limnos Surf Club Keros bucks the trend for Greek island family resorts. Accommodation takes the form of luxury safari tents, pitched among reedy dunes on the island of Limnos. The shallow waters beyond the tents are perfect for youngsters taking lessons in kite-surfing (pictured left) and wind-surfing. Dependable onshore winds mean that boards (and kids) are blown back to shore, while morning yoga and massages cater to less adrenaline-hungry adults. For an educational day trip, take a short drive south and find inspiration among the ruins of Poliohni, said to be the oldest incidence of a constitutional democracy in Europe. ) Family
tents are available from £65, while four-hour kids’ windsurfing courses start from £140 (surfclubkeros.com). ) Aegean flies to Limnos via Athens from UK airports (London HeathrowLimnos from £350; aegeanair.com).
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MODERN MUSE From conquistador poets to Frida Kahlo, Mexico City has inspired generations of artists. Join a local journalist on a culture-focused tour and find creativity around every corner @jorgepedro PHOTOGRAPHS LEILA ASHTARI
@ashtariphoto
TRANSLATION BY ORLA THOMAS AND BAILEY FREEMAN
WORDS JORGE PEDRO URIBE LLAMAS
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Deliveries in the Centro Histórico. Left: Chicken soup, steak with guajillo chilli, quesadillas and more at Cantina Salón España
PHOTOGRAPHS:
The 1950s Torre Latinoamericana looks out over the historic centre. Left: Dance club El Babalú. Opposite: Mid-century furniture at Clásicos Mexicanos
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M
exico City’s artistic scene goes far beyond its most celebrateddaughter,Frida Kahlo, whose distinctive self-portraits appear on everything from notebooks to coffee cups the world over. Filmmaker Luis Buñuel and painter Leonora Carrington made their names here, and Seville poet Juan de la Cueva wrote of ‘six things of excellent beauty’ in the city of the 16th century: casas, calles, caballos, carnes, cabellos y criaturas bellas – houses, streets, horses, meats, hair and beautiful creatures. World Capital of Design in 2018, Mexico City’s appeal lies also in the creativity of its people. You can see it in public design: our Metro icons, designed in the late ’60s by Lance Wyman, and Alameda Central, the first urban park in the Americas. You’ll find creative Mexico City in some surprising places, not just its inspiring museums and traditional crafts, but its bars, restaurants, down dimly lit streets, and among peeling façades.
CREATIVE MEXICO CIT Y Cultural centre Tetetlán’s restaurant, which serves uniquely Mesoamerican dishes
Stop 1: FOR A ONE-OFF SPACE Mexico City combines all kinds of architecture. A half-hour taxi ride along streets embellished with elegant jacaranda trees might take you past neocolonial houses and small Beaux Arts palaces, via Art Deco buildings and Baroque churches. The city’s Modernist masterpiece is Luis Barragán’s Casa Pedregal, a vibrant pink building designed as a private home. Located at the side of the property, in its old stables, is the cultural centre Tetetlán (tetetlan.com). Its name means ‘place between stones’ in Nahuatl, one of the languages of the Uto-Aztecan people, because the property was built on a bed of volcanic rock. ‘Any work of architecture which does not express serenity is a mistake,’ architect Luis Barragán once said. And Tetetlán does feel like an oasis – it’s as though nothing exists beyond its boundaries. For lunch, the centre’s restaurant serves uniquely Mesoamerican dishes – roasted cuitlacoche, an edible fungus that grows on corn, and a cut of lamb served with grasshopper sauce. Even the circumspect couple at the table next to mine enjoy the food. The Tetetlán’s library is one of the most complete on Mexican art and history, but its shop is more accessible to those who don’t speak Spanish, and sells pieces from every state in the Republic.
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Billionaire Carlos Slim’s Soumaya Museum as seen from Jumex Museum. Opposite, top: Furniture museum Clásicos Mexicanos. Opposite, bottom: Mónica Landa, director of Clásicos Mexicanos
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Stop 2: FOR BEAUTIFUL MUSEUMS Outwardly the Jumex Museum (fundacionjumex.org), designed by architect 4'" &'..#0̭#*"Ơ 0#1#+ *#1 $ !2-07 ƥ 32 it contains one of the largest collections of contemporary art in Latin America. I walk its pale corridors exploring exhibitions that draw from a collection of around 2,600 works. Previous shows have featured big-hitters like Andy Warhol and Jeff Koons, as well as Mexican artists such as Gabriel Orozco and artistic émigrés like Belgian-born Francis Alÿs. ‘Mexico is, has always been, the crossing point of European, North American and Latin American cultures,’ says chief curator Kit Hammonds as he shows me the collection. ‘Our programme couples blockbusters with shows that explore younger artists, particularly from Latin America. The Jumex foundation also supports Mexican artists and designers through its grants scheme, playing an important role in the creative ecology.’ As far as artistic ecosystems go, the wealthy neighbourhood of Polanco is particularly rich. , 2&# ̭012 ̮--0 2#00 !#Ơ & 4# !*# 0 4'#5 -$ 2&# ',12'232'-, ,#62 "--0 ƥ 2&# !304 !#-31 Soumaya Museum (museosoumaya.org), the private collection of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. Tiled with countless aluminium hexagons, it is ultra-modern in appearance but more expansively historical in content, with paintings by everyone from the French Impressionists to Salvador Dalí and sculptures by Auguste Rodin. ‘Jumex is part of a cultural hub,’ says Kit. ‘In the wider area there’s also the Museum of Modern Art and the Sala de Arte Público de Siqueiros, an art space in a modern 02'12ư1 $-0+#0 123"'-Ɵư # .-',21 -32 2& 2 ƥ ', %#,#0 * ƥ 02'121ư 123"'-1 0# !-,!#,20 2#" ', cheaper neighbourhoods. ‘At the moment, Mexico City is attracting attention as a place for international artists to live and work: it’s affordable, intense and energetic.’
as we walk around the gallery in which chairs are displayed against stark white walls. ‘The designers looked for better exploitation of materials and how they !-3*" #,#̭2 $0-+ ',"3120' * .0-!#11#1Ɵư The gallery’s exhibitions change regularly, but for Mónica the most interesting piece in their current display is the S2C by Armando Franco. ‘He is not well known because he made his career as an academic, and now he’s 98 years old,’ she says. ‘He designed the chair in 1955 as part of a project to industrialise handcraft "#1'%,1 ƥ 2&# *# 2&#0 1# 2 5-0)1 1 ! ,4 1 in the wooden structure.’ Only two of the original nine survive, and Clásicos Mexicanos have recreated the prototype $-0 2&# ̭012 2'+# ', 1'6 "#! "#1Ɵ &#1#Ơ *')# ** 2&# % **#07ư1 "#1'%,1Ơ 0# $-0 1 *# ƥ .0'!#1 12 02 2 ˅��� ƥ ," 5&'*# 1-+# .'#!#1 0#
‘As far as artistic ecosystems go, the wealthy neighbourhood of Polanco is particularly rich’
Stop 3: FOR MEXICAN MIDCENTURY DESIGN A similar enthusiasm for design can be found at the furniture gallery Clásicos Mexicanos (clasicosmexicanos.mx). Its director Mónica Landa tells me about the reproductions made by her partner, Aldo Solano, with the goal of reviving designs from the Mexican Modern movement. ‘Mid-century design is not only beautiful but functional,’ says Mónica,
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Squid and chickpea starter at Rosetta. Right: Elena Reygadas, head chef at Rosetta
open editions, others are closed editions of 10, 60 or 100; depending on the licence agreed with the original designer. This is furniture with history, but Mónica is eloquent on Mexico City’s current creative golden age. ‘That the city is in an international spotlight encourages more creatives to design and innovate,’ she says. ‘There’s more competition, and people are migrating here from all over the world – that brings fresh views and pushes the scene to grow. Every day there is something new and exciting. It feels like we’re all moving faster.’
Stop 4: FOR CULINARY CREATIVITY
There are dishes that define this city. Chiles en nogada: poblano chillies in walnut cream. Anything cooked in mole – a rich, velvety sauce. The century-old restaurant Bellinghausen’s chemita fillet, a simple meal of beef and potatoes, and – a more recent addition – Rosetta’s tagliatelle with Italian sausage and chile de árbol. The chef
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behind the last entry on that illustrious list is Elena Reygadas, who believes the city has one of the most vibrant creative scenes in the world. ‘There are multiple reasons for it,’ says Elena, who can often be found wandering among Rosetta’s tables, chatting to customers about their menu choices as well as more cerebral matters. ‘Perhaps one of the most important is that Mexico has a 1,000-year-old culture that, in recent times, has been questioned without being sidelined. We have learned to radically reinterpret our past, making it contemporary. This creates a unique energy and dynamism – a dialogue between each generation.’ There’s dialogue, too, during the restaurant’s busy lunchtime service: tables are full of regulars deep in conversation and often becoming rhapsodic over the exceptional seasonal food: simple, fresh dishes like ravioli made with ricotta, lemon and thyme. But the creativity isn’t limited to the cooking here. Both the outside and the inside of the property, a charming, colonial-era townhouse, is beautifully styled and adorned with trees and plants (rosetta.com.mx).
Stop 5: FOR A CLASSIC CANTINA
I set out on the Paseo de la Reforma towards the city’s historic centre, a Unesco world heritage site. The Torre Latinoamericana skyscraper towers above wide sidewalks, where tree roots strive to break through the concrete. As I enter the Old Town on foot, I pass buildings with estipite columns made from the strong, light tezontle rock; palm trees; street food stands and ceramic-tiled 18thcentury mansions. Cantina Salón España was established here at the beginning of the 20th century (facebook. com/cantinaSalonEspana). Its menu offers 180 tequilas, and the server recommends one from Arandas, Jalisco. As I sip it, I wonder if muralist Diego Rivera came here on his lunch break when he was working on the Simón Bolívar Amphitheater back in 1922. What might he have eaten? Today, the options are chicken soup with chickpeas, steak with guajillo chilli, or quesadillas. Every Fridays they serve their speciality: chamorro (pork shanks). As I accept a second tequila, a guitarist starts up, smiling while he plays a slow-tempo bolero.
CREATIVE MEXICO CIT Y Teatro del Pueblo, a cultural centre beside a market in the Centro Histórico. Below from left: Cantina Salón España offers 180 tequilas; traditional serving of tequila with sangrita at Cantina Salón España
‘There’s more competition, and people are migrating here from all over the world’
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‘Bars selling pulque coexist with kosher supermarkets and vegan restaurants’
Stop 6: FOR AN ARTISANAL MARKET
Although many visitors to Mexico City stop at the Mercado de la Ciudadela to buy handicrafts, I first came here to drink coffee. The Ocelotl coffee shop has been owned by José Alonzo and his family for over 55 years. They serve coffee from Chiapas and chocolate from Oaxaca, and know pretty much everyone in the market. They recommend the textiles made by Ranulfo Barrientos and his granddaughter, located in aisle five, whose rugs and throws come in the boldest designs and colours. They direct us, too, to Doña Petra, who dedicates herself to the art of stretched glass – a process not to be confused with glass blowing. Her store is a tiny zoo of miniature animals. Later, I fall in love with the guitars made by Agustín Enríquez, found in aisle four, who has been making the instruments for over six decades. A luthier from Paracho, he comes from a town well known for its guitars. He tells me that it takes up to a month to make each instrument, and that children’s guitars have been a surprise growth market. ‘I have sold many more thanks to the success of the movie Coco,’ he says (laciudadela.com.mx). 72
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CREATIVE MEXICO CIT Y Salsa instructor Lucía Carrere at El Babalú dance club. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Agustín Enríquez, luthier (guitar maker) at Mercado de la Ciudadela; Doña Petra’s stretched glass at Mercado de la Ciudadela; live music at speakeasy Parker & Lenox
Stop 7: FOR A MUSIC-FOCUSED COCKTAIL CRAWL
Finally, I want to raise a glass to the good health of the city’s creative scene. I begin with a negroni at speakeasy Parker & Lenox (facebook.com/ parkerandlenox), the drink glowing like a lantern in the inky recesses of this dark bar. I take a seat on one of its velvet chairs in front of the red-curtained stage, where live blues, rockabilly or bluegrass bands play night after night. Next, I move on to jazz club Casa Franca (facebook.com/ Lacasamerida109), located above a taco shop, and a cocktail called the Louis Armstrong. It’s a Mexican version of a pisco sour, instead made with mezcal. Walking to my final stop, I pass the neon fountains of the Glorieta de los Insurgentes, and feel glad that my home is a city where bars selling pulque, made from the fermented sap of maguey (agave), coexist with kosher supermarkets and vegan restaurants. I am heading for El Babalú (facebook. com/elbabalu), a dance club, and a salsa lesson. In a confessional moment, my joyful teacher Lucía Carrere tells me ‘dance saved me’. Tonight, I too will seek my salvation on a dancefloor filled with strangers. JORGE PEDRO URIBE LLAMAS
is a journalist and author. His latest book is Novísima Grandeza Mexicana (‘Newest Mexican Grandeur’).
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M A K E
I T
H A P P E N
MEXICO CITY the month to catch the last of the warm, dry weather before the rainy season begins, or wait until they’ve passed and visit in November, when the city comes alive with colourful Día de Muertos festivities. Further info See Lonely Planet’s Mexico guide (£18.99), or download the Mexico City chapter (£2.39; shop. lonelyplanet.com). The Mexico City Tourist Board’s website is in Spanish, but contains useful English language resources, including a style map and gastronomic guide (fmpt.cdmx.gob.mx). There’s also lots of helpful info at visitmexico.com.
BEHIND THE SCENES When the photographer Leila Ashtari and I were in the Salón España, two men at a far table beckoned us over. They spoke in English, despite us telling them we are Mexican. We asked Toribio and Mauricio, as they were called, what we could do for them, and they said: ‘We just wanted to toast with you,’ and, raising their glasses, one made a short, poetic speech: ‘Cheers! And we must remind ourselves that yesterday doesn’t exist, tomorrow is unknown, and all that’s left is to enjoy the present.’ It’s the kind of experience you could only have in a cantina.
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MAP KEY
Cantina Salón España Casa Franca Clásicos Mexicanos Contramar El Babalú Jumex Museum Mercado de la Ciudadela Páramo Parker & Lenox Rosetta Soumaya Museum Taquería Orinoco Tetetlán SLEEPING
Chalet del Carmen Condesa Haus Downtown Mexico
WHERE TO STAY
) Eco-friendly Chalet del Carmen strikes a warm blend of Mexican and European. On offer are five rooms and two suites with antique furnishings and brilliant natural lighting. Guests have use of a kitchen, and bicycles (from £40; chaletdelcarmen.com). ) Owner and host extraordinaire Fernando took an Art Deco home and turned it into one of the most stylish boutique hotels in Mexico City. Each room of Condesa Haus has a different theme and decor, without feeling kitschy. Be sure to check out the original tiles and stained-glass window in the Puebla room (from £80; condesahaus.com). ) Downtown Mexico is in a 17th-century palace, former seat of the Counts of Miravalle. Among the ornate stonework and wrought iron is a mural by Rodríguez Lozano (pictured above). The bedrooms are similarly Modernist, featuring geometric patterns and industrial light-fittings. There’s a lovely pool and roof terrace for end-of-day drinks – from where you can gaze over the Centro Histórico (from £170; downtownmexico.com).
WHERE TO EAT
) Contramar is a stylish dining hall with impeccable service (pictured left). The specialities are grilled tuna fillet swabbed with red chilli and parsley sauces, and creamy tuna tostada appetiser, topped with avocado. Make a reservation (contramar.com.mx). ) Páramo is named after a Mexican novel about a ghost town. Tacos such as huasca (wild boar in beer reduction) and seared tuna in honey set a high bar, but those shrimp, meatballs, and vegetarian-friendly hibiscus flowers are also delicious. Make a reservation or wait with a drink – the pepino (cucumber) mezcal cocktail is excellent (facebook.com/ParamoRoma). ) For a taste of the north, try Monterrey-style Taquería Orinoco. It’s buzzing with locals after a night out, but a queue forms by even 10pm. Quite different to usual Mexico City offerings, the chicharrón (fried pork fat) is the specialty here – the creamy costra (toasted cheese) quesadilla is also special. Order and pay at the entrance, but once seated you are free to start a new bill (taqueriaorinoco.com).
To be in with a chance of winning a five-night guided ‘Day of the Dead in Mexico City’ tour for two, turn to page 129
WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PHILLIP TANG
Getting there Aeromexico and British Airways offer direct flights to Mexico City, and many other airlines have routes with a stopover in the US or Europe (from £435; aeromexico.com). Getting around Mexico City has an inexpensive, easy-to-use metro and an equally cheap and practical bus system plying all the main routes. Taxis are plentiful, but it’s safer to ask your hotel or restaurant to book one (or use Uber) than to hail one. When to go The city is remarkably calm in March and April, when locals clear out for the Easter holidays. May is
CREATIVE MEXICO CIT Y
Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral is built over what was the sacred Aztec precinct near the Templo Mayor
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THROUGH
THEIR
EYES
Find a fraction of the world’s beauty and wonder in our pick of images by finalists in this year’s Travel Photographer of the Year awards. See more at tpoty.com, including information about the exhibition of works at London’s Coal Drops Yard from 7 April–12 May 2020
TAMIL NADU, INDIA PHOTOGRAPH BY RAMA KAUSHALYAN ‘This photograph portrays a man starting to dress up as the Hindu god Ravana, the ten-headed king of the demons, for the festival of Mahashivratri in the ancient port city of Kulasekharapatnam. The city was built for the purpose of collecting taxes from the pearl and salt industries and houses a famous Hindu temple, the Sri Mutharamman Temple.’ Category: Commended, Young Travel Photographer of the year, aged 15–18
TORRES DEL PAINE, CHILE PHOTOGRAPH BY AMIT ESHEL ‘Lessons in behaviour: Rupestre is a wild puma looking for prey from a high advantage position in the Torres del Paine in Patagonia; her four playful kittens are close by, learning by imitation.’ Category: Highly Commended, Endangered Planet portfolio
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WEST HIGHLANDS, SCOTLAND PHOTOGRAPH BY GEOFF SHOULTS ‘This mountain is Buachaille Etive Beag, in the West Highlands of Scotland. We had gone up to Scotland on a January afternoon armed with skis, crampons, axes and all the paraphernalia required for winter in the mountains but it was more like June than January. The person in the image is my wife, though it wasn’t a posed shot, I just happened to turn around at the right time…’ Category: Winner, Best Single Image in an Art of Travel portfolio
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P H O T O G R A P H Y AWA R D S
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XINJIANG, CHINA PHOTOGRAPH BY QUANHOU LU ‘The earthy tones of the river and the starkness of the landscape give an almost industrial feel to what is actually a rural episode, as the flock of sheep makes its way over the bridge and onwards towards pastures new. There must be a shepherd there somewhere, but the only human visible is heading in the opposite direction. Are these animals off on an adventure of their own?’ Category: Winner, Best Single Image in a Thrills & Adventures portfolio
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MUNDARI, SOUTH SUDAN PHOTOGRAPH BY TREVOR COLE ‘The symbiotic bond between the Mundari tribesmen of South Sudan and their animals is reflected in the tribal bond itself. The camaraderie, smoke, fires and dust create a special scene to witness.’ Category: Winner, People & Cultures portfolio
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PALAU PHOTOGRAPH BY ERIN DONALSON ‘This is a giant clam of the Pacific island nation of Palau. The clams come in an array of colours, can weigh more than 440lb, measure 120cm and live to over 100 years.’ Category: Special Mention, Endangered Planet FADA N’GOURMA, BURKINA FASO PHOTOGRAPH BY KATY GOMEZ CATALINA ‘I was attracted to the beauty of this young shepherd. Behind each portrait there is a story, a fleeting but intense connection, a wink of complicity, an emotion, small gestures that become great moments and reflect the universality of feelings. Behind every face hides a life, sometimes as uncomfortable as it is worthy.’ Category: Overall Winner, Travel Photographer of the Year, 2019
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21 PLACES TO STAY
From lodges wi cu ing-edge ecotechnology to tours designed to protect wildlife and empower communities, these planet-friendly escapes will make you feel better than ever about getting away
DOMINICA
SECRET BAY In the wake of 2017’s Hurricane Maria, Secret Bay is one of Dominica’s comeback stories. The intimate eco-luxury retreat, on a cliff above the sea, partially reopened in late 2018 with six villas ," ,#5 5#**,#11 . 4'*'-, ," Ě,#Ƥ"',',% 0#12 30 ,2 1&-5! 1',% ',"'%#,-31 &#0 1 %0-5, on-site. Meticulous care was taken to develop the 1'2# 5'2&-32 &# 47 + !&',#07Ć 5'2& 4#2'4#0 %0 11 planted to fortify the cliff for decades to come. Intimacy and mindfulness are at the forefront here. Each decked-out villa has a full kitchen, .0'4 2# .*3,%# .--*Ć "#!)Ć ," .0'4 !7 .0-4'"#" by Mother Nature. Sure, there are plenty of !2'4'2'#1 ĆĽ #4#072&',% $0-+ 7-% ," 1# Ƥ! 4# #6.*-0',% 2- .0'4 2# 02 *#11-,1 5'2& *-! *
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02'12 ĆĽ 32 2&# 0# * 20# 2 &#0# '1 #',% *3**#" 5 7 $0-+ ĆŻ"-',%Ć° ', $ 4-30 -$ 1'+.*7 ĆŻ #',%Ć°Ć&#x; That said, there are some not-to-be-missed experiences. Guests can venture to Prince Rupert 7 5'2& *-! * Ě1&#0 2- *# 0, &-5 2- &3,2 *'-,Ě1&Ć , ',4 1'4# Ćş ," "#*'!'-31Ćť 1.#!'#1 2& 2 2&0# 2#,1 *-! * '-"'4#01'27Ć&#x; $2#0 "'4',% ', 2- .0 !2'1# 2&0-5',% 1.# 01 2 2&# 7Ć°1 1 ,"7 ĚŽ--0Ć '2Ć°1 2'+# 2- '+ $-0 2&# # 32'$3**7 120'.#" *'-,Ě1& 2&#+1#*4#1Ć&#x; & 2#4#0 '1 ! 3%&2 !-+#1 !) 2- shore for a beachside barbecue. ON YOUR DOORSTEP There are 531 hectares of protected wetlands, coral reefs and tropical forests to explore at Cabrits National Park, set around a peninsula just 15 minutes’ drive north. Find local produce, spices, and more at the Portsmouth Saturday Market. Three-night stay for two ÂŁ2,285; secretbay.dm
THAILAND
YARD HOSTEL 0" -12#* ', ,%)-) '1 Ì®7',% 2&# Ì® % for a new model of environmentally $0'#,"*7 '%Ƥ!'27 *'4',% -, 1+ ** 3"%#2Æ&#x; #!7!*',% '1 (312 -,# 1-!' * ','2' 2'4# 2 2&# &-12#*Æ 1 #4#, 2&# 3'*"',%1 0# 0#!7!*#" Æ¥ 2&# 0--+1 5#0# 1&'..',% !-,2 ',#01 #$-0# #',% ',13* 2#" 5'2& recycled paper to keep out the heat. #2 ', , #,!*-1#" % 0"#,Æ 0" 13..-021 #,4'0-,+#,2 *'1+ Æ¥ %3#121 0# .0-4'"#" 5'2& 5 2#0 -22*#1 2- 0#Ì** 5'2& .30'Ì#" 5 2#0 $0-+ 1& 0#" 5 2#0 12 2'-,Æ *-5Ƥ#,#0%7 *'%&2',% '1 20'%%#0#" by motion sensors and timers, and the 0# )$ 12 7-%&302 ," ( + '1 & ,"Ƥ+ "# -,1'2#Æ&#x; --+ 0 2#1 &#*. $3," %--" causes, such as Karen community forest conservation projects. But this still feels like a proper Thai &-12#*Æ "-5, 2- 2&# $0## 5'Ì ," 7-% classes and the library of well-thumbed 20 4#* ,-4#*1 ," %3'"# --)1Æ&#x; &# , +# 0'$$1 -, 2&# & ' +# ,',% -$ Ư7 0"Æ° ƺ0#* 2'4#Æ»Æ ," 12 7',% &#0# $##*1 *')# 4'1'2',% , #!!#,20'! $ +'*7 +#+ #0 5&'1 & ..'*7 "-',% 2&#'0 -5, 2&',%Æ&#x; , 2&'1 urban oasis, you’ll hardly notice that the #"%7 120##21 -$ 0' 0# (312 -321'"#Æ&#x; ON YOUR DOORSTEP
PHOTOGRAPH: PANITA THIRAPHAPONG
BTS Skytrain provides a low-carbon way 2- #6.*-0# 2&# ,#5#0 . 021 -$ ,%)-) ," 2&# *#%#," 07 & 23!& ) ##)#," Market. To reach the historic old quarter -$ 2 , )-1',Æ 7-3Æ°** & 4# 2- Ì,'1& 7-30 journey on foot or by taxi. Dorms from £14; theyardhostel.com
April 2020
85
NETHERLANDS
CONSCIOUS HOTEL WESTERPARK This Dutch boutique hotel group is all about sustainability, and the newest of its Amsterdam properties also has bragging rights as the Netherlands’ Ì012 5',"Ƥ.-5#0#" &-2#*Æ&#x; ,# 1'"# overlooks the buzzy Westergas arts complex, the other a tranquil green 1. !#Æ ," '2Æ°1 2#,Ƥ+',32# !7!*# $0-+ -0" , ," 2&# !'27Æ°1 &'12-0'! !#,20#Æ&#x; Rooms are spacious, stylish and streamlined, with comfortable beds and large windows, and all materials 0# !0 "*#Ƥ2-Ƥ!0 "*# ƺ+ "# 5'2& $3230#
0#31# ', +',"Æ»Æ 0#!7!*#" -0 4',2 %#Æ&#x; &# **Ƥ" 7 "',',% ,2--0 0 ," restaurant serves creative dishes made with organic ingredients – think lamb 1& ,)Æ 2* ,2'! 5-*$ƤÌ1& -0 7#**-5 coconut curry, rounded off with vegan , , 0# " ," ! ! - 1-0 #2Æ&#x; 4-30 '2 5'2& , -0% ,'! !0 $2 ##0Æ&#x; ON YOUR DOORSTEP
322',% 2&# "#1'%, Ì® '0 ',2- $ '0 20 "#Æ 3)3&'4 ƺ,3)3&'4 Æ&#x;,*Æ»Æ '1 (312 ��Ƥ+',32# 5 *) 1-32&# 12Æ ," '1 2&# place to go for fashion, accessories and shoes for both men and women who .32 .#-.*# ," , 230# Ì012Æ&#x; Doubles from £65; conscioushotels.com
SWEDEN
to learn about the conservation work &# "-#1 5'2& 2&# 5#"'1& %-4#0,+#,2 2- .0-2#!2 2&# 0!2'! $-6Æ&#x; &#0# 0# ,- 0- "1 2- #3,( Æ¢ !!#11 - 4'1'2 2&# #3,( +' !- -"%# '1 '1 7 - 2Æ&#x; -3 1*##. -, 0#',"##0 &'"#1 to completely disconnect from the in the goathie or under a kerosene +-"#0, 5-0*"Æ&#x; &'1 *-5Ƥ'+. !2 -.#0 2'-, ƺ5&'!& -,*7 5#*!-+#1 %3#121 lamp in a shared timber cabin with six #"1Æ&#x; !0 !)*',% Ì0# #,130#1 7-3 twelve times a year) invites visitors to learn bushcraft skills, study medicinal 1304'4# 2&# !0'1. .* ," ,'%&2Æ $0#1& $-0 +-0# +'Ƥ',1.'0#" "#2-6',%Æ&#x; herbs, take a dip in the lake, light the 5--"Ƥ 30,',% 1 3, Æ Ì1& $-0 "',,#0 ON YOUR DOORSTEP ," $-0 %# ', 2&# $-0#121Æ&#x; Ammarnäs is near the southern end Reindeer herder Mikael Vinka and -$ 2&# $ +#" 3,%1*#"#, ƺ ',%Æ°1 0 '*Æ»Æ &'1 +' $ +'*7 5'** 0#% *# 7-3 5'2& ���Ƥ+'*# &')',% 0-32# 2&0-3%& local wisdom, traditions and legends 5#"#,Æ°1 $ 0 ,-02&Æ&#x; &# . 2& 20 4#01#1 -4#0 -,Ì0# ', 2&# %- 2&'# ƺ 27.# -$ 4 0'#" * ,"1! .#1 -$ 2&# .* ," 2##.## 31#" 7 +' $-0 +'**#,,' Æ»Æ&#x; -3 +-3,2 ', 5-0*" $0-+ *-5Ƥ*7',% '0!& ! , (-', ',) -, 20#) $-**-5',% &'1 $-0#121 2- !0 %%7 *.',# .* 2# 31Æ&#x; ancestor’s footprints into the nearby Three-day tour from £1,115 per person, Vindel Mountains, where it’s possible all-incl; bjorkexperience.com
GEUNJA SAMI ECO LODGE
ECO RETREATS
ARGENTINA
AWASI IGUAZÚ
312 �� +',32#1Æ° "0'4# $0-+ -32& +#0'! Æ°1 most recognisable waterfall, this luxurious 1 $ 0'Ƥ127*# *-"%# -, 2&# ,)1 -$ 2&# %3 8û '4#0 '1 1300-3,"#" 7 2&# 2* ,2'! ',$-0#12Æ&#x; 3'*2 -, 12'*21 $-0 +','+ * #,4'0-,+#,2 * interference and an easy walk from the main lodge, the 14 spacious villas are replete with private living rooms, extensive decks with sun *-3,%#01 ," .*3,%# .--*1Æ ',"--0Ƥ-32"--0 showers and traditional textiles and baskets 5-4#, 7 2&# ',"'%#,-31 3 0 ,Ë .#-.*#Æ&#x; '2& .0'4 2# %3'"# ," $-30Ƥ5&##* "0'4# vehicle included with each villa, guests can 2 '*-0Ƥ+ )# 2&#'0 #6.*-0 2'-, -$ 2&# 0 ',$-0#12Æ with over 1,000 species of plants and wildlife, $0-+ 20-.'! * -0!&'"1 2- ! .3!&', +-,)#71Æ&#x; Awasi, which opened in 2018, worked with *-! * 3 0 ,Ë !-++3,'2'#1 ," 0#,-5,#" biologists to create excursions, including !0712 *Ƥ!*# 0 .--*1 -,*7 !!#11' *# 7 - 2Æ&#x; #0)1 ',!*3"# #,2#0',% %3 8û 2'-, * 0) from a secret location, allowing 30 minutes -$ #6.*-0 2'-, #$-0# 2&# !0-5"1 00'4#Æ&#x; ON YOUR DOORSTEP
'1'2 2&# 7 3 0 ,Ë 1#22*#+#,2 2- +##2 2&# -0'%', * ',& '2 ,21 ," %3 0"' ,1 -$ %3 8û
**1 ," (-', , 230# 5 *)1 2- 123"7 5'*" +#"'!', * .* ,21Æ&#x; -3 ! , *1- (-', 02 !* 11#1 2- + )# 5-0)1 $0-+ !* 7 ," *# 4#1Æ&#x; Two-night stay from £1,470 per person, all-incl; awasiguazu.com
PHOTOGRAPHS: ARJEN VELDT FOTOGRAFIE, ROBERTO MOIOLA/SYSAWORLD/GETTY IMAGES, MATT MUNRO, JONATHAN GREGSON
UGANDA
VOLCANOES SAFARIS -*! ,-#1 $ 0'1 -$$#01 *36307 *-"%#Ƥ based accommodation and mountain gorilla and chimpanzee tracking in East $0'! Æ&#x; 21 +-"#* .0-2#!21 ," .0#1#04#1 the region’s impressive wildlife and local !3*230#1Æ&#x; 3#121 ! , 4'1'2 -*! ,-#1 $ 0'1Æ° 2&0## *-"%#1 ', % ," ," -,# in Rwanda individually, or book a +3*2'Ƥ*-"%# 1 $ 0'Æ 5'2& ˅�� $0-+ # !& --)',% #,#Ì2',% 2&# -*! ,-#1 $ 0'1 02,#01&'. 0312Æ ,-,Ƥ.0-Ì2 2& 2 supports local communities and !-,1#04 2'-, !2'4'2'#1Æ&#x; 2 -3,2 &',% -"%# ', % ," Æ 2 the base of the Virunga Volcanoes next to % &',% -0'** 2'-, * 0)Æ %3#121 ! , 12 7 ', *36307 ," 1 ƺ12-,# &321 with papyrus roofs) and set out to track golden monkeys or endangered mountain
%-0'** 1Æ&#x; 4#0*--)',% 2&# .0'+#4 * 5',"' +.#,#20 *# -0#12Æ -*! ,-#1 5',"' -"%# ', % ," #,4#*-.#1 %3#121 ', (3,%*# ! ,-.7 5'2&', # 17 0# !& -$ trekking with gorillas, while at the #!*#!2'! ," !-,2#+.-0 07 7 + 30 -0%# -"%# -, 2&# #"%# -$ % ," Æ°1 Queen Elizabeth National Park, you can 20 !) !&'+. ,8##1 ', 13,)#, $-0#12Æ&#x; Extend your trip into Rwanda at Virunga -"%#Æ 2#,Ƥ ," .0-.#027 -, 0'"%# with views of the Virunga Volcanoes and the Musanze valley, an ideal base for 20 !)',% %-0'** 1Æ&#x; ON YOUR DOORSTEP Travellers can visit ," 13..-02 + ,7 1-!' * .0-(#!21 ,# 0 # !& &-2#*Æ ',!*3"',% 5',"' 0 ,# 0 5',"' -"%#Æ !-++3,'27 0#12 30 ,2 and training institution, and a women’s !-$$## !-Ƥ-. ,# 0 7 + 30 -0%# -"%#Æ&#x; Doubles from £245; volcanoessafaris.com
April 2020
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SACRED VALLEY & LARES ADVENTURE The silver lining to the ever-increasing ̮-5 -$ 2-30'121 2- !&3 '!!&3 '1 2& 2 *2#0, 2'4# . 2&5 71 2- '2 & 4# ##, "#4'1#"Ɵ #%',,',% ,# 0 2&# 4'** %# -$ 0#1Ơ 2&# 2&0##Ƥ" 7Ơ 25-Ƥ,'%&2 0#1 20 '* '1 %0# 2 -.2'-, $-0 #1! .',% 2&# !0-5"1Ɵ 32 5'2& +-12 .#-.*# ! +.',% #, 0-32#Ơ 2&# #,#̭2 2- *-! *1 ! , # +','+ *Ɵ 5,#" 7 #034' ,1 5'2& . 11'-, $-0 ,"# , !3*230#Ơ -3,2 ', -"%#1 -$ #03ư1 !0#" **#7 ," 0#1 "4#,230#
88
April 2020
1312 ',1 *-! * !-++3,'2'#1 ," +','+'1#1 2&# #,4'0-,+#,2 * $--2.0',2Ɵ -+ ',',% 4'1'21 2- )#7 !0#" **#7 ,! 1'2#1 ," 2&# +-12 ',2#0#12',% &')',% 1#!2'-,1 -$ 2&# 0#1 0 '*Ơ 2&# 2-30 ! , # !-+.*#2#" ', ̭4# -0 1#4#, " 71Ɵ , 0-32#Ơ %3#121 12 7 ', *3630'-31Ơ *-5Ƥ'+. !2 *-"%#1 !-,1203!2#" ', !-,13*2 2'-, 5'2& *-! * !-++3,'2'#1Ɵ -! *1 0# %'4#, 2&# &-1.'2 *'27 20 ',',% ,#!#11 07 2- (-', *-"%# .#01-,,#* 2# +1 ," 0# *1- ',4#12-01 ', 2&# .0-.#02'#1Ɵ &# 2-30 ',!*3"#1 #6!*31'4# #6.#0'#,!#1 $0-+ 20 "'2'-, * *3,!& .0#. 0#" 7 $ 0+',% 4'** %# 2& 2 -,!#
0# .#" ,- #,#̭2 $0-+ 2-30'1+Ơ 2- 4'1'2 2- 20 "'2'-, * 5# 4',% !-++3,'27Ɵ #" 7 &'%&*7 20 ',#" #034' , %3'"#Ơ 2&# #6.#"'2'-, '1 2-..#" -$$ 5'2& 4'1'2 2- !&3 '!!&3 -, 2&# ̭, * " 7 #$-0# &# "',% !) 2- 38!-Ɵ ON YOUR DOORSTEP
&#!) -32 2&# #,20- "# #62'*#1 0 "'!'-, *#1 "#* 38!- ƺ2#62'*#1!31!-Ɵ -0%ƻƠ ,-2Ƥ$-0Ƥ.0-̭2 1#2 3. 2- 13..-02 ,"# , 5# 4#01Ơ 5&'!& *1- & 1 1+ ** -,Ƥ1'2# +31#3+Ɵ Five-day tour with Mountain Lodges of Peru £1,470 all-incl; mountainlodgesofperu.com
PHOTOGRAPHS: PHILIP LEE HARVEY, ALEX FRADKIN
PERU
ECO RETREATS
INDONESIA
BAMBU INDAH
CANADA
FOGO ISLAND INN $$ 2&# ,-02&# 12 !- 12 -$ #5$-3,"* ,"Æ 12 7 2 -% 1* ," ,, '1 ** -32 '++#01',% 7-301#*$ ', 2&# 5'*"Æ&#x; % 2#5 7 2- 2&# 0 "-0 20 '2Æ°1 $ +-31 !# #0% **#7Æ 2&'1 0#20# 2 '1 -, 2&# * 0%#12 -$ ���Ƥ'1* ," 0!&'.#* % ," '1 3'*2 -, 12'*21 $-0 +','+ * #,4'0-,+#,2 * '+. !2Æ&#x; !& -$ 2&# �� %3#12 0--+1 & 1 -3,"*#11 4'#51 -$ 2&# 1# ," 1)7Æ&#x;
-3,"#" 7 #,20#.0#,#30 ,"
-%- 1* ," *-! * '2 - 2- "4 ,!# 2&# !3*230 * ," #!-,-+'! 0#1'*'#,!# -$ &#0 &-+#2-5,Æ 2&# &-2#*Æ°1 .0-Ì21 0# 0#',4#12#" ', 2&# !-++3,'27Æ 5&'!& '1 !2'4#*7 ',4-*4#" ', &-1.'2 *'27Æ&#x; '2& !-++3,'27 &-121 1 %3'"#1Æ %3#121 ! , #,(-7 0 ,%# -$ #6!301'-,1Æ¡ #6.*-0',% 2&# '1* ,"Æ°1 ��� +'*#1 -$ ,!'#,2
. 2&1Æ 1 '*',% -$$ 2&# 2* ,2'! !- 12 5'2& !0 Ì1&#0Æ -0 *# 0,',% 2+ )# ( +1 ," (#**'#1 $0-+ 5'*" . 020'"%# #00'#1 ," *3# #00'#1 5'2& , #6.#02 $-0 %#0Æ&#x; , 2&# .0-.#027Æ 7-3 ! , !-17 3. 2- -,# -$ 1'6 5--"Ƥ 30,',% Ì0#.* !#1 ," 5-0) 7-30 5 7 2&0-3%& 2&# ',,Æ°1 #62#,1'4# *' 0 07Æ 2 )# ', Ì*+ 2 2&# ',Ƥ&-31# !',#+ Æ 0#* 6 ', 2&# 0--$2-. 1. 5'2& &-2 23 1 ," 1 3, Æ ," & 4# "#*'!'-31 +# *1 2 2&# 0#12 30 ,2 5'2& '21 Ì®--0Ƥ2-Ƥ !#'*',% 4'#51 -$ 2&# 2* ,2'!Æ&#x;
-&, ," 7,2&' 0"7Æ°1 1312 ', *# + 12#0.'#!# + 3 ," & '1 20 ,/3'*Æ 4'** %#7 (3,%*# 0#1-02 -, 2&# -321)'021 -$ 3" ', 2&# *31& ',2#0'-0 -$ *'Æ&#x; 2 7 ', -,# -$ 2&# #*#4#, 0#.30.-1#" ,2'/3# 4 ,#1# 0'" * &-+#1Æ "#!-0 2#" 5'2& 20# 130#1 $-3," -, 2&# -5,#01Æ° 20 4#*1Æ -0 ', -,# -$ 2&# 5#Ƥ',1.'0',% + -- 1203!230#1Æ&#x; 3#121 0# #,!-30 %#" 2- 0#31# 2-5#*1 ," *',#,1 ," 2&# **Ƥ, 230 * -0% ,'! 2&0--+ +#,'2'#1 &#*. 2- )##. *'Æ°1 5 2#05 71 !*# ,Æ&#x; &#0#Æ°1 15'++',% .-," $#" 7 120# + 2& 2 %30%*#1 2&0-3%& 2&# .0-.#027Æ 25- -,Ƥ1'2# 0#12 30 ,21 1#04# *-! * !3'1',# !0 $2#" $0-+ .0-"3!# %0-5, -, 2&# .0-.#027Æ -0 1-30!#" *-! **7Æ ," + ,7 -$ 2&# "#*'!'-31 +# *1 0# 1#04#" -, , , Ƥ*# $ .* 2#1Æ&#x; ON YOUR DOORSTEP
-', 2-30 -$ ,# 0 7 + -- 2- *# 0, -32 + --Æ°1 .-2#,2' * 1 2&# 1312 ', *# 2'+ #0 -$ 2&# $3230#Æ&#x; &--1# $0-+ -,#Ƥ" 7 ',20- -0 '++#01# 7-301#*$ ', "#1'%, !-301#1 -$ 2&0## 2- #*#4#, " 71Æ&#x; Doubles from £85; bambuindah.com
ON YOUR DOORSTEP
&# *-"%# '1 , '"# * 1# $-0 4'1'2',% ** $-30 *-! 2'-,1 -$ -% 1* ," 021 23"'-1 "#1'%,#" 7 -"" 3,"#01Æ , 2'4# -$ ,"#0 5&- 3'*2 2&# -$$Ƥ%0'" 123"'-1 5'2& !-+.-12 2-'*#21Æ 1-* 0Ƥ.-5#0#" #,#0%7Æ ," 5--"Ƥ 30,',% 12-4#1Æ&#x; Two-night stay for two from £2,295 all-incl; fogoislandinn.ca
BELIZE
MACAL RIVER CAMP
0-+ 0'"',% &-01# 2&0-3%& 2&# (3,%*# +'" %' ,2 *3# 322#0Ì®'#1 2- #6.*-0',% 7 03',1Æ 12 7 2 & 0##) +# ,1 ',2'+ 2# ',2#0 !2'-,1 5'2& #*'8#Æ°1 &'12-07 ," #!-*-%7Æ&#x; 2Æ°1 ���Ƥ !0# .0'4 2# , 230# 0#1#04#Æ -, 2&# 5#12 ,) -$ 2&# ! * '4#0 ,# 0 2&# $--2&'**1 -$ 2&# 7 -3,2 ',1 ', 5#12#0, #*'8#Æ&#x; 2 220 !21 -4#0 ��� 1.#!'#1 -$ '0"1Æ ',!*3"',% 2&# )##*Ƥ '**#" 2-3! ,Æ #*'8#Æ°1 , 2'-, * '0"Æ&#x; ! * '4#0 +. '1 -,# -$ + ,7 *-"%',% -.2'-,1 ', & 0##)Æ 5&'!& 5 1 -,# -$ #*'8#Æ°1 Ì012 #!-Ƥ0#1-021Æ !0# 2#" #$-0# 2&# 2#0+ 5 1 #4#, !-',#"Æ&#x; 0 4#**#01 ! , 12 7 ', -,# -$ 2#, ! 1'2 1 ƺ! ',1Æ» 5'2& 0 '1#" .* 2$-0+1 + "# $0-+
1312 ', *7 & 04#12#" 2'+ #0Æ # !& 5'2& '21 -5, 4#0 ," ," & ++-!)1 5'2& 0 ',$-0#12 4'#51Æ&#x; -3Æ°** # .0-4'"#" 5'2& 0#31 *# 5 2#0 -22*# 2- Ì** 5'2& 0#4#01#Ƥ -1+-1'1Ƥ.30'Ì#" 5 2#0Æ ,"Æ 5'2& ,- #*#!20'!'27Æ 2&# ! +. #,!-30 %#1 "'%'2 * "#2-6Æ&#x; 2 2&# #," -$ 2&# " 7Æ %3#121 !-,4#0%# 3,"#0 !#,20 * 2& 2!&#"Ƥ0--$ 2- 1 4-30 &-+#+ "#Æ $ +'*7Ƥ127*# +# *1 5'2& $0#1& .0-"3!# ," &#0 1 $0-+ 2&# .0-.#027Æ°1 -5, -0% ,'! $ 0+Æ&#x; ON YOUR DOORSTEP
'%, 3. $-0 %3'"#" 2-30 -$ 2&# -,Ƥ1'2# & 0##) 230 * '12-07 #,20# 2- *# 0, -32 2&# .0-.#027Æ°1 &'12-07Æ $-**-5#" 7 5 *) -, 2&# ',$-0#12 #"'!',# 0 '* 2- *# 0, -32 '21 +#"'!', * .* ,21Æ&#x; Doubles £50 per person, halfboard; macalrivercamp.com
April 2020
89
ECO RETREATS
NEW ZEALAND
HAPUKU LODGE & TREE HOUSES Created by a family of food-loving architects just outside Kaikoura, a little coastal town with a big, environmentally conscious heart, Hapuku Lodge & Tree Houses was destined to be special. The luxury lodge with its two nature-inspired 13'2#1 ! +# Ě012 ', ďż˝ďż˝ďż˝ďż˝Ć 32 2&# Ě4# 20## houses built four years later really put Hapuku in a class of its own. They’re 10m above the ground to take in views over the tops of 100-year-old native kanuka trees of the nearby Seaward Kaikoura mountain
0 ,%# ," 2&# !'Ě!Ć&#x; The whole place is a model of sustainability – important in Kaikoura, a zero-waste community that banned .* 12'! %1 ', ���� ," '1 0#%3* 0*7 02& &#!)Ƥ!#02'Ě#"Ć&#x; ,!*3"#" ', 2&# room rates, gourmet dinners showcase the region’s fresh produce and seafood, ',!*3"',% ')-30 Ć°1 $ +-31 !0 7Ě1&Ć ," venison – in addition to having its own organic vegetable garden and olive trees, Hapuku is a working deer farm. Low-impact activities include beach and botanical walks, swimming in the solar-heated pool and biking mountain
trails, while Mangamaunu surf break and Kaikoura’s marine wonders are just down the road. Best of all, Hapuku plants native 20##1 2- -$$1#2 %3#121ư 0#230, ̎'%&21 2- New Zealand from anywhere in the world. ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Love sealife? You’ll love Kaikoura Ćş5& *#5 2!&Ć&#x;!-Ć&#x;,8ĆťĆ&#x; Â-0'Ƥ03, whale-watching business put it on the tourist map in 1987 and it’s still one of the best places in the world to see whales of all kinds and to swim with fur seals and huge pods of dusky dolphins. Doubles from ÂŁ470 half-board; hapukulodge.com
MOROCCO
TOUDA ECO LODGE More like a large family gathering where everyone is warmly welcomed, Touda Eco Lodge is comfortable but modest, as is everything about staying here. The rooms are decorated with local handmade rugs; the hot water is solar heated; and electricity is used sparingly. All the materials, the stone, wood and mud used to build the lodge, are from here. Cars are a rare sight, as villagers walk or ride horses and mules to get around. In the quiet lounge, coffee-table books celebrate the culture of the nomadic
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people of the High Atlas, who have lived here in harmony with the landscape for millennia. Meals are lovingly prepared each day by staff from the village and consumed either outside, with dramatic views of the mountains, or inside, with other guests drawn to the *-3,%# ," Ě0#.* !#Ć&#x; ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Take a horse-trek across the mountains to visit nomadic families and share a meal, before joining in with the afternoon siesta in their temporary camp. Communal living here means everything is shared. Doubles from ÂŁ26; touda.co.uk
USA
ROAM BEYOND KALALOCH A micro-community in the middle of nowhere, Roam Beyond’s mobile dwellings give exclusive access to the wilderness of Washington state without disrupting it. With hammocks, communal tables, a covered lounge area and lawn games, the site features fully off-grid, portable cabin-like pods powered by the sun and built with responsibly sourced materials. Both the Unesco-listed Olympic National Park and Hoh Rain Forest are on your doorstep, as is the coast, meaning near-limitless hiking and far more animals than people – look for Roosevelt elk in the forest. Thousands of old-growth logs on
MADAGASCAR
PHOTOGRAPH: JUSTIN FOULKES
EDEN LODGE Imagine spotting migrating whales from your sunlounger, or perhaps a nocturnal lemur on your way to dinner. Accessible only by boat from the nearby island of Nosy Be, Eden Lodge, on a remote beach in northwestern Madagascar, is ideal for spotting endemic critters, from 99 species of lemur to parrots and chameleons, and its colourful reefs teem with marine life. With four-poster beds built from fallen trees and furnished with Malagasy crafts, rooms at the eco-luxe lodge – which claims to & 4# ##, 2&# 5-0*"ư1 ̭012 1-* 0Ƥ powered hotel – are high-end safari tents under traditional thatched roofs. A ravenala tree is planted for
each guest to offset carbon impact. By using only solar power, buying local, and recycling wastewater, "#, -"%# #! +# 2&# ̭012 &-2#* ', " % 1! 0 !#02'̭#" 7 international sustainability organisation Green Globe. Between hikes, dives, massages, and boat tours, you can enjoy meals 2 2&# 0#12 30 ,2Ơ + "# 5'2& ̭1& straight from the sea and veg from the organic garden. ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Beach activities are complimentary, ," #6!301'-,1 2- ̭1&',% 4'** %#1 -0 waterfalls are affordable and easily arranged. Be sure to spend an hour or so walking around the island’s baobab grove; one of the massive trees is more than 700 years old. Doubles from £155 per person, all-inclusive; edenlodge.net
the beach are perfect to perch on and toast the sun as it sets over the water, rippling with humpback whales and sea otters. ON YOUR DOORSTEP
An easy three-mile hike north ends at Kalaloch Lodge, where you can refuel with a hot meal and a stiff drink. Restock basic supplies at Queets Trading Post, a small store a ten-minute drive southeast. Two-nights for up to four £405, May to October; roambeyond.travel/kalaloch
LONGITUDE 131°
Australia’s most famous rock, Uluru, looks incredible from any angle, but its colour transformation from a luxury tented room at Longitude 131° is mesmerising. The resort’s 16 tented pavilions, furnished with every low-impact amenity 7-3 !-3*" 5 ,2Ơ 0# "#1'%,#" 2- Ư̮- 2ư above the ancient sand dunes southeast of Yulara, Uluru’s tourism hub. Part of the boutique Baillie Lodges group, a collection of ultra-sustainable luxury lodges in unique Australian wilderness destinations, Longitude 131° harnesses much of its power from the sun, has showers instead of baths to preserve water, pumps waste out to Yulara, and grows
ITA LY
LEFAY RESORT & SPA LAGO DI GARDA Lefay Resort & Spa Lago di Garda is a stylish lakeside playground for socialites with a conscience. In eleven hectares of parkland cascading down the hillside towards Lake Garda, it’s a Modernist/Art Deco homage with serious eco-tech backstage. A hidden power plant digests 5--"!&'.1 2- &# 2 2&# ',̭,'27 pool, switching to methane-fed micro-turbines in winter. An absorption cooling system keeps guests as chilled as a freshly mixed Bellini in summer. Elegant rooms are set into the hillside beneath living green roofs, with silent radiant heating and cooling. Meals at the
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lemon-scented restaurant are crafted with local produce, including olive oil pressed on the lakeshore, and spa treatments use local herbs and essences. Scanning systems monitor light levels across the complex to minimise the use of electric light. Anything the resort can’t minimise or avoid is offset by carbon credits; it’s some of the best eco-living money can buy. ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Visible from almost every corner of the gorgeously landscaped grounds, the shimmering waters of Lake Garda call out like a beacon. To keep your carbon footprint low, skip the motorboat rides in favour of wild swimming from the beaches at Sirmione, -0 5',"130̭,% 2 '4 #* 0" Ɵ Doubles from £440; lagodigarda.lefayresorts.com
fresh produce (food waste is used as compost) to further reduce its carbon footprint. The lodge works with the local Aboriginal community, which led to the launch of an artist-in-residence programme in 2019 and gives the chance to talk to artists as they create their works. After an extensive refurbishment, in 2017 Longitude 131° looks better than ever, but with climbing Uluru banned in 2019, the views have arguably never been better. ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Rates include sunset viewing and walks around Uluru and Kata Tjuta, plus bespoke experiences such as a tour of the Ernabella Arts Studio, Australia’s oldest continuously running indigenous arts centre. Two-night stay from £1,660 per person, all-incl; longitude131.com.au
PHOTOGRAPHS: GEORGE APOSTOLIDIS, DANNY IACOB/SHUTTERSTOCK, JEREMY WOODHOUSE/GETTY IMAGES
AUSTRALIA
ECO RETREATS
CROATIA
regenerating the community, which still bears the scars of the Balkan War. A charitable foundation has been established The name Lyra echoes the ‘harp’ that is one of the 88 constellations to help locals rebuild, and the – an astronomical nod to the dark hotel employs people from different communities (including skies beneath which this hotel Bosnians from across the border) slumbers, bordering Croatia’s to bring them together and Unesco-listed Plitvice Lakes facilitate unity. People from the National Park. There’s so little surrounding villages were also light pollution that stars are keenly visible, especially through invited to share their recipes, telescopes in Hotel Lyra’s rooftop now served in the hotel’s restaurant. Food is sourced rooms and gardens. locally, handicrafts are sold in Nature is a constant companion at Lyra. The hotel sits the shops, and brandy made from local plums is the traditional in a wooded clearing, with Plitvice Lakes’ emerald pools just welcome drink. As the Croatians ten miles away. Hiking the park’s 5-3*" 1 7ơ Đ'4(#*' ƺ!&##01ƨƻ 2- 2& 2Ɵ web of trails is encouraged, and ON YOUR DOORSTEP there’s a small chance of spotting Karstic limestone created both a European brown bear, lynx or Plitvice Lake and vast caverns eagle. The hotel runs daily tours nine miles northeast of the park to little-explored Una National (well signposted from the D1). Park in Western Bosnia, where Visits are by 45-minute guided you can white-water raft. tour (minimum two people) Inside, this four-star design through chambers with names &-2#* & 1 *) , ̮ 4-30Ɵ 70 such as ‘Hall of Lost Souls’. Wear opened in 2019 with a mission to warm clothes and sensible shoes. gain Green Key status, and to Doubles from £80; embrace responsible tourism by hotelplitvice.com
HOTEL LYRA
ETHIOPIA
COMMUNITY TREKS '2& ,',# ,#1!- -0*" #0'2 %# 1'2#1Ć dramatic scenery and peerless history, it’s no surprise Ethiopia has been drawing a growing number of tourists after years of being associated with 3,0#12 ," $ +',#Ć&#x; '2& 2&# , 2'-, recording the world’s largest tourism growth in 2018, the need for sustainable tourism has never been greater.
-3,"#" 1 ,-,Ƥ.0-Ě2 ," ,-5 Ethiopia’s most prominent community tourism company, Tesfa Tours specialises in multi-day guided hikes designed to empower local people to conserve their culture and protect the environment while delivering incredible guest experiences. Since "#4#*-.',% '21 Ě012 0-32#1 ', *' #*
and Tigray, known for ancient rock-hewn churches, Tesfa expanded to include rural villages in Simien National Park and the verdant forests -$ -$ 1& 5'2& 1.#!'#1 7-3 5-,Ć°2 see anywhere else on Earth. Routes and the building of new guesthouses for hikers are planned with local communities to bring sustainable #,#Ě21 ĆĽ 2&'1 '1 20#))',% $-0 %--"Ć&#x; ON YOUR DOORSTEP
$ 7-3 20#) $0-+ -) 1& Ć "-,Ć°2 +'11 the chance, after having admired the views from Lik Marefya guesthouse, to descend into the valley to see an unusually laid-out monastery. The community that lives there, although Christian, claim to have converted from Judaism several centuries ago. Minimum three-day community trek from ÂŁ55 per day, incl meals; tesfatours.com
LAOS
#2 2- ),-5 �� 1' , #*#.& ,21 ', ���Ƥ&#!2 0# .0-2#!2#" $-0#12 *-,% 2&# shores of Nam Tien lake. On a one- or two-night stay at this conservation centre you’ll sleep and eat in their midst while learning about their plight from a team of international vets and local guides. Longer, seven-day volunteer stays are more in-depth as you help with current projects and assist in the caretaking of the animals. 00'4',% 2 2&# *#.& ,2 -,1#04 2'-, Center (ECC) on a small wooden boat gliding through the green weeds that carpet Nam Tien lake is a memorable experience. You drop your belongings in either fan-cooled bungalows with shared bathrooms or the more comfortable rosewood lodge (a stilt house based on the traditional Tai Lue style). The ECC has the largest herd under human care in Laos and a strict noriding policy. Most animals have been rescued from the logging industry or brought for the breeding programme (the ECC hopes to re-create sustainable breeding populations in the wild). You’ll help fund one of the last hopes for Laos’ elephant population. There are just 400 of them in the wild, but with the ECC’s help, the future will be brighter. ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Stop by Big Brother Mouse (bigbrother mouse.com), a publisher that produces colourful Lao-language children’s books, many of them local fairytales. Two-days from £165, incl meals and activities; elephantconservation center.com
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PHOTOGRAPHS: OLEKSANDR RUPETA/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES, PHILIP LEE HARVEY, ANDRÉ SCHUMACHER/LAIF, SENG KIT/
ELEPHANT CONSERVATION CENTRE
ECO RETREATS NEPAL
DWARIKA’S HOTEL This family-run luxury hotel has become a saviour for Newari architecture, dating back to the Malla "7, 127 ƺ����Ƽ���� ĆťĆ&#x; , 2&# ����1Ć Indian-born Dwarika Das Shrestha built his hotel in the redbrick style of the Kathmandu valley’s palaces, incorporating wooden carvings salvaged from Kathmandu and beyond as the city began its march 2-5 0"1 +-"#0,'1 2'-, ', 2&# ����1Ć&#x; The 83-room property has become the showpiece of indigenous design. To help preserve the art of Newari carving that makes it so unique, an on-site wood workshop teaches young craftspeople the ancient skill, now particularly valuable as the city continues to rebuild the temples " + %#" ', 2&# ���� # 02&/3 )#Ć&#x; The hotel has also taken measures to reduce its environmental footprint by minimising single-use plastics in its bathrooms, and sources produce for its three restaurants (as well as the charming Kaiser CafĂŠ in Thamel) from its own organic farms. ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Dwarika’s is handy for two top city sights: Shree Pashupatinath Temple with its Hindu funeral ghats ƺ�� +',32#1Ć° 5 *)ĆťĆ ," -3"& , 2&Ć Nepal’s largest Buddhist stupa ƺ�� +',32#1Ć° "0'4#ĆťĆ&#x; 6'1 *',# 3. ', front of the hotel. Doubles from ÂŁ205; dwarikas.com
MONGOLIA
LIVING WITH NOMADS Living in ger, large circular canvas tents that can be dismantled in less than an hour, makes Mongolian herders mobile in their search for grasslands to feed their animals. Nomadic families have started hosting travellers, which provides additional income and an incentive to keep up traditions. Several local operators include horseback, camel or yak riding in their packages. But be warned: it can leave you saddle-sore. Stone Horse Expeditions & Travel’s Train to Ger trips can be combined with Trans-Siberian railway journeys. You’ll be driven from Ulaanbaatar to join your hosts in Darkhid valley.
Staying with the family in their ger, or in one of your own, you’ll share meals that include foods made from the milk of their livestock. Stone Horse Expeditions take protecting the environment seriously, and treat the herder families fairly. ON YOUR DOORSTEP
, * , 2 0 7-3Ć°** Ě," 20 "'2'-, * handicrafts at fair trade Mary & Martha Mongolia (mmmongolia. com); the Mongolian Quilting Shop, which sells handmade quilts produced by low-income families Ćş"0 %-,ĚŽ7/3'*21Ć&#x;!-+Ćś+-,%-*' Ć&#x;&2+ƝƢ ," 2&# ,-,Ƥ.0-Ě2 1 % , *2 --* Shop (mongolianwoolcraft.com). Two night ger/one night city guesthouse with Stone Horse Expedition & Travel ÂŁ230; stonehorsemongolia.com
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High tea In the foothills of Mount Kenya, award-winning Lonely Planet magazine photographer Jonathan Gregson meets the smallholder farmers who help to quench the British thirst for tea @jonathangregsonphotography
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The tea estate at Makomboki. Previous pages: Baskets of freshly picked tea are delivered to a buying station at Imenti
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K E N YA N T E A T R A I L
M
ount Kenya is a beacon for climbers and walkers, dominating the landscape all around it. Within the mountain's shadow are these beautiful tea gardens, arranged like the immaculate topiary of a British stately home. At an altitude of around 2,000m, a combination of the quality of soil, temperature and availability of water have long suited the cultivation of tea – although climate change is threatening that. I visited Makomboki, not far from Nairobi, and plantations and smallholdings in Meru County, to the east of Mount Kenya. Here I met families where tea planting knowledge has been passed from generation to generation. Whole hillsides are a vibrant green here – even on a dull day, tea emits this light. The smallholder farmers have plots of one to three acres, with tea growing alongside other crops. I saw beehives set high in trees, and kids chasing animals about; livestock such as cows and goats are kept close. It becomes so hot in the middle of the day that most activity is restricted to early or late. As temperatures cooled off into the afternoon, I watched farmers bringing their baskets of tea in to a buying station. They spread their tea out in the shade, where it could be inspected for quality; only a central bud with two tips either side of it is picked. At this stage the freshly picked tea is so aromatic, with a rich, organic smell. I tasted the black tea grown here, which gives a really bold, orange, bright cup of tea. Black tea from this region is used in the blend for Yorkshire Tea, the company behind which has supported the planting of 1.5 million trees around tea estates in Kenya. Here the trees benefit farmers in several ways: they improve soil quality, reduce water run-off and give a secondary income from crops like avocados, macadamias and mangos. The tea-growing region near to Meru National Park is rich in wildlife, and so trees planted close together are helping in another way: they discourage elephants from wandering into the tea gardens.
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Sarah, a smallholder farmer at Imenti, and scenes from around the tea estate there and its buying station
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K E N YA N T E A T R A I L
MAKE IT HAPPEN ) BA and Kenya Airways fly direct from London to Nairobi (from £500; kenya-airways.com). ) Makomboki Tea Factory is 35 miles north of Nairobi, near the southern end of Aberdare National Park. Imenti Tea Factory is 100 miles northeast of Nairobi. While neither has facilities for visitors, take in scenes of tea cultivation en route to the region’s other sights. ) It’s nine miles from Imenti to Meru, the main town to the east of Mount Kenya. Meru National Park, 1½ hours’ drive east of here, is one of Kenya’s less-visited wildlife havens, with its lion and rhino populations a particular highlight. The semi-luxury tents at iKweta Safari Camp are excellent value (from £135; ikwetasafaricamp.com). ) Visit yorkshiretea.co.uk/ yorkshire-tree to find out more about Yorkshire Tea’s Yorkshire Tree project.
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Out-of-this-world travel experiences start with Lonely Planet From Earth’s best stargazing destinations to exploring the edge of the known Universe, travel far beyond our world with these companions to astrotourism, the solar system and deep space.
o e y lane . om/shop
vai ab e in a good bookshops and on lonelyplanet.com/shop
Vienna’s coffeehouses p11
Tear-out guides
PHOTOGRAPHS: ROBERTO SALOMONE, MARC VAN VAEK, PEDRO GARCÍA, © ACHIMBIENIEK.COM, JOEL ÅHLIN, RICHARD TAYLOR/4CORNERS, RAFFLES HOTEL SINGAPORE, ANDY ROMER
Eating in Naples p105
Shopping in Marrakesh p107
Dished-up in Stockholm p114 Perfect day in Cape Town p115 Singapore sling p116
Night out in Madrid p109
Shopping in Edi urgh p117 Best of Sarajevo p111
West Brooklyn, NYC p118
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Check out some of our tips for family travel: Top tip for travelling sustainably with kids: Some parks run volunteer programmes where families can help build trails. Can you combine your holiday with giving back? Sea turtle conservation is also a favourite!
Top tip for getting the kids involved: Let them be tour guide for the day. They can read up before you go, write some notes about what they want to show you and discuss. You’ll be surprised at what you can learn from them.
Top tip for preparing children for the culture shock: Talk about what they can expect to eat, what they might like and what they want to try. Remind them how important it is to be respectful of other people’s choices - politeness is key!
Top tip to make your holiday teen-friendly: Find some good local apps to support your teenager’s emotional investment in the trip - a basic language one or anything that helps them find a fun place for a coffee is a good start!
Tips taken from the NEW The Family Travel Handbook, out now.
Available in all good boo
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WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CRISTIAN BONETTO. PHOTOGRAPH: ROBERTO SALOMONE
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Eating in Naples
Arrive hun gry to Concettina ai Tre Santi
Naples is a place of soulstirring art and panoramas, spontaneous conversations and unexpected elegance. Blessed with rich volcanic soils, the sea, and a depth of culinary know-how, it’s one of Italy’s epicurean heavyweights.
DA ETTORE Via Gennaro Serra 39 This snug, eight-table trattoria has an epic reputation going back decades. The draw is solid regional cooking, which includes one of the best spaghetti alle vongole (with clams) in town.
50 KALÒ 50kalo.it This trendy pizzeria’s name roughly translates as ‘good dough’ in Neapolitan. Thirdgeneration pizzaiolo Ciro Salvo’s obsessive research translates into wonderfully light, perfectly charred wood-fired pizzas. Quality is the key here: from the olive oil to the rustic pork salami, ingredients are sourced directly from local and artisanal producers.
GAY-ODIN gay-odin.it Not so much a chocolatier as an institution, Gay-Odin concocts some of the city’s finest cocoa creations, including chocolate ‘cozze’ (mussels). For a punch to the palate, try the chocolatecoated coffee beans or the fiery chilli-chocolate combo. The branch at Via Benedetto Croce 61 also sells sublime ice cream.
CONCETTINA AI TRE SANTI pizzeriaoliva.it Head in by noon (or 7.30pm at dinner) to avoid a long wait at this hot-spot pizzeria, made famous thanks to its young, driven pizzaiolo Ciro Oliva. The menu is an index of fastidiously sourced artisanal ingredients, used to top flawless, wood-fired bases. Traditional Neapolitan pizza aside, you’ll also find creative seasonal options. OUT ON THE WATER Work off some of that food on a tour with Kayak Napoli. Head along the coastline, gliding past ruins, Neoclassical villas and gardens, and into secret sea caves. Tours cater to all abilities (kayaknapoli.com).
IL GELATO MENNELLA pasticceriamennella.it With ingredients such as prized Campanian nocciole (hazelnuts) from Giffoni and Sicilian Bronte pistachios, Mennella scoops out smashing gelato, bursting with real, vivid flavours and velvety texture. The waffle cones are made fresh on-site and a number system means no queue jumping! L’EBBREZZA DI NOÈ lebbrezzadinoe.com A wine shop by day, ‘Noah’s Drunkenness’ transforms into an intimate dinner spot. Settle into one of the bottle-lined dining rooms for seductive, marketdriven dishes such as paccheri fritti (fried pasta stuffed with aubergine and served with fresh basil and a rich tomato sauce). PIZZERIA STARITA pizzeriestarita.it The giant fork and ladle hanging on the wall at this historic
pizzeria were used by Sophia Loren in L’oro di Napoli, and the kitchen made the pizze fritte sold by the actress in the film. While the 60-plus pizza varieties include a tasty fiorilli e zucchine (zucchini, zucchini flowers and provola), our allegiance remains to its classic marinara.
NAPLES IN NUMBERS DATE OF BIRTH
474 BC
when Greeks from nearby Cumae founded Neapolis
SALUMERIA salumeriaupnea.it A fun and Small producers and modern atm ospheric spot takes on provincial Campanian recipes drive bistro-inspired Salumeria. Nibble on quality charcuterie and cheeses or fill up on artisanal panini, hamburgers or the sublime ragù napoletano (pasta served in a slow-cooked tomato-and-meat sauce). SFOGLIATELLA MARY At the Via Toledo entrance to Galleria Umberto I, this tiny takeaway vendor is widely considered the queen of the sfogliatella (‘lobster-tail’ pastries), usually still warm from the oven. Mary’s counter offers other classic treats, including spongey, rum-soaked babà.
SIZE
45
sq miles POPULATION
966,145 18th century
when the modern pizza was invented in the city
3
number of castles in Naples
VENTIMETRIQUADRI Via Bernini 64a What was an old printing shop is now the city’s first specialitycoffee café. There are seven single origins and a house blend, as well as cakes and boards of cheeses and cured meats.
ESSENTIALS… If servizio (service) is not included on your bill, leave a euro or two in pizzerias, or 10 per cent of the bill in restaurants
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THE URBAN EDIT STARRING ROLE MAP KEY
) The Man with the Golden
Gun (1974) ) The Talented Mr Ripley (1999) ) Gomorrah (2008) ) Passione (2010)
ACTIVITIES
Kayak Napoli EATING
50 Kalò Concettina Ai Tre Santi Da Ettore Gay-Odin Il Gelato Mennella L’Ebbrezza di Noè Pizzeria Starita Salumeria Sfogliatella Mary DRINKING
Ventimetriquadri SLEEPING
LIKE A LOCAL
Hotel Piazza Bellini La Ciliegina Lifestyle Hotel The Church
BY NAPLES RESIDENT SOPHIA SEYMOUR At night Neapolitans spill out onto the streets and cluster around the galley Bellini. On the west side, students gather at Caffè Dell’Epoca for the famous £1.50 Aperol spritz, then head on to the buzzing Afro-beats in search of cocktails and live music find it in bars on the east side of the square, such as Nea, which is an art gallery by day, and leafy Intra Moenia, which doubles as a publishing house.
SLEEPING BUDGET THE CHURCH thechurch.it On the 4th floor of a 16th-century palazzo, this intimate B&B is decorated with contemporary Neapolitan photography and cleverly upcycled objects, from coffee percolators turned plant pots to an African tek tree made into a bookshelf. The four minimalist rooms are whimsical; the top-floor room is coveted and comes with a striking in-room shower and private terrace. MID - RANGE HOTEL PIAZZA BELLINI hotelpiazzabellini.com Only steps from the bars and nightlife of Piazza Bellini, this sharp, hip hotel occupies a 16th-century palazzo, its
A MIRACLE Every year Neapolitans cram into the Duomo to witness pure-white spaces spiked with the blood of their patron original majolica tiles and saint San Gennaro liquefy. vaulted ceilings. Rooms are Although science has an modern and functional, with explanation, many locals designer fittings and chic continue to believe bathrooms. Four rooms on the it’s a real 5th and 6th floors have terraces. miracle. TOP END LA CILIEGINA LIFESTYLE HOTEL cilieginahotel.it An easy walk from the hydrofoil terminal, this contemporary spot has spacious white rooms, each with top-of-the-range Hästens beds and marble bathrooms with water-jet showers.Breakfast can be taken in bed or on the rooftop terrace, complete with a hot tub and a view of Vesuvius. There’s use of an iPad and the hotel website often has discounts.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE DRINK locally made limoncello (a sweet but potent lemon-based liqueur) on ice. TAKE a walking tour of the sacred Catacombe di San Gennaro. WATCH a drama unfold at the Teatro San Carlo, one of Europe’s most prestigious opera houses.
MORE INFO… Pocket Naples & the Amalfi Coast (£7.99) // Naples, Pompeii & the Amalfi Coast guide (£14.99) // Guides app
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ILLUSTRATION: STELLA ISAAC
nightclub Teranga. Those
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bars and cafés of Piazza
M odern ign M oroccan des n at M ax & Ja
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Shopping in Marrakesh In Marrakesh, life is a performance. More than that, it’s a magical evocation of an Arabian Nights-style city of intriguing scents, ancient cries of commerce, and elegant architecture from the golden era of Islamic civilisation.
WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM JESSICA LEE. PHOTOGRAPH: MARC VAN VAEK
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33 RUE MAJORELLE 33ruemajorelle.com More than 60 designers, mostly from Morocco, are represented in this two-floor emporium, and co-owner Yehia Abdelnour is dedicated to sourcing local talent. Quality is high and so can the prices be, but it’s still easy to find lovely threads for less. Star buys include silk harem pants, cotton children’s smocks and billowing kaftans. There’s also a small menswear corner. AL NOUR alnour-textiles.com This smart cooperative run by local women with disabilities is where you can find fabulous neutral household linens, embroidered garments and top-quality accessories. All the textiles can be made to measure, and it’s a popular place for stylish hand-stitched Marrakeshmod tunics, dresses and shirts for men, women and kids. LEARN THE CRAFT Ateliers d’Ailleurs’ studios offer a unique insight into traditional craft techniques and the chance to chat with artisans. Workshops are private and handson. Many workshops are held in the souqs (ateliersdailleurs.com).
ANAMIL 48 Derb Sidi Ishak, Rue Azbezt If you’re looking for a unique Moroccan woollen rug or high-quality local souvenirs, Abdess Anamil can help. His small shop is crammed with beautiful things, some cherrypicked workshops and antiques shops, while the dishwasher-safe ceramics and textiles are his own designs. Good shipping rates. L’ART DU BAIN SAVONNERIE ARTISANALE Rahba Kedima Art du Bain’s biodegradable, pure olive oil soaps carry the scent of Marrakesh in them: honey, orange blossom, jasmine, eucalyptus – there’s even a chamomile milk version for children – plus scrubs and ghassoul clay for the hammam. MAX & JAN maxandjan.com Brace yourself for the future of Marrakesh: a Belgian-Swiss design duo have taken over multiple premises to create this giant temple to contemporary Moroccan design. One side is all about quirky jewellery, colour-pop ceramics, posters and cheeky slogan T-shirts, while the other features jazzy kaftans and embellished jackets. MUSTAPHA BLAOUI mustaphablaoui.com Treasure hunters rejoice: lanterns drip from the ceilings of this grand emporium of well-made homewares. Concealed behind an inconspicuous wooden door with no sign, the large space offers a relaxed shopping experience.
NATUROM 213 Rue Riad Zitoun El Jedid Naturom’s neatly packaged and keenly priced argan, verbena and orange-blossom beauty products are all 100% certified organic, using pure essences and essential oils to ensure everything is hypo-allergenic. The range includes anti-ageing prickly pear oil and hammam gommage (exfoliating scrub).
MARRAKESH IN NUMBERS DATE OF BIRTH
1062
when the conquering Almoravid general Youssef Ben Tachfine established a fortified camp SIZE
Take hom e a lastin g souven ir
SISSI MOROCCO sissimorocco.com This Marrakesh brand has taken old sepia photos of Amazigh tribal women and incorporated them into hand-embroidered and printed bolster cushions, tote bags, purses and T-shirts. Quality is top notch. The main boutique is in Sidi Ghanem, but the branch in Rahba Kedima is more conveniently located.
SOUQ CHERIFIA Souq Kchachbia Short-circuit souq fatigue and head straight for this converted funduq (inn used by caravans) where younger local designers congregate on the first floor in the Carré Créateurs (Artisan Sq). Pick up hand-embroidered hessian accessories from Khmissa, snazzy Berber-design babouches (leather slippers) from Tilila, and top-quality amlou (argan-nut butter) and beauty products at Arganino.
27
sq miles POPULATION
928,850 500
fine in euros for cutting down a palm tree in the city
100
number of food stalls that set up nightly in the Djemaa El Fna
ESSENTIALS… To navigate the medina, try Maps.Me and its downloadable offline maps; heed any local advice to put away your phone
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THE URBAN EDIT STARRING ROLE MAP KEY
) Our Man in Marrakesh (1966)
) Hideous Kinky (1999)
SHOPPING
33 Rue Majorelle Al Nour Anamil L’Art du Bain Savonnerie Artisanale Max & Jan Mustapha Blaoui Naturom Sissi Morocco Souq Cherifia
) Sex and the City 2 (2010)
) Marrakech by George Orwell ) Marrakesh Express by Crosby
Stills & Nash
SLEEPING
Le Gallia Riad Azoulay Riad Berbère
LIKE A LOCAL
BY MARRAKESH RESIDENT CHRIS GRIFFITHS When I need to relax, I’ll head to a garden or of hours. The sunken gardens of Badi Palace are a personal favourite, but I also love the random and disjointed layout of the Bahia Palace. gardens and palace complexes shouldn’t be missed. To see them at their best, get up early for a morning stroll.
SLEEPING BUDGET LE GALLIA hotellegallia.com Madcap Djemaa El Fna is just around the corner, but Le Gallia maintains an air of calm and grace with clean-as-a-whistle rooms, with air-con, heating and hot water. The central courtyard has colourful tiles and is shaded by orange trees. Rooms can be booked without breakfast, meaning you can wander over to the Djemaa El Fna and eat there. MID - RANGE RIAD BERBÈRE leriadberbere.com Besides having one of the most romantic garden courtyards in the medina, it’s the service and special little touches, such as cucumber water, and petals on
URBAN TALE Some will tell you the name ‘Marrakesh’ means ‘mountain pass’, or the pillows that put classy Riad ‘land of the sons of Kutch’, Berbère in its own stratosphere. the biblical grandson of The riad dates to the end of the Noah. A few say it means ‘do 17th century, but rooms favour not linger’, signifying a refreshing white aesthetic the danger once faced and have designer appeal. by travellers to Breakfasts are unmissable. the city. TOP END RIAD AZOULAY riad-azoulay.com The restoration of this 200-yearold mansion was a labour of love for Italian owner Sandro. The result is a haven of luxury, where original cedar ceilings and plasterwork sit alongside modern art and bright kilims. Meals mix Moroccan and Italian influences. There’s also a private hammam, and the pool in the courtyard provides the perfect antidote to a day spent in the medina.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE TAKE a walk through the Islamic college, Ben Youssef Medersa. EAT the best couscous at the stalwart of Marrakesh’s dining scene, Al Fassia. SEE the crenellated walls of the old city glowing red from a rooftop terrace at sunset.
MORE INFO… Pocket Marrakesh (£7.99) // Guides app // lonelyplanet.com/morocco/marrakesh
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Marrakesh’s many quiet
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palace space for a couple
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Night out in Madrid
WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ANTHONY HAM. PHOTOGRAPH: PEDRO GARCÍA
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Madrid is a beguiling place with an energy that carries a message: this city knows how to live. Step out into the streets of many barrios at night and you’ll find yourself swept along on a tide of people intent on dancing until dawn.
H igh dram a o at the Teatr Flam enco M adrid
outdoor tables shut two hours before closing time, whereafter the intimate interior is almost as good. There’s also an especially wide range of gin and tonics.
CAFÉ BELÉN elcafebelen.com Café Belén is cool in all the right places – lounge and chill-out music, dim lighting, a great range of drinks (especially the mojitos) and a low-key crowd.
LA VENENCIA Calle de Echegaray 7 No music, no flashy decorations – La Venencia is simply a barrio classic, with manzanilla (chamomile-coloured sherry) from Sanlúcar and sherry from Jeréz poured straight from dusty wooden barrels, accompanied by a small tapas selection.
CHOCOLATERÍA DE SAN GINÉS chocolateriasangines.com One of the grand icons of the Madrid night, this specialist café for chocolate con churros sees tourists throughout the day, but locals pack it out in their search for sustenance on their way home from a nightclub somewhere close to dawn.
MUSEO CHICOTE museochicote.com The founder of this 1930s-era landmark is said to have invented more than 100 cocktails, which the likes of Ernest Hemingway, Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra all enjoyed. It’s at its best after midnight, when a lounge atmosphere takes over and some of the city’s best DJs do their stuff.
DELIC delic.es Nursing an exceptionally good mojito or three on a summer evening at Delic’s outdoor tables on one of Madrid’s prettiest plazas is one of life’s pleasures. Due to licensing restrictions, the
TABERNA EL TEMPRANILLO Calle de la Cava Baja 38 You could come for the tapas, but we recommend this bar primarily for its wines, of which it has a selection that puts many Spanish bars to shame. It’s not a late-night place, but gets packed in the early evening.
TAKE A TOUR Devour Madrid shows you the best of Spanish food and wine in the city. Tours are themed: wine and tapas, flamenco, local markets, history, or the four-hour Ultimate Spanish Cuisine tour (madridfoodtour.com).
TEATRO JOY ESLAVA joy-eslava.com Inside a 19th-century theatre, this grand old dance club claims to have operated every day since 1981. The music and crowd are a mixed bag, but queues are long and invariably include locals, tourists and the occasional celebrity. Every night’s a little different but the
weekend is all about the best that Madrid has to offer. CAFÉ CENTRAL cafecentralmadrid.com In 2011 the respected jazz magazine Down Beat included this Art Deco bar on the list of the world’s best jazz clubs, the only place in Spain to earn the accolade. With well over 1,000 gigs under its belt, it rarely misses a beat. You’ll hear everything from Latin jazz and fusion to tango and classical jazz.
MADRID IN NUMBERS DATE OF BIRTH
854 AD
when Mohammed I, emir of Córdoba, established a fortress here SIZE
233 sq miles
POPULATION
SALA EL SOL Com e for elsolmad.com live music Madrid institutions don’t come any more beloved than this live-music venue. It opened in height above sea level, 1979, just in time for la movida making it the highest madrileña (the Madrid scene), capital in Europe and quickly established itself as a leading stage for icons such as Nacha Pop and Alaska y los number of cloudless days Pegamoides. That era lives on on average per year at El Sol, where the music rocks and rolls and usually resurrects the ’70s and ’80s, while soul and funk also get a run.
3.18 million 667m 250
TEATRO FLAMENCO MADRID teatroflamencomadrid.com This new venue is a terrific deal. With a focus on quality flamenco (dance, song and guitar) rather than the meal-and-show package of the tablaos, it generates a terrific atmosphere most nights.
ESSENTIALS…Madrid’s metro (metromadrid.es) runs until 1.30am; for 24-hour taxi services try radiotelefono-taxi.com or tele-taxi.es
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THE URBAN EDIT STARRING ROLE ) Amantes (The Lovers, 1991)
Carne Trémula (Live Flesh, 1997) ) Bad Education (2003) ) Volver (2006) ) Julieta (2016) )
LIKE A LOCAL
BY MADRID RESIDENT CASSANDRA GAMBILL When I have friends in
life. An easy way to do this is by sampling traditional food and drink. The more adventurous will be game for ordering callos (tripe) or morcilla (blood
MAP KEY DRINKING
Café Belén Chocolatería de San Ginés Delic La Venencia Museo Chicote Taberna El Tempranillo Teatro Joy Eslava
sausage) in a traditional taberna such as Antonio Sanchez. I also encourage all visitors to try on-tap vermouth.
SLEEPING BUDGET LAPEPA CHIC B&B lapepa-bnb.com A short step off Paseo del Prado and on a floor with an Art Nouveau interior, this fine little B&B has lovely rooms with a contemporary, clean-line look so different from the dour hostel furnishings you’ll find elsewhere. Modern art or even a bedhead lined with flamenco shoes gives the place personality in bucketloads. It’s worth paying extra for a room with a view. MID - RANGE CENTRAL PALACE MADRID centralpalacemadrid.com Now here’s something special. The views alone would be reason enough to come to this hotel and definitely worth paying extra for
ENTERTAINMENT
Café Central Sala El Sol Teatro Flamenco Madrid SLEEPING
Central Palace Madrid Hotel Orfila Lapepa Chic B&B
HOME FROM HOME MADRID When you are in the city, you will likely – rooms with balconies look out hear locals welcoming over the Palacio Real and Plaza outsiders with the phrase, de Oriente. The rooms are lovely ‘si estas en Madrid, eres and light filled, with tasteful, de Madrid’ (‘if you’re in subtle faux-antique furnishings, Madrid, you’re from comfortable beds, light wood Madrid’). floors and plenty of space.
TOP END HOTEL ORFILA hotelorfila.com One of Madrid’s best hotels, Hotel Orfila has all the luxuries of any five-star hotel – supremely comfortable rooms, for a start – but it’s the personal service that elevates it into the upper echelon: regular guests get bathrobes embroidered with their own initials. An old-world elegance dominates the decor, and the quiet location and garden make it the perfect retreat at day’s end.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE SEE Picasso’s Guernica at the Centro d’Arte Reina Sofía and weep. DO as the locals do and take it easy for the siesta with a long lunch. BUY a beautiful embroidered and fringed silk mantón (shawl) from the department store El Corte Inglés.
MORE INFO… Pocket Madrid (£7.99) // Madrid city guide (£12.99) // Guides app // lonelyplanet.com/spain/madrid
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them a glimpse of local
ILLUSTRATION: STELLA ISAAC
town, I do my best to give
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Best of Sarajevo
BAŠČARŠIJA Centred on what foreigners call Pigeon Square, with its gazebolike Sebilj fountain from 1891, Baščaršija (‘bash-char-shi-ya’) is the heart of old Sarajevo. Named after the Turkish for ‘main market’, the area is lined with stalls, lively (if tourist-centric) coppersmiths’ alleys, grand Ottoman mosques, caravanserai (inn) restaurants and lots of inviting little cafés.
WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM PETER DRAGICEVICH. PHOTOGRAPH: NATALIA BABOK/GETTY IMAGES
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Thrust into the world’s consciousness in the 20th century by two violent events, Sarajevo is once again a wonderful place to visit – for its intriguing architectural medley, lively street life and irrepressible spirit.
GALERIJA 11/07/95 galerija110795.ba This gallery uses photography, video footage and audio testimonies to create a powerful memorial to the 8,372 victims of the Srebrenica massacre, one of the most infamous events of the Bosnian civil war. Allow well over an hour for a visit. SARAJEVO CABLE CAR zicara.ba Reopened in 2018 after being destroyed during the war, THREE FAITHS Among the city tours and excursions run by InfoBosnia is a threehour ‘Judaism, Christianity and Islam’ walk that helps to show why Sarajevo was once called the ‘European Jerusalem’ (infobosniatours.com).
Take a cable car for sup rem e views
Sarajevo’s cable car once again shuttles people on a nine-minute ride, climbing to a viewpoint 1,164m up on Mt Trebevič. SARAJEVO CITY HALL Obala Kulina bana bb A neo-Moorish striped façade makes the Vijećnica (1896) the city’’s most beautiful building from Austro-Hungarian times. Its colourfully restored interior and stained-glass ceiling are superb. The excellent Sarajevo 1914– 2014 exhibition in the basement begins with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, just after he visited the city hall. AVLIJA avlija.ba Locals and in-the-know expats cosy up at painted wooden benches in this buzzing covered yard, dangling with trailing pot plants, strings of peppers and birdcages. Bosnian specialities are served, along with pasta, risotto and schnitzel. Wash them down with inexpensive local draught beers and wines. CAKUM PAKUM Kaptol 10 A collection of antique suitcases, fringed lamps, gingham curtains and bright tartan tablecloths set the scene at this hip restaurant with only half a dozen small tables. The food is simple but delicious – savoury pancakes, salads, a large range of pasta and a small selection of grills. ŽELJO Kundurdžiluk 19 & 20 Locals are willing to brave the tourist throngs at Željo as it’s quite possibly the best place for ćevapi (spicy beef or pork
cylindrical meatballs) in Sarajevo. There are two branches diagonally across from each other. Both have street seating; neither serves alcohol.
SARAJEVO IN NUMBERS DATE OF BIRTH
1461
ART KUC' A SEVDAHA Halači 5 Sit in the intimate fountain courtyard of an Ottoman-era building sipping Bosnian coffee, rose sherbet or herbal infusions while nibbling local sweets. The experience is accompanied by the lilting wails of sevdah (traditional Bosnian music) – mostly recorded, sometimes live.
fathered by Ottoman governor Isa-bey Isakovic ́ SIZE
188 sq miles
POPULATION
395,000 1,425
ZLATNA RIBICA Kaptol 5 Sedate and outwardly grand, the tiny and eccentric ‘Golden Fish’ is a cosy treasure trove of antiques and kitsch, reflected in big Art Nouveau mirrors. Drinks menus are hidden in old books that dangle by phone cords. Music swerves unpredictably between jazz, Parisian crooners, opera, reggae and the Muppets.
number of days the city was under-siege between 1992 and 1996
1885
year tram service started, one of the earliest in Europe
KAZANDŽIJSKA RADNJA HUSEINOVIC' Take hom e Kazandžiluk 18 original Most local coppersmiths stock metalwork imported or machine-made wares; Ismet Huseinović is one of the few producing handcrafted work. You can find some of his pieces at this shop, though the cute ‘Aladdin’ lamps are Turkish.
ESSENTIALS… The official and very helpful tourist office (sarajevo-tourism.com) is in Baščaršija – beware of commercial imitators
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THE URBAN EDIT STARRING ROLE ) The Perfect Circle (1997)
) Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) ) No Man’s Land (2002)
) The Bridges of Sarajevo (2014)
LIKE A LOCAL
BY GUIDEBOOK AUTHOR MARK ELLIOTT Pivnica HS is a grand, attached to the Sarajevska Brewery, and a great place to sample their brews. For something cosier in the old town, try To Be Or Not To Be, whose name was taken from a
MAP KEY SIGHTS
Baščaršija Galerija 11/07/95 Sarajevo Cable Car Sarajevo City Hall ACTIVITIES
InfoBosnia
EATING
Avlija Cakum Pakum Željo DRINKING
Art Kuća Sevdaha Zlatna Ribica
SHOPPING
Kazandžijska Radnja Huseinović SLEEPING
Doctor’s House Hotel Aziza Hotel VIP
defiant siege era poster. night at Sloga, a rock concert at Underground or taste local vintages at Dekanter wine bar.
SLEEPING BUDGET DOCTOR’S HOUSE thedoctorshousehostel.com The Doctor’s House is a healthy choice, if only for the workout you’ll get walking up the hill from the centre of town. It’s a lovely neighbourhood; the French ambassador lives next door. The dorms all have privacy curtains, reading lights, power points and lockers, and there are also a couple of tidy private rooms. MID - RANGE HOTEL VIP hotelvip.info Tucked away on a quiet lane in the centre of town, this smart modern block only has a dozen rooms but the ambience, professional service, valet
parking and well-provisioned breakfast buffet might have you think you’re staying somewhere far ritzier. The bathrooms are excellent, and some of the rooms have sweet balconies. TOP END HOTEL AZIZA hotelaziza.ba Not just an extremely comfortable and friendly family-run hotel, this place invites you to enter into the love story of its owners, Mehmed and Aziza Poričanin. The 17 spacious, light-filled rooms are numbered according to significant years in the couple’s life, such as the births of children and grandchildren. A daily sauna is included in the rates.
SIEGE CITY During the siege of the ’90s, Sarajevo’s heritage was pounded into rubble and its only access to the outside world was via a tunnel under the airport runway. Some of the tunnel is now the highlight of the unmissable Tunnel Museum. WHILE YOU’RE HERE WATCH the streets come to life during summer festivals, such as the Sarajevo Film Festival. EAT ćevapčići (grilled lamb or beef) in somun bread from cafés along the lanes of Baščaršija. DO delve into the concrete carbuncle of the Skenderija Centre for some contemporary art.
MORE INFO… Western Balkans (£16.99) // downloadable Bosnia & Herzegovina PDF chapter (£2.99) // Guides app
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Then check out a party
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cavernous beer hall
A 1950svi ntag e in te ri or in Café Pr ü ck el ( fo u nd ed 1904)
ICON
Coffeehouses in Vienna
PHOTOGRAPH: © ACHIMBIENIEK.COM
Vienna’s long-standing tradition of coffeehouses captures the spirit of gemütlichkeit – a peculiarly Austrian quality of cosiness and languid indulgence. Caffeine is secondary to the kaffeehaus experience. It is but an entrance ticket to a world where you can meet friends, browse newspapers, play games, put the world to rights, reflect and linger for hours. Many Viennese go misty-eyed when you ask them about their favourite kaffeehaus, affectionately known as ‘the city’s public living rooms’.
The story goes that at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Ottoman invaders left sacks of coffee beans behind as they beat a hasty retreat. There was speculation as to what these beans were, with most surmising they were camel feed or dung.
Military officer Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki had encountered coffee while in captivity in Turkey. Adding a dash of milk and sweetening the blend to Viennese tastes, he soon opened Vienna’s first coffeehouse, the Hof zur Blauen Flasche.
Kaffeehäuser began to pop up all over Vienna. By the late 18th century, Mozart and Beethoven used coffeehouses for public performances and, at the turn of the century, artists, writers and radical thinkers began to meet there.
In 2011, coffeehouses were added to the Unesco list of Intangible Cultural Heritage, as ‘places where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill’. In February the Kaffeesiederball is held – a prestigious ball.
The Viennese classic is the ‘Melange’ – half-coffee, half-milk and topped with milk froth or cream, similar to a cappuccino. Viennese waiters can be brusque, but a polite ‘grüss gott‘ (good day) and a pinch of German will go far.
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SUPERLATIVE EATS
O n e of th e ol de st re stau ra n ts in th e w or ld
THE LEAST MINIMALIST ONE KOH PHANGAN Sweden’s enduring love for the beaches of Thailand finds shape in Södermalm as an outrageously kitsch restaurant, best experienced at night. Tuck into chicken fried rice in a real tuk-tuk to the sounds of crickets and tropical thunder. kohphangan.se
THE OLDEST ONE DEN GYLDENE FREDEN Open since 1722, the venerable ‘Golden Peace’ is run by the Swedish Academy. Its members meet here regularly and (rumour has it) decide on many a winner for the Nobel Prize in Literature at its tables. If there were a similar prize for cookery, it should certainly go to the chefs, whose sublime offerings include civilised husmanskost (home-style) dishes like roast lamb with chanterelles, cabbage and country cheese, or old-school Swedish meatballs. Sit in the barrel-vaulted cellar or slightly posher upstairs rooms. gyldenefreden.se
THE BEST-VALUE ONE
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THE HOTTEST ONE EKSTEDT Dining at this Michelin-starred restaurant is as much an experience as a meal. Everything is cooked in a wood-fired oven, over a fire pit or smoked in a chimney. Chef Niklas Ekstedt’s education in French and Italian cooking informs his approach to traditional Scandinavian cuisine – but only slightly. Choose from four- or six-course set menus. ekstedt.nu
PHOTOGRAPHS: JOEL ÅHLIN, DAVID LOFTUS
HERMANS This justifiably popular vegetarian buffet (from £12) is one of the nicest places to dine in Stockholm, with a glassed-in porch and outdoor terrace seating overlooking the city’s glittering skyline from a clifftop perch above the popular Fotografiska museum. Fill up on inventive, flavourful veggie and vegan creations served from a cosy, vaulted room – you might need to muscle your way in, but it’s worth the effort. hermans.se
THE URBAN EDIT
MY PERFECT DAY
Cape Town
1PM
Preston Fortuin is Cape Town manager for Urban Adventures – you can browse their city tours via lonelyplanet.com/experiences.
11AM South Africans like to do outdoor activities in the mornings. Hiking up to Signal Hill (below) is a great way to let your food settle after breakfast. It offers spectacular views of the city bowl as well as of Table Mountain and Lion’s Head. It is also from Signal Hill that they fire the daily Noon Gun, one of the oldest traditions in Cape Town.
9AM The light in the morning is amazing in Cape Town. I get up early and grab a coffee from Deluxe Coffeeworks (pictured), or I head to Harvest Café & Deli in Bo-Kaap for their eggs Benedict. Bo-Kaap is known for its colourful houses and cobbled streets. The Bo-Kaap Museum is in one of the district’s oldest houses, dating from the mid-18th century.
Harrington Street in Downtown Cape Town is a great choice for lunch, and two of my go-to places are just a block away from each other: Lekker Vegan and New York Bagles. Lekker has a buzzy vibe and really interesting vegan food. New York Bagels is tiny yet it’s so popular with locals as they have the freshest bagels with amazing fillings. My favourite is the salmon bagel (pictured) – it’s out of this world delicious!
You ’ d n eed a fe w d a y s to t ry e v e r y be e r o n ta p a t Bee r h ou se
5PM
PHOTOGRAPHS: RICHARD TAYLOR/4CORNERS, THE ROYAL PORTFOLIO. PHOTOGRAPHER: MARK WILLIAMS
3PM After lunch, I like to walk around Harrington Street, stopping in at my favourite shops. I buy my groceries at Nude Foods (pictured), Cape Town’s first-ever plastic-free grocer. Everything looks good and is sold by weight. Another place I go is Love My Laundry: it’s a superb place with a little coffee shop inside, where you can relax and meet travellers while your clothes are washed, dried and folded.
The V&A Waterfront is a great place for a late afternoon stroll. I like to check out the latest exhibition at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, which is housed in a striking former grain silo (pictured). The Silo Hotel is above the museum and its rooftop bar is the place to grab a traditional sundowner cocktail.
9PM Long Street has great nightlife, especially for beer lovers like me. Beerhouse is a good place to start a bar-crawl as it has more than 20 beers on tap and 99 local and international bottled beers. Next door is Dubliner, an Irish pub with Guinness on tap and live music most evenings. Nights often end at Van Hunks in Kloof Street, a relaxed late-night restaurant and bar. Lonely Planet has partnered with Intrepid Travel to launch Lonely Planet Experiences: more than 300 group tours (run by Intrepid, and its day-tour company Urban Adventures) with positive local impact and low environmental footprints.
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DISTILLED
The Singapore sling The Long Bar is a time capsule at the newly restored Raffles Hotel – all dark teak wood, reed ceiling fans and peanut shells on the floor (the last tradition goes against the grain in this spick-and-span city). It’s also the home of the Singapore sling: hotel lore says it was created in 1915 by barman Ngiam Tong Boon, though cocktail sleuths have found holes in this origin story. The likes of Somerset Maugham enjoyed simpler drinks known as ‘gin slings’, often sweetened with cherry brandy, soured with lime or spiked with Bénédictine. Though pineapple is a much-loved fruit in the region, its addition (indeed domination) owes more to the later tiki culture craze than colonial-era tastes.
M A K E IT INGREDIENTS 30 ml gin 15 ml cherry liqueur (such as Heering) 7.5 ml Bénédictine
D RI N K
10 ml grenadine 120 ml pineapple juice 15 ml lime juice dash of Angostura bitters METHOD ) Mix the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass. Garnish with pineapple and a cocktail cherry.
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The Long Bar reopened in 2019 ith a refreshed Singapore sling ecipe that toned down some of its weetness. Also on the menu, the affles 1915 gin sling does away with the pineapple entirely, and uses a gin created specially for the hotel by Sipsmith of London. Yes, the Long Bar is a bucket-list venue now, selling 1,000 slings a day, but their quality has never been higher (raffles.com/singapore).
) Though plenty of mixologists might roll their eyes at it, Singapore acknowledges its ‘national drink’ with variations including those at the Raffles’ younger competitor, The Fullerton Hotel. Among the cocktail’s bolder reimaginings is the ‘Robbery at the Museum’: a version with fermented pineapple and fizzy foam at the Smoke & Mirrors bar on the roof of the National Gallery (smokeandmirrors.com.sg).
PHOTOGRAPH: RAFFLES HOTEL SINGAPORE
7.5 ml Cointreau
THE URBAN EDIT
FROM THE GIFT SHOP
National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
V Arguably the star of the collections, Sir Henry Raeburn’s 1790s painting The Skating Minister crops up in many guises in the gift shop, including a variety of leather bookmarks retouched in Pop Art colours.
Pay tribute to a city that has inspired writers from Robert Louis Stevenson to Ian Rankin with these made-in-Scotland leather-bound notebooks bearing a famous literary threat.
Fife-based designer Clare O’Neill creates a range of tweed clothes, bags and accessories, such as this coin purse that uses fabric handwoven at home by Harris islanders.
V The Tunnock’s teacake, invented in 1956, is the basis for this poplar plywood decoration, screen printed at Glasgow’s East End Press.
Mary, Queen of Scots came to the throne in 1542 aged only six days – and though this rubber duck doesn’t really suggest it, she grew to 5’11”, very tall for that era.
Use your finge rs instea d of broom s
V Scots have enjoyed curling for at least 500 years, but if you don’t have a frozen pond to practise on, try this tabletop version that unfolds to 120cm long. Browse at nationalgalleries.org
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IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
W
hile Brooklyn is no secret, there are parts that are more off the tourist
trail. Heading west, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill are light on sightseeing but brimming with home-style restaurants, disarmingly friendly bars and attractive 19th-century houses. Continue south for more dining and entertainment amid the brownstones of genteel Carroll Gardens and the old warehouses of Red Hook.
WANDERINGS A day is enough to soak in some neighbourhood flavour. Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill are an easy detour after visiting Brooklyn Bridge Park; Court and Smith Sts act as a spine separating Cobble Hill (west) from Boerum Hill (east). It’s along these streets that you’ll discover myriad bars, from cocktail-shaking lounges to unpolished, cash-only dives. Just south in Carroll Gardens is a similar sprinkling of interesting shops and places to drink, complemented by some of the area’s best restaurants (with Italian cuisine as a standout star). Alternatively, take a bus from Downtown Brooklyn to Red Hook. Relatively cut off thanks to a lack of subway access, Red Hook is still loaded with the rugged charms of its longshoreman days. Maritime history, well-established seafood restaurants and up-and-coming art spots can easily fill an afternoon. Add kayaking in sunny summer weather and you could pass a full day here, ideally ending with waterfront wine or a nautically themed drinking hole.
An exhibition at Pioneer Works in Red Hook
In a converted factory dating to 1863, the Invisible Dog is an arts centre that embodies the spirit of Brooklyn. There are frequent free exhibitions on the ground floor, where the unadorned warehouse backdrop makes art shows pop. Plays, film screenings and music performances (entry by donation) all add to the cultural appeal of this community-focused organisation. Afterwards, head over to Pioneer Works, which makes stunning use of a red-brick warehouse with wood-beamed ceilings. It hosts avant-garde temporary art exhibitions from confrontational cartoons to huge sculptures. There’s also an attractive garden to idle in. (theinvisibledog.org; pioneerworks.org) 2. EAT CRAB ON THE WATERFRONT Head to Brooklyn Crab, a casual, three-storey restaurant, to join diners hunkering over picnic tables to feast on steamed crabs, oysters, fried cod, peel-and-eat shrimp and other delights from the sea. With waterfront views, tender crustaceans and refreshing drafts of Founders All Day IPA, it’s a great spot on a sunny day, particularly if you snag an outdoor table. (brooklyncrab.com) 3. DRINK NEW YORK WINE
BU
TT
M ER
I
LK
C
H
A
N
N
EL
Red Hook
The Invisible Dog
lyn k o o r B West Jalopy
Boaters
Clover Club FOB
Sip wines from across New York state in the tasting room of Red Hook Winery, lined with barrels and crowded with locals every weekend. The grapes are plucked from vineyards in the Finger Lakes and Long Island, but every drop is produced right here. The cabernet sauvignon and riesling taste even better with the waterside views. (redhookwinery.com) 4. LISTEN TO BLUEGRASS
Red Hook Winery
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Jalopy is a tavern and music space at the fringes of Carroll Gardens
WORDS: REGIS ST LOUIS, ROBERT BALKOVICH, RAY BARTLETT, ALI LEMER. PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDY ROMER, DERRICK ADAMS’S ON, PIONEER WORKS, 2016
West Brooklyn, NYC
1. GET CREATIVE AT A GRASSROOTS GALLERY
THE URBAN EDIT
and Red Hook. It’s a fun, DIY kind of affair where the beer’s cold and you can usually catch a bluegrass, country, klezmer or ukulele show. There are freebies like open-mic nights (Tuesdays) and old-school blues and folk at Roots ‘n’ Ruckus (Wednesdays). Casual music classes include folk lessons for kids. (jalopytheatre.org)
frequently tops ‘world’s best’ lists. Converse over fabulous tiki drinks, libations infused with lavender and bell peppers, and £6 happy hour specials. Mocktails are given loving attention too, while bar food tends towards the nostalgic, such as devilled eggs. Weekend brunches come with excellent bloody marys and gin fizzes. (cloverclubny.com)
5. HAVE A COCKTAIL IN A CHART-TOPPING BAR
6. GO KAYAKING FOR FREE
Cocktails are certainly shaken with aplomb at retro-elegant, unpretentious Clover Club, which
Red Hook Boaters is a volunteerrun boathouse which offers free kayaking in the small embayment
off Louis Valentino Jr Park (guests are asked to help with a beach clean-up afterwards). Once in the water, you’ll have beautiful views of Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Check ahead on the website for times. (redhookboaters.org)
sailor at the long bar and out in the yard. Foot-stomping bluegrass and other banjo-pickin’ events liven the place up. (sunnysredhook.com)
7. MAKE LIKE A SEADOG
Homestyle Filipino barbecue is lovingly prepared at FOB (meaning ‘fresh off the boat’): beer-braised spare ribs, flounder grilled in banana leaf and sauce-drowned skewers of barbecued pork. It’s casual, but FOB also makes a trim date spot. (fobbrooklyn.com)
Surviving since the 1890s, Sunny’s cultivates a charming, nautical atmosphere, with everything but the barnacles. The longshoremen are long gone, but both regulars and newcomers come to play drunken
8. TRY BARBECUE FROM THE PHILIPPINES
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COMING NEXT MONTH NEED TO GET IN TOUCH? Subscription and back issue enquiries 0333 016 2125 Subscription enquiries lonelyplanet@buysubscriptions.com General enquiries ukmageditorial@lonelyplanet.com Subscription enquiries Lonely Planet magazine, PO Box 3320, 3 Queensbridge, Northampton NN4 7BF General enquiries Lonely Planet magazine, Lonely Planet, 240 Blackfriars Road, Southwark, London SE1 8NW EDITORIAL Group editor Peter Grunert Deputy editor Amanda Canning Production editor Alice Braham Features editor Orla Thomas Sub-editor Rory Goulding Contributing writer Oliver Smith ART Art director Hayley Ward Designer Mike Cutting Picture editor Claire Richardson Thanks to Abigail Dodd, Corey Hutchison, Alison Lyall, Wayne Murphy, Gregor Shepherd, Diana Von Holdt ADVERTISING Head of Sales Stelios Marcou Advertising manager Matt Smith Classified sales executive Harriett Sydall Advertising services coordinators Hugo Wheatley (classifieds), Tony Dixon (display), Agata Wszeborowska (inserts) For advertising enquiries 020 7159 5989 For inserts enquiries (Canopy) 020 7611 1062 MANAGEMENT CEO Luis Cabrera Managing director, publishing Piers Pickard Managing director, digital sales/destinations EMEIA Ali Teeman For international magazine licensing and syndication enquiries internationaleditions@lonelyplanet.com Digital controller Jay Francis
PHOTOGRAPH: JUSTIN FOULKES
IMMEDIATE MEDIA COMPANY Publishing director Alfie Lewis Senior production controller Katie Panayi Marketing manager Tom Townsend-Smith Newstrade marketing manager Gareth Viggers Newstrade marketing executive Isabella McDermid Subscriptions marketing manager Sally Longstaff Direct marketing executive Alex Havell Senior insight executive Matt Rodriguez DAM manager Liz Eaton Lonely Planet magazine is produced for Lonely Planet Global Limited (part of the Lonely Planet Group) by Immediate Media Company London Limited. The words ‘Lonely Planet’ and the Lonely Planet symbol are trademarks of Lonely Planet Global Limited. © Lonely Planet Global Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part prohibited without permission. ISSN 2050-635X. Reprographics by Rhapsody. Printed by Walstead Southernprint in the UK. This magazine can be recycled for use in newspapers and packaging. Please remove any gifts, samples or wrapping and dispose of the magazine at your local collection point. UK full annual subscription rate for 12 issues: £54; other Europe: £65; rest of the world: £75.
Inspiring Journeys: by campervan, car, boat and bike ) Tracing Native American legends
through Montana, and more of our favourite US road trips
) Island-hopping in the Netherlands, and
a voyage to remote St Helena
) An epic cycling adventure along
highlights of the Silk Road And much more
ON SALE THURSDAY 2 APRIL MIND THE GAPS (p130) answers in order: Prague, Franz Kafka, Wenceslas, Vienna
April 2020
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C L A S S I F I E D D I R E C TO RY WO R L DW I D E T R AV E L To advertise, call Harriett Sydall 020 7150 5309
YOUR ADVENTURE STARTS HERE! Plan to broaden your horizons with these one of a kind destinations and escapes closer to home
1
THE PLACE TO BE IN SANTORINI
2
YELLOWSTONE WILDLIFE TRAILS
3
ONCE IN A LIFETIME PERU ADVENTURE
We are located at the most privileged spot in Fira: on the cliffs of the caldera with unlimited views of the famous volcano, the sunset and the whole island. Only a few steps away from the centre of town, but still with a quiet and relaxing atmosphere, Athina Luxury Suites is the place to stay in Santorini. The ideal location to have your dream wedding ceremony and venue facing amazingly romantic scenery, or to enjoy your honeymoon in our special Honeymoon Suites with outdoor Jacuzzis. Our joy is to delight you and to make the accommodation of every guest personalised, exclusive and unforgettable.
Explore three celebrated national parks at the very heart of the Rocky Mountains. Specialist local guides will transport you from the azure lakes of Grand Teton to the unique geology and wildlife of Yellowstone and the towering peaks and broad valleys of Glacier. Exodus Travels specialises in small group adventure tours, with unrivalled knowledge and experience. Book your Yellowstone Wildlife Trails tour from just ÂŁ2,099pp, excluding flights.
This incredible journey of 1,800 miles crosses 28 climate zones, passes 5,000-metre peaks, and heads to the magical citadel of Machu Picchu, taking in deserts, the Andes and the Amazon. We offer you the ultimate guided self-drive 4WD experience. A maximum of four specially prepared expedition vehicles and two expert guides ensures a bespoke opportunity to reach locations others can only dream of.
athinasuites.com
exodus.co.uk
perusafari.com
T: 00 30 22860 24910
T:03301731348
Prices from ÂŁ3,980 for 15 nights. Please contact info@perusafari.com for details.
T: 01744 889 819
C L A S S I F I E D D I R E C TO RY WO R L DW I D E T R AV E L To advertise, call Harriett Sydall 020 7150 5309
4
ADVENTURE IN SLOVENIA
Craving travel inspiration? The heart of Europe is waiting for adventurous souls with its forests, vivid blue rivers and other Alpine vistas. Enjoy the most rewarding hiking spots and don’t miss paragliding above Lake Bled, with its famous small-island church. Join skydiving adventures, meet Slovenia’s highest peak Mt Triglav, experience sleeping in a mountain hut, discover the ‘Seven Alpine Wonders’ or climb a frozen waterfall. Altitude Activities offers you a rush of adrenaline in authentic Slovenian landscapes.
5
ENJOY KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyzstan is a land of nomads, where you can stay in traditional yurts before going out horse-riding and walking in the mountains amid glacier-fed rivers. Drive along old Silk Road routes to discover minarets, mausoleums and a caravanserai, on a real adventure. For full-board round trips, book with the experts at Ala Too Travel.
Get a 5% discount by using this code: AA5
altitude-activities.com
7
T: 00 386 70 138 811
A PASSAGE THROUGH MEXICO
A country of jungles, deserts, volcanoes, canyons, pristine coastlines, music, art, gastronomy, living indigenous communities and the well-preserved, incredible remains of ancient cities, Mexico has so many draws it is difficult to know where to begin. Dance in time with a mariachi band in Mexico City, ascend pine-forest highlands to reach colonial cities and explore ancient Maya sites surrounded by thick jungle. A Passage Through Mexico 13 days from £2,049. Please contact mail@llamatravel.com for more details.
llamatravel.com
T: 020 7263 3000
alatoo-travel.com
8
T:00 996 (0)550 660352
WALKINGHOLIDAYS WITH COLLETT’S
Walk with Collett’s Mountain Holidays in Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Spain and France. Join organised walks six days a week free of charge, or self-guide. Arrive and depart on any day and stay as long as you like in chalet, hotel or self-catering accommodation. Collett’s also offers wildflower walks and WWI walks (Dolomites) free of charge. Also - Hut to hut hikes and treks throughout Europe. Prices from £395pppw -SC/HB/BB. Fly-drive, Train or use our Airport Transfer service.
colletts.co.uk
T: 01799 513 331
6
PERSONALISED HOLIDAY EXPERTS
Experience Sri Lanka and the Maldives with Olanka Travels’ personalised holidays. Whether you have three days, ten days or are looking for something bespoke, we work seamlessly with an extensive network of hotels and guides to provide our guests with a truly unforgettable experience. You can enjoy the vibrancy of these islands, see wild animals in their natural habitat at Minneriya National Park and explore the cosmopolitan side of Sri Lanka’s seaside capital Colombo confidently with our expertise. Please contact trips@olankatravels.co.uk for details.
olankatravels.com
9
T: 0113 3204404
EXPLORE BEAUTIFUL CARDIGAN BAY
Close to the beaches and walks of the Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion coastline, and within easy reach of Bluestone Country, Troedyrhiw is ideally situated for exploring this corner of Wales. Hidden at the end of a private lane, five tastefully renovated farm buildings are tucked into a wooded valley on the banks of the Nant Arberth, on a secluded smallholding. Each cottage has an outside seating area and a cosy wood burner.
troedyrhiw.com
T: 01239 811564
C L A S S I F I E D D I R E C TO RY WO R L DW I D E T R AV E L To advertise, call Harriett Sydall 020 7150 5309
MELROSE
TURKEY - YAKAMOZ HOTEL
Made by Roberts & Sheppey (Melrose) Ltd. Est 1880
Established 1992
18G MULTI-PURPOSE SKINCARE STICK – £4.20
Yakamoz is a small and friendly hotel situated in-between Fethiye and Oludeniz in SW Turkey. Offering traditional Turkish hospitality, fabulous Mediterranean cuisine and delightful gardens, Yakamoz enchants all who enter it’s gates.
SOOTHES DRY SKIN, SORE LIPS AND PAINFUL CRACKED HEELS Enquire at your supermarket Af%@gmk] H`YjeY[q gj qgmj dg[Yd [`]eaklk h`YjeY[q \]hYjle]fl&
Gf :gglk \akh]fkYjq GL; \YlYZYk]& E=DJGK= Y\n]jlak]\ af ;`]eakl <jm__akl Hja[] Dakl& Hah [g\] (),.,,1 gj ^gj 99@2% E=D )((:
melroseellamay@aol.com www.melrose-skincare.co.uk
The hotel is also situated close to the famous Lycian Way, an excellent base for self guided/ guided walks for individuals or groups. • All rooms en-suite and with balconies • Open late April to late October • Adults only Hotel except UK School Holidays
www.yakamozhotel.com Email: info@yakamozhotel.com Tel: 0090 252 616 6238
IKETLA LODGE LUXURY ACCOMMODATION
Cottages South West Iketla Lodge near Ohrigstad & Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Offers luxury accommodation on a dinner, bed & breakfast basis. Situated on a private nature reserve, the lodge offers excellent birding and nature walks. Unparalleled natural beauty, silence, peace and tranquility.
Tel (Intl): +27 15 817 1841 e-mail: relax@iketla.com www.iketla.com
Come & stay in one of our fabulous apartments, Georgian homes or fisherman’s cottages. Enjoy a unique luxury waterside experience in Beach Huts No.1. Perfect for weekly and shortterm breaks and ideal for your honeymoon or special occasion. Dine at one of the many gastro pubs, unwind and watch the sun go down...heaven. Contact Katrina & Anthony on 01626 872314 or email lets@cottagessw.co.uk
Areti Camping & Bungalows
Chalkidiki, Greece www.areti-campingandbungalows.gr
C L A S S I F I E D D I R E C TO RY WO R L DW I D E T R AV E L To advertise, call Harriett Sydall 020 7150 5309
ATLANTIC CANADA EASY TO REACH. HARD TO LEAVE.
Come to Atlantic Canada on a tailor-made fly-drive holiday and explore picturesque fishing villages, incredible wildlife and rugged coastlines. Experience rich heritage and beautiful National Parks, along with cultural charm, delicious local cuisine and the warmest of welcomes.
020 8742 1556 windowsonthewild.com
C L A S S I F I E D D I R E C TO RY WO R L DW I D E T R AV E L To advertise, call Harriett Sydall 020 7150 5309
PETER SOMMER
TRAVELS
“Peter Sommer Travels continue to excel. The tour was a fantastic couple of weeks of history, archaeology and mythology combined with beautiful scenery, wonderful food and fantastic wine.”
EXPERT-LED ARCHAEOLOGICAL & CULTURAL TOURS FOR SMALL GROUPS Tour Operator of the Year 2015 Gold Award, 2016 Silver Award, 2017 Gold Award & 2018 Silver Award - AITO (The Association of Independent Tour Operators)
One of the world’s “Top Ten Learning Retreats” - National Geographic
EXPLORING IRELAND
EASTER IN ATHENS
EXPLORING SICILY
EXPLORING CRETE: ARCHAEOLOGY, NATURE AND FOOD
A GASTRONOMIC TOUR OF SICILY
WALKING AND CRUISING SOUTHERN DALMATIA
WALKING AND CRUISING WESTERN LYCIA
CRUISING THE COAST OF DALMATIA: FROM SPLIT TO DUBROVNIK
CRUISING THE AEGEAN: FROM KOS TO PATMOS
www.petersommer.com
Tel: 01600 888 220
info@petersommer.com
Escorted Archaeological Tours, Gulet Cruises and Private Charters
C L A S S I F I E D D I R E C TO RY WO R L DW I D E T R AV E L To advertise, call Harriett Sydall 020 7150 5309
Tr a v e l t h a t ’s m a d e f o r y o u
stays with you.
Every single part of your journey with us is crafted around your needs. That’s because we understand the power travel has to change you. A dawn hot air balloon flight above Myanmar’s Lake Inle will help you see the world in a fresh new light. So while other journeys end when you get back home, travel made the Audley way stays with you forever.
Talk to one of our country specialists on
01993 683 165 or visit audleytravel.com
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aÙ�õ�¼ ¬ÃÝéÙ�Ã�� ö¬å© üÊé ¬Ã Â¬Ã� Travel insurance designed by travellers Up to £10M medical expenses Available for UK/EU Citizens if you’re already abroadǀ Cover for cameras and gadgets available Extreme sports and activities covered, including trekking and winter sports
Get immediate cover
truetraveller.com or call 0333 999 3140
COMPETITION
Win! A trip to Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Day of the Dead
WORTH £2,600
Skulls and marigolds are among the recurring symbols of Mexicoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day of the Dead celebrations
â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;THE DEADâ&#x20AC;¦ ARE ALIVEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; AS THE OPENING
2'2*#1 -$ 2&# ���� -," Ì*+ Spectre read. -5 -,# *3!)7 0# "#0 ," !-+. ,'-, ! , #6.#0'#,!# 2&# 1 +# 2&0'**',% . 0 "# -, 1'6Ƥ" 7 20'. 2- #6'!- '27 5'2& 1+ ** %0-3. 20 4#* !-+. ,7 "4#,230#1Æ&#x; #6'!-Æ°1 Ã&#x2039; "# 3#02-1 ƺ 7 -$ 2&# # "Æ» -, � -4#+ #0 '1 ,-2 (312 2'+# $-0 $ +'*'#1 2- 0#+#+ #0 *-4#" -,#1Æ 32 & 1 %0-5, ',2 " 88*',%Æ #4#, *'$#Ƥ $Ì0+',% !#*# 0 2'-, 2& 2 ! .230#1 2&# +'6 -$ 2&# !-3,207Æ°1 !3*230#1Æ ,"'%#,-31 ," '1. ,'!Æ&#x; 4#, '$ 2&# ! .'2 *Æ°1 +#% . 0 "# 12 02#" *'$# -,*7 5&#, 0#/3#12#" 7 2&# ��� Ì*+Ƥ+ )#01Æ 2&# $#12'4'2'#1Æ° 0--21 %- !) !#,230'#1Æ&#x; , 7-30 2-30 ƺ1# 0!& $-0 20'. !-"# Ư Æ° 2 % "4#,230#1Æ&#x;!-Æ&#x;3)Æ»Æ 7-3 5'** !!*'+ 2'1# Ì012 5'2& 120-** 0-3," #6'!- '27Æ°1
,#1!-Ƥ*'12#" &'12-0'! !#,20#Æ ," 4'1'2 2- , 3 , 0)#2 2- 207 1-+# #6'! , 1.#!' *'2'#1Æ&#x; &# $-**-5',% " 7 '1 2&# 2'+# 2%#2 7-30 $ !# . ',2#"Æ 5 2!& 2&# Ì®- 21 ," " ,!#01Æ ," (-', 2&# $2#0Ƥ. 02'#1Æ&#x; -3Æ°** 1## ,-2&#0 $ !#2 -$ 2&'1 #4#,2 2 , ,"0¹1 '6/3'! -, 2&# -321)'021Æ *'2 7 Ì®'!)#0',% ! ,"*#1 ," 1!#,2#" 5'2& ',!#,1#Æ&#x; &#0#Æ°1 *1- $0## 2'+# 2- #6.*-0# ,!'#,2 .70 +'"1Æ take in the art of Frida Kahlo or even watch *3!& *' 0# + 2!& Æ¥ 1&-3*" 7-3 5'1& 2- 1#'8# 2&# " 7 ', #6'! , 127*#Æ&#x;
CONDITIONS OF ENTRY 1 The promoter of this competition is Immediate Media Company London Limited. 2 The prize includes two return economy flights from London to Mexico City, two spaces on the G Adventures six-day â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Day of the Dead in Mexico Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (trip code: CMDD) with accommodation, six meals, excursions and experiences (full details available online), tour transport and G Adventures tour guide. 3 Travel must be taken by 30 October 2020. The tour starts on 30 October 2020. No substitute. Winner will be booked on to a trip that already has four paying passengers booked. The tour is subject to availability. The prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative. 4 The prize does not include travel insurance, visas (if applicable), additional meals and refreshments, UK transfers, optional activities or spending money. 5 The winner must be at least 18 years old and hold a valid ten-year passport, with six months or more remaining after return to the UK. 6 For full terms and conditions, visit lonelyplanet.com/magazine/competitions.
THE PRIZE ) Two return economy flights from London to Mexico City ) Two places on G Adventuresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
six-day â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Day of the Dead in Mexico Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tour, guided by G Adventuresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Chief Experience Officer, with five nightsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hotel accommodation and a variety of excursions included HOW TO ENTER To be in with a chance of winning, fill in your details online at the address below. Competition closes at 11.59pm on Sunday 12 April 2020 lonelyplanet.com/ magazine/competitions
April 2020
129
_____ is a city of historic architecture, so this television tower, built at the end of the communist era, was a controversial addition to the skyline. It was later made over by local artist David Černý, known for his own outrageous visual statements. The slot-faced babies crawling up the tower are one thing, but at the museum dedicated to the author _____, two statues urinate animatronically into a pool shaped like the nation’s borders. Would the man who wrote The Metamorphosis have appreciated the surrealism? Around the capital you can also spot Černý’s figure of an upside-down horse ridden by St _____ (a reputedly kind ruler who won wider fame in a Christmas carol) and, though he was mostly a resident of _____, Sigmund Freud hanging onto a beam with one hand.
Turn to page 121 for the answers
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April 2020
PHOTOGRAPH: MATT MUNRO
Mind the gaps
We’ve delved into our archives and pulled out this photo, from a story that first appeared in the December 2009 issue. You’ll find a few gaps in the description: read to the end and then see how many of the blanks you can fill in.
Two countries. Two extraordinary journeys. Travel through the myriad landscapes of Japan and Australia in these stunning photographic companions, from the world-famous wineries of the Adelaide Hills to the turquoise waters of Okinawa.
Available in bookshops and on shop.lonelyplanet.com
