Wanderlust Issue 187 (June 2018) 16 Amazing Voyages ♦ The World’s Best Day Walks ♦ Rio de Janeiro ♦ Taiwan ♦ St Helena ♦ Pocket guides: Nashville (USA), Windsor (UK), Lisbon (Portugal)
Go wild in Rio de Janeiro
Walking the carnival capital’s forgotten fringe
T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E
WTripisnto…!
www.wanderlust.co.uk June 2018
Exiled on St Helena
Napoleon, whale sharks and living with Saints
sta Rica Namibia • Co rland Chile • Switze See p 4
16 AMAZING VOYAGES Sail, kayak and cruise to the ends of the Earth
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Taiwan on two wheels Hitting the heights in Lisbon Singing Nashville’s praises Hear wedding bells in Windsor
THE WORLD’S BEST DAY WALKS
A week’s worth of sights squeezed into 24 hours OFC_187_SO.indd 1
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
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WALKING THE COAST Cinque Terre, Italy
Photographer: Frank Kehren This issue is filled to the gills with great walks (see p24) but there’s always more to discover, as publisher Gestalten’s new Wanderlust book shows. Snappy title aside (no relation), the book’s also where this image of Italy’s clifftop Manarola village comes from. Taken from the Sentiero Azzurro – the sun-dappled route that winds the towns of Cinque Terre – this is said to be ‘the longest day walk in the world’; it only spans 7km but such is the scenery and food along the way, it can take days to complete. Sadly, much of the walk’s eastern section is closed due to landslides, but alternative routes (including those around Manarola) still afford some heart-in-mouth views, as seen here. Photography by Frank Kehren; Wanderlust: Hiking on Legendary Trails, (£40) is out now. © Gestalten 2017
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Big dares, epic stares & lens flares
Gazing out over Iceland – and catching the sun – from an arch on the Fimmvorouhals hike, high above Thorsmork Valley
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World’s Best Day Walks
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OF THE WORLD’S BEST DAY WALKS
If you’re stuck for time – or thigh power – these iconic day hikes squeeze a week’s worth of scenery into less than 24 hours… WORDS SARAH BAXTER
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⊲
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FIMMVORDUHALS HIKE, ICELAND
All the island’s oddness in microcosm
Previous spread: Alamy This spread: Alamy
LENGTH: 25km DIFFICULTY: Tough Iceland is wonderfully weird. And a whole lot of that weirdness is squeezed into this testing trail, which starts near the ocean and ends amid the Thorsmork mountains. Completing this in one day is tough – and some choose to take two, overnighting at the halfway hut – but it’s doable, especially if you hike in July and August when the light lasts forever and the weather is at its best. The trailhead is above staggering Skogafoss, one of Iceland’s finest falls. It can be busy, but you’ll soon lose the crowds, hiking northwards across the river-cut grassy tundra via 20-odd more waterfalls and onto
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a wild plateau that seems as if it’s been dropped from outer space. This glacier-licked realm is ruled by two huge, rambunctious volcanoes – Katla and the infamous Eyjafjallajokull – which are constantly sculpting new steamy craters, lava fields and pumice piles. The views from the trail’s highpoint (1,068m) are possibly the best in Iceland, and followed by a descent into ‘Thor’s Valley’, an area of towering icy peaks, crystalline rivers and some of Iceland’s most beautiful hiking. LIKE THAT? TRY THIS... Besseggen Ridge, Norway (17km), a classic ridge trail that runs right through Jotunheimen National Park, with access to the trailhead easily available by boat. ⊲
Wanderlust June 2018
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World’s Best Day Walks
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Voyages
16 FANTASTIC VOYAGES
From whetting your palate in Portugal to splashing your way around Fiji and drifting the ice floes of the Antarctic, find your sea (and river) legs on these epic watery adventures
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Voyages
Cold comforts
Livingstone Island looms over the MV Discovery during a landing at Antarctica’s Half Moon Bay
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1 Kerala, India
Best for houseboats
When to go: Winter (November–February) is cool but busy. Duration: 2–4 days Why go? The lures of Kerala’s labyrinthine backwaters aren’t just scenic, though wafting past tumbling paddies, twittering bird sanctuaries and thick mangroves is a genuine joy. It’s more about the how you see them, and Kerala is the land of slow travel. Most visitors take to the canals at Alleppey (Alappuzha) in floating kettuvallam, converted barges that were once used to lever rice and spices out of the breadbasket of southern India. Those times are long gone, however. Today, the ‘boat with knots’ (so called because its frame is held together with coir rope rather than nails) are entirely set aside for travellers keen to slow down. Meander the great lake of Vembanad, past waters clustered with island villages to the colonial streets of Cochin (Kochi).
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Kayaking side-trips (houseboats stick to the major backwaters) and an overland visit to the tigers of Periyar NP are worth it, but nothing beats being elegantly chugging along these jungle-fringed backwaters at an easy pace. Also try... Rideau Canal, Canada: take charge of your own narrowboat for a week and plough the mirrored surface of Ontario’s UNESCO-listed, 19th-century waterway.
2 Philippines
Best for underwater fun
When to go: Dry season (November–April) is the best time to visit, though it gets hot late in the season Duration: 6–14 days Why go? Given the Philippines number some 7,000 islands, cruises here rarely follow one set route. There is one thing that most itineraries have in common: Palawan. The country’s most sparsely populated province trickles all the way to Borneo, forming a vast, twinkling archipelago of white-sand isles splayed between the Sulu and South China seas, like dice scattered on blue velvet. Puerto Princesa is typically the first port of call; here, underground rivers, fireflyflickering forests and sunken lagoons vein the jungle and limestone interior. But it’s offshore, amid the clear waters of Honda Bay, where visitors can discover a touch of magic amid the tiny islets, dazzling reefs and colourful marine life – Starfish Island is well-named, appearing for all the world like a galaxy fell to Earth. Dolphin tours (Apr–Oct)
King of the desert
(clockwise from this) The Abu Simbel temple at sunrise; drifting towards Puerto Princesa; a houseboat on the Kerala backwaters
bring nature – and the odd whale shark – up close while most trips include stops in Coron, one of the wreck-diving capitals of the world, and the jungles of Sarawak, Borneo, en route to Manila. Also try... Belize: the recovery of the Mesoamerican reef (coverage has increased 35% in just a decade) has been one of the great conservation stories in recent years, and Belize’s coral gardens and Great Blue Hole are some of the Caribbean Sea’s finest sights.
Wanderlust June 2018
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Voyages
3 Nile River, Egypt Previous spread Alamy This spread Dreamstime
Best for history
When to go: Boats sail year-round, but OctoberApril is coolest; high season (December– February) isn’t as busy as it used to be. Duration: 3–18 days Why go? Watching the centuries drift by is what makes the Nile unmissable. What’s more, as visitors slowly trickle back to Egypt (tourist numbers rose by 170% in 2017 yet are still less than a third that of a decade ago),
now is an ideal time to see it. The country may have faced its share of troubles in recent years, but the Nile Valley has avoided much of them, and its ancient temples (Karnak, Kom Ombo, Edfu) and dazzling necropolises (Valley of the Kings) remain timeless sights worthy of any extended trip. ‘Long Nile’ (880km) cruises run between Cairo and Aswan but the majority of trips plough the river’s upper reaches from Luxor, where the pharaohs fought to outspend their ancestors and steam ships,
dahabeya (houseboats with huge sails) and traditional felucca (smaller sail boats where you often sleep on deck) still part the waters. Aswan Dam makes a natural terminus, but there you can also swap boats for a four-day return sail on Lake Nasser, taking you all the way to Abu Simbel, a pair of vast 13th-century BC temples near the Sudanese border. Also try... Rhine River: spy German fairytale castles, baroque palaces and medieval towns as you wind through Europe; plus there’s the odd vineyard to whet your whistle. ⊳ Wanderlust June 2018
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THE ULTIMATE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E www.wanderlust.co.uk February 2018
Foodie Greece
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Aegean island-hopping without the crowds
Alternative
TRIPS 2018
Featuring: Patagonia Japan Mongolia Cambodia Russia Silk Road Chile Namibia Madagascar Sri Lanka Alaska & more...
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Great Barrier Reef, Australia Boston, USA Wild Africa Guide Awards
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Kate Humble in the Congo Sail away to St Kilda, Scotland Travel Icon: Havana, Cuba
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exploring the Golden Triangle and beyond
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Leaving the tourist trail for the kingdom’s secret spots
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India
A trip to h over £2,000 Your expert guide towort See p4
A tailormade trip worth £5,000! See p4
THAILANDBEST
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T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E
WinAust!ria
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Safaris in Abu Dhabi?
World’s best-kept
TRAVEL SECRETS 25 tips for dodging crowds and discovering gems
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Easy cycling adventures
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Two-wheel journeys that won’t leave you saddle-sore
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Orient Express or Interrail?
Discover the United Arab Emirates’ wild side
We pit the budget against the best
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T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E
Canadian A trip to the worth Rockies £2,500! See p4
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www.wanderlust.co.uk March 2018
Wanderlust Issue 182 (December 2017/January 2018) Travel Hot List 2018 ♦ Christmas Island ♦ Sweden’s wolves ♦ Buenos Aires ♦ Indonesia’s islands ♦ Pocket guides: Taipei (Taiwan), La Rochelle, San Francisco
Cross the continent in his revolutionary footsteps
Rafting, walking and wildlife watching… without the crowds
Wanderlust Issue 183 (March 2018) Best train journeys ♦ Orient Express vs Interrail ♦ Australia by rail ♦ Sri Lanka's national parks ♦ Japan by train ♦ Pocket guides: Gdańsk (Poland), Formentera (Spain), Valletta (Malta)
www.wanderlust.co.uk November 2017
Wanderlust Issue 186 (May 2018) Travel secrets ♦ 11 Easy cycling adventures ♦ Argentina ♦ The Cotswold Way ♦ Abu Dhabi ♦ Zimbabwe ♦ Pocket guides: Auckland, Belgrade, Cape Town
Wanderlust Issue 183 (February 2018) Top 53 Trips for 2018 ♦ Costa Rica ♦ India ♦ Kate Humble in the Congo ♦ St Kilda, Scotland ♦ Pocket guides: Salta (Argentina), County Cork (Ireland), Havana (Cuba)
Wanderlust Issue 181 (November 2017) Alternative Thailand ♦ Che’s Latin America ♦ Foodie Greece ♦ Wild Africa ♦ Great Barrier Reef ♦ World Guide Awards – Results ♦ Pocket guides: Brussels, Hull and Boston
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n to A photo commissio £3,000 Costa Rica, writing in cash or a to Thailand assignment See p4
Devil’s deserts and floating volcanoes
Costa Rica
Che Guevara’s Latin America T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E
Hitting highs in Argentina
Christmas Island
Discover wild wonders with new easy flights
Offbeat Cuba
Meeting the locals without the crowds
T R AV E L M A G A Z I N E
Sweden
Howling with wolves – just two hours from Stockholm
BEST TRAIN TRAVEL JOURNEYS IN HOT LIST 2018 THE WORLD Featuring: Norway ● New Zealand ● Russia ● Canada ● USA ● Mexico ● Peru ● India ● Morocco ● Vietnam & more...
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to A hiking trip Norway worth! over £1,700 See p4
Featuring: Patagonia, Chile South Africa Russia Morocco Western Australia Colorado, USA Peru Tanzania The Baltics New Zealand and more...
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Indonesia’s islands San Francisco Taiwan La Rochelle, France
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Crossing Japan on the rails Sri Lanka’s best national parks Australia – from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific
Revisiting Zimbabwe Taking a short break in Serbia Wandering the Cotswold Way Exploring Auckland in 24 hours
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Time to Tango
Hot-foot it to Buenos Aires to join the dancing
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