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29 TRIPS FOR 2019 O F F B E AT J O U R N E Y S I N E V E R Y I N D I A N S TAT E
T H E Y E A R I N G L O B E T R O T T I N G E G Y P T I M E X I C O I TA H I T I I F R A N C E
N AT I O N A L G E O G R A P H I C T R AV E L L E R I N D I A
January2019 VOL. 7 ISSUE 7
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Voices 12 WILD JOURNEYS As you make travel plans for the year, be guided by these five migratory birds that undertake inspiring journeys annually 14 CREW CUT For some, cruising cities, countries and continents for the love of live music is the true essence of travel
15 The Itinerary 16 MADRID—A CITY ON THE UPSWING
Street art, avant-garde dining, and urban beaches are bringing a modern edge to Spain’s elegant capital 24 IN SEARCH OF BLUE SKIES AND BIRDSONG
The winged songsters of Pangot dominate the Kumaoni hamlet in Uttarakhand
34 RWANDA’S BEATING HEART Shining with creativity and colour, Kigali, Rwanda’s buzzing capital, is one of Africa’s cleanest cities 36 VANCOUVERY GOOD Tree-walks and tangerine roses, seagulls and towns trapped in time— Vancouver, to this dreamy traveller, was very, very good 40 THE COLOURS OF MUSIC CITY In praise of letterpress in Nashville, where music and old-school design have long harmonised
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28 SEOUL, SAVE IT How to juice out the wons while having fun in South Korea’s favourite tourist city
Regulars 10 Editorial | 120 Travel Quiz 43 NO COLD CUTS IN SVALBARD From minke whale fillets to rock tripe, investigating the food culture of Longyearbyen, Norway’s last town before the North Pole 46 GIZA, LIKE AN EGYPTIAN A Nat Geo Explorer provides insight into how best to explore this Ancient Wonder of the World
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BEST TRIPS 48 36 OFFBEAT INDIAN JOURNEYS FOR 2019
Bike tours in Chandigarh, ancient Portuguese mansions in Goa or diving alongside wrecked German steamships in Lakshadweep—offbeat journeys in every Indian state and Union Territory 79 21 PLACES AROUND THE WORLD TO VISIT THIS YEAR
Discovering the fifth element in Tahiti, the amour of Dordogne, and China’s newest UNESCO site—Nat Geo editors and explorers pick the world’s most exciting destinations for the year ahead ON THE COVER With 2019 knocking on the door, it’s time to shift the gaze off 29 TRIPS FOR 2019 Instagrammable auroras and hipster haunts, onto backyard secrets. In India’s 29 states and seven Union Territories are nooks undisturbed and spectacular. We tell you about ‘water trekking’ on Kashmir’s lakes, of a time-trapped town near Bengaluru, and rare river dolphins in the Ganga along Bihar’s Bhagalpur district. In this picture, photographer Mukul Banerjee captures the delights of Jahangir Mahal in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh—MughalRajput elegance and windows with delicate lattice work. Some windowgazing can lead to a world of secrets in a land ever familiar. J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 9 • ` 1 5 0 • VO L . 7 I S S U E 7 • N AT G E O T R AV E L L E R . I N
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EDITORIAL LAKSHMI SANKARAN
WHY IT’S TIME TO TAKE A HIKE
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Meandering through his hikes with his wife and child, Kaag faces endangering moments. He doesn’t always accomplish what he set out to do. “Slipping” is as important as climbing, he insists, and he persists. Travel writing’s bogeyman, I have been told again and again, is the Internet. Information and narrative are in abundance from tourists traversing to parts of the world that were once inaccessible with frequency. Where to go, how to go there, and what to do once a person is there is now easily definable. And if more catastrophic visions of the future are to be believed, one day an algorithm will do it better than any of us. What must then a travelogue accomplish? Kaag’s book reminded me that it was to establish an intimate and immediate human connection to a place. This can never be rated highly enough. Travel is as much about geography as it is about people, in lands that don’t inhabit our minds as often. It’s an urgent hammer taken to the numbing solipsism and drudgery that modern living descends into. It is storytelling, which never gets old. As another year dawns, NGTI has an exhaustive compendium of places, beloved and obscure, from across India and the world that should find its way to any adventurer’s 2019 itinerary. Travel, for all its ubiquity, still has plenty of seduction left in it.
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TRAVEL IS AS MUCH ABOUT GEOGRAPHY AS IT IS ABOUT PEOPLE, IN LANDS THAT DON’T INHABIT OUR MINDS AS OFTEN
ne of the finer books I read this year was John Kaag’s Hiking With Nietzsche, in which Kaag, a professor of philosophy, rekindles his passion for the German thinker while tracing picturesque hiking trails in the mountains of Switzerland. It’s a nearprecise rendering of the travelogue as a self-help book. A young Kaag was an avowed Nietzsche acolyte but given the ravages of responsibilities and adulthood, the writer put his affinity to test by undertaking physically enduring hikes through the Alps, revisiting haunts that the philosopher escaped to, in search of solitude and salve. The journey’s demands, coupled with his own inner turmoil, are catnip for anybody feeling at cross purposes with their own life. In the book, Kaag quotes Neitzsche writing to his mother after he had spent time in Splügen, “I was overcome by the desire to remain here… this high alpine valley… There are pure, strong gusts of air, hills and boulders of all shapes… But what pleases me the most are the splendid highroads over which I walk for hours.” Travel as the answer to searching questions is hardly a radical idea but what’s endearing about the book is that it subtly confirms a basic tenet of why we go on these journeys in the first place. Sometimes, being on the move matters more than anything else.
OUR MISSION National Geographic Traveller India is about immersive travel and authentic storytelling, inspiring readers to create their own journeys and return with amazing stories. Our distinctive yellow rectangle is a window into a world of unparalleled discovery.
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Write to me at natgeoeditor@ack-media.com or Editor, National Geographic Traveller India, 7th Floor, AFL House, Lok Bharti Complex, Marol Maroshi Road, Andheri East, Mumbai- 400059.
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | JANUARY 2019
VOICES CREW CUT
I would Walk 500 Miles FOR SOME, CRUISING CITIES, COUNTRIES AND CONTINENTS FOR THE LOVE OF LIVE MUSIC IS THE TRUE ESSENCE OF TRAVEL
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then drove to the grungy mining centre of Ostrava to catch Pharrell Williams’ funk rock group N.E.R.D., summoning greedy pit stops across Czechia to squeeze out the korunas. “Travelling for concerts is never just musical, and it’s never just travel either,” Singh contemplates. For the 38-year-old, it meant a whole lot of planning—and unplanning. Having designed the big escape six months in advance to ensure early-bird perks, Singh surrendered her plans to the thrills of ‘winging it’ when she followed local intelligence to a second music festival. Unlike Ostrava, the International Music Festival Český Krumlov, in the South Bohemian region of Czech Republic, did not promise Ziggy Marley’s reggae rhythms or the woozy warmth of Cigarettes After Sex. But it drew her into a whole new world of philharmonic music— soaring symphonies magicked into the air of medieval castles, apparently no big deal in Český Krumlov, a UNESCO site. By the end of it, the music part of her tour was no longer distinguishable from the slow tunes of the central European sun, her days a tumble of raging concerts doused in surprise showers, and excursions to the fairytale towns of Brno, Mikulov, Valtice, Lednice and Plzeň. If in Ostrava, stories from a stranger-turned-gig-hopping-friend caused Singh’s heart to quake, submarine silences between Český Krumlov’s Western Classical performances did no less. At the cost of (un)planning well, Singh brought home the best of music and travel. At 28, Daksh Bahuguna has travelled from Guwahati to Tallinn, Estonia, to catch his childhood favourite Iron Maiden on The Legacy of the Beast tour in 2018.
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Like Singh, the rush of this dream-cometrue did not stop the metalhead from structuring a month of sight-foraging around it—a warm-up frisk of Finland, the odd beer festival in Latvia, a solo drive through Iceland flavouring the rich strains of “Hallowed Be Thy Name.” A mix of teenage nostalgia and alien landscapes overcame him, as he hostel-hopped, stopping only to “catch some sleep and tank up the car.” He’d researched Iceland because it’s expensive, but for everything else, a lot of the fun was sketched out on the go. From stopping by Finland’s stunning art galleries to coaxing his rented hatchback to ply mean Icelandic trails, he romanced roads less travelled. And the people on the road too. “A frail, 70-something man singing along to each song; a pair of childhood friends from Netherlands on tourer bikes; some roadie couples, soaking in the remotest of Earth’s wonders together, come to mind,” says Bahuguna. “And it all started with Maiden.” For some travellers, the road and the moshpit converges. “Imagine a town full of people, walking around in Maiden T-shirts, days before the concert,” laughs Bahuguna. Maybe that’s the lure of travelling for music—running into kindred souls that light up together, before going their own ways.
sohini das gupta is Assistant Editor at Nat Geo Traveller India. She travels with headphones on and her head in the clouds. Her klutzy feet are not to be trusted anyway.
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ehind me, EBB (Excited Burly Boy) is threatening to land on my back with the finality of a late-’90s Shawn Michaels. To my right, a girl only slightly taller than me is wrangling for a better view of guitarists Niels and Torsten Kinsella. The person to my left, tuned out of the din, has tuned into the opening chords of ‘Forever Lost,’ one of the dozen post-rock pieces this oddball crowd will inhale together tonight. I take one last look at God is an Astronaut—the Irish instrumental band I’d taken a red-eye flight from Delhi to catch— follow Zen Boy’s lead, and close my eyes. Well haunted by melody, everything that has preceded or will follow this moment adds up. The dead-of-the-night arrival in Pune hours before NH7 Weekender 2018 kicked off, dust-fresh from a three day trip in Uttarakhand; the 7 (+7)-hour car journeys between Delhi and Corbett National Park (where I was)—at the brush of music, the miles willed to melt away. Over the years, I’ve discovered people who walk/drive/hitchhike that extra mile to catch their favourite artistes live. If we must travel, and travel unprotestingly for work, food, love and sex—all our wonky sustenance—can travelling for music be anything less than euphoric? Ask Archana Singh, a Delhi-based travel blogger who started clocking up music miles during college, kicking off with a trip to the capital from Haryana for the love of Palash Sen. The early 2000s ritual recently found continuum in a month-long tour to the Czech Republic—Renaissance castles, vineyards, carriage rides and brewery museums waltzing into her itinerary to the beats of the Colours of Ostrava music festival. She flew to Prague and
THE ITINERARY UTTARAKHAND
IN SEARCH OF BLUE SKIES AND BIRDSONG THE WINGED SONGSTERS OF PANGOT DOMINATE THE TINY KUMAONI HAMLET IN UTTARAKHAND BY RADHIKA RAJ
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wo days before Diwali, a thick, grey haze starts settling on Delhi. The sky has been a monotone grey for weeks. The lone bulbul on the deathlystill mango tree outside my window has gone missing, or is perhaps harder to spot through the toxic smog. Getting far away from this city we have carelessly ruined has become necessary. Pangot lies 290 kilometres from Delhi, just an hour-long drive away from the holiday-favourite, trafficclogged Nainital. As my family of four and I leave Nainital’s packed Mall Road behind, the road gets narrower and the woods get darker. At every steep bend, beyond the treetops of rhododendron and oak we spot the Himalayas— majestic and golden in the evening
sun. At first glance, Pangot seems like any beautiful village in the Kumaon— winding roads, endless rustling streams, tall, deep pine and oaks forests, and a view of snow-capped mountains. Then we see a black bird fly across the road, its metallic violet-blue wings glittering in the sun before it settles in a bush to whistle a tune. It is the Himalayan whistling thrush, author Ruskin Bond’s favourite songster from the Kumaon hills. Landour-based Bond has devoted entire chapters to its melodious “peehoo-hoo.” We are on the edge of our car seats now, our eyes scanning the roads for any movement. As we enter Jungle Lore, a fourcottage birding lodge hidden inside Pangot’s oak forests, we are welcomed
by the dry, rasping “skaaaakk skaaakkk” of a flock of black-headed jays—crowsized birds with a black head, proud black crest, black tail and greyish-pink body–huddled under an oak outside the reception. “The village celebrates Diwali, but a quiet, cracker-less one, so we don’t harm the birds,” we are informed at the reception. As we try to concentrate on the paperwork, two redbilled blue magpies—red-orange beaks, blue wings, and a long striped, black and white tail—join the jays looking for wild fruit. We soon realise that with a population of over 350 species of birds, we need not keep our eyes peeled for them in Pangot. On the premises of the lodge alone you can spot and hear over 30 species. “You may miss a bird
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Pangot, a hidden Kumaoni hamlet on the foothills of the Himalayas is gaining popularity among birders for its rich avian population.
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THE ITINERARY SOUTH KOREA
SEOUL, SAVE IT HOW TO JUICE OUT THE WONS WHILE HAVING FUN IN SOUTH KOREA’S FAVOURITE TOURIST CITY
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n Seoul’s fancy shopping districts, where price tags bear several zeros on designer labels, and expensively coiffed, clothed and shod natives glide gracefully through its streets, it’s easy to feel like you’re an interloper among the one per cent. A taxi ride starts at a minimum fare of 3,000 won/`192, rent is high and tourist accommodation is a scramble for the cheapest (`1= 16 won). Last year, Seoul was ranked the world’s sixth most expensive city in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Worldwide Cost of Living survey and continually makes the top 10 in similar lists. But it’s still possible to tease out some good bits from this prohibitively pricey place, and juice out every won for what it’s worth.
GORGE GUILT FREE In Seoul’s traditional markets, food stall owners are lined up, table to jowl, picking ingredients from small 28
Bright lights, tall buildings, broad roads (top)—South Korea's rapidly developing economy has made Seoul one of the world's 10 most expensive cities; There's a smorgasbord of tasty, filling and cheap eating options at Gwangjang market (bottom).
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mounds in front of and behind them, whilst also trying to force their menu in your line of vision. Here, it is possible to have a hearty meal for very little. Gwangjang Market , which I stumbled upon by chance, and which I revisited by design, was everything a market should be: festive, fun, fervid. For 5,000 won/`320 there is a smorgasbord to pick from. The vegetables, the noodles, the bits of meat or rice are tossed peremptorily and slammed down on the squeaky table you share with others. Wooden chopsticks are handed. You set to. My first genuinely delicious meal was had here: Noodles with Young Summer Radish Kimchi—thin noodles entwined with greens and doused in a fiery sweet and spicy sauce. At Namdaemun Market, sweets and savouries of all kinds make eyes at you morning and night, until you succumb. I recommend the chapssal, crusted,
KAMPONWARIT/ISTOCK EDITORIAL/GETTY IMAGES PLUS/GETTY IMAGES (CITY), NOKURO/SHUTTERSTOCK (WOMAN)
BY BHAVYA DORE
THE ITINERARY CANADA
VANCOUVERY GOOD CANOPY WALKS AND TANGERINE ROSES, SEAGULLS AND TOWNS TRAPPED IN TIME—VANCOUVER, TO THIS DREAMY TRAVELLER, WAS VERY, VERY GOOD BY ISHANI CHATTERJI
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rom the sea plane, I could spot the treetops that I’d later I identify as the foliage in Stanley Park, followed by rows and rows of skyscrapers. It was a 40-minute ride from Victoria that had brought me to Vancouver, a twoday stop on my trip to Canada early last year. Time was scant and my enthusiasm soaring, so lashings of cold July rain did nothing to alter my itinerary. Armed with an orange raincoat, I was out to explore—on foot, occasionally hitching rides in state transport buses.
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A WALK IN THE CLOUDS I’d first heard of the Capilano Suspension Bridge almost a decade ago, a passing reference in my psychology class with regard to a 1970s experiment. And here I was, walking the wobbly, 450-foot-long bridge, hanging resolutely at 230 feet! The bridge, over 128 years old, and a 15-minute drive from the town centre, was filled with tourists. Some were holding umbrellas, some clutching onto rails—the braver kind taking selfies against the jade tapestry
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | JANUARY 2019
of douglas firs and below, the Capilano River. If the 10-minute walk was slightly unnerving, what awaited on the flipside—a tiny baked goods shoppe called Dr. Wood’s Cabin—offered sweet solace. Warm mugs of hot chocolate and cookies relished, I was ready for the rest of the trail. This comprised the Treetops Adventure, a series of smaller suspension bridges through a thick canopy. Moving from one fir to another, I fancied myself to be a squirrel, at home among trees, many of which are
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The 128-year-old Capilano Suspension Bridge hangs resolutely at 230 feet.
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+7
From a tiny, squirrel-loving sanctuary in Tamil Nadu to a blinkand-miss town in Uttarakhand, here’s where India keeps its secrets
BEST
TR I P S IN 2019
I N E V E R Y S TAT E A N D U N I O N T E R R I T O R Y JAMMU & KASHMIR
GOA
WEST BENGAL
KARNATAKA
Go beyond the Dal, and ‘water trek’ in a shikara, sailing lakes in and beyond Srinagar for a glimpse of Kashmiri life.
Vintage furniture and 16th-century heirlooms, fish croquettes and savoury pumpkin puddings in lovingly restored Portuguese homes.
Two hours from Kolkata, the ghats of Hooghly are home to more than a gorgeous sunrise. They are practice ground for a beloved sport in rustic akharas.
Hundred-year-old homes and centuries-old ruins—the hilltop village of Melkote, 150 kilometres from Bengaluru, seems suspended in time.
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Uttarakhand, Jageshwar WHY GO NOW Revel amid myths and deodars
It’s almost meditative, watching fat glistening dewdrops hang off sharp needles of deodars on a freezing winter morning. At our lodge, my family of four and I sip endless cups of ginger-and-spice-flecked pahari chai and suck on a rock of jaggery. We can hear a meandering rivulet gurgle across the street. Time stops in Jageshwar, a little-known village in Uttarakhand’s Almora district—but the myths and stories that do the rounds of its streets are alive and kicking. “That tree you see there,” says Bhuwan Chandra, manager and resident storyteller of our lodge Van Serai, pointing at a thick trunk that splits into five individual deodars, “they call it the Panch Pandavas.” A thinner, smaller deodar grows right beside the tree. “That must be Draupadi,” adds Chandra. Everyone in this languid, spiritual village dotted with ancient shrines, is a storyteller and spins their own version of mythological tales, Chandra says. “If you stay long enough in Jageshwar, around its ancient shrines, with long peaceful hours to while away, you’ll do the same,” he smiles. A few metres from our lodge is a shrine that looks like an eightfoot pile of rocks: The Rin Moksh blesses those with pending debts. “If you have EMIs, you should pray here,” laughs Chandra. Jageshwar hides another secret deep in the folds of its deodars—a cluster of 124 cut-stone Shiva temples built between the seventh and 13th centuries. The main cluster, the Jageshwar Temple Complex, has over 25 big and small shrines dedicated to Shiva and other deities—all hemmed in by the Jataganga river. Little wonder that Chandra has another story to tell. “A large deodar stands at the centre of it with thick, snake-like exposed roots, falling over the river like a Hindu saint’s jata (matted hair). The Pandavas washed their sins here before heading to the Himalayas.” At day’s end, the temperature hovers around four degrees. The deodars, stoic as ever, cast long shadows at every bend and shrine. We do a quick round of a museum attached to the temple, which houses 160 rare sculptures, some dating back to the eighth century. Back at our lodge, a hot traditional meal awaits us, soaked in the goodness of ingredients locally sourced, perhaps just earlier in the day. Madira bhaat, a coarser version of locally-grown rice, ragi rotis served with jholi (cucumber and black lentil pakodas cooked in buttermilk curry) add to the warmth that has encased me in Jageshwar. A bowl of kheer doubles it. In spite of a full belly and sore feet, we order another round of pahari chai. Because Chandra has new stories to tell. —Radhika Raj
Assam, Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary WHY GO NOW Spot six Indian primates and India’s only apes When staying in the forest rest house right outside the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, expect to wake up to a sunny morning—even at 4.30 a.m.—and the calls of a greater racket-tailed drongo. The 21-squarekilometre protected area near Jorhat is dominated by hollong trees and home to the endangered western hoolock gibbon, believed to be India’s only ape species. The sanctuary is also home to six other primates: the capped langur, pig-tailed macaque, stump-tailed macaque, Assamese macaque, rhesus macaque, and the nocturnal Bengal slow loris. Cars are not allowed inside the forest, so make sure to have a sturdy pair of shoes for your long walks. Keep an eye out for giant earthworm mounds and colourful butterflies. If you visit in the monsoon, be prepared to trudge through a moist forest with dense overgrowth. Some parts might be submerged and difficult to access but the trails are usually open. 50
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Rhesus macaques can be seen both in and around the periphery of the forest hanging out in groups of four or five. At dusk, the forest is a beautiful mosaic of light and shadows, and the coats of capped langurs glow a brilliant golden-orange. While it’s not very difficult to spot these two primates, the stump-tailed macaques—though they live in big groups of 40 to 50—are extremely shy and said to vanish in the blink of an eye. The forest lovingly protects these creatures in its fold. Spotting a hoolock gibbon at the spot where a troop of macaques frolicked moments ago is a delight. The small black (male) and grey-brown (female) acrobats of the forest negotiate their way through the upper branches of trees, with the ease of someone familiar with every bough and leaf. It’s impossible not to fall in love with them the moment they peer down at you with their inquisitive eyes. —Sutirtha Lahiri
A hoolock gibbon at the Hoollongapar Gibbon Sanctuary, Assam.
AMITRANE1975/STOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS/GETTY IMAGES
INDIA
BEST TRIPS
Puducherry, Sita Cultural Centre WHY GO NOW Culture cruising and meditative silence In Pondicherry—Puducherry, if you will—Tamil, French and Creole legacies ensure that diverse cultural elements take the lead when it comes to travel experiences. While the café-crusted promenade and the bright houses in the French and Tamil quarters invite instant curiosity, it helps to have professional help if you’re looking for a more immersive cultural experience. The Franco-Indian Sita Cultural Centre on Kandappa Mudaliar Street is a great gateway for quick-and-deep dives into Pondy’s cultural milieu. Sign up for classes that train you in cycling, photography or yoga. Feeling adventurous? Unleash
your hidden knack for French or traditional Tamilian cooking through related courses. Here, you can familiarise yourself with sundry art forms; it doesn’t have to be a tough call between the riceand-chalk-dust kolam paintings and the ancient martial art of kalaripayattu—you can do both. And should you come out of the courses a glorious ball of energy, head to Gratitude Heritage homestay (www. gratitudeheritage.in), a restored artiste’s retreat lined with writing desks and meditative silence. Put pen to paper the good old way, or lounge by yourself in the common areas. Who knows what creative fate awaits your culture cruise by the sea? —Sohini Das Gupta
Sikkim, Darap WHY GO NOW Homestays in a hamlet haven, away from Gangtok’s bustle 52
Every year, swarms of tourists descend on the town of Pelling, 120 kilometres off the capital Gangtok, for stellar views of Mount Khangchendzonga. It’s special, no doubt, but quainter charms lie just eight kilometres away in the village of Darap. Ditch the local jeep and hike all the way; the Himalayas keep company to the right, in all their snowy, glistening glory. Unlike Pelling, where hotels are springing up faster than ever before, Darap is full of intimate homestays run by locals. Ask for Indra Subba (everybody knows everyone in Darap), a mountaineer from the Limboo community who lovingly built his homestay with a little help from friends. His family rustles up a most delicious traditional meal of millet pancakes, phulaurah (buckwheat) fritters, and local greens. No lofty peaks call out in Darap, but a walk around its rice fields, alleys and a hilltop shrine, are enough to make you believe in magic. —Kareena Gianani
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PHOTO COURTESY: SITA CULTURAL CENTRE
A cooking class at Sita Cultural Centre.
INDIA
Himachal Pradesh, Chail
Our scarlet log hut, with mirrors on the ceiling and suggestive paintings—is almost at a kilometre’s distance from the main complex. “This is for our couples,” the attendant sheepishly tells me and my husband. “But if you see other cottages, they are best suited for a writer or an artist.” Chail has several such hidden cottages with nothing but cedar-line paths, valleys and macaques for miles. Set deep in the forest, our cottage faces a dense forest valley. When clouds descend, the cottage is enveloped in a misty white haze. When the clouds recede, you see clear blue skies and the
brightest stars at night. The hill station also has the Chail Wildlife Sanctuary with a healthy population of leopards, pheasants, barking deer and birds. But we had to only walk a few steps away from our doorstep to spot the rare khalij pheasant and red-billed blue magpies. The Palace’s restaurant and bar serve a mix of north Indian and Continental dishes and cocktails. But Chail opens up to people better in the small shoplined lanes of Chail Bazaar, over platefuls of hot crispy pakodas with coriander and chilly chutney. (hptdc.in.) —Radhika Raj
Chail, a Himalayan hill station around 45 kilometres from Shimla, has its roots in a royal scandal. Developed in 1891 over 75 acres of luscious alpine forests, it was built as the summer capital of the maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh, after he was exiled by the British from Shimla for allegedly having an affair with an officer’s daughter. The local guides in Shimla often stop at ‘Scandal Point,’ to show the spot from where the couple eloped. At the heart of the town is Chail’s main attraction, The Palace—a grand two-storey grey stone building built by Singh, lined with ornate teak furniture, life-size court portraits, velvety curtains and looming crystal chandeliers. The real charm however lies in little wooden cottages on the property that are linked by narrow mud paths.
Grizzled Giant Squirrel
The Palace, Chail
Tamil Nadu, Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary WHY GO NOW Scamper with giant squirrels A protected area for a squirrel? We won’t blame you for thinking we’re kidding. The Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary near Srivilliputhur in Tamil Nadu, formally known as Srivilliputhur Wildlife Sanctuary is a 488-square-kilometre reserve that protects the vulnerable grizzled giant squirrel, found only in the Western Ghats and highlands of Sri Lanka. Unlike its urban counterpart, Srivilliputhur’s resident squirrel is rather large. Yet, the brown-and-white, pink-nosed rodent is a shy creature, freezing at the spot to avoid detection. However, thanks to the park’s conservation efforts, it is easy to spot one scampering about trees or nibbling on fruits. The sanctuary can only be accessed on foot. Although the path is well marked, do take along a guide. Srivilliputhur is also home to elephants, leopards, Nilgiri tahr, the Malabar pied hornbills and long-billed vultures, and about 220 butterfly species. —Sutirtha Lahiri JANUARY 2019 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA
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DINODIA PHOTOS RM/DINODIA PHOTOS/ALAMY/INDIAPICTURE (PALACE), SUTIRTHA LAHIRI (SQUIRREL)
WHY GO NOW Live amid cedars and scandals
BEST TRIPS
Chandigarh Think Chandigarh, and the mind is flooded with a flurry of fresh images— clean, green roads, gardens radiant with roses or Buddha statues, chilly waters of a reservoir nestled at the foot of the Himalayas. Dominating the montage are powerful structures by architect Le Corbusier for what was one of the most meticulously planned cities in postindependence India. Thanks to its buttery roads, a breezy way—quite literally—to explore the city is on bicycles. Chandigarh byCycle, a cyclists’ crew helmed by city-bred history and architecture enthusiast Aman Sood, ensures that the city unravels in startling new ways. On a three- to four-hour jaunt, Sood would teach you to watch out for the unique, progressive layout of the roads, unmatched by other Indian cities. For instance, they are all straight lines intersecting at right angles, giving the city its grid-like, linear structure. As you begin to enjoy the steady company of foliage tailing your trail, Sood would rev things up with the history behind the design, conceived as early as the 1950s. You’d learn that Chandigarh’s architecture channels a post-modernist ethos, where, after the devastation of the World Wars, the focus was on the quality of living—manifested in the form of ‘garden cities’ of it’s like. This is why every house in the city is privy to a predetermined patch of greenery or open space. You’ll encounter the brilliance of the Chandigarh Capitol Complex, Corbusier’s brainchild; Leisure Valley; the Open Hand Monument, a pedestrian-only plaza; and a continuous interaction of city life with a slew of gardens, lakes, and even the Kansal and Nepli forests (chandigarhbycycle.com; `1,600 per person). —Sohini Das Gupta
The Rock Garden of Chandigarh, also known as Nek Chand’s Rock Garden features artsy sculptures (top) and a waterfall.
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WHY GO NOW For the love of bicycle diaries
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Manipur, Imphal As more and more tourists from the rest of India flock to the state’s cultural festivals and natural haunts, the mysterious aura that once hung around Manipur has abated. But that by no means suggests there isn’t more to discover. Manipur unravels new delights with every visit. Yes, the wonderfully bucolic appeal of Loktak Lake is the state’s number one calling card and worth a visit. The lake and its floating islands or phumdis, the largest of which is home to the Keibul Lamjao National Park, promise a surreal dive into the ways of Manipur’s heartland life. Hop on a quiet boat along the Loktak to spot the park’s elusive endangered inhabitant—the Sangai deer. It’s the only place in the country where wildlife lovers can see one. Sangai Festival, the state’s most significant festival held usually in November, is dedicated to the animal. Celebrated at different venues in and around Imphal and Loktak, it is a premier showcase of Manipur tradition and art. There are boat races, Maha Raas (raas leela) dances, handicraft exhibitions, theatre and ballet to be savoured at this nine-day event. For a more intimate and artistic glimpse of Manipur, seek out the rich tradition of craft making through curated weaving or pottery tours. The Meitei, Manipur’s largest indigenous group, the Rongmei, the Nagas, the Kukuis, and others, have their signature styles and techniques of weaving and textiles. To feel Manipur’s pulse, is to go beyond comfort zones and attempt a cultural connection like none other. —Shivani Katgi
PAUL PRUDENCE/GETTY IMAGES (STATUES), EXOTICA/EXOTICA/DINODIA PHOTO LIBRARY (WATERFALL),
WHY GO NOW A brush with indigenous heritage
BEST TRIPS
Sunsets cast a dreamy spell over Melkote and are best viewed from the Yoganarasimha Swamy temple atop the hamlet’s highest peak.
Karnataka, Melkote
In the quiet narrow back-lanes of Melkote, 150 kilometres from Bengaluru, old men and women lounge in the old verandahs of oldstyle houses—bestowing upon the delightfully small hilltop town, or rather village (population 3,305), a quaintly antique air. The streets have retained their timeless character with pilgrims’ rest houses, stone pavilions, maths (monasteries), kalyanis (cool water tanks), and a feeling of culture more or less unchanged since ancient days. There’s for example Raja’s Street leading up through a gate. As I pass it an old man who looks like he might be a hundred years old points at it and says ‘thousand years.’ Beyond it, I come to the Cheluvanarayana Swamy temple at the town’s heart. Significant parts of this temple belong to the Hoysala era (c. A.D. 1000-1350), and it has some rather dramatic stucco sculptures on its outer wall facing Car Street: one of a lady entertaining herself with an elephant, another of a lady giving birth. On the corner, a colourful temple chariot is parked in its shed, awaiting the next big festival. Lakhs of Vishnu-worshipping pilgrims arrive in Melkote on festivals, as it is as important a Vaishnavite centre as Tirupati or Srirangam. Further along Raja’s Street, up a prehistoric-looking set of stone steps, I discover a majestic ruin which looks like a half-built temple or maybe a royal viewing platform (very little is signposted in Melkote). On Google Maps the structure is marked as Raya 74
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WHY GO NOW Time travel in a history-seeped town
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BEST TRIPS
Punjab, Patiala and Kapurthala WHY GO NOW Luxuriate in Punjabi hospitality The lanes of Patiala’s old town are a glimpse into the state’s old seat of power: the 18th-century Qila Mubarak complex highlights a glorious past through its fort, inner courtyards, and the durbar hall adorned with royal portraits, carriages, chandeliers and a dagger that belonged to Guru Gobind Singh. For a taste of Patiala’s opulent lifestyle, check in at the Baradari Palace (www.neemranahotels.com), the former home of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, and now a Neemrana heritage property. The brilliant white palace is done up with old treasures and the restaurant, housed in one of the main halls, serves some of the maharaja’s favourite dishes. Thrilling
tales of Bhupinder Singh’s power struggle with the British and hilarious anecdotes about the Patiala peg printed on the menu are an interesting touch. Further west, 20 kilometres from Jalandhar, Kapurthala’s Maharaj Jagatjit Singh built some of Punjab’s most memorable palaces, forts and mosques. Stay at the luxurious Hamira (hamiralux.com), the ancestral home of the royal family and experience a different side of Punjabi hospitality. Explore Kapurthala’s Moorish-style mosque modelled on the grand mosque of Marrakesh, a Versailles-inspired palace-turned-school, and a grand Durbar Hall with a French-style painted ceiling. —Hoshner Reporter
Baradari Palace hotel, Patiala
WHY GO NOW Mornings with birdsong and evenings with history You are in the company of sambar, nilgai, spotted deer and black bucks, gambolling around at a close distance. The morning sun falls blithely over the grasslands of the Satmaliya Deer Park in Silvassa. If you’re lucky, your safari could end with birding success stories too—this small sanctuary in Dadra and Nagar Haveli is home to flameback woodpeckers, thrushes, paradise fly-catchers, and other winged residents. Back in Silvassa, the Tribal Cultural Museum awaits you—think masks, musical instruments, and hunting tools. Browsing through handmade bamboo souvenirs and Warli paintings, you are reminded of an old traveller’s tip: underexplored rarely means underwhelming. Definitely not for Dadra and Nagar Haveli. —Sohini Das Gupta 78
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PHOTO COURTESY: NEEMRANA HOTELS
Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Satmaliya Deer Park
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Nat Geo editors and explorers pick the world’s most exciting destinations for the year ahead
BEST
TR I P S AROUND
THE
WORLD
FOR 2019
CITIES
NATURE
CULTURE
Dakar, Senegal Salvador, Brazil Kansas City, U.S.A. Toronto, Canada Matera, Italy Perth, Australia
Peruvian Amazon Montenegro Belize Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique South Walton County, U.S.A. Fanjingshan, China
Cairo, Egypt Hoang Lien Son, Vietnam Galway, Ireland Bauhaus Trail, Germany Oakland, U.S.A. Vevey, Switzerland
Mexico City: Sacred Harvest
Tahiti: Moments of Mana
Dordogne: Beauty Defined
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URBAN HOT SPOTS
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WHAT’S COOL IN
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Dakar, Senegal Why Go Now: Discover West Africa’s centre of style Senegal’s capital at the tip of Cap Vert, Africa’s westernmost peninsula, defies easy definition—both stylish and chaotic, proudly West African but with French as the official political language. Luxury SUVs share roads with horse-drawn carts. Lively beaches draw surfers, sun-worshipers, professional wrestlers, and Senegalese sheep. “Driving along the seaside Corniche, you have sweeping views of the ocean on one side and the excitement of a bustling market on the other,” says academic researcher Abhit Bhandari, who splits his time between Dakar and New York City. “This is how I think of Dakar, as a city of contrasts.” Nightlife moves to hypnotic mbalax dance beats and Senegalese hiphop. Join the glam crowd at June’s Dakar Fashion Week, designer Adama Amanda Ndiaye’s annual showcase of African collections. HOW TO GO Kensington Tours’ eight-day “Senegal City and Beach” private tour explores the historic Médina quarter of Dakar and ferries over to former Atlantic slave trade hub Gorée Island. kensingtontours.com
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FINBARR O’REILLY
Designer Oumar Dicko, right, of Mali and Belgium, laces up a model backstage during the 2017 Dakar Fashion Week.
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IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS
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WILD EXPERIENCES
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Peruvian Amazon Why Go Now: Welcome to the jungle
CHARLIE HAMILTON JAMES
Amazon rainforest covers more than half of the country of Peru. “We have low jungles, high jungles, cloud forests, flooded forests, vast swamps, waterfalls, jungle ruins, creepy isolated mountain peaks, and even the world’s largest documented thermal river—the Boiling River of the Amazon,” says Peruvian geothermal scientist and National Geographic Explorer Andrés Ruzo. “One of my favourite things here is the blending of cuisines and cultures,” Ruzo says. “Chefs are exploring the wilds of the jungle for the next bold flavour.” Lima top chef Pedro Miguel Schiaffino has teamed up with river cruise operator Aqua Expeditions to support sustainable fishing practices in the Pacaya Samiria Reserve, where the Aria Amazon sails. Creating northeastern Peru’s roadless Yaguas National Park in 2018 spared millions of acres of Amazon wilderness from development; it should be ready for tourists soon. HOW TO GO Walk through the treetops 98 feet above the ground on the Inkaterra Canopy Walkway, built in partnership with National Geographic and the World Bank. inkaterra.com/ inkaterra/inkaterra-reservaamazonica
The Peruvian Amazon has one of the densest concentrations of ocelots in the world. JANUARY 2019 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA
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BEST TRIPS
ON A LOCAL LEVEL
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CULTURE
GLOBAL ENCOUNTERS
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Cairo, Egypt Why Go Now: Dig into Tut’s treasure trove
NAGELESTOCK.COM/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO
Egyptians will be walking tall at the opening of the 5.2-million-square-foot Grand Egyptian Museum this year. Located on the Giza Plateau, it cost more than a billion dollars to build and is billed as the world’s largest museum devoted to a single civilisation. Tops among the 50,000 ancient objects slated to be displayed is the first ever exhibit of all 5,000-plus artefacts of the boy king Tut-ankh-amun. See such treasures as King Tut’s six chariots and 3,000-year-old funerary bed, and, through the museum’s glass facade, monumental views of the pyramids and Sphinx. The past is present elsewhere in the Egyptian capital, particularly in the 10th-century Historic Cairo UNESCO World Heritage Site, which conserves one of the world’s oldest Islamic cities. HOW TO GO Heritage Tours offers custom trips that give a glimpse inside the Grand Egyptian restoration labs and explore the Giza Plateau with an archaeologist. heritagetours.com
One of the mysteries of the ancient world, the Sphinx can also be viewed at night during a sound-and-light show that bathes the statue and pyramids in vivid colours. JANUARY 2019 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA
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