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Wanderlust Issue 176 (May 2017) Bay of Bengal (Sri Lanka, Andaman Islands, Bangladesh) ♦ World’s Best Road Trips ...in a week ♦ Silk Road ♦ North Korea ♦ Swiss Grand Tour ♦ Pocket guides: Austin, Bratislava, Edinburgh

World’s Best Road Trips

...in a week! Costa Rica, Canada, Japan & more

T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E www.wanderlust.co.uk May 2017

Silk Road

Your expert guide to Asia’s ancient network

SRI LANKA Voyage to the Bay of Bengal for tales of the unexpected featuring Sri Lanka, the Andaman Islands and Bangladesh

P l us !

hing in the Gorilla-watc rhome Congo, moto best , adventures more a s nd wildlife trip 4 See p

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First 24 Hours: Austin, Texas Short Break in Bratislava, Slovakia Travel Icon: Edinburgh, Scotland

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North Korea Journey into the undiscovered north

Swiss Grand Tour From the ‘Grand Canyon’ to Heidi’s House – Switzerland’s greatest hits

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CONTENTS

Issue 176 May 2017

360˚ – NEED TO KNOW

nder 6Viewfi to know this month...

12GoNeed 14 Eatnow this...

165 minutes with… Julia Bradbury 18 Know your…

Peru trains 20Wonderful wildlife 22 Teetering tents, salmonsnatching grizzlies and moody New York...

Crumbling icons need your help Budapest’s architectural wonders are easier to reach than ever before Drizzle some maple syrup on your food – a classic symbol of Canadiana The telly trail-lover shares her top strolls A new sleeper train adds to Peru’s rail history See fantastic fauna aplenty on these nine adventures

TRAVEL MASTERCLASS

66The masterclass Instant expert: Cinco de Mayo 69Take 72 better travel photos Travel clinic 74Traveller’s guide to… daypacks 77

Motorhomes aren’t just for sleepy UK breaks; and with our advice, you can take to the road anywhere The iconic Mexican festival turns 155 Two expert snappers explain how to capture both journey and scenery in your hiking photos Going off-grid? Dr Jane on how to find medical help anywhere

Whether doubling as hand luggage or for use out on the trail, we pick the best small rucksacks with a capacity of less than 30 litres

▲ Cover story

24 Sri Lanka: Bay of Bengal

“Then a male crashed through the undergrowth, in and out of sight in an instant. It wasn’t a silverback, but a juvenile making his presence felt.”

Nick Redmayne

Voyage with us to the Indian Ocean to take in Sri Lanka, Andaman Islands and Bangladesh on the trail of leopards, untouched tribal people and legendary Bengal tigers...

▲ Special feature

92 Best road trips …in a week

Whether circling Jamaica on a pirate trail, looping the jungles of rural Thailand, or tracking Germany’s wine-soaked ‘Romantic Road’, the world is full of week-long revs to remember

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92 “Dust-dry plains, towering ranges, lush forests and fossils – lots of fossils – the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway twists past mountain passes, sandstone weird-scapes and countless national parks.”

Austin, p129

Peru, p20

DAYPACKS Gear reviews, p77 “When you only need to carry the barest of travel essentials or pack a few items for a short walk, you can’t beat a daypack.”

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14

“Budapest is the enduring grande dame of Eastern Europe, with its historic facades, art nouveau riches and sociable café scene long bewitching visitors.”

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MEXICAN FIESTA...

Cinco de Mayo, p69 FEATURES

FROM THE ROAD

Silk Road Sydney 40Beyond 24

This fabled route Newtrade South Wales is one of travel’s most iconic journeys. isn’t just about Oz’s most famous city We trace a world its roadsofacross Asia, breaking – there’s epic coastlines, greatthem up into bite-sized chunks… wilderness and wine-rich valleys to explore too Congo-Brazzaville Evenhabitat getting India Discover the last great to theAsian Congo’s northOur is of the lionrainforested in Gujarat PLUS: an adventure; then there’s the gorillas… guide to India’sand other must-see species Switzerland Join behind us as wethe motor Philippines Leave bustle through towns, Alpine of Manilachocolate-box for the raw splendour of rural passesexploring and several languagerice barriers on the Luzon, vertiginous paddies, Grand Tour: Switzerland’s epic new road trip cliff -hanging graves and spluttering volcanoes North Korea the bombast of Tanzania East Leave Africa isn’t just known thethe DPRK’s statue-heavy cities behind for Big Five – head to the Mahale on a tour offor itsits rural andwild volcanic wilds Mountains starreaches attraction: chimps

56 82 80 98 110 116

POCKET GUIDES

104Your story

Reader Tabitha Green recalls a school trip that has stuck in her memory and reader Joanna Rubery shares her visa troubles in Cambodia Readers’ pictures Your brilliant photos, including standing in Iceland’s icebergs, zipping along Route 66, spying Western Australia’s rocky Pinnacles Desert and jumping for joy on Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit Letters In our mailbag: recalling your fond childhood memories of Madagascar; treading a slice of the Camino; flying the flag for older travellers; and dreaming of a river cruise while chilling in Cuba...

106 108

24 hours: 129First Austin, Texas

Often described as ‘a blueberry in a tomato soup’, the liberal state capital of conservative Texas thrills with hip cafés, lush parks and tasty food trucks

131Short break: Bratislava

Explore beyond the Slovakian capital’s Old Town for rich architecture, ruined castles, a buzzing bar scene and... a flying saucer

133Travel icon: Edinburgh Castle This medieval Scottish gem stands proudly over a city that truly comes alive when festival season hits each summer, but book early to make sure that you’re in the thick of the party

110

“I awoke to the sound of cowbells and went upstairs for breakfast, where my host brought in coffee and milk fresh from the udder, which she sieved into my cup.” Phoebe Smith

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Edinburgh, p133

Bratislava, p131 Budapest, p14 Switzerland, p80 Silk Road, p40

“Every roof of the neat workers’ cottages we passed provided space for hardening corn cobs, while side roads and pavements were carpeted with grain drying in the sun.” Hilary Bradt

North Korea, p110

40 Bay of Bengal, p24 Congo-Brazzaville, p56 “For me, the image of the Silk Road has always been about images of camel caravans, turbaned traders, desert crossings and oasis cities, and, even today, the route delivers on these romantic dreams.”

Bradley Mayhew

TALKING HEADS Julia Bradbury, p18 “There’s a lot of variety along Offa’s Dyke, and it’s got a curious history – anything to do with myths and legends and gods is always good.”

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Bay of Bengal

Pole position

The iconic stilt fishermen perch above the Indian Ocean in Sri Lanka

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From mangrove forests and rock-topped fortresses to exploding volcanoes – an expedition cruise around the Bay of Bengal yields a wealth of surprises…

WORDS PHOEBE SMITH PHOTOGRAPHS NEIL S PRICE

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T

here are few men for whom I would gladly wake up at 1.30 in the morning, especially when lying in the comfort of a sumptuous bed, being swayed by the rocking motion of the Andaman Sea. Luckily Conrad Combrink, my expedition leader onboard the Silver Explorer ship, was one of them.

We were passing Barren Island, one speck in the chain of 572 islands that make up the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, when it happened.

Over the tannoy, in little more than a whisper, he urged us to wander up on deck because the island’s volcanic core was currently erupting.

I crept out in my dressing gown to watch the giant mountain – merely a silhouette in the darkness – suddenly explode into a crimson cloud. Incandescent liquid seeped down its sides, highlighting its cracks and creases in orange magma. It was not what I had come to see nor something I thought I’d ever be lucky enough to witness in my life. But these moments of surprise would soon come to define my trip across the Indian Ocean.

My journey had begun over 1,300km away in Sri Lanka. There, in Colombo, I’d boarded the expedition vessel with my 86 fellow passengers, dreaming of spying a leopard at Yala National Park – possibly the most famous destination on the island. We arrived via a Zodiac ride to Kirinda, where curious locals gathered to watch these strange tourists disembark at their local fishmarket (the usual arrival route being on a road several miles from their small port). Jumping into jeeps, we bounded along the dirt tracks, picking up our guide en route, and headed into the park.

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Though monitor lizards, wild boar, buffalo, grey langur monkeys, spotted deer and mongooses had all put in an appearance, as well as countless birds – bee-eaters, cormorants, crested hawk-eagles – the park’s most famous spotted resident was conspicuous by its absence.

But the following day, a lion was promised. Well, a lion rock. I had no expectations when I headed for Sigiriya, the former fortress of King Kashyapa I, who stole the Sri Lankan throne from his brother after murdering their father in 477 AD. Yet as we navigated the winding roads, I learned how he constructed this former palace on top of a giant rock – fearing his sibling’s revenge – and erected a huge statue of a lion to guard the stairs to the summit. I couldn’t wait to see it.

As we headed uphill, the guide told us how the king finally met his demise. In a nutshell, when facing off against his brother’s rebellion, the elephant he was riding on turned by mistake, leaving his army to come to the incorrect assumption that he was retreating. Left alone and facing too many soldiers, he decided to throw himself onto his dagger. “And that,” explained the guide, “was that.”

After he died, the palace was used as a Buddhist monastery, and now all that remains of its once great facade are its paws. I stood next to one of them – the toe alone was larger than me – and I tried to imagine the fierce entryway that the complete feline would have made. Though the full lion statue had been lost to time, the views from the top were as breathtaking now as they would have been back then. I stood on the foundations of the palace, looking out to mountains and trees stretching off seemingly endlessly in all directions, a sea of green leaves. I may not have seen a real big cat, but the views from atop this man-made one certainly took some beating.

But Sri Lanka hadn’t finished with its surprises yet. On my final day there, we began by visiting the temples at Anuradhapura, exploring ⊲

Previous page Alamy

Bay of Bengal

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Bay of Bengal There be lions...

(clockwise from this) Sigiriya, aka Lion’s Rock, Sri Lanka; the Portuguese fort town of Galle, Sri Lanka; a local woman in Maheshkhali Island, Bangladesh

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*SPECIAL OFFER*

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07/04/2017 10:05

SILK ROAD

T R I P

P L A N N E R

This vast trading network once dominated life across Asia.

Following its routes is one of the great travel experiences and also a glimpse into how the modern world was born‌ WORDS BRADLEY MAYHEW

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Illuminating spaces ‘The pearl of Central Asia’, the first of Registan Square’s facing madrasahs was built in the 15th century

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Silk Road Trip Planner

Top tip

As well as goods, the Silk Road conveyed armies, technologies, music and even artistic styles, too.

While the secrets of papermaking and silk production moved west, Buddhism and Nestorian Christianity travelled the other way.

F

or many travellers, the Silk Road shimmers on the distant horizon with an almost hazy allure. But there was a time (120 BC-1450 AD) when it was the most important trade network on Earth. For centuries, traders crisscrossed Asia on an epic network of routes, carrying not just bales of silk, jade and spices but also religious ideas, artistic designs and revolutionary technologies. To travel in their footsteps is to embark on one of the world’s great journeys.

To this day, much of the Silk Road’s legacy is still visible, not least in the many cities that grew rich along its trade routes. Whether shopping the endless bazaars of Tabriz in Iran, wandering the mud-walled backstreets of Uzbekistan’s Bukhara at dusk or waking up in a shepherd’s yurt high in the remote Pamir Mountains, to explore its ancient towns and landscapes is to see how this network once infused life across the Middle East, Central Asia and China.

For me, the Silk Road has always been about images of camel caravans, turbaned traders, desert crossings and oasis cities, and, even today, the route delivers on these romantic dreams. Yet travelling its ancient trails is, at heart, a trip through history. You will pass great treasures of Buddhist art and Islamic architecture, clamber through ruined cities once visited by Marco Polo and Genghis Khan, and traverse some of Asia’s wildest geography. Take a deep breath – this is truly an epic trip. ⊲

UZBEKISTAN

CASPIAN SEA

GEORGIA

AZERBAIJAN

KYRGYZSTAN

TURKMENISTAN

IRAN

MONGOLIA

KAZAKHSTAN

TAJIKISTAN

NORTH KOREA CHINA

AFGHANISTAN

IRAQ

PAKISTAN

NEPAL

KUWAIT

SAUDI ARABIA

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INDIA

BAHRAIN

QATAR

UAE

OMAN

ARABIAN SEA

0

800km

Previous spread 4CornersImages This spread Alamy; Digital-Mapping.co.uk

ARAL SEA

SOUTH KOREA

BHUTAN

BANGLADESH BURMA

VIETNAM

TAIWAN

LAOS

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THAILAND 06/04/2017 10:34

Silk Road Trip Planner Crossing the road

A camel caravan with sand dune at sunset at Dunhuang Gansu Province, China; (left) Mogao Caves, Dunhuang

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Into the woods

A western lowland gorilla in OdzalaKokoua National Park

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Wanderlust May 2017

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Congo

Wild Into the

As newly relaunched lodges open up access to the gorillas of Congo-Brazzaville’s northern rainforests, we trek the jungle trails of Odzala to make getting to them part of the adventure‌ WORDS NICK REDMAYNE

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05/04/2017 13:38

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Switzerland

Grand by name...

The hairpin bends of the Furka Pass offer a driving highlight on the Swiss Grand Tour

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TAKING THE

HIGH ROAD The Grand Tour is a journey through Switzerland’s greatest hits – soaking up Alpine passes, pristine lakes… and a night in a hay barn?

WORDS PHOEBE SMITH PHOTOGRAPHS NEIL S PRICE

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16 BEST

ROAD TRIPS …IN A WEEK

Grand Tour got your motor running? There are plenty of epic drives to squeeze into seven days, whether tracing coastlines or tearing through salt pans. So head out on the highway…

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Road Trips

1

DINOSAUR DIAMOND SCENIC BYWAY USA

Colorado & Utah (800km approx)

THE ROUTE: Dust-dry plains, towering ranges, lush forests and fossils – lots of fossils. This loop traditionally starts at the town of Dinosaur, on the Colorado-Utah border. From there, head north toward Vernal along US40, before circling south through Ashley National Forest (US191) to the flats of Moab and returning through mountain passes.

WHERE TO STOP: Begin with a visit to the Dinosaur Quarry and National Monument, near the Utah-Colorado border. After that, let nature be your guide as you head west to Ashley National Forest and its red sandstone Flaming Gorge.

Further south, Moab is a short hop to the trails and rivers of the vast Canyonlands National Park or the burnt-sandstone weird-scape of Arches NP. From here, twist north past numerous overlooks along the 37km Rim Rock Drive and the 2,520m-high Douglas Pass for fine views.

TAKE A DETOUR? The US is packed with iconic drives, but few catch the eye like the lower reaches of California’s Route 1, around Big Sur.

2

CAPE TRIBULATION AUSTRALIA

Cairns • Cape Tribulation • Daintree • Cairns (730km approx)

Getty

THE ROUTE: North of Cairns, the eastern coast of Queensland weaves beaches, coral reef, rock art and rainforest. Follow this route inland on the way up (Route 81), then hug the winding coast on the return, passing through the natural grandeur and sacred mountains and forests of Cape Tribulation and Mossman Gorge.

WHERE TO STOP: From Cairns, cut inland through the mountain roads of Kuranda National Park to meet up with Route 81, before heading north past mounts Malloy and Carbine. Continue up to the UNESCO-listed Quinkan rock art site (near Laura), to see its 30,000-year-old prehistoric paintings, then make your way back down to Cooktown and the Cape Tribulation-Bloomfield Road that winds through Daintree NP (you’ll need a 4WD with a just-in-case winch for this section).

After the rainforest and mangrove tours of Cape Tribulation, push on south through the UNESCOlisted Daintree rainforest to Mossman Gorge; here you can go on a Dreamtime walk under the guidance of the local Kuku Yalanji people.

Continue along the coast to Port Douglas, where side-trips to the Great Barrier Reef offer front-row seats to one of nature’s most diverse ecosystems.

TAKE A DETOUR? For pure isolation, the former cattle track of Gibb River Road, which crosses Western Australia’s Kimberley region, extends past gorges and far-flung cattle stations. Sandwiched between the 660km route from Derby to Kununurra (airports each end), it’s a truly remote one-way trip. ⊲ Wanderlust May 2017

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Border biking

A cyclist poses for a photo in Rajin, which sits on North Korea’s border with both Russia and China; (right) the port city of Wonsan sits on the east coast

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NORTH KOREA Volcanic peaks and secret beaches?

As more of guarded North Korea’s rural reaches open up, we grab our chance to glimpse its ‘unofficial’ wilds WORDS HILARY BRADT

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POCKET GUIDES T H E B I T S O F T H E G U I D E B O O K Y O U R E A L LY N E E D

129 AUSTIN, TEXAS

131 BRATISLAVA

133 EDINBURGH

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