ee inide

Costa Rica guide

JUNE 2017 // £3.95 // UK EDITION // NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK

17 NATURAL WONDERS

AMERICAN
Beauty Monument Valley,
Yellowstone, Yosemite
+ more

Red earth,

Bulb risotto & ruins in

PUGLIA

Boom
TULIP TALES
TO Meet nosey turtles
& ancient lizards in the
CAY M A N I S L A N D S
FROM HOLLAND

Intelligent, gentle, vulnerable

FACE TO FACE WITH UGANDA'S MOUNTAIN GORILLAS
ALSO: SYDNEY // AARHUS // DUBAI // ADDIS ABABA // VIENNA // PORTUGAL // RICHMOND // VOLUNTEERING
SOUL LUXURY

Merano · Südtirol · Italy · Tel. 0039 0473 244 071 · www.fragsburg.com

 June
2017

Contents

FEATURES

92 Italy
The spiky heel of Italy’s boot,
the Puglia region is a land in a
sumptuous time warp

74 Cover story: USA 116 Cayman Islands 138 City life: Addis
When it comes to wondrous Get beyond the beach bars Ababa
landscapes, the USA really — there’s a wilder experience Ethiopia’s capital is a surprise
does have it all waiting for you package with a curious past

104 Uganda 128 In pictures: 146 City life: Aarhus

Image: Getty

Intelligent, gentle, vulnerable. Netherlands This laid-back city with Issue 56

No one who looks into a gorilla’s It’s bloomin’ lovely during the cultural clout is stepping out Antelope Canyon, Utah
eyes can remain unchanged colourful flower season of Copenhagen’s shadow IMAGE: Getty

June 2017 5
 June
2017

Contents

52 61 156

SMART TRAVELLER 39 Stay at home TRAVEL GEEKS

Harrogate, the pearl of North Yorkshire
17 Snapshot 156 Travel Geeks
A local in her boldy-decorated São Paulo pad 41 The word The experts’ travel manual
The Photo Ark by Joel Sartore
19 Editors’ picks 166 Conservation
These are a few of our favourite things 44 Travel Geeks: Rush Hour The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
Our monthly meet-up of experts and editors
20 Big picture 170 Volunteering
Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island 47 Author series The questions volunteers should be asking
Chibundu Onuzo on Lagos
22 What’s new GET IN TOUCH
Summer of Love and the Titanic, revisited 48 View from the USA
Aaron Millar on New York’s hip hop history 184 Subscriptions
27 Science & tech Free tickets, great offers and discounts
New attractions for your inner nerd 50 Online
Weekly highlights from natgeotraveller.co.uk 185 Inbox
28 Do it now Your letters, emails and tweets
Test your kayaking skills on wild rivers INSIDER
186 Your pictures
31 Food 52 Weekender: Richmond This month’s best ‘Spain’-themed photos
A taste of wild Jersey with Shaun Rankin West London’s polished, riverfont utopia

33 On the trail 56 Eat: Portugal DON'T MISS

Sri Lanka’s bountiful tea heartlands Alentejo is the soul of the nation’s cuisine
12 Festival
34 Rooms 61 Neighbourhood: Sydney Meet the super-cool polar explorers helping
Enjoy the midnight sun in Norway’s Tromsø Pick a neigbourhood and dive in us bring the magazine to life this September

36 Family 66 Sleep: Vienna 151 Reader offers

Kids become carb-happy masterchefs Right royal experiences without the price tag 10% off trips to Dubai

Competition win a trip to Sicily’s baroque south east for two, p.43

6 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 CAYMAN BRAC
LITTLE CAYMAN

GRAND CAYMAN
You never know when you will
bump into one of the locals. 3 of life’s
little luxuries

ca ymanislands.co.uk
 Contributors
Zane Henry
As a native South African with five years of
London life under my belt, I find it thrilling
that there are still places like Richmond
to discover. This borough felt like another
city, with a distinct atmosphere and a pace
of life all its own. RICHMOND P.54
Aaron Millar
The US political climate may be raising
eyebrows, but living here I’m constantly
reminded how spectacular it is too. The big
sites — like the Grand Canyon — are rightly
famous, but just as jaw-dropping are the
lesser-known natural wonders. USA P.76
Julia Buckley
Puglia’s trulli have given the region an almost
cutesy reputation, but it’s a wild land of
prehistoric dolmens, untamed landscapes
and a mix of cultures, thanks to centuries of
conquest and migration. This trip, I see what
makes the region tick. PULGIA P.94
Emma Gregg
An encounter with mountain gorillas in their
steep, tangled habitat can be fascinating,
charming or hair-raising, depending on what
they’re up to. For me, it was all three. Gorilla
tracking is hard to beat; with your heart
pounding, you feel wildly alive. UGANDA P.106
Zoe McIntyre
Mention a visit to the Cayman Islands and
there’s usually a quip about stashing cash or
sailing on superyachts. I did neither. Instead, I
hiked ancient trails, saw dragon-like reptiles,
swam among tropical fish and swigged rum on
icing-sugar shores. CAYMAN ISLANDS P.118
8 natgeotraveller.co.uk
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©2017 Visit San Antonio
 HIGHLIGHTS

Editor’s
letter Costa Rica guide

F
From coast to coast, Costa Rica squeezes in an
orget the myth that only 10% of Americans have abundance of natural beauty. Your bucket list
guide is free with this issue
passports — it’s actually more than 40% — and
perhaps ignore the fact that they receive a rather
stingy 16 days’ paid leave on average (including public
holidays), there’s a better reason that our friends across
the Pond don’t leave their shores very often.
It’s because they’ve got everything: beaches, volcanoes, · 2017 ·
forests, fields, deserts, snow-capped mountains,
Our very own festival
wilderness, rainforests, bewildering rock formations and We bring National Geographic Traveller (UK) to
some of the best cities in the world. You couldn’t see life at this inaugural festival on 17 September.
everything the US has to offer in a lifetime if you tried Don’t miss out — find out how to book, p.12

— well, not on 16 days’ holiday a year at least.

The country’s National Park Service, which celebrated
its 100th anniversary last year, oversees the remote,
rugged, fragile and spectacular landscapes of a nation
that’s known for doing things on a grand scale. And to
demonstrate we’ve selected 17 of its most magnificent,
Travel Geeks
most incredible natural attractions.
Fancy after-work drinks and expert-led travel
There are many you may not have heard of but plenty discussions? This month’s London gathering
you have to see — from the splendour of Monument focuses on Food & Drink, p.44
Valley and Arizona’s Barringer Meteor Crater to
Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Swamp and Colorado’s towering
sand formations in Great Sand Dunes National Park.
And with a plethora of new, increasingly affordable
routes across the Atlantic there’s really no excuse.

PAT RIDDELL, EDITOR Competition: Sicily

We’ve teamed up with Prestige Holidays to
@patriddell offer the chance to win a five-night trip for
@patriddell two Sicily’s baroque south east, p.43

AWARD-WINNING NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER

British Guild of Travel Writers Awards 2016: Best Travel Writer • British Society of Magazine Editors Awards 2016: Editor of the Year, Lifestyle (Shortlisted)
• Ecoventura LATA Media Awards 2016: Online Blog Feature of the Year • British Travel Awards 2015: Best Consumer Holiday Magazine • British Annual Canada
Travel Awards 2015: Best Canada Media Coverage • Germany Travel Writers’ Awards 2015: First Prize • British Travel Awards 2014: Best Consumer Holiday Magazine
• British Guild of Travel Writers Awards 2013: Best Overseas Feature • British Travel Press Awards 2012: Young Travel Writer of the Year

SEARCH FOR NATGEOTRAVELUK ON FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ TUMBLR PINTEREST INSTAGRAM

10 natgeotraveller.co.uk
South Tyrol seeks nature lovers.
South Tyrol seeks you.

See Italy from a different angle in South Tyrol. It’s a summer

paradise hidden in the Dolomite Alps where you can get a rush
from hiking and biking, or relax in one of the many mountain
spas. Once you’ve reached your peak for the day, start a new
journey of discovery with the unique food and drink that fuses
Italian flair with Alpine sophistication.
www.suedtirol.info/summer
 · 2017 ·
SUNDAY 17
SEPTEMBER 2017
THE BREWERY,
LONDON EC1

Join us as we bring
National Geographic
Traveller (UK)

to life!
TRAVEL WRITING MASTERCLASSES • TRAVEL GEEKS PANELS • BUSHCRAFT SKILLS
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12 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 FROM THE EDITOR

We’re bringing explorers,

storytellers, experts and
photographers from all corners
of the world together for an
astounding celebration of travel
— National Geographic Traveller
(UK) style. Join us as we project
the ethos, energy and ideas of
the magazine onto the big stage.

JULIA JAMES On our main stage, we’ll be

BRADBURY CRACKNELL
talking to Paul Rose, Julia
Bradbury and James Cracknell
about the journeys and
BBC and ITV presenter OBE, global adventurer and Olympian challenges that have shaped
their careers.

PAUL DANIEL Exploring is the name of

ROSE RAVEN-ELLISON the game at the festival: our

Arctic explorer and TV presenter
GEORGE BULLARD
Record-breaking explorer and athlete
ALAN HINKES
OBE and extreme mountaineer
Guerilla geographer and creative explorer
JIM MCNEILL
Polar explorer and presenter
MARTIN HARTLEY
Adventure travel photographer
venue — a cavernous 18th-
century former brewery
— will be a warren of out-there
activities, inspirational talks
and expert-led writing and
photography masterclasses,
which we know you love. The
only challenge will be choosing
where to start!

MICHELIN-STARRED & CELEBRITY CHEFS See you there.

IMAGES: GETTY

PLUS National Geographic Traveller (UK) PAT RIDDELL, EDITOR,

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
editors, writers, designers and photographers TRAVELLER (UK)

PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASSES WITH NIKON • WINE-TASTING

BABBEL LANGUAGE SESSIONS • WELLNESS WORKSHOPS and more!
HEADLINE SPONSOR SPONSORS

June 2017 13
 FESTIVAL

CURATED BY THE
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER TEAM

MEET THE ADVENTURERS

We’ll be talking to four extraordinary men who’ve made
exploring icecaps, frosty tundras and 8,000m death zones
their bread and butter

THE EXPLORER
Paul Rose is at the front line of exploration.
One of the world’s most experienced science
expedition leaders, National Geographic
Explorer and BBC’s Inside Out presenter
Paul Rose knows the challenges and the
beauty of the polar regions like no one else.
Paul has led groups on Greenland ice cap
crossings, ski-mountaineering trips and
intrepid fi rst ascents of icy mountains. He
even has a peak named after him
in Antarctica.

TRAVEL WRITING MASTERCLASSES • TRAVEL GEEKS PANELS • BUSHCRAFT SKILLS

MARTIAL ARTS CLASSES • COOKING DEMOS • INTERNATIONAL FOOD

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14 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 FESTIVAL

THE WARRIOR
Jim McNeill is one of the
world’s most experienced and
respected explorers. In 2001,
he founded the Ice Warrior · 2017 ·
TRAVEL WRITING
Project, which aims to emulate
the heroic era of exploration by

MASTERCLASSES
taking complete novices and
turning them into competent
and accomplished modern-day
explorers. His next flagship
expedition is to the Northern
with the editors of National Geographic Traveller
Pole of Inaccessibility, situated
around 280 miles from the Ever wondered what it takes to make it
geographic North Pole.
as a travel writer? The editors behind
the award-winning National Geographic
THE MOUNTAINEER
Alan Hinkes is a record- Traveller will be joined by some of
breaker. He’s said to be the the country’s finest freelance travel
fi rst Briton to have scaled
all 14 of the world’s highest journalists to take an in-depth look at the
mountains peaks: those art of storytelling; share writing tips; and
over 8,000m (26,240ft). These
summits are in the ‘death zone’ discuss what it takes to get published.
— altitudes at which human
survival rate is measured
in hours. Alan is part of an
Beginnings & endings • Print vs digital
exclusive club: fewer than 40 Long-form or short-form • Structure
people have climbed the world's
highest peaks without the help
How to pitch • Writing dos and don’ts
of additional oxygen. What makes a good story
Know your audience
THE Finding your voice
PHOTOGRAPHER
Martin Hartley has built
an extraordinary archive of
polar imagery, undertaking
20 photographic assignments
in Northern Siberia and the
Mee he editors
Canadian Arctic, and three
in Antarctica. He’s the only
IMAGES: ISTOCKPHOTO

professional photographer
to have crossed the Arctic
Ocean on skis and with dogs,
and is passionate about PAT RIDDELL GLEN MUTEL SARAH BARRELL MARIA PIERI
helping to protect the Arctic Editor Deputy Associate Editorial
Ocean sea ice. Editor Editor Director

PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASSES WITH NIKON • WINE-TASTING

BABBEL LANGUAGE SESSIONS • WELLNESS WORKSHOPS and more!
HEADLINE SPONSOR SPONSORS

June 2017 15
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 SMART TRAVELLER

SMART TRAVELLER
What’s new // Do it now // Food // On the trail // Rooms // Family // Stay at home // The word

SNAPSHOT

Isabella Giobbi, São Paulo

Isabella lives just a few blocks from me in the
chic neighbourhood of São Paulo, Brazil — but
that’s not how I know her. We met when I was
photographing a lifestyle story for Casa Vogue
Brazil in her boldly decorated apartment. We
spent most of the shoot in her kitchen, talking
about her writing, her background in fashion,
her love of Italy and her passion for cooking.
Unusually, it was an overcast day in São Paulo
and the room was full of soft, natural light.
ANDRE KLOTZ // PHOTOGRAPHER

andreklotz.com
@andreklotz

June 2017 17
“The Wanda” used to be a typical old school guesthouse, then
turned into a real “feel good place”. Ideal for couples, who can
really appreciate such small escapes. You can discover this
place for yourself and theoretically come back year after year
and turn it into your second home.
#DASWANDA

Tel: +39 0471 66 90 11 info@das-wanda.com

daswanda das_wanda
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there: renovated and expanded, the traditional hotel has a
new silhouette. Wood frames give the home a modern feel.
Architecture, design and wine style – in combination with old
fashioned hospitality.
#DASPANORAMA

Tel: +39 0471 96 32 05 info@designhotel-panorama.com

designhotelpanorama das_panorama
www.designhotel-panorama.com
 SMART TRAVELLER

IN NUMBERS

CASA VICENS

2017
Antoni Gaudí’s creation is set to
open as a museum this autumn TAKE THE TRAIN

1885The year it was

Ride Norway’s mountain-
scaling Flåm Railway from the
originally completed comfort of your armchair in a
2005
Declared a UNESCO World
45-minute movie captured by a
3D camera attached to the front
Human Heritage Site
of the train. visitnorway.com
£22m
Rumoured purchase
SARAH BARRELL

price in 2014
casavicens.org
PAT RIDDELL

Favourite
Edito�s' �icks
We’ve been here and we’ve been there, and our team
have found a few things we thought we’d share
childhood
holiday
Sailing from New York to Block Island, a
slice of sleepy New England paradise in the
Atlantic Ocean STEPHANIE CAVAGNARO

Culture vulture Isle of Wight. We went nine times in eight

Bringing a dash of modernity years. We must have loved it GLEN MUTEL

to Liverpool’s waterfront,
Sanibel, Florida, where the beaches were
architectural centre RIBA
littered with pinkish conches after a
North opens on 17 June. The tropical storm AMELIA DUGGAN
exhibition space will also
house the City Gallery — a A Tunisian holiday resort, where a local girl
space to learn about the took me to her family home: a heady culture
city’s architecturally diverse shock for a young teen SARAH BARRELL
past and its urban future.
Kakopetria in the heart of the Troodos
architecture.com
Mountains, Cyprus, where the pistachio ice
CONNOR MCGOVERN
cream was amazing MARIA PIERI

TRAVEL WITH

Coup d’état
Park your political paralysis at Ravi
The 'ologists'
DeRossi’s latest pop-up cocktail den,
Coup, which opened in Manhattan’s PENGUINOLOGIST VOLCANOLOGIST MARINE BIOLOGIST
Brush up on your Take the one-hour hike Learn about aquatic
East Village on 14 April. The mantra
knowledge of the up Sciara del Fuoco with organisms with Monty
is decidedly anti-Trump: open for the
feathered flightless Freedom Treks and a Halls on a Spitsbergen
duration of his presidency, it’s decked birds with Quark’s volcano expert to watch cruise in July 2018 as
out with protest signs and profits are guest lecturer, Dr Tom the firework-like lava part of Steppes Travel’s
donated to organisations — like the Hart, on a trip to explosions on Stromboli expert-led tours.
IMAGES: GETTY

Environmental Protection Agency the Antarctic. island in Italy. MARIA PIERI

— believed to be ‘at risk’ under the
current administration. coupnyc.com
STEPHANIE CAVAGNARO

June 2017 19
SMART TRAVELLER

20 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 SMART TRAVELLER

BIG PICTURE

Baffin Island, Canada

Straddling the Arctic Circle, Canada’s remote Nunavut
territory is one that few travellers reach. “The Auyuittuq
National Park on Baffin Island is a complete wilderness. The
only refuge I found on my two-week trek was this ice cave
at the foot of the Turner Glacier,” says Andrew Robertson,
who took this photo in September last year. The image was
commended in the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards.
A touring exhibition of winning and shortlisted images sets
off from London’s Somerset House this month.

worldphoto.org
IMAGE: ANDREW ROBERTSON, UNITED KINGDOM, COMMENDED,
OPEN, NATURE, 2017 SONY WORLD PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

June 2017 21
SMART TRAVELLER // WHAT’S NEW

THE
SUMMER
OF

It’s 50 years since San Francisco’s

Summer of Love and the city is
celebrating the Swinging Sixties
with events throughout June

COME TOGETHER
Embrace your inner flower child
and relive the summer of ’67 with
Haight-Ashbury’s annual Street
Fair on 11 June. The area was the
epicentre of the famous summer-
long celebration of love and rock
’n’ roll. haightashburystreetfair.org
FLOWER POWER
Follow in the footsteps of
Janice Joplin and the Grateful
Dead on a Flower Power
Walking Tour, three-
times weekly year-round.
haightashburytour.com

MONTEREY, BABY PSYCHEDELIC SCIENCE

The Monterey Pop Festival
launched the music icons that
would define a generation: Jimi
Hendrix, The Who, Janis Joplin.
On the same stage 50 years
later, a host of funky acts will
pay tribute to the festival and
its legacy (16-18 June).
montereyinternational
popfestival.com
Feeling groovy? On 1 June,
learn about the mind-bending
chemistry of psychedelics and
the science behind love with an
evening of talks, music, cocktails
and crafts at the California
Academy of Sciences,
set in the historic
Golden Gate Park.
calacademy.org/nightlife

TAKE IT TO THE STREETS

Over 100 Madonnari artists
SNAP HAPPY
will transform the pavements
Photographs taken
of downtown San Rafael into a
during the legendary
trippy patchwork of ’60s-themed
‘67 festival are on display
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY

at the Monterey murals for the Italian Street

Museum of Art until Painting Marin, 24-25 June.
September this year. italianstreetpaintingmarin.org
montereyart.org AMELIA DUGGAN

summeroflove2017.com

22 natgeotraveller.co.uk
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 WHAT’S NEW // SMART TRAVELLER

RETURN
OF THE

Titanic
Next year, intrepid explorers will
have the chance to climb inside
a submersible and visit the
world’s most famous shipwreck
ALL ABOARD
Experience the sinking of
the Titanic before exploring
the wreck with Titanic VR, a
virtual reality game created
by David Whelan — due for
Under the sea release at the end of
Fewer than 200 people have visited the luxury this year
liner ‘God himself could not sink’ since it
descended to its watery grave off the coast of
Newfoundland in 1912. But that’s set to change
— London-based travel company Blue Marble
Private is offering nine ‘mission specialists’ the
IN NUMBERS
chance to join an expedition to the shipwreck.
Explorers with deep pockets will need to shell
out $105,129 (£84,680) — the equivalent price of
a first-class ticket on the Titanic, after inflation
2,225
people boarded
— for the eight-day, deep-ocean mission in the Titanic

705
May 2018, with further dives scheduled for
2019. Each 90-minute descent, in a titanium
and carbon fibre submersible, will take
passengers through a world of bioluminescent survived the BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
disaster
sea creatures, before the craft glides over
the ship’s deck, bow and grand staircase.
bluemarbleprivate.com 1985 Take the plunge
the year Robert Ballard
Above the surface discovered the wreck From weapon of war to vessel for life, a Second World War

370
Rather not swim with the fishes? Sleep above ship — suspected to be one of five remaining from the Pearl
Harbor attack — nearly sent to scrap has been reclaimed as an
IMAGES: SUPERSTOCK; GETTY

them instead in a life-size replica of the Titanic.

Due to open in 2018, the bizarre attraction
and floating hotel will be permanently docked
in China’s Qijiang River. It will feature a
underwater art installation, dive site and marine life habitat.
Funded in part by Sir Richard Branson, the BVI Art Reef
miles off the coast
project sees the Kodiak Queen topped with a rebar-and-mesh
of Newfoundland
kraken (sea creature) whose 80ft tentacles wrap around the

2.5
simulation of the iceberg crash, and the boat. Suit up and dive off the coast of Virgin Gorda to see the
chance to tuck into the same menu as the tentacles come alive with marine life. divethebviartreef.com
diners on the vessel’s ill-fated maiden voyage. miles beneath
STEPHANIE CAVAGNARO the sea

June 2017 25
 JOIN THE CLUB!

Freedom. It’s a great feeling! Daios Cove is inviting Villa

guests to be part of a brand new concept, that offers a
range of unique benefits designed to give you more time
and convenience

• Free choice of dishes across all à la carte menus

• Selected drinks and signature cocktails from all our bars
• Ice-cream, soft drinks and healthy juices for all children
• Plus many more premium benefits

For more information call us on 020 3807 1418 or email

info@daioscove.com or www.daioscovecrete.com
Complimentary for all Villa guests for stays in April, May, October and November
 WHAT’S NEW // SMART TRAVELLER

Geek out
WEIRD SCIENCE

Put on your spectacles and let your

inner nerd run wild at these new
scientific attractions. Going geek
has never been so cool

THE MOONLIGHT SWIM

WHAT: Swim five feet beneath the ‘moon’.

WHERE: At a lido in Rennes, Brittany, during
the packed-with-surprises Tombées de la Nuit
(Nightfall) arts festival in July.
HOW: Book tickets for Museum of the Moon,
a touring event by British artist Luke Jeram,
who created the 1:500,000-scale lunar model.
It measures 23ft in diameter and features NASA
imagery of the satellite’s surface. my-moon.org

Cocktails in code
Are you a player, keen to show off your mad Sherlock
skills? Well, there’s a secret underground bar with your TOP THREE
name (in code) on the door. The latest immersive cocktail
experience comes from Lollipop, the team behind East
London’s Breaking Bad cocktail bar and The Bunyadi
Scientific trips
naked restaurant. Here, The Bletchley recreates a secret
THE RESTAURANT THE MUSEUM THE HOTEL
IMAGES: ALAMY; MUSEUM OF THE MOON; SCIENCE MUSEUM

World War II code cracking room. Slip in through a

Is this the best class, If you want to see how The about-to-open
secret door and, once you’ve entered data detailing your Hotel EMC2, in
ever? Cocktail lessons Major Tim Peake
personal taste preferences into a cipher machine, given by Todd Maul, returned to Earth after Chicago, headlines a
you receive a unique code that you then transmit, the geek-barman at his six-month mission at huge zoetrope, a
via radio, to a team of backroom mixologists, who Café ArtScience in the International Space 19th-century
will decode the perfect bespoke cocktail for you. Cambridge, Station last year, then animation device, plus
You don’t need to be Alan Turing to tackle this Massachusetts, now head to London’s Science a typographic quote
mission, but if you like a bit of retro dress-up, this include the food Museum, where the by Leonardo da Vinci
design innovations of Soyuz TMA-19M descent in the lobby. And that’s
can’t be beat. And for those late to the party (you
partner organisation, module — complete with before you enter the
need to book well ahead), this London
Le Laboratoire. It all scorch marks from its rooms… Beds feature
pop-up’s shelf life has been extended at adds up to some re-entry through the Serta cooling
least until July, and there’s even firm talk highly unusual drinks. atmosphere — is on technology mattresses
of it being recreated on foreign soil. lelaboratoire- display until September. as standard.
Where? Clue: you won’t need D-Day cambridge.com sciencemuseum.org.uk hotelemc2.com
Landings to reach this capital city.
thebletchley.co.uk SARAH BARRELL

June 2017 27
SMART TRAVELLER // DO IT NOW

Paddle
PUSHERS

Kayaking isn’t just for athletes — it’s a way to

test your skills on wild rivers and get close to
animals that would otherwise prove elusive
For eco-conscious travellers who want to get up close to nature,
a canoe or kayak is a no-brainer. With 70% of the earth’s surface
covered in water, there are countless watery habitats walking boots
just won’t get you to. These paddle safaris are picking up fans, and
specialist wildlife tour operators are offering a ‘raft’ of new itineraries.
This year, Black Tomato introduced a new kayaking tour of
the Congo, while Intrepid Travel features kayaking in Costa Rica
to get up close to monkeys and sloths. Discover the World and
Wildlife Worldwide have kayaking trips in Vancouver Island to spot
humpback whales and orca, plus grizzly bears catching wild salmon.
There are plenty of alternatives for adrenalin seekers, too, with
Water by Nature offering trips down the Zambezi River rapids. Snap
this one up — with dams planned, the waters won’t run wild forever.
SAM LEWIS
TOP THREE
Perfect places to paddle
CANADA
Algonquin Provincial Park, just a few hours’
drive from Toronto and Ottawa, offers new self-
guided day trips from C$55 (£33), while those
who head to Ottawa River can brush up their
skills with Owl Rafting owner, Claudia Kerckhoff-
Van Wijk, 10-times Canadian kayak champion.
algonquinoutfitters.com owlrafting.com
SCANDINAVIA
Best explored by canoe, Finland’s 40th national
park, Hossa, opened in June. Sweden’s St.
Anna archipelago, which comprises around
6,000 islands, is ideal for a self-guided
kayaking and wild camping adventure.
muchbetteradventures.com

UK
The Three Lakes Challenge involves paddling
the lengths of the longest lakes in Wales (Bala
Lake), England (Windermere) and Scotland (Lock
Awe) — a total of 43 miles. Try it at a leisurely
pace or race it in 24 hours. gocanoeing.org.uk

RECORD BREAKER
LEARN THE LINGO

186
The height (in feet) of
‘Wet exit’
When you’re forced to
swim out of your kayak
Palouse Falls, where
Tyler Bradt broke ‘Strainer’
the world record for A point where a tree
or branch traps a
IMAGES: GETTY; SUPERSTOCK

the biggest vertical

descent in a kayak kayak but lets water

77
run through

‘Portage’
The speed (in mph) The act of carrying your
Bradt paddled over kayak on dry land to
the waterfall reach water

28 natgeotraveller.co.uk
“Wonderful day on the water”

“Experience of a lifetime!”

“Amazing whale watching”

Whale watching – West Iceland – Snæfellsnes National Park

Daily tours from 10th November till 15th September

+354 546 6808

booking@lakitours.com
info@lakitours.com
www.lakitours.com
Facebook & Instagram: Láki Tours
 FOOD // SMART TRAVELLER

Wild Jersey
A TASTE OF

Jersey’s best-known chef, Shaun
Rankin, forages for his favourite
seasonal grub on his second home
SHAUN RANKIN
Michelin-starred Rankin’s
most recent restaurant ventures
include Ormer Jersey, Ormer
Mayfair, 12 Hay Hill and Don
Street Deli. His first recipe
book is Shaun Rankin’s
Seasoned Islands.
shaunrankin.com
Beach eats
Foraging is part of the Island’s heritage, and
a movement I’ve been at the forefront of for
over eight years. Head to the five-mile bay
on the western side of St Ouen to find salty
finger — a sea vegetable that’s great cooked.
It goes really well with turbot. Grouville Bay
is also great to rake for cockles, salt out razor
clams and sea beats along the dunes.
Inland excursions
Head for St Martin’s Woods, where you get the
first of the wild garlic in spring. It’s great in
soups, pesto and my favourite — wild garlic
risotto (recipe below). Trinity, in the centre of
the island, is covered in lush countryside with
spring beauty (miner’s lettuce), which has a
fantastic flavour and texture; it goes well in
lamb with goat’s curd and minted peas.

TRY IT AT HOME

Broad bean, wild garlic

TIPS FOR FIRST-TIME FORAGERS
RESEARCH: A plant expert can help identify
the subtle differences between plant species
PRACTICE: Train your eyes to recognise
commonly found wild fare like dandelion,
purslane, chickweed, clover, lambsquarter
and mustard
IMAGES: GETTY
& parmesan risotto
INGREDIENTS
750ml vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
Herbs (sprig of thyme; a bay leaf)
2 crushed garlic cloves
350g risotto rice
100ml white wine
75g unsalted butter
150g broad beans, cooked
4 wild garlic leaves, chopped
METHOD
Heat the vegetable stock, and keep
warm. In a saucepan, add olive oil, onion,
thyme, garlic and bay leaf, and cook until
the onion is translucent. Add the rice
until it starts to crack. Add white wine
followed by a ladleful of stock. Ensure
the rice has absorbed the stock before
adding more. Continue until the rice
is cooked. Remove pan from the heat
and beat the butter into the rice. Add

60g grated parmesan the broad beans and wild garlic leaves.
APPLY: Rather than salt and pepper, try using Sea salt and cracked black pepper Sprinkle grated parmesan, and season.
seaweed and sea purslane to nutritiously
season dishes

June 2017 31
 ON THE TRAIL // SMART TRAVELLER

Tea trails
HIKING, BIKING
& KAYAKING

Explore Sri Lanka’s bountiful heartlands,

awash with verdant tea terraces and colonial
bungalows. Words: Josephine Price

DILMAH TEA
The award-winning Dilmah tea is
‘picked, perfected and packed’ in
spots around Sri Lanka — including on these tea trails. Dilmah’s
founder, Merrill J. Fernando, was one of the first Sri Lankan tea
tasters to be trained at Mincing Lane, London’s tea mecca.

5
ILLUSTRATION: TILLY RUNNINGFORCRAYONS.CO.UK

4 5
SUMMERVILLE CASTLEREAGH BOGAWANTALAWA NORWOOD TIENTSIN
BUNGALOW BUNGALOW VALLEY BUNGALOW BUNGALOW
Settle into Hop in a kayak Cycle into the Hike into the next Wind down
Summerville to traverse the Bogawantalawa valley, passing with a game of
for afternoon flat waters of the Valley, following Norwood Bungalow croquet at 4,600ft
tea and scenes Castlereagh reservoir a trail used by along the way. Have in the gardens
reminiscent of on your way towards planters of old a cuppa in the spot of Tientsin
a W. Somerset this shoreside Ceylon. Pass tea where planters Bungalow, named
Maugham novel. bolthole. Enjoy pluckers and traditionally invited after the Chinese
Brews are paired views of the rolling make a pit stop friends to relax and village from
with Dundee cake tea-clad hills and at the Dunkeld soak up plantation which the first tea resplendentceylon.
and scones. Adam’s Peak beyond. Tea Factory. views and fresh air. seedlings hailed. com/teatrails

June 2017 33
SMART TRAVELLER // ROOMS
Tromsø
WHERE
TO STAY
Where better to watch the
midnight sun than from one of
these uniquely designed northern
Norwegian pads, set within the
Arctic Circle
1 4
2
1 MARIBELL SJØBUER
Just 45 minutes from the city, in a
world of wild coastline, are three
two-bedroom cottages. They’re
cantilevered over the water in
the tiny hamlet of Kvaløyvågen.
Scandi-simple but comfy, the
cottages are ideal for whale
watching. From £150 per night.
maribell.no
2 BED & BOOKS
An alternative to Tromsø’s chain
hotels, Bed & Books is spread
across two houses (the ‘Writer’s
Home’ and ‘Fisherman’s Home’),
on the waterfront. It features retro
furniture, shared kitchens and
a library instead of a reception.
Doubles from £89 per night.
bedandbooks.no
34 natgeotraveller.co.uk
3 TROMVIK LODGE
This 10-bedroom villa was
supposedly Prince Harry’s pick
for his recent trip to Norway.
From glass walls facing the sea
to the bathroom sauna and hot
tub outside, it’s certainly fit for
royalty. From £300 per night
(two-night minimum).
tromviklodge.com
4 FJØSEN
Set back from the waterfront
at Ersfjordbotn, this barn has
been converted into two rustic
apartments, both sleeping six
and with views over the fjord.
The outdoor hot tub and garden
area are great for soaking up the
midnight sun. From £206 per night.
fjosen.no JULIA BUCKLEY
SMART TRAVELLER // FAMILY
La be�a cucina
ITALIAN COOKING
Pasta, gelato, pizza and wonderful wild garlic — what’s not to like
about Italian food? This summer, kids can try their hand at becoming a
carb-happy masterchef — before tucking into their well-earned feast
It’s pretty. Green stems splayed; clusters of
white star-shaped dangling flowers that could
be mistaken for snowdrops. My daughter
screws up her nose: “It’s a bit… whiffy.” It’s
certainly a scent you might not associate with
flowers. “Wild garlic: it’s only in season for
two months, so use it in whatever you can,”
says Yvette Farrell, chef and Forest of Dean
foodie champion.
She’s putting us through our
paces at the Harts Barn Cookery
School, in the Forest of Dean,
on a site dating back to 1068,
still with a working cider mill
and press. We’re here to
make pasta, using wild
garlic. “It can be added to
TRY IT AT HOME
WAITROSE INSPIRATION
The supermarket chain offers workshops for
kids aged five and over in Salisbury and London
in everything from pasta bakes to tomato,
mozzarella and basil calzone. waitrose.com
LA CUCINA CALDESI
At this husband-and-wife-run school in central
London, kids aged six and over can join the
Italian Mama’s Cookery Club classes. caldesi.com
36 natgeotraveller.co.uk
practically any dish,” says Yvette. We combine
the ‘00 flour’ (the only kind for pasta-making),
add an egg and a little water, then knead,
pound and roll the dough. Garlic is added
to one dough only; then both are chilled,
before being run through the
pasta machine. Cook for three
minutes, add olive oil and the
result is a moreish dish the
children can’t get enough of.
For a grand day out, try
your hand at cooking, visit
the picnic area and small
lake and sip a cuppa at the
award-winning tearoom.
hartsbarncookeryschool.
co.uk MARIA PIERI
TRY IT AWAY
PIZZA IN NAPLES
Make thin-crust pizza in its birthplace at one of
the oldest joints in Naples, run by master chefs.
foodtoursofnaples.com
GELATO IN ROME
“Money can’t buy happiness but it can buy
gelato and that’s kind of the same thing.” Hard
to argue with the logic of this gelato-making
tour for kids in the heart of Rome. iatravel.com
IMAGE: GETTY
»
RESERVE NOW FOR THE TRIP OF A LIFETIME
CALL: 866-904-1160 | BOOK ONLINE: WESTERNRIVER.COM
 UK // SMART TRAVELLER

Harogate STAY AT HOME

The pearl of North Yorkshire, Harrogate

is the handsome spa town that’s kept its
sheen — and the ideal base for exploring
the surrounding Yorkshire Dales

WE LIKE
While Harrogate’s history as a
spa town is neatly showcased
in the Royal Pump Room
Museum, the restored Turkish
Baths & Health Spa is perhaps
more fun. Spend some time in
DON’T MISS its three heated chambers and
Situated in the nearby recover in the relaxation room.
Nidderdale Area of Outsanding turkishbathsharrogate.co.uk
Natural Beauty, Brimham Rocks
are otherworldly balancing
rock formations up to 30ft high.
Arranged in unstable-looking
piles, they really must be seen to
be believed — particularly Idol
Rock, a huge 200-ton monster,
balanced implausibly on a
miniscule rocky pyramid.

WHERE TO EAT // BETTYS CAFÉ TEA ROOMS OFFERS A

DIZZYING ARRAY OF BREADS, CAKES AND CHOCOLATES.
HEAD RIGHT FOR THE TAKEAWAY BAKERY, OR LEFT TO THE
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY; BETTYS CAFÉ TEA ROOMS; MAJESTIC HOTEL

CAFÉ TEA ROOMS FOR THE AFTERNOON TEA. BETTYS.CO.UK

WHAT TO DO WHERE TO STAY

Harrogate’s an ideal
base for a trek into the
Yorkshire Dales — an
area full of satisfying
routes. Think deep
valleys rich with sheep,
cows and even lamas;
dry stonewalls; windy
rivers and ancient
bridges. The walk
from Brimham Rocks
to the pretty village
of Pateley Bridge is
especially stunning.
Nothing could be
more in keeping with
Harrogate’s reputation
than a restored
Victorian hotel in
sweeping grounds. Step
forward the Majestic
Hotel, complete with a
pool, spa and restaurant,
plus helpful staff and
rooms with great views.
majestichotelharrogate.
co.uk
GLEN MUTEL

June 2017 39
RESTIVAL — RECONNECT TO LIFE
THE LOVE CHILD OF A RETREAT AND FESTIVAL LOCATED IN A
SECRET SPACE AMIDST THE BEAUTY OF THE PAINTED DESERT

Restival fuses the best of festivals and retreats with the creation of a beautifully curated,
intimate wellness travel experience with the Navajo people. Restival is visionary and
totally unique — a five-night transformational retreat in the Arizona Desert, offering
the rare opportunity to reconnect with yourself, let your hair down, become a tribe
and truly connect with nature in eco-lux comfort, by collaborating with the clan of
the Navajo people. Restival includes a special tour of the local area, accompanied by
a Navajo elder, to places rarely accessed by non-Native people.
Limited tickets on sale now for this September, Arizona Desert, visit www.restivalgobal.com for further
details. Prices start from £1,500 for a five night experiential travel adventure which includes nutritious
food, accommodation and workshops.

www.restivalglobal.com
Word The BOOKS // SMART TRAVELLER

Wise words
TOP THREE

THE DIARY
The Raqqa Diaries, written
under a pseudonym by
a freedom fighter and
translated by Nader Ibrahim,

FACE
is an incredibly unflinching
eyewitness account of the
brutal reality of life inside
Syria under the ‘Islamic State’.

VALUE
RRP: £9.99 (Hutchinson)

THE EVENT
The Royal Geographical
Society holds its annual
summer garden party at its
London HQ (23 June) followed
by Planet Earth II Revealed
This collection of classic photo portraits of the world’s (5 July), at which the hit BBC
animals are disarmingly sensitive and revealing, series’ producers reveal
serving as a clarion call to save our endangered species fascinating behind the scenes
stories. rgs.org

Portrait photography is a specialist field, portraits of 12,000 species while travelling THE PODCAST
often fi nding focus on the famous, infamous the globe, visiting zoos and wildlife rescue As the Trump administration
and enigmatically anonymous. It’s a field centres. His emphasis is on animals facing looks to find $1bn (£0.8bn)
that rarely turns its attentions to extinction, with standout to fortify a 62-mile stretch
animals. But this is exactly what images including a gorgeously of the 2,000-mile Mexico/
photographer, speaker and long- coy-looking Florida panther US border, tune in to BBC
time contributor to National named Lucy at Tampa’s Lowry Seriously’s recent La Frontera
Geographic, Joel Sartore, has Park Zoo, and an endearingly episode, assessing the history
been doing for much of his orderly row of critically of the borderlands. bbc.co.uk/
professional life: taking portraits endangered ploughshare programmes/b088f2w1
of the world’s animals, especially tortoises, confiscated by a zoo
those that are endangered. The in Atlanta after being stolen;
resulting body of work — which cute: yes, but also full of
has been documented in the The Photo Ark wild character.
magazine’s pages and featured by Joel Sartore, is In keeping with classic
published by National
in an on-going online campaign portraiture, the images are
Geographic.
— is now collected in a glossy disarmingly distinct from
RRP: $35 (£28)
photography book: a bright, bold most wildlife photographers,
message for us to get to know our with each animal posed
planet’s animals, and to save them. against either a white or black background,
The beautiful beginnings of what’s accompanied by sobering words from
been dubbed the Photo Ark, 6,000 animal veteran wildlife writer Douglas Chadwick,
portraits have been taken so far: a lifelong and a splashy intro from Harrison Ford.
project for Sartore, who intends to take a Sensitive, revealing, and at times utterly
portrait of every animal in captivity in the mesmerising, this may be portraiture at its
world. His ultimate aim is to create studio most powerful. SARAH BARRELL

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

WILD GUIDE, WILD PUB WALKS CAMPING BY THE THE WILD OTHER
SCOTLAND Hill walks in the Peaks, WATERSIDE An accident shatters an
750 places for Lakes and Highlands, Campsites in the UK idyllic childhood, and a
IMAGE: GETTY

outdoor adventures, with a pub chosen and Ireland; ideal for peripatetic life ensues
from lost ruins to tiny by the Campaign For swimmers, kayakers, in this memoir by Clover
glens. RRP: £16.99 Real Ale. RRP: £11.99 anglers and kids. RRP: Stroud. RRP: £20.00
(Wild Publishing) (CAMRA Books) £14.99 (Bloomsbury) (Hodder & Stoughton)

June 2017 41
 Renew your Harmony with Nature

We ensure that your sea kayak trip is safe and enjoyable and that it becomes a
cherished lifetime memory. The breathtaking beauty of the islands, inlets, abundant
wildlife, and sounds of this area offer you an unparalleled wilderness experience.

DISCOVERY EXPEDITIONS, 221 Ferntree Place, Nanaimo, BC, V9T 5M1 | 1-250-619-2714
www.orcaseakayaking.com
Win
AN
AMAZING
FIVE-NIGHT
BREAK TO
SICILY
National Geographic Traveller (UK)
has teamed up with Prestige Holidays
to offer a fantastic holiday for two
to Sicily’s baroque south east
Authentic Sicily
Off the main tourist track, Sicily’s baroque
south east is full of picturesque towns,
captivating countryside, golden beaches
and, of course, fantastic food and wine.
You’ll find an authentic slice of Sicily among
the friendly locals, sprawling piazzas,
churches and trattorias of Modica, Scicli,
Ragusa and Ispica.
THE PRIZE
Five nights for two with
return flights to Comiso or Catania
from London, five days’ car hire, B&B
stay at Relais Torre Marabino plus the
chance to try a tasting menu with wine.
Courtesy of Prestige Holidays, who
have been tailor-making holidays
for 27 years. 01425 480400
prestigeholidays.co.uk
SPECIAL PROMOTION
Bed down
Relais Torre Marabino is nestled in the
southeastern corner of Sicily, near Ispica — a
quiet countryside location just 10 minutes
from the beach. Formerly a Saracen tower,
it’s now an agriturismo (farm stay) with seven
comfortable and stylish rooms, gardens and
terraces plus an outdoor pool. A wide selection
of organic wines and food is available.
TO ENTER
Answer the following question by visiting
natgeotraveller.co.uk/competitions
WHAT TYPE OF PROPERTY IS THE RELAIS
TORRE MARABINO NOW?
Competition closes 30 June 2017 at 23.59 GMT. The
winner must be aged 18 or over and the trip is subject to
availability. Full T&Cs available at natgeotraveller.co.uk
June 2017 43
SMART TRAVELLER // EVENTS

Eents 2 0 1 7
11 JULY 2017
TRAVEL GEEKS: RUSH HOUR
Walking and Trekking
Sponsored by Intrepid
Looking to get fully immersed in
the big outdoors? Join our panel
for plenty of inspiration on how to
discover the world on foot, from
the best walks for beginners to
challenging Alpine adventures.
With tips and tales throughout the
06 evening, leave the boots at home for

Food & drink

TRAVEL GEEKS:
JUNE now — just come with any ideas and
questions for the panel.
WHERE: Intrepid UK, 1st Floor, Piano
House, 9 Brighton Terrace, Brixton,
London SW9 8DJ
TIME:
18.30–19.30
TIME: 18.30–19.30
WHERE: Intrepid UK, PRICE: £10 (plus nibbles and
1st Floor, Piano House, 9 a drink)
Brighton Terrace, Brixton,
London SW9 8DJ
Perhaps you’ve been spoilt for choice for beers in Belgium, got lost in the TICKETS: £10 (plus
nibbles and a drink)
spices of a Moroccan bazaar, or hunted high and low for the best pizza in
Naples. Whatever your palate, food and drink feature heavily in our travelling
tales, and in this event, in partnership with Intrepid Travel, we get to grips
with all things gastronomic. Whether it’s the best places to taste Thai or how
to navigate the world’s wineries, our expert panel is on hand to give you plenty
of tips for your next adventure. All you have to do is come with a curious mind,
your burning questions, and any ideas you’d like to discuss. In addition to
usual nibbles and drinks, there will also be a special tasting experience.

· 2017 ·
THE PANEL
17 SEPTEMBER 2017
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
TRAVELLER FESTIVAL
Sponsored by Babbel
This autumn, our award-winning
magazine comes to life at our
inaugural festival, packed with
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IMAGE: GETTY

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NOTES FROM AN AUTHOR // CHIBUNDU ONUZO
How do you capture the spirit of a city home to some 20 million people?
It’s best done through one personal perspective at a time
I
was born in Lagos, I grew up there and
even after I moved to England at 14, most
years I returned to the city. Yet, I didn’t feel
qualified to write a novel called, Welcome to
Lagos. In its earlier incarnations, the book was
called something else, a duller title my sister
said, when she’d suggested the idea.
I ran it past my brother, who lives in Lagos.
Too overarching, he said. The type of title an
American production company would come
up with. Well yes, I took his point. A white
man passes through six African countries
with a camera, and feels entitled to call his
documentary: ‘Africa: the definitive story’.
I envied that confidence. I wanted it. So
I changed the title and then the novel grew
to fill it. I began to see Lagos afresh, like a
Johnny Just Come setting foot in the city for
the first time.
There was the privileged entry. Arriving in
Lagos from London by air, as I’ve often done,
with my foreignness and relative affluence
wafting from my person. If you arrive in
Lagos this way, most likely, all you see is
dysfunction. The air-conditioning doesn’t
work. The baggage carousel is too small. For
crying out loud, no toilet paper in the loos.
You step out of the airport and a sea of
touts accost you, selling you stuff, clutching
at your bags, for all you know trying to rob,
kidnap and kill you at the same time. You
escape into the city and then wonder why
you ever left the airport. The drivers are
mad. You’ll die before you reach your hotel.
Beggars come up to your car, maimed,
blind, armless, legless. There are beggars
in London, New York and Paris of course,
but they are not so beggary. They hide their
poverty better. They are easier to ignore.
The airport is not like JFK. The roads are
not like Zurich. All you see in Lagos is a place
that’s not like somewhere else: a negation,
a failure to reach international standards,
whatever they are. Then there’s the entry
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
into Lagos by road: more egalitarian, the way
thousands flock to the city each year.
After spending a week in my village in
Eastern Nigeria, I tried to imagine having
lived in this village all my life. You have a
mobile phone, but you also must travel by
bicycle — and not because you want to save
the planet. There are no street lights. You
LAGOS
You step out of the airport
and a sea of touts accost you,
selling you stuff, clutching at
your bags, for all you know
trying to rob, kidnap and kill
you at the same time. You
escape into the city and then
wonder why you ever left the
airport. The drivers are mad.
SMART TRAVELLER
know what a television is but you don’t own
one yourself.
Driving into Lagos with this state of
mind, the pace is outstanding. You’ve seen
a car. You’ve never seen this many. There
are rows and rows of street lights — the city
never sleeps. There are flyovers, bridges,
skyscrapers, radio towers, helicopters, mass
transit buses with television screens and free
wi-fi. You’ve never seen such a concentration
of infrastructure. On closer inspection, if you
don’t have money and the right education and
the right contacts, it’ll be very difficult to work
in those skyscrapers or fly in that helicopter or
drive that Range Rover. Poverty in Lagos can
perhaps be even more abject and desperate
than poverty in your village, but on first
glance the city dazzles.
And then, although I didn’t want to turn the
novel into a Lonely Planet guidebook, the new
title made me think about what was iconic
about Lagos. There was the atmosphere of the
city, the pulse and the energy, but there were
also specific places I wanted to mention now
the novel was becoming a homage. It was fun
to write about Mr Biggs, the only restaurant
chain that my meagre childhood funds could
afford. A character had to visit Makoko, the
lagoon city with houses on stilts that the
government alternatingly attempts to destroy
— for not fitting in with its modern image of
Lagos — and preserve because pesky foreign
journalists keep flocking there.
After the book was done and had gone off
to the printers, I told a friend of mine the title
and he exclaimed, “You’re in trouble! You’ll
have to put everybody’s version of Lagos in
that novel.”
Of course I haven’t. There are over 20
million people living in Lagos. This is
Welcome to Lagos according to Chibundu
Onuzo: my version of the city on as broad
a canvas as possible. The subject is as
inexhaustible as London, or Tokyo, or Cairo or
any of the other mega-cities of the world. Now
I’ve attempted it, I’m looking forward to the
next writer who will tackle a novel on Lagos. I
wish them luck.
Welcome to Lagos by Chibundu Onuzo is published by
Faber & Faber. RRP: £12.99
@ChibunduOnuzo
June 2017 47
SMART TRAVELLER
VIEW FROM THE USA // AARON MILLAR
HIP HOP, YA DON’T STOP
If today’s toothless hip hop could rediscover its bite, the soundtrack of
New York could one day become the unifying sound of a nation
E
very city has a sound. You can walk the
streets and visit the sights, but until
you listen you’ll be seeing the world in
black and white. Music is colour; music is
spirit; it’s the shape of a place’s dreams. New
Orleans is jazz, Nashville is country, but New
York will forever be hip hop.
In many ways, it’s the soundtrack of
modern America too. Hip hop was born
from the civil rights movement. It was about
social justice. In the 1960s, Martin Luther
King echoed the ‘We shall overcome’ song
the protestors were singing in his famous
speech; in the ’80s, NWA rapped “fuck
tha police”. Then rappers railed against
the N-bomb; later the word was worn as a
badge of pride. If hip hop is now all about
doing the stanky leg and partying like it’s
your birthday, that’s because it’s become
mainstream. It’s the Fortune 500. It’s pop
tunes with swear words and gold chains.
Now, as Black Lives Matter campaigners
protest police brutality, and when an average
of 44 people are murdered in the US every
single day — most from the inner cities
— hip hop raps about sex and money instead
of hope and change. I decided to go back to
its source, but I wasn’t going back alone.
Grandmaster Caz, one of the pioneers
of the genre in the 1970s and ’80s, is to hip
hop what James Bond is to the dry Martini:
he helped make it cool. I meet him in
Manhattan, baggy jeans and a beanie, name
embroidered in golden thread on his chest,
his blacked-out van bumping Empire State of
Mind by the side of the road. We’re heading
into the Bronx, to the edge of the interstate
and a red-brick high-rise that hosted a 1973
house party credited with the birth of the
scene. But first we need context.
It’s a whirlwind tour: in Harlem, we see the
Graffiti Hall of Fame, the venue where Kool
Moe D rapped against Busy Bee (the most
famous freestyle battle in hip hop history)
and the legendary Rucker Park basketball
court — hemmed in by tenement housing
on all sides — where NBA greats test their
mettle against the best of the street.
In the Bronx, I learn the sign for the
borough — arms crossed like an X in front
of your chest. We stop at Disco Fever, where
Grandmaster Flash, the godfather of hip
48 natgeotraveller.co.uk
hop, built his legend; and 1520 Sedgwick
ILLUSTRATION: JACQUI OAKLEY
Avenue, where one out-of-control party
changed the world’s musical taste forever.
The names of New York greats ring out like
Marvel super-villains: The Furious Five, the
Treacherous Three, the Funky 4+1. Then, to
cap it off, we meet breakdancing whizz B-Boy
Mighty Mouse, watch him spin on his head,
learn about the air flare (the hardest move
in breaking history, the dancing equivalent
of being blasted by an anti-gravity gun), and
are cajoled into joining an impromptu street
performance. There’s perhaps nothing more
cringe-inducing than watching a middle-
class white man trying to breakdance.
Especially if it’s you.
But it’s the unspoken things that matter
most. Leave the tourist bubble behind and
the city changes instantly. “This is the real
New York,” Caz says. As we head north,
shiny skyscrapers and Broadway shows
become high-rise projects and barbed-wire
playgrounds. We see Malcolm X’s mosque,
opposite the ruins of one of hip hop’s golden
gig venues: Harlem World; the Hotel Theresa,
where Martin Luther King planned his
march on Washington, round the corner
from the Apollo Theater, where Lauryn Hill
and other legends have played. “Hip hop rose
from necessity,” Caz tells us. “Our soul comes
from that struggle.” People come to New York
to stand on top of the Empire State Building
and watch chorus girls kick at Rockefeller.
But if that’s all they do, they miss the real
spirit of the city. They miss its sound.
And America is missing it too. Music is the
seed of revolution. One in every six people
in the US is living in poverty — in the inner
cities, that number is closer to one in three.
Compared with white men, black men in
America are 21 times more likely to be shot
and five times more likely to end up in prison.
Every city has a sound, but so does a country,
and right now the US is deciding what its
will be. We need a soundtrack to inspire that
choice. Come on hip hop, come on New York,
America needs you. hushtours.com
British travel writer Aaron Millar ran away from London
in 2013 and has been hiding out in the Rocky
Mountains of Boulder, Colorado ever since.
@AaronMWriter
The
Blog
TURKEY
TO THE MOON
AND BACK
A hot air balloon gives an elevated perspective
on the central Turkish region’s lunar landscapes
S
unrise; sunset. Sunrise; sunset. Time is
a matter of perspective. Mere seconds,
not days, are passing.
It’s a frosty 6am and the sun is peeping
over the mountainous horizon. Just as its
warming rays bloom against the skyline, our
Eventually, another jet aircraft sinks below the edge of its launch pad
— a sliver of canyon precipice — and the sun
of super-heated disappears behind the peaks again. This is
air arbitrarily boosts the first time I’ve ever descended at take-off.
This is also the first time the pilot has
us heavenward, and freely admitted to me that he has no idea
where we’re going and that a gentle crash
I grip wicker more landing is a distinct possibility. We’re
tightly than Yogi Bear literally going where the wind takes us.
This is my maiden hot air balloon flight.
on a ‘pic-a-nic’ pilfer I’ve never before had the desire to be
50 natgeotraveller.co.uk
suspended far above the ground in a glorified
picnic basket beneath two giant blowtorches,
but it’s practically compulsory in Cappadocia.
Even on the coldest mornings of the year,
the skies are filled with around 40 balloons,
loaded with visitors seeking an aerial
perspective of this outlandish landscape; in
high season, there are up to 100.
“It’s best that the balloons don’t touch
each other,” the pilot casually informs me.
“But it’s hard to navigate in a hot air balloon,
particularly over Cappadocia. When the sun
rises, the wind direction can suddenly change
by 80-120 degrees; each of these valleys also
IMAGE: GETTY
channels wind, causing more uncertainty.
Journeys are unchartable. Only in the final 20
minutes do we plan our landing location.”
 ONLINE // SMART TRAVELLER

�ost �ead
VISIT US ONLINE AT From a hiker’s guide to Western Europe to a trip through the
NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK heart of Australia — here are our most popular online posts
With daily updates, including
a blog every Tuesday and our
Travel Video of the Week each
Friday, get your fix of National
TRAVEL VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Geographic Traveller online Chile
Spend 60 seconds getting to
know the colourful coastal city
of Valparaiso, famous for its
colourful shed houses, graffiti
In strong winds, he tells me, we may come and ascensors
in to land sideways and have to adopt the
brace position as we use the basket as an
anchor, allowing it to strike the ground on its AUSTRALIA
edge and tip over… with us inside. “It’s a fun From Adelaide to Darwin
job,” he says, “but a lot of responsibility.” Take a trip through South
After sinking further, we’re now teetering Australia and the Northern
above — and surrounded by — treacherous Territory — travelling from ocean
spikes of volcanic rock. Despite the odd burst to Outback through the heart of
of flame blasting into the balloon, we seem the country
to be struggling to get any lift, and instead
we slalom between stone shards. Eventually,
another jet of super-heated EUROPE
LIKE THIS? READ MORE air arbitrarily boosts us Walk this way
ABOUT TURKEY ONLINE heavenward, and I grip wicker Lace up your hiking
more tightly than Yogi Bear on boots and explore
MADRASAS OF SIVAS a ‘pic-a-nic’ pilfer. In a bid to France, Italy and
A peek into the medieval counteract vertigo, I tie a rope Spain — from lofty
centres of learning handle around my wrist, take passes through
reveals a fascinating
a deep breath and focus on volcanic lunar
cultural history
those views — and what views. landscapes to ancient
ANCIENT ANI
I’d heard of Cappadocia’s lunar pilgrim pathways
Ani, ‘the city of a landscapes before; I’ve never strewn with churches
thousand and one visited the Moon so I couldn’t
churches’, marks the metaphorise so confidently, but
point where the Silk Road I agree that this place is like no UK
reaches Asia Minor other on this planet. English wine
As we hit 2,000ft, the breadth English vino has been quietly getting better,
ALAÇATI
of these epic vistas is, at last, with award-winning domestic brands. And, if
For boho-chic boutique
revealed. Sand dunes ripple you want a closer look, take heart that your
hotels, rustic refined
restaurants and a with waved contours, like great local winery is probably expecting you
laid-back surfer vibe, say slouching bags of cement:
hello to Turkey’s latest, the product of millennia-old
(almost) Aegean resort volcanic rock, sculpted by the HOW TO
breath of a zillion zephyrs. Become a travel
Below, in the Devrent Valley, writer
the elements have whittled the limestone Do you aspire to
rock into fairytale spires: mushroom-capped transform your love
and pocked with irregular windows and of writing into a
doors like a Jim Henson movie backdrop. In lucrative career?
other places, the rock is spiked into riotous Take some
flames; or wind-burnished into curvaceous inspiration from our
monuments. And in the valley’s labyrinthine 10 handy tips, and
caves, hollowed out of the limestone in the put pen to paper
second century, some of the first Christian
churches can be found.
What seems like an eternity later,
my pilot gently sets our basket down in
a flat spot amid this aeonian landscape.
Search for NatGeoTravelUK on...
Only an hour has passed. Time is indeed
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a matter of perspective.
JAMES DRAVEN TUMBLR PINTEREST INSTAGRAM

June 2017 51

Weekender
RICHMOND
A leafy, well-polished utopia down by the river,
Richmond is the west London wonder, offering a
fresh angle on a frenetic city. Words: Zane Henry
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Grazing deer;
sunshine on the banks of the river Thames
near the White Cross pub; inside Palm
House, Kew Gardens; the Palm House and
surrounding gardens
52 natgeotraveller.co.uk
R
ichmond upon Thames is a mini republic that
orbits around itself with only fleeting concern
for the rest of London. Time moves more slowly
here. People look healthier. The air seems lighter and feels
more expensive. A 2016 survey decreed the borough of
Richmond the happiest place to live in the city. And for
those living closer to the soot-darkened heart of London,
it offers an appealing weekend break that’s half an hour
from Waterloo but light years away from its scrum of
stress and frenetic energy. The good vibes spill out from
the town centre to the river, where locals and tourists
stroll, occasionally flinging themselves upon the water in
boats and canoes. At weekends, Richmond Green is full of
picnicking families, young people pleasantly day-drunk,
and sporty people doing sporty things. Pervading
it all is a sense that Richmond is the good life, distilled.
For those living closer to the soot-
darkened heart of London, Richmond
offers an appealing weekend break
that’s half an hour from Waterloo but
light years away from its scrum of stress
 Riverside
The Thames looks cleaner here — almost
see-through. Richmond Bridge Boathouses
rents out rowboats for up to 12 people,
although if you’d prefer a drier experience,
take the longish river walk to Marble Hill
House, and hop on the ferry to equally
historic Ham House. Afterwards, reward
yourself with a few pints at The White
Cross. Watch out, though; at high tide, the
pub becomes its own island.

THREE TO TRY

Richmond
restaurants
BEIRUT STREET KITCHEN
A fiver gets you a crispy falafel
wrapped in stone-baked
flatbread from this Lebanese Get out
joint. Don’t miss out on the Even if you’ve been to Kew Royal
manakish za’atar (flatbread Botanical Gardens before, regular
topped with spices) and new additions make it worth
pomegranate lemonade.
another visit. Installed last year,
The Hive is a 17-metre tall outdoor
RINCON
Traditional Spanish tapas and
installation that uses LED-lights
an expansive wine list. Go on and a mesmerising soundtrack to
evenings when they host live Latin immerse you into the secret lives of
music and jazz bands. A word of bees. Of the perennial attractions,
caution — their sangria is potent. the Palm House is like stepping into
rincon-bar.co.uk a massive steam-room populated
by giant ferns and palms. As special
GALETERIA DANIELI as Kew is, it doesn’t have deer —
Head up to Brewers Lane
but they can usually be found in
for authentic Italian gelato
IMAGES: ALAMY; GETTY

from Galeteria Danieli. The

pistachio, fig and mandarin
flavour is delicious.
gelateriadanieli.com
Richmond Park. If you don’t see
any, mollify your disappointment
by climbing King Henry’s Mound,
where the trees frame a tunnel-like
view directly across London to St
Paul’s Cathedral.

June 2017 53
WEEKENDER

FROM TOP: Head chef Damian Clisby

prepares a dish; Petersham Nurseries cafe

EYEWITNESS

THE GOOD LIFE

The hostess looks genuinely concerned. “You
didn’t book? Like, at all? Online, maybe?”
There’s nothing arrogant or dismissive about
her tone — she just can’t fathom what would
make two sane-looking people think they
could walk in and get a table at the Michelin-
starred Petersham Nurseries Cafe at 2pm on
a Sunday.
“Look, you seem… nice. Maybe if you
come back at 3.45pm, I’ll see what I can
do. But you’ll have to order straight away
because we’ll be closing the kitchen 15
minutes later,” she says in a very slow,
deliberate and kindly tone.
We should’ve known better. The restaurant
had come highly recommended by everyone
we’d spoken to, and we’d passed a long line of
luxury cars parked in the muddy lane leading
up to its entrance.
The appeal is obvious. Right next to
Petersham Meadows, a roll down the hill
from Richmond Park, it offers a tweedy
bucolic aesthetic with a sheeny overcoat of
cosmopolitanism. The restaurant is situated
in the nursery itself, inside a glasshouse with
greenery growing overhead, upon the pillars
and along the walls. It’s quite beautiful.
Standing on the outside, looking in
through the windows at hands holding
bottomless glasses of Champagne and faces

City life
Make sure to salute
flushed pink with wealth, it was hard to spot
anyone not wearing pastel-shaded linen.
We spend the next hour and a bit
the bust of Chilean wandering between the adjoining shop
and nursery, picking up candles we could
revolutionary Bernardo never afford and sniffing at extra-terrestrial
O’Higgins in O’Higgins looking orchids. At 3.40pm, we present
Square as you head ourselves once more to the hostess and she
leads us to a table set amid a flourish of ferns
over the bridge to the and flowers that brush our heads.
town centre. Your We sit and sigh over head chef Damian
next stop is Duck Clisby’s creations, which include a fennel,
IMAGES: MING TANG EVANS; MARIMO IMAGES

castelfranco radicchio and blood orange

Pond Market in Heron salad, and grilled Bramata polenta with
Square, where you’ll stuffed artichoke, Delica pumpkin and
find quiches, Belgian seasonal vegetables.
I sit back with a glass of wine in my hand
waffles, and loads of
and a leaf in my ear. Life is good.
cheeses. After eating, petershamnurseries.com
go treasure-hunting
at Richmond Hill visitrichmond.com
Rooms at the Hilton Syon start from £120 when
Antiques; you might booked direct through the Hilton website.
just find a hidden gem. hilton.com

54 natgeotraveller.co.uk

ALENTEJO
The soul of the nation’s cuisine, the largest Portuguese region of Alentejo offers
fresh dishes and rich history, all under a cloudless sky. Words: Audrey Gillan
D
ense chewy bread with a crust you
can knock your knuckles on; black
Iberico pork that’s sweet, nutty and
moist; tomatoes so vibrant they could carry
a meal on their own; verdant, fruity extra
virgin olive oil; and glorious wines. Set
these kitchen pantry mainstays against vast
cloudless blue skies that crown land strewn
with wheat fields, olive groves and quirky,
scarecrow-shaped cork trees, and you begin
to get a tiny taste of Alentejo, the largest yet
least-populated region in Portugal.
Meaning ‘land beyond the Tagus’ (the
river that runs alongside Lisbon), Alentejo
was historically home to bullfights and
Lusitano horses. People lived according
to the weather, working the wine or olive
harvest in late summer and early winter,
and living from what they could wrangle
from a little plot of land, raising a pig and
growing vegetables, for the rest of the year.
It’s a place that bakes brown in the 40-degree
56 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Eat
heat of summer, where houses are white and
windows and doors are outlined in iridescent
blue, and where you can drive for miles
without seeing a soul.
The landscape is the essence of life
in Alentejo, and it’s also the larder — so
cooking is simple and rustic. Many of
the dishes here form the backbone of all
Portuguese cookery: over the centuries,
poverty-stricken farming folk fanned out
across the country in search of work, taking
their recipes with them. Here, the necessity
of eking things out came to define popular
dishes. Stale bread is fried with a little pig fat
and perhaps some wild asparagus to create
migas, which simply means ‘crumbs’ and
is a tasty, crispy breadcrumb kind-of hash.
Alternately, the old bread is used to thicken
soup known as açorda. This is built on a
broth base, sometimes with a small amount
of shellfish or a poached egg, and is always
scattered with lots of chopped coriander.
FROM LEFT: Bakery selling traditional cakes
and pastries; the twisted cork trees of Alentejo;
lunch overlooking the Alentejo countryside
Frugality abides everywhere and so foraged
herbs, such as pennyroyal mint and purslane,
are often used.
In her exquisitely old-school home in
the seaside town of Vila Nova de Milfontes,
Idália Costa José explains how she buys
produce from farmers across the region and
sells it every Saturday from her dining room
to members of the local community. “I buy
directly from the farmers because they need
help — they are very poor,” she says. “They
grow amazing vegetables, including tasty
tomatoes, but don’t really have places to sell
their produce. So, we get together and buy it.”
I capture a sense of what Idália means
when she describes these flavours when
I’m presented with a plate of tiny tomatoes,
lightly roasted and dressed with extra virgin
olive oil, salt and oregano at nearby Tasca do
Celso. The tomatoes pretty much explode in
my mouth and I learn they have actually been
grown by one of the restaurant’s customers.
 FIVE TASTES OF ALENTEJO
IMAGES: ALAMY; AUDREY GILLAN

AÇORDA À CHEESES CONVENT PORCO À PORCO PRETO

ALENTEJANA Evora, Serpa and Nisa DESSERTS (DOCES ALENTEJANA IBÉRICO
A thick, garlicky soup are all DOP-protected CONVENTUAIS) Small, sweet clams The prized black pigs
using stale bread in cheeses made from Cakes and desserts with pork that have thrive on the fallen
broth, scented with sheep’s milk. Serpa, made from egg yolks, been marinated in acorns of cork trees;
fresh coriander and the most famous, is sugar and almonds, white wine, garlic and consequently, the
topped with a soft- semi-soft and buttery originally created by massa de pimentão meat has a nutty,
poached egg. in texture. nuns and monks. (red pepper paste). sweet flavour.

June 2017 57
EAT
Carlos Barros of Arte e Sal
RIGHT: A range of sweet
desserts at Fialho
This place, owned by the jovial José Ramos
Cardoso, or Celso to his friends, grills
fish over a huge charcoal grill and offers
fantastic petiscos (snacks) as well as prawns
with garlic, and coriander and rice with
sweet, fragrant clams. The wine list here
is enormous, celebrating some of the 300
or so wine producers in the region, as well
as across Portugal. Celso presents me with
a plate of Serpa, which he says is the best
cheese in the Alentejo — aged for at least 30
days, it’s moist and creamy and I find myself
murmuring blissed-out agreement.
At the Saturday market in the town of
Estremoz, in the eastern part of the province,
I sample the various Portuguese sausages
that are a highlight of the region — chouriço,
linguiça, morcela and farinheira, the latter
an Alentejo speciality made from bread and
pork fat. As well as wonderful fresh produce
here, there’s a fabulous flea market. When I’m
done snacking, I head across the main town
square to Restaurante Mercearia Gadanha,
where those stunning tomatoes are presented
as fantastica sopa fria — a cold soup dressed
with strawberry, prawn and a basil ice. The
flavour is amazing. A puff pastry of partridge
(a local speciality) takes the Portuguese
fondness for pies and pastries to another level.
Some of the best places to get a true taste
of Alentejo are the vineyards themselves.
Herdade da Malhadinha Nova has a restaurant
on its estate, but I eat in the smaller dining
room in the country house. Here, I watch chefs
assemble plates that combine produce from
58 natgeotraveller.co.uk
the estate with that of the wider region. Skilled
hands marry prawns with asparagus and
seared acorn-fed pork, all of it matched with
wine produced right outside the door.
At Herdade do Sobroso Country House,
in Baixo Alentejo, I meet winemaker Filipe
Machada and his wife Sofia, owners of a
4,000 acre property, of which just 130 acres
is cultivated for wine. Over lunch, Sofia
explains that they like to keep the food very
traditional. There’s good sheep’s cheese, their
own honey, salt cod croquettes and chicken
pies, and then a main course of cozido de grão,
a stew of chickpeas with lamb, pork, veal and
sausage. As I taste Filipe’s wine, I learn how
the nearby town of Vidigueira — ‘land of the
wine’ — brought the first gold medal for wine
back to Portugal more than 100 years ago. And
how, many years after he discovered India,
returning home with ingredients that would
change the cooking of his country and the
rest of Europe forever, 15th-century explorer
Vasco da Gama retired to this corner of the
Alentejo. As I glory in the simplicity of the
place, I can see why that great explorer would
happily settle into some lovely twilight years
under these astonishing blue skies.
visitalentejo.pt/en
TAP Portugal flies direct to Lisbon from Heathrow,
Gatwick, London City and Manchester. flytap.com
Herdade de Maladinha Nova offers double rooms
from £209; Convento do Espinheiro from £142,
including wine tasting. malhadinhanova.pt/en
conventodoespinheiro.com/en
A TASTE OF
Alentejo
ARTE E SAL
The day’s catch is laid out and
you can eat on the terrace by the
waves of the Costa Vicentina.
Owner Carlos Barros knows
everything about Portuguese fish,
but will bring a book to the table
to help you understand what’s
on offer. On my visit there were
petiscos of octopus salad and
home-made duck liver pate, and a
main of grilled sargo (sea bream).
HOW MUCH: Three-course dinner
from £20 per person (without
wine) but expect to pay more
should you order a big fish.
en.rotavicentina.com
FIALHO, EVORA
The tables of the region’s most-
famous restaurant heave with
traditional Alentejo cuisine.
Meat pastries (pastéis de massa
en tenra) are glorious, as are the
chicken pies. Desserts include
encharcada, an Alentejo dish
of bruléed egg yolks, sugar and
cinnamon, and serricaia (an eggy
pudding) with sugared plums.
HOW MUCH: Three-course dinner
from £21 per person, without wine.
restaurantefialho.pt
DIVINUS RESTAURANT,
CONVENTO DO ESPINHEIRO
A stunning setting inside this
IMAGES: AUDREY GILLAN; VISIT PORTUGAL
ancient convent is matched
with cooking that takes Alentejo
cuisine up a notch. Chef Bouazza
Bouhlani offers dishes such as
scrambled eggs with local, wild
asparagus and a trilogy of Alentejo
pork with asparagus migas (fried
richly-flavoured breadcrumbs).
HOW MUCH: Three-course dinner
from £35 per person, without wine.
divinusrestaurante.com
 SWEDEN
A new course every day!

WWW.GRONHOGEN.SE
 Neighbourhood
SYDNEY
Australia’s largest city is more than just its iconic opera house and harbour
bridge. Pick a neighbourhood and dive in to find craft beer, Asian street food and
beachside modernism. Words: David Whitley. Photographs: Chris Van Hove

The lazy shorthand version of Sydney is pretty appealing: pootling

about on the harbour, taking that bridge and opera house snapshot
then plonking yourself on a beach — it’s not a bad way to spend a few
days. But behind Sydney’s easy-going, eye-catching facade lies a more
interesting beast. Few visitors expect the prissily cute and near ubiquitous
Victorian housing, for example. Or the wild national parkland just a
ILLUSTRATION: KERRY HYNDMAN

few minutes’ walk from major tourist hangouts. Or the extensive Asian
influence. Not to mention the burgeoning craft brewing scene, the
transformative architecture and speckled remnants from the time before
Europeans arrived on the scene. Even in the most well-trodden
neighbourhoods, a little prodding unveils a totally different story. And, in
others, furiously paced overhauls have torn up the script.

June 2017 61
NEIGHBOURHOOD
CLOCKWISE: A barista prepares coffee
at Harry’s; vertical gardens at One
Central Park, Chippendale; al fresco
dining at Spice Alley
Chippendale
‘Where’s Chippendale?’ An acceptable
question for an outsider, but one, until
recently, you might even have heard from the
mouth of a local.
However, things have changed, and
Chippendale is no longer a nothing suburb,
passed through unknowingly en route from
Joggers puff and pant the central business district (CBD) to the
hipster enclaves of the Inner West.
up the steps leading The transformation began with the White
Rabbit Gallery. Opened in 2009, this private
to the Harbour Bridge collection of modern Chinese artworks
walkway; rainbow — whose only common theme is that they
consistently weird out anyone looking at them
lorikeets and ibises flit — has become the figurehead for a burgeoning
artistic community. Dig into the lanes,
around Observatory courtyards and crumbling houses nearby and
you’ll find small galleries, studios, workshops
Hill Park; gorgeously and collectives merrily doing their own thing.
past-their-prime The metamorphosis continued with the
opening of The Old Clare Hotel on the site
houses with subsiding of the former Carlton & United Brewery: a
knowingly cool five-star joint with rooftop
verandahs and pool, fashion shoot lights in the rooms and
corrugated iron roofs industrial-chic bare walls. Next to it is One
Central Park, designed by French starchitect
are spread out below Jean Nouvel: two plant-clad residential towers
62 natgeotraveller.co.uk
with a flower bed on each floor, shopping
mall on the lower levels and cantilevered
penthouses at the top — the overall effect:
ultramodernity being reclaimed by the jungle.
A key part of why this all works is that
the new and the old seem well blended.
Wandering the narrow streets and laneways
around the big shiny projects doesn’t feel like
strolling through a hermetically sealed bubble.
Spice Alley is a tremendous example of
this; a U-shaped laneway has been turned into
an Asian street food hub, with simple stools
and tables crowding the pavement. Korean,
Malaysian, Thai, Japanese and Vietnamese
dishes are served up from joints that are
curious food stall-restaurant hybrids; a
garishly painted tuk tuk guards the entrance
and Chinese lanterns hang overhead.
Chippendale is no longer just a hotspot for
casual dining either; Automata is one of the
city’s new tasting menu-only hotspots, with
an open-plan kitchen and a predilection for
bold, palate-challenging flavours. Mustard
oils, vinegars and fermented vegetables are
among the twists that make virtually every
dish arresting.
The question is no longer ‘Where’s
Chippendale?’ but ‘Where in Chippendale...?’

WHEN IN SYDNEY
BEACH KNOW-HOW
Every Sydneysider has their
favourite beach. Bondi, Coogee
and Manly are the best-known to
visitors, mainly because they’re
easier to reach. They’re also the
busiest, whereas those north of
Manly are no less spectacular but
often quieter — try Narrabeen,
Bilgola or Palm Beach.
COOL POOLS
If you’re after duck-pond placidity
rather than crashing surf, there are
several big outdoor pools, from
the showy Andrew ‘Boy’ Charlton
Pool next to the Royal Botanic
Gardens and the giant rock pool-
esque Wylie’s Baths in Coogee.
SPICE IT UP
In Sydney, cheap Thai joints are
plentiful, while Indian food is
patchy and pricey. Many of the
Thai restaurants — especially in
the Inner West — adhere to a BYO
booze policy for a corkage fee.
SMALL BEER
New South Wales doesn’t really do
pints; the main measurement here
is the 375ml ‘schooner’ (sensible
due to the warm climate). The
new fad for ‘schmiddies’ (355ml
glasses popular at craft beer
establishments), however, has
divided opinion among locals.
DOLLAR GRILLS
Australians love a barbecue. And
thankfully, you don’t need the
full kit to join in. Coin-operated
public barbecues in beachside
parks are one of the country’s
crowning achievements.
FROM LEFT: Crispy rolled egg with chorizo and lime, a signature
dish from Harry’s Cafe; flying the flags at The Lord Nelson Brewery
Hotel, one of Sydney’s oldest pubs
The Rocks
‘He appears to have been ambivalent regarding
which side of the law he operated on,’ reads the
sign tucked away in one of those impossible-
to-rediscover alleys that spring up throughout
The Rocks, a tourist precinct and historic area.
It’s telling the story of George Cribbs, a
19th-century convict and butcher-turned-
landowner whose slaughterhouse is now
part of an archaeological dig site. Perched
on stilts above a decent chunk of it is the
remarkable Sydney Harbour YHA – The
Rocks. Small wire-frame horses and
cockatoos, inexplicably attached to a fence
over the road, add an art installation touch.
This isn’t The Rocks that many visitors see,
largely because they don’t know to look for it.
Sydney’s most historic neighbourhood tends
to act as a grazing paddock for mooching
tourists who amble along the waterfront or
along George Street, covering the well-trodden
postcard-shot territory between the Sydney
Harbour Bridge and the cruise ship terminal.
Delve into the lanes, staircases and tunnels,
however, and a very different picture emerges.
Joggers puff and pant up the steps leading
to the Harbour Bridge walkway; rainbow
lorikeets and ibises flit around Observatory
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Hill Park; gorgeously past-their-prime houses
with subsiding verandahs and corrugated iron
roofs spread out below. They’re an indicator
that people still live here, on land developers
would love to get their hands on.
Feistily ramshackle Millers Point morphs
into the incongruous Walsh Bay, where
old wharves now house creative agencies
and luxury apartments with status-symbol
yachts outside. Cafes churn out espressos,
but The Rocks is definitely more of a beer
kind of place. It has a greedy concentration
of pubs, most of which seem to have some
sort of claim on being the oldest in town.
The best, however, have another trick up
their sleeve besides longevity. Long before
Sydney cottoned on to the craft brewing craze,
The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel, for instance,
was brewing its own. Its Three Sheets — a
robust 5% pale ale — is likely to induce a
warm, fuzzy indifference to this ale-house
one-upmanship, even after only a couple.
Then, there’s the Australian Heritage Hotel,
a pub that offers visitors the perfect fix of
Australiana. The benches outside fill up as
soon as work is finished for the day, and the
half-emu, half-pepper kangaroo Coat of Arms
gourmet pizza soaks up the beers a treat.
June 2017 63
 NEIGHBOURHOOD
Bondi
Tables are a precious commodity on
Sunday mornings at Harry’s. Those who
do get lucky lazily chat their way through
such breakfast delights as eggs, avocado
and kale. Some are on pavement tables,
others on stools at the counter, gazing
through the big open windows.
There are dozens of cafes like this in
Bondi, the beach suburb that takes Sydney’s
brunching obsession to its zenith. It’s
Australia at its most Southern Californian
— everyone looks sickeningly fit and
beautiful, the dogs on leads are always tiny
and surfboards take to the ocean.
New developments have added to that
vibe — Bondi has undergone a considerable
sprucing up in the past few years. The Bondi
Pacific apartments complex, on Campbell
Parade, which hosts the airily hip QT Bondi
hotel, is clearly aimed at those with both
serious money and designer inclinations.
The North Bondi Surf Life Saving Club’s
revamp has turned it into a modernist
architectural statement; celebrity chef
restaurants such as former MasterChef
Australia judge Matt Moran’s North Bondi
Fish are muscling out down-at-heel joints;
indie boutiques boast eye-catching dresses
with eye-watering price tags.
It all comes with a big dose of diversity,
too. North Bondi is one of Sydney’s premier
gay hangouts; Thai massage joints sit
happily alongside Brazilian churrascarias,
Portuguese chicken shops and gelaterias so
good they have permanent queues outside;
the backpacker and Orthodox Jewish
communities are also both large and visible.
64 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Of course, the real draw of Bondi isn’t the
streets, it’s the beach. On summer Sundays,
the half-mile swathe of sand is crowded with
bodies. More still are bobbing between the
flags, trying to catch the waves and bodysurf
back to shore. And, throughout the day,
thousands of somewhat unnecessarily lycra-
clad walkers strut off around the clifftops on
the four-mile Bondi to Coogee Walk.
Yet when the day breaks, there’s a
calmness and raw beauty, and Eugene Tan
will be there to capture it. His Aquabumps
photographic gallery is the result of a
quixotic passion for the ocean and the surf
that’s seen him take pictures of Bondi at
dawn every day since 1999. In his shots, the
lone swimmers, the pink skies and the waves
crashing into the saltwater pools strip Bondi
back to its core.
MORE INFO
White Rabbit. whiterabbitcollection.org
The Old Clare Hotel. theoldclarehotel.com.au
Central Park. centralparksydney.com
Spice Alley. kensingtonstreet.com.au
Automata. automata.com.au
The Big Dig. thebigdig.com.au
Sydney Harbour YHA – The Rocks. yha.com.au
The Lord Nelson Brewery Hotel.
lordnelsonbrewery.com
Australian Heritage Hotel.
australianheritagehotel.com
Harry’s. 2/136 Wairoa Ave. T: 00 61 2 9130 2180.
QT Bondi. qthotelsandresorts.com
North Bondi Fish. northbondifish.com.au
Aquabumps. aquabumps.com
transportnsw.info
Lonely Planet Pocket Sydney. RRP: £7.99.
Singapore Airlines has one-stop flights to Sydney
from Heathrow and Manchester via Singapore.
Expedia offers economy flights plus a 13-night stay
at The Old Clare Hotel from £1,455 per person.
singaporeair.com expedia.co.uk
ABOVE: Sunday swimmers at the city’s iconic Bondi
Baths, Icebergs Club
LEFT: A jogger runs along Bondi’s promenade with its
street art
 TIME
IS PRECIOUS. ALWAYS
MAKE THE

VERY BEST
OF IT.
WHATEVER YOU‘RE LOOKING FOR:
IT‘S WAITING FOR YOU HERE.

HOTEL | SPA | RESTAURANT & BAR

BURGGASSE 2 | 1070 WIEN, AUSTRIA | T: +43-1-522 25 20
WWW.SANSSOUCI-WIEN.COM
 Sleep
VIENNA
For a right royal experience, a stay in Vienna is hard to beat. Yet amid the
regal villas, palaces, opulent art galleries and traditional coffee houses, there
are many surprisingly affordable places to bed down. Words: Julia Buckley

If you plan on visiting Vienna, you’re in luck. Not just because of the wealth of
impressive sights: the imperial palaces, the art, the landmark coffee houses, where
tradition dictates you may while away hours with a single drink... When it comes to
hotels, Vienna is highly affordable, and even the budget hotels have style. The first
district, or Innere Stadt, is the obvious place to stay — most of the best sights for
first-timers are in this largely pedestrianised zone, encircled by the Ringstrasse,
with St Stephen’s Cathedral and its ornate tiled roof as the focal point. Many of the
grand, neo-baroque buildings here have been converted into luxury hotels. Second-
timers might like to stay in a district beyond the Ringstrasse. Not only is it cheaper,
it can give a completely different take on the city. And don’t let the names fool you;
the ‘outer’ districts, for example, encompass the Innere Stadt, and in the seventh
district, you’re often closer to the grand cathedral than in the second. Neubau is the
hipster hub, Wieden’s residential streets unfurl onto the Belvedere Palace, and
Leopoldstadt has the Prater park with its iconic 19th-century Ferris wheel. From
each, it’s a short metro or pretty tram-ride back to the Ring.
IMAGE: GETTY

F
66 natgeotraveller.co.uk
For histor�
HOTEL SACHER
The Sacher has come a long way since it was
a mere delicatessen — thanks largely to its
status as the birthplace of the Sachertorte. It
was here in 1832 that Edouard Sacher created
the famous chocolate cake that was to bear
his name. On the back of that, he opened
what’s still Vienna’s only family-run five-star
hotel — today boasting 149 rooms spread
across six buildings. The decor straddles the
divide between traditional and modern, with
mirrored walls and sleek furniture mixed
with gilt-framed oil paintings and flock
wallpaper. And they don’t half work the cake
connection, with Sachertorte featuring at
the breakfast buffet and as a turndown gift.
Guests can also expect chocolate-scented
in-room toiletries and chocolate-based
treatments at the spa.
ROOMS: From €450 (£389), B&B.
sacher.com

June 2017 67
SLEEP

For eco wa��io�s

BOUTIQUE HOTEL
STADTHALLE
Worthy needn’t mean dull. That’s the message
at this family-run hotel, split between a
Victorian building and a new-build ‘passive’
(carbon neutral) wing. Energy comes from
rooftop solar panels; heat from a ground
water heat pump; honey from bees on the
lavender-planted roof; and every breakfast
item is organic. There are no minibars (saving
21 tonnes of CO2 a year), organic toiletries
come in refillable bottles, and the headboards
are made from recycled textiles. The older
building is pretty green, too, with nightstands
made from recycled newspapers, tables from
old books and wardrobes from broom handles.
ROOMS: From €108 (£93), B&B.
hotelstadthalle.at

For ethos
MAGDAS HOTEL
The Magdas hit the news when it opened
two years ago, for being staffed mainly
by refugees and asylum seekers. Run by
international Catholic charity Caritas, it’s
a decent budget option in a pretty location
overlooking the Prater. Rooms are basic
(no TV) but nicely done, with upcycled
furniture and locally-made organic
toiletries — it’s worth upgrading to one
with a balcony when the weather’s nice.
Breakfast is a brilliant, cosmopolitan buffet,
but save room for a mezze lunch, made by a
Syrian chef who previously worked at a top
restaurant in Damascus.
ROOMS: From €67 (£58), B&B.
magdas-hotel.at

68 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 SLEEP

For �iews
GRAND FERDINAND
The Grand Ferdinand is a little different to the other
grande dames of the Ringstrasse. Yes, it’s palatial but
unlike its 19th-century neighbours, this eight-storey
postwar building was, until recently, crawling with spies,
as the home of Austria’s domestic intelligence agency. The
seventh-floor suites are something to behold — there’s
nothing undercover about luxury here — but there are also
a pair of dormitories, with mahogany bunk beds, bookable
on Airbnb. This is hipster-luxe: Freudian couches but
no wardrobes, rainforest showers right next to the bed, a
restaurant serving cheap goulash with Champagne. Up on
the roof is the crowning glory: the glass-walled Restaurant
Bel Étage, for guests and members only, with white
banquettes and armchairs overlooking the Ringstrasse,
and views of the Belvedere palace from the terrace pool.
ROOMS: From €210 (£182), B&B. Dorms from €30/£26.
grandferdinand.com

June 2017 69

For hipsters
HOTEL AM BRILLANTENGRUND
You’ll either love or loathe the Brillantengrund, in
trendy Neubau; the decor is deliberately dowdy and
frequently kitsch: funky wallpaper, naff artwork,
furniture unchanged since the 1970s. The restaurant,
Mama, serves Filipino food cooked by the owner’s
mother and the ‘garage’ hosts everything from art
exhibitions to arts workshops and parties. While it’s
not rowdy, it’s not really for early-nighters.
ROOMS: From €69 (£60), B&B. brillantengrund.com
THREE TO TRY
For couples
HOTEL ALTSTADT
Set in a former apartment block with high ceilings
and parquet floors, the Altstadt whisks guests back
to the days of Freud and Klimt. Rooms are individually
designed — some kitted out with antiques, others
saucy modern art, peek-a-boo showers or Swarowksi
crystal-encrusted walls; four junior suites have recently
been refurbished with the help of top local designers.
Yet it all feels homely; there’s even free afternoon tea.
ROOMS: From €149 (£129), B&B. altstadt.at
SLEEP
For st�le
THE GUEST HOUSE
Terence Conran has a thing for Vienna
— he’s designed two hotels and a coffee house
here. The most recent, The Guest House, is
a swish affair, with minibars restocked with
four bottles of wine daily, and the in-room
coffee machines grind fresh beans (roasted by
local company Naber) for every cup. There’s
a homely feel, with rooms kitted out with
sofas instead of desks; most have window-
seats overlooking the central Albertinaplatz
(standard rooms don’t — the upgrade is well
worth it), and guests are encouraged to bring
their free wine downstairs to drink in the
packed-with-locals downstairs brasserie.
ROOMS: From €255 (£220), room only.
theguesthouse.at
For luxury
PALAIS COBURG
Built in 1802 as a palace for the Saxe-Coburg family,
Palais Coburg retains a regal feel; some of its 34 suites
boast a sauna, others a whirlpool bath, while the gold-
plated staterooms — renovated to their original outré
glory — are where Johann Strauss composed two
polkas and, more recently, where the Iran nuclear deal
was done. That said, the wine bar and pretty garden
restaurant Clementine have a pleasantly informal vibe.
ROOMS: From €795 (£687), B&B. palais-coburg.com
June 2017 71
SLEEP

For budget
RUBY LISSI
The city’s two Ruby hotels
— Ruby Sofie, near the
Hundertwasserhaus, and Ruby
Marie, by Westbahnhof — are
already two of Vienna’s best-
value digs, but the newly-opened
Ruby Lissi eclipses them both.
Set in a former monastery in
the historic Innere Stadt, its 107
small-but-chic rooms have a
19th-century theme, inspired by
Empress Sisi. Modern touches
include in-room tablets, hire
bikes and a 24/7 bar. Ruby hotels
attract a youngish crowd, so
expect excellent tech and the odd
burst of rock music (guests can
borrow electric guitars).
ROOMS: From €59 (£51), room
only. ruby-hotels.com

For second-timers
GRÄTZLHOTEL
Straddling the divide between
a hotel and an Airbnb,
Grätzlhotel’s rooms and suites
are set in former business
premises (including a bakery
and a cobblers) close to three
landmarks: Meidlinger Markt,
the Belvedere Palace and the
Karmelitermarkt. There’s no
check-in, as such; guests pick up
their keys from an outdoor safe;
each location has a makeshift
reception — a local business,
ranging from a restaurant to
the offices of the Grätzlhotel’s
architect owners. Clearly, this
quirky setup won’t appeal to
everyone, but visitors looking to
live like a local while enjoying
the convenience of a hotel
should check it out.
ROOMS: From €120 (£104), room
only. graetzlhotel.com

72 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 Exceptional escape at The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna

Directly located on the famous Ring Boulevard and set within four historic palaces,
The Ritz-Carlton, Vienna offers a luxury experience for the most discerning guest.

The five star hotel blends Renaissance, baroque and gothic influences with
modern amenities including the Atmosphere Rooftop Bar overlooking the city,
The Ritz-Carlton Spa with the longest indoor pool, at 18 meters featuring
underwater music, the exclusive Club Lounge and the farm-to-table Dstrikt
Steakhouse. Adjacent to the historic Stadtpark, the hotel allows for easy
exploration of top attractions.

Begin planning your stay by contacting our reservations team + 43 1 311 88 113 or
reservations.vienna@ritzcarlton.com
74
natgeotraveller.co.uk
IMAGES: AWL IMAGES;
GETTY; 4CORNERS
AMERICAN
NATURAL
WONDERS
A SPOUTING VOLCANO; A DESERT VALLEY
OF BARE ROCK FORMS; A MOUNTAIN
RANGE HOME TO THE WORLD’S OLDEST
LIFE FORMS... NO OTHER NATION DOES
EPIC LANDSCAPES LIKE THE USA
Words A A R O N M I L L A R

June 2017 75
USA

Wyoming, Montana & Idaho

YELLOWSTONE
GEYSER BASINS
The American painter Anne Coe called Yellowstone ‘the place where
the centre of the Earth fi nds an exit and gives us a glimpse of its
soul’. As I stand on the edge of Old Faithful — the centrepiece of the
Upper Geyser Basin, the largest concentration of geysers on Earth — I
know what she means. It’s winter. Steam billows from the valley like
bonfi res; the ground hisses, shaking like marching drums beneath
my feet. Suddenly a super-heated plume of water erupts 90ft in the
air. I watch it crystallise in the freeze and fall like shards of glass. It’s
spectacular, and unnerving, like a gasp from the underworld. But Old
Faithful’s fame rests in its reliability, spouting like clockwork every
90 minutes.
This 3,468sq mile wilderness, where bison and wolves roam free,
is America’s fi rst national park, established in 1872 after fur trappers
returned east with seemingly tall tales of a magical landscape where
the ground bubbled and jets of scalding water shot hundreds of feet
into the air. But they were right, Yellowstone is magic. There are over
10,000 hydrothermal features here: a tapestry of bubbling pools,
hot springs and vents, plus the world’s largest collection of active
geysers. I fi nd pools of pure sapphire, boiling mud pots of cinnamon
and rainbow slicks of bright red, orange and green, like an abstract
painting. Some geysers look like castle turrets; others beehives;
some sparkle like stars; others fi zzle or scream like a gale. But what’s
most astonishing is that they’re alive with microscopic artists — the
bands of colour in their superheated waters created by thermophilic

THE YEAR WOLVES WERE RETURNED TO YELLOWSTONE

microbes. The most beautiful of all: the Grand Prismatic Spring, the
largest hot spring in the US at 90 metres across. Like a vast tie-dye
painting, concentric rings of rainbow colours spread out from a
cobalt centre; viewed from above, a blue-eyed giant seems to be
staring up from beneath the Earth.
That night, I lie down next to Black Sand Pool, a geyser on the edge
of the basin; nothing but stars and steam all around. A low-pitched
sonic boom shoots up from deep below and punches me in the back.
I jump up; I’m no longer visualising the world beneath my feet as
solid ground; instead, I’m seeing a precarious honeycomb fi lled with
fi re and unfathomable force. “It’s like there’s a monster trying to get
out,” my guide Alex laughs. And he’s right, there really is a monster.
Yellowstone sits on top of one of the world’s
largest active supervolcanoes. When, not
AUDLEY TRAVEL offers if, it explodes it will take half the country
a 13-day self-drive trip,
with it and shroud the planet in ash and
including four nights in
darkness. But that’s why the national park is
Yellowstone, from £4,430
per person. Based on two
so special. This is creation at work, the world
sharing and including at its most primal; ever-changing, with me,
flights and transfers. a mere ant, on its skin. Coe was right: it’s a
audleytravel.com glimpse into the soul of the Earth itself.

76 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 USA

Grand Prismatic
Spring, Midway Geyser
Basin, Yellowstone
National Park

BELOW: Star Dune,

Great Sand Dunes
National Park

Colorado

GREAT SAND DUNES

Standing on the top of the Star Dune, it’s
hard to believe you’re still in the US. Rolling
desert spreads out for 30sq miles in all
directions, like a sea of sand. At dawn, as the
first rays break over the Sangre de Cristos
Mountains, the dunes are flushed pink; at
sunset they turn golden, long geometric
IMAGES: AWL IMAGES; ALAMY
higher. Grain by grain, over thousands of
years, these desert mountains were born.
Getting to the top is hard, but getting
down is easy: strap on a sandboard or sledge
(available to rent nearby) and scream all the
way down. Alternatively, hike just a couple
miles into the dunes, pitch a tent and enjoy

shadows snaking across the land like a the silence and stars of your own private
Mondrian painting. desert oasis.
They’re formed from the remains of an
ancient dried-out lake. Sand is swept up from
the vast San Luis Valley by the wind and 750FT // THE HEIGHT OF THE
pushed against the base of the mountains. STAR DUNE — THE TALLEST
When storms rage, the wind races back in
SAND DUNE IN NORTH AMERICA
the opposite direction, lifting the dunes

June 2017 77
USA
California
YOSEMITE VALLEY
When President Roosevelt came to Yosemite in 1903 for
three days of backcountry camping with the naturalist,
and champion of the park, John Muir, he likened the
experience to ‘lying in a great solemn cathedral, far vaster
and more beautiful than any built by the hand of man’.
Yosemite has that effect on you. There’s something
almost spiritual in the harmony of stone and sky, as if
nature had found its perfect balance, its masterpiece of
light and form. The centrepiece of Yosemite National Park
is Yosemite Valley, where there are many wonders: the
staggering cliff face of El Capitan, whose Dawn Wall was
recently, implausibly, climbed; the cracked edifice of Half
Dome; and Glacier Point and Tunnel View, vistas made
famous by the photographer Ansel Adams, one of the
park’s early champions. And then there are the waterfalls.
Niagara may be bigger by volume, but Yosemite Falls — a
spectacular series of three cascades that drop 2,425ft to the
valley floor — is more than 13 times as tall. In spring, it’s
a raging torrent, a thunder that echoes across the granite
cliffs, rainbows sparkling in its mist. And it’s not alone;
nearby is Sentinel Falls, 2,000ft of snow-melt tumbling
like a waterslide; Ribbon Falls, 1,600ft of vertical drop,
the longest in North America; and the otherworldly glow
of Horsetail Fall, which, in late February, reflects the last
embers of the setting sun, lighting up like a falling fire.
Yosemite Valley can get crowded — in summer, it can
feel like the front row of rock concert. But it’s estimated
that 95% of visitors cram themselves into only 5% of the
park — and most never stray more than a mile from their
car. The spark of Yosemite is the valley, that first gasp of
wonder and awe, but the fire, the part that stays with you, is
in the high country, where only a few dare go.
78 natgeotraveller.co.uk
2,425ft
THE HEIGHT OF
YOSEMITE FALLS,
NORTH AMERICA’S
TALLEST WATERFALL
I start at Mount Hoffman, the 11,000ft geographical
centre of the park, with the swirling peaks of the Sierra
Nevada Mountains unfurling around me like waves
frozen in a storm. From there I spend five days walking
the High Sierra Loop, a 49-mile backcountry trail that
links some of Yosemite’s most spectacular and remote
landscapes. I swim in secret lakes, watch Alpenglow hush
the peaks with orange and amber and sleep out under the
endless stars of the Milky Way. I see meadows glowing
red with bracken and find flowers bursting from the ash of
lightning-burnt forests. But the more I walk, the more I feel
like I might just float away. This is a land of giants, too big
and uncontained to be real.
At the end of my journey, I climb the 12,000ft knife-edge
ridge of Cloud’s Rest, 6,000ft of air beneath me on either
side. From the top, on a clear day, it’s said you can see all
the way from Nebraska in the east to Hawaii in the west.
But my eyes are gazing downwards, back at Yosemite
Valley, where it all began. John Muir said, ‘Mountain
parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of
timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.’ That
idea gave birth to the concept of wilderness conservation.
That’s why Yosemite is special. These were the first lands
to be put under protection, the
first time nature was considered
IMAGES: 4CORNERS; GETTY
valuable for its own sake, not just AMERICAN SKY has
Yosemite National Park
the dominion of man. Since then
on its 13-night, Self Drive
the idea has spread across the
The West trip. Includes
globe, but it began here, among car hire, accommodation
these rocky spires, in this solemn and return flights. From
cathedral, this masterpiece of £1,559 per person.
light and form. americansky.co.uk
 USA

Dall sheep, Denali National Park

Alaska

DENALI
LEFT: Yosemite Falls, Yosemite
National Park

RIGHT: Brown bear, Denali

National Park
This year marks the centenary
of Denali National Park and
Preserve, in Southcentral
Alaska. Covering six million
acres of arctic forest and high
alpine tundra, it’s the largest
national park in the country,
roughly the size of Vermont.
To be here is to experience
America’s last true frontier,
to hear its original heartbeat,
the solitude and ferocity of the
real wilderness.
In the centre of the park is
Denali mountain, its name
meaning ‘the great one’ in native
Koyukon Athabascan. And so
it is. Denali is 20,310ft tall, the
highest peak in North America,
with a vertical rise of 18,000ft
— taller than Mount Everest’s
by a third and the largest of any
mountain that’s entirely above
sea level.
But for all its superlatives, it’s
the wildlife that most people
come here for. In a single
day, it’s possible to see all of
-83C
Alaska’s Big Five: grizzlies,
wolves, moose, caribou and Dall
sheep. But get off the path too:
unlike other national parks,
the backcountry of Denali has
no trails or campsites; this is a
true wilderness, the adventure
is as big as your imagination can
make it.

THE
TEMPERATURE
THE SUMMIT
OF DENALI
CAN PLUMMET
TO, WITH
WIND CHILL

June 2017 79
USA

Hawaii

KĪLAUEA & MAUNA LOA

40
The Kīlauea Volcano, on Hawaii’s Big Island, But it’s not the only remarkable
has been erupting near continuously for volcano on the island. Right next door

sq
more than 34 years and is widely considered
the most active volcano on Earth. It’s one
of the most spectacular too; an enormous
cauldron of spitting fire and smouldering
lava that’s covered 40sq miles of the island in
its molten flow. But this year is special. Lava
is now spilling into the ocean — a six-mile
river of fire cascading into the sea in torrents
of steam and hiss. It’s a rare phenomenon
that few will ever glimpse.
to Kīlauea is her sister, Mauna Loa, the
largest active volcano on Earth. More
than 60 miles long, 30 miles wide and
rising 56,000ft from the ocean floor
— almost twice the height of Mount Everest
— it’s large enough to house 3,200 Mount
St Helens within its colossal frame. Two of
the world’s great volcanoes — the largest
active one, and the most active — fiery
sisters, side by side.

miles
AREA OF
KĪLAUEA
VOLCANO

Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi

Volcanoes National Park

RIGHT: White water

rafting, Hell’s
Canyon, Oregon

80 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 USA

Kentucky Idaho & Oregon

MAMMOTH CAVE HELL’S CANYON

Mammoth Cave, in southern Kentucky, is so large that, despite being
discovered over 200 years ago, researchers still haven’t finished
mapping it. Current estimates put it at 405 miles deep, the longest cave
system in the world by far. But size is only part of its wonder. Inside is a
labyrinth of pristine geological formations: columns of stalactites and
stalagmites, waterfalls of cascading flowstone and blooms of bright
crystal gypsum flowers. Walking inside is like peering into a natural
gallery of stone, carved over 10 million years by rainwater seeping in
from above, drop by drop into the eerie underworld below.
405 MILES // ESTIMATED DEPTH OF MAMMOTH CAVE
The Mississippi may be brimming with
history and the sounds of the Delta blues, but
large parts of it are industrial and polluted
too. For a truly wondrous river, with some
of the best whitewater in the country, check
out the Snake River, particularly at Hell’s
Canyon. With drops of up to 7,993ft, this
is America’s deepest river gorge, dwarfing
even the Grand Canyon. See it best on a
kayaking or rafting trip, where fierce rapids
are interspersed with long meandering views
and deserted beaches perfect for camping.

7,993ft THE
DEPTH
OF HELL’S
CANYON,
AMERICA’S
DEEPEST
RIVER
GORGE
IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY

June 2017 81
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California
BRISTLECONE PINES
California’s wonder trees are well known:
‘the very god of the woods’, as John Muir
called the sequoia, the largest living thing
on Earth; and the giant redwood, the
tallest, stretching 400ft to the sky. But
there’s another wonder tree that almost no
IMAGES: SUPERSTOCK; GETTY
one’s heard of, and it’s perhaps the most
ABOVE: Bristlecone pine,
Patriarch Grove, Ancient
remarkable of all.
With a potential lifespan of 5,000 years,
Bristlecone Pine Forest,
bristlecone pines are the oldest living
White Mountains
organisms on the planet, some predating the
BELOW: Black Canyon birth of Christ, the invention of the alphabet,
of the Gunnison and the fall of Greece, Rome and the Incas.
National Park When the first stones of the Egyptian
2,722ft
THE BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON’S DEEPEST POINT — MORE THAN TWICE THE
HEIGHT OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING
USA
4,849
pyramids were being laid, the most ancient
of these gnarled and wind-twisted trees
— found almost exclusively 10,000ft up in
the White Mountains of California — already
had its roots in the ground.
But that’s not the only amazing thing THE AGE OF
about them. Using a combination of living THE OLDEST
and dead wood, scientists have now pieced RECORDED
together a continuous tree-ring chronology
that stretches back 10,000 years to the
BRISTLECONE
PINE, NAMED
last ice age. Peering inside their rings is
like looking at a photocopy of the climatic METHUSELAH
conditions of our past, which is helping to
combat climate change. These trees have
AFTER THE
stood watch over the rise and fall of empires, MOST ELDERLY
seen the atom split and man walk on the MAN IN THE
Moon. To be near them is to touch deep time
BIBLE
itself and see the flash of our own lives.
Colorado
BLACK CANYON OF
THE GUNNISON
This 48-mile canyon, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, is barely
known outside of Colorado but don’t let that put you off. The Grand
Canyon may be bigger, but this steep and narrow river gorge is just as
spectacular. The chasm lights up blood red at sunset, with the silver
sliver of the Gunnison River like a trail of mercury far below. Miles
away from the artificial lights of civilisation, the Black Canyon of the
Gunnison National Park (an International Dark Sky Park) is also one
of the best places in the country for stargazing.
June 2017 83
USA

27,425 SQU

Navajo farm, Monument Valley

Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona

84 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 USA

ARE MILES THE SIZE OF THE NAVAJO NATION — THE LARGEST TRIBAL
RESERVATION IN THE COUNTRY

Utah

MONUMENT VALLEY
In Navajo legend, the giant red rock mesas of Monument Valley are the carcasses
of defeated monsters, slain by the holy people and buried in the sand. I’m riding
out on horseback into the back country, passing Elephant Butte, its long trunk
frozen in ochre stone; Rain God Mesa, where medicine men come to pray and
stave off drought; and in the centre of it all, the great Mittens — sandstone
monoliths rising 1,000ft from the ground, like fists punching up from the earth.
The Navajo believe they belong to spiritual beings watching over their people.
Monument Valley is neither a national park nor, officially, part of the US, but
something much more interesting. Located on the border of Arizona and Utah, in
the Navajo Nation — a 27,425sq mile sovereign state, spread out across these high
desert plains — it’s the heart and soul of the Navajo people themselves.
But although the park is on ‘Indian’ land, it was the cowboys who made it
famous. Legend has it, when John Wayne first set eyes on Monument Valley, he
said: “So this is where God put the West”. Classics like Stagecoach and How the West
Was Won were filmed here, as well as more recent movies such as Johnny Depp’s
The Lone Ranger. The great national parks of Utah — Canyonlands and Arches
— are rightly famous, colossal landscapes stripped of all but their bare rock forms,
like peering into the sinews of the Earth. But if you want to feel the dirt on your
spurs and the wind on your Stetson, to look into hills and see the ghosts of bandits
and gunslingers looking back, then it’s to Monument Valley you must come.
But I’m here for the Navajo. As I explore deeper into the park, I fi nd ruins and
stone-carved petroglyphs belonging to the Anasazi — ancestors of the Navajo
who lived here over 1,000 years ago. There are also families here, far from the
crowds, still living the old ways, without running water or electricity, tending
flocks of paper-thin sheep and meagre plots of corn.
That night, I visit a Navajo family in the far depths of the valley, where only the
faint trace of gravel roads can be seen. I watch two sisters lead a young sheep to a
wooden block, see a knife put to its throat, every part of him butchered and put
onto a fire. Later, we sit on the dirt and chew on the fatty ribs, accompanied by blue
corn mush, fried bread and dried-blood sausage. Three generations sit around me:
elders who speak no English in moccasins and robes of dazzling green and indigo;
turquoise necklaces contrasting with their darkened and weathered faces.
That’s the magic of Monument Valley. It’s a whirlwind of stark primary colours,
a landscape closer to the surface of Mars, or the bottom of a dried-out ocean
than anywhere on Earth. But that’s just the start. There’s another world here too,
woven between the fabric of modern America; a land imbibed with myth, where
every rock is alive and tells a story, where behind the veil
of cowboy movies and tourist trains, people still live the
HAYES & JARVIS has way they always have, shunning progress for tradition
Monument Valley on its
and the deep roots of the land itself. As we ride home,
IMAGE: AWL IMAGES

eight-day Eagle Rider

my guide, a young Navajo wrangler, sees me looking at
guided motorcycle tour.
Includes accommodation
the distant mesas and smiles. “It’s good medicine out
and return flights to LA. here,” he says. The towering wind-sculpted stones of
From £2,399 per person. Monument Valley may be defeated monsters, but the
hayesandjarvis.co.uk Navajo still live on.

June 2017 85
A LEGACY OF LUXURY ON MADISON AVENUE

4 5 5 M A D I S O N AV E , N E W Y O R K , N Y 1 0 0 2 2
1.800.804.7035

W W W. L O T T E N Y PA  C E . C O M W W W. L O T T E N Y PA  C E . C O M / T O W E R S
W W W. L O T T E H O T E L . C O M
 USA

Arizona

BARRINGER
METEOR
CRATER
This crater is one of the world’s largest and
best-preserved meteor-impact sites. With a
diameter of 4,000ft and a depth of 550ft, this
hole in the desert of Northern Arizona is big
enough to hold more than 70,000 Olympic-
size swimming pools.
When the meteorite struck around 50,000
years ago, it hit the Earth with a force greater
than 20 million tonnes of TNT — 1,000 times
more powerful than the atomic bomb that
destroyed Hiroshima. The ground melted
instantly, dark clouds rained molten iron
and nickel from the sky. While other impact
sites around the world have eroded over
time, Arizona’s dry climate has preserved
Barringer’s in near-pristine condition. It’s
like looking at that moment of violence
frozen in time.
But it’s remarkable for other reasons. For
decades after its discovery, in 1903, no one was
quite sure what had caused it. Then, in 1960,
geologist Eugene M Shoemaker discovered
two rare types of silica at the site that can
only be created under immense pressure. It
was the first time a meteor crater had been
conclusively proven to exist and it opened
the door to a flood of scientific discoveries,
from what happened to the dinosaurs to what
caused those dents in the Moon.
In 2015, an 1,800ft-wide meteorite
— roughly 100 times bigger than the rock
that caused the Barringer crater — missed by
a hair’s breadth. To stand on the rim is to see
with your own eyes the awesome forces that
have forged our world and be humbled by the
unfathomable power of the universe.
North Carolina & Tennessee

550ft
GREAT SMOKY
MOUNTAINS
New England gets the press, but the Great Smoky
Mountains, on the border of North Carolina and
THE DEPTH Tennessee, offer an arguably better autumn spectacle.
In late September, bright hues of red, yellow and purple

OF THE spill down from the mountaintops in rolling waves. And,

because of the varied elevation within the park, the peak
brightness lasts longer than elsewhere in the country. It’s
BARRINGER
IMAGE: AWL IMAGES

Newfound Gap, a great landscape to explore too, with some of the best
Great Smoky Mountains woodland hiking in the States, including sections of the

METEOR CRATER National Park famed Appalachian Trail.

June 2017 87
USA

Florida

DRY
TORTUGAS
This archipelago of pristine coral reefs
and sparkling waters lies 70 miles off Key
West in the Gulf of Mexico. Celebrating
the 25th anniversary of its designation as a

2,200
national park this year, the Dry Tortugas are
America’s premier snorkelling and scuba-
diving location, with abundant marine life:
swim with sea turtles, explore shipwrecks
and search for manatees hiding among the

sq miles
coral gardens.

THE SIZE OF THE ATCHAFAYALA,

THE LARGEST RIVER SWAMP
IN THE US

Louisiana

ATCHAFAYALA
SWAMP
The Everglades, in South Florida, are rightly
famous, but they’re not the country’s only
wonder-filled wetland. Atchafalaya Swamp,
deep in Louisiana’s backcountry, 100 miles east
of New Orleans, is the largest river swamp in
America, a million-acre wilderness filled with
enormous alligators and the ghostly stumps of a
vast cypress forest.
FROM LEFT: View from But it’s the people that make it special.
Fort Jefferson across This is Cajun country; the seafood is always
the Gulf of Mexico,
fresh and old Acadian jigs play all night
Dry Tortugas National
long. Take an airboat through the narrow
Park; Atchafalaya Basin
Landing & Marina,
bayous, trawl for crawfish or just sit back
Breaux Bridge, Louisiana; with a cold beer, like the Cajuns do, and let
leaping into a crater lake, the sparkle of the swamp cure you of the ills
Crater Lake National Park of the civilised world.

88 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 USA

Oregon

CRATER
LAKE
The Great Lakes may win on size, but
for beauty, Crater Lake, in Oregon, is
the country’s best by far. At the centre
of a volcanic crater, the vast cobalt pool
reaches a depth of 1,943ft, making it the
country’s deepest lake, and as it’s fed
only by rain and snow, it’s one of the most
pristine on Earth too. Hike the rim, jump
in the ice-cold waters and watch the sunset
reflected in its mirror-still surface.
1,943ft
THE DEEPEST
POINT OF
CRATER
LAKE, MAKING
IT NORTH
AMERICA’S
DEEPEST LAKE
IMAGES: AWL IMAGES; ALAMY; GETTY

June 2017 89
USA

Wyoming

THE TETONS
The sharp peaks of the Tetons, which rise up to
13,775ft, are some of the most striking, and photogenic,
mountain ranges in the world. Forget the Rockies — if
you want colossal scale and drama, picture-postcard
peaks unencumbered by foothills and some of the
steepest and most stunning hiking in the country, come
to the Tetons.

13,775ft THE HEIGHT OF GRAND TETON

Alaska Kayaking out of a blue ice

PRINCE
cave near the port of Valdez,
Prince William Sound

WILLIAM ABOVE: Sunrise at the

Oxbow Bend of the Snake

SOUND
River, Wyoming

Celebrate the 150th anniversary of

Alaska this year with a cruise along
Prince William Sound, one of the
most spectacular coastal areas
in the country. Covering close to
15,000sq miles, this vast maritime
wilderness is home to the largest
collection of tidewater glaciers in
the world; if you want to see rivers
of ice crashing into the sea, to hear
the crack of enormous icebergs
breaking into the bay, then this is
the place to come.
But there’s much more too:
orcas and humpback whales cross
these icy waters, sea lions and
porpoises play by the shore; there
are enormous fjords, small fishing
villages and fascinating First
Nation heritage on the shore. Prince
William Sound is what Alaska
is all about: wild, dramatic and
teeming with life.

150 // THE APPROXIMATE

NUMBER OF GLACIERS IN
PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND
— KNOWN FOR ITS HIGH
IMAGES: GETTY

CONCENTRATION OF
TIDEWATER GLACIERS

90 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 LIFE
ON
THE
HEEL
The spiky heel of Italy’s boot,
the Puglia region is a land in a
sumptuous time warp — where
sleepy villages are silent except
for birdsong; where roads wind
through centuries-old olives
groves; and where locals perform
miracles with ingredients plucked
from that famous terra rossa

Words J U L I A B U C K L E Y
Photographs N I C O A V E L A R D I

92 natgeotraveller.co.uk
June 2017 93
PUGLIA

PREVIOUS PAGES, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:

Slow-cooked octopus at La Torretta del Pescatore,
in Monopoli; alley in Monopoli’s old town; local
man, Nardò

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Bar, Borgo Egnazia;

orecchiette pasta drying outdoors in the San Nicola
district of Bari; orecchiette maker in Bari’s old town

94 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 PUGLIA

I
t doesn’t look like a beach you’d stop for. Not at first glance; not at third,
either. In fact, in the six years I’ve been visiting Puglia I haven’t pulled over
here once. Instead of sand, there’s jagged limestone. Instead of lapping
gently, the sea hammers on the rock. Then there are those walls on the other
side — half fallen-down, and forbidding. I once lived further up the coast,
you see, where the Adriatic sashays gracefully onto sands as manicured as an
A-lister’s fingers. So I’ve always come to Puglia not for the coastline but for
the food, the conical trullo houses and the graceful white-stone hill towns
of the Itria Valley, the best-known part of the region. But when Elena, my
hotel concierge, had revealed the beach’s secrets, I was forced to reassess my
priorities. That basin where the sea swirls against the rock? It was a Roman
harbour. Those rectangular holes in the tufa? Two-thousand-four-hundred-
year-old Messapian tombs. The gargantuan wall is Byzantine; the red dots in
every rockpool, shards of Roman pottery.
When I’d booked my stay at Borgo Egnazia, I’d envisioned a generic luxury
break — a soft bed and swish views. But it turns out there’s more to this five-star
hotel than social cachet (this is where Justin Timberlake married Jessica Biel).
For starters, everything’s locally sourced and focused, from the food to the spa
treatments — and the resort itself is a reimagining of a Pugliese borgo (walled
town). But, as Elena had explained, Borgo Egnazia’s real draw is what’s hinted
at in its name: Egnazia, the ancient city that put this area on the map, lying the
other side of an adjacent golf course.
And this ‘beach’ — these rocks, rather, from which fishermen hunt sea urchins
as prickly as the limestone — is Egnazia’s old harbour, founded in the Bronze Age,
then used by the Messapians, Romans, Goths, Lombards and Byzantines, before
being abandoned in medieval times.
The next day, I set out from Borgo Egnazia’s beguiling sister hotel, Masseria
Cimino — accommodation wings wrapped round an 18th-century masseria
farmhouse. Past the vegetable garden and down the olive-lined path, I skirt
another gargantuan wall — the defensive perimeter of ancient Egnazia, it turns
out, encircling the city 1.5 miles from its centre.
I follow it down a narrow track, past fields where lettuces and fennel plants
are laid out like ribbons beneath centuries-old olive trees and around ancient
stone structures. Birdsong is all that encroaches on the sound of the sea. Ten
minutes later, I’m at Egnazia Archaelogical Park, where a grand museum is
flanked by the ruins of a Messapian necropolis one side, Roman Egnazia the
other: complete with forum, amphitheatre and — curling through ancient
bathhouses — a section of the cobbled Appian Way, which ran from Rome to
Brindisi. I cross the road to those Byzantine walls, a citadel on the headland. To
my right is that harbour; in front lies Albania. Walking back, I realise the air is
scented with fennel.
All Italians are proud of their region, of course, but the Pugliese are viscerally
so. Meet one abroad, and they’ll talk of the almost physical pain they feel in exile
from their land. The famous terra rossa (‘red earth’) — coloured by limestone
deposits — runs in their blood. Much of the intensity is down to their contadino
heritage — the word means ‘peasant’ in Italian, but here it’s used with pride, not
pejoratively. And that pride shines through in the food.
“We have a cucina povera — a cuisine based on poverty,” says Carlo Natale, the
chef/owner of Trattoria L’Elfo, in Bari. On my first night, he’d offered me just two
dinner options: riso patate e cozze — rice, potatoes and mussels sautéed together
— or pasta with plain tomato sauce. My face had fallen — not even spaghetti
alle vongole? — but the meal was incredible. “We’re magicians,” Carlo told me
afterwards. “With a little, we create a lot. Our culinary heritage may be the
poorest in Italy, but taste-wise it’s the richest.”

June 2017 95
PUGLIA

96 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 PUGLIA

Salento appears
stuck in a time
warp — it’s a
place where
towns fall silent
at noon, where
the air swells
with birdsong
FROM LEFT: Masseria Cimino; east coast of the
Salento Peninsula

June 2017 97
PUGLIA

Each area of Puglia — every town, even — has its own cuisine. Historically
poor, Bari’s is basic. At Monopoli, a medieval fishing port 25 miles south, I find
an equally simple culinary tradition, scooped straight from the sea. Bream
carpaccio, tuna tartare and slow-cooked octopus that falls apart on the fork:
for me it’s nirvana, at La Torretta del Pescatore, it’s just lunch. The seafood was
plucked from the sea that morning and jazzed up with little more than pureed
capers, buffalo mozzarella cream and fried wild onions. There’s no fancy fusion,
here. “The only thing we mix is tradition with seasonality,” says owner Piero Vitti.
Tradition and seasonality: adjectives that describe Puglia to a tee. Further
south, at Torre Canne, Al Buco opened in the 1970s as a fishmonger’s; today,
the founders’ grandson serves me in his restaurant cantilevered over the sea.
He brings an antipasto — 15 plates of fish and shellfish cooked in every way
imaginable, and they’re only the starter.

Labour of love
Here on the heel, life follows Mother Nature’s calendar. Last time I was at Pietro
D’Amico’s olive press, it was October and I’d popped in to say hi. Big mistake: it
was packed with locals hauling in crates of olives they’d handpicked, and Pietro
was nowhere to be seen.
But six weeks later, harvest is over and he has time to show me round. They
produce nine oils here, including Lacrima (‘Tear’), made from a secret blend of
olives, hand-crushed and left for 30 minutes, until the pulp “weeps” oil, which
pools on the surface and is bottled by hand.
It’s a labour of love for Pietro; his family has done this since his great-great-
grandfather’s time. How amazing to be a fifth-generation business (daughter
Vita is his deputy), I coo, dipping bread in oil so fresh it tastes spicy. “Yes, how
amazing,” he says gravely. “But what a responsibility.” Puglia’s struggling with an
olive blight that’s the talk of Italy (further down the heel, I’ll drive past skeleton
groves, branches twisted in horror at their leafless nakedness) and Pietro needs to
keep his 6,000-odd trees — most of which are centuries-old — healthy.
“I do it for love,” he says. “Obviously, it makes me money, but it also gives me joy
to walk through my fields. I’m rooted to this terra rossa, to the green silver.” Back
home, opening my bottles of ‘green silver’, I can almost taste that pull of the land.
A stranger’s love for Puglia is nothing new. Foreigners have been drawn here
since time immemorial. Where other Italian regions have Roman ruins and
Renaissance architecture, Puglia’s landscape — its macchia (thickets of wild
plants such as carob, pine, myrtle, mastic and rocket) interspersed with olive
groves and vegetable fields — is dotted with prehistoric dolmens and menhirs.
The coastline is speared with watchtowers — centuries-old defences against the
outsiders who’ve always migrated here. Some came in peace, like the eighth-
century Basilian monks fleeing Jerusalem, who dug underground churches.
Others came to conquer, like the Lombards and Saracens.
All left their mark. The Normans, their architecture: simple buildings carved
from the local stone — creamy, crumbly pietra leccese and hard white carparo.
The Byzantines, their churches, with colourful frescoes of almond-eyed saints.
The Greeks, their language — south of Lecce is Grecia Salentina, an area where
the Griko dialect is spoken, a legacy of the Greeks who settled there in the eighth
century. In Calimera (meaning ‘good morning’ in Greek), I walk along streets that
feel vaguely Cycladic — low houses, pretty courtyards lurking behind dour walls
— to the park, where an ancient Greek sculpture takes pride of place.
It was sent from Athens in 1960 as a symbol of ancestry. ‘You’re not a foreigner
in Calimera’, reads the plaque. And it’s true. At Caffè Vittoria La Rina, on the
main square, I ask about Griko and owner Tonia Conversano beckons me over
for coffee. Only the elderly really speak it now, she says, as her daughter recites a

98 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 PUGLIA

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP

LEFT: Pruning an olive
tree in Pietro D’Amico’s
groves; Pietro D’Amico’s
olive press; squid ink
risotto with pea puree,
Borgo Egnazia

June 2017 99
 PUGLIA

traditional Griko song. But as the dialect fades, what remains in Grecìa Salentina From Otranto,
the road cleaves
is the atmosphere the Greeks must have encountered when they arrived as
foreigners 1,300 years ago.
“You’re at home, here, whoever you are,” says Tonia, before inviting me to a
“party” at 6pm. With two hours to while away, I go hunting for dolmens. I find two
of the megalithic tombs outside nearby Melendugno, sitting quietly in adjacent
to the Macchia-
olive groves. Further on, in Martano, a prehistoric menhir (standing stone) towers
over the suburban street that’s grown up around it.
rippled coastline
At 6pm, I return to Calimera to find the entire town crowded within the piazza,
watching a procession — headed by a life-size statue of the Madonna — snaking
winding through
through the streets. “Did you like it?” asks Tonia eagerly when I say goodbye.
Small-town life is far from insular here on the Salento Peninsula. tiny fishing villages.
And it’s the small-town life — deeply rooted in Puglia’s terra rossa — that I’m
most drawn to, here on the heel. Salento appears stuck in a Fellini-esque time warp It’s Puglia at its
finest; unspoiled,
— it’s a place where towns fall silent at noon, where the air swells with birdsong,
where roads wind through groves of centuries-old olives so gnarled that each
seems caught in an eternal ballet pose, where every field seems to have a dolmen,
hand-dug crypt or prehistoric cave lurking in its wildflower-carpeted midst.
Even in Lecce — stately Lecce with its frothy baroque facades — my hotel feels
unassuming, utterly
more like a home. La Fiermontina is dedicated to the sibling owners’ beloved
grandmother. Its walls are hung with the pair’s art; dinners are served in the
spectacular
living room. Chef Simone Solido learned to cook by watching his nonna, he says,
Beach on the coastal drive from Otranto to Santa
as he leads me past an olive-flanked pool to his herb garden: a row of pots on top
Maria di Leuca
of the ancient city walls. It’s not your average five-star hotel, but then, Puglia does
tourism differently. Perhaps it’s the millennia-old culture of accommodating
foreigners. Perhaps it’s because tourism developed relatively late here and
was woven into the existing fabric of the region, rather than catered to with a
purpose-built infrastructure. For example, the masseria hotel trend began when
Marisa Melpignano, Borgo Egnazia’s owner, opened her farmhouse — first to
friends, then to outsiders.
Meanwhile, Puglia is also big on alberghi diffusi (‘scattered hotels’) — where
accommodation is spread across a number of disused buildings rather than being
based in a single property. At Villaggio Vecchia Mottola, which hosts guests in
former contadino housing in the medieval hill town of Mottola, I check in at the
main square, sleep in a duplex studio two streets away, and breakfast at a nearby
bar full of locals necking pre-work cappuccinos.
This is no ordinary B&B — it’s your passport to becoming an honorary local.
Owner Osvaldo Zazzara is prone to kissing guests who appear too reserved on
arrival. “I didn’t do it to you,” he says, “because you didn’t look like you needed it.”
That’s because I’ve spent the past week in Puglia, I tell him. It’s been seven days
of nonstop chatting: to priests who unlock closed chapels when I ask politely; to the
signora from my Bari B&B who gave me a hand-stitched tablecloth as a parting gift;
to Niccolò, the editor of a newsletter in Nardò, who met me for a coffee and ended
up squiring me round the countryside, showing me hidden crypts and persuading a
guy on his lunch break to open up his 17th-century underground olive press.
I had thought there’d be little more to Nardò than the baroque architecture
that makes it a mini Lecce. But the next morning, Niccolò introduces me to
archaeologist Dr Filomena Ranaldo. She tells me about Porto Selvaggio, a
nearby natural park whose eight cliffside caves were once home to prehistoric
man. Excavations are ongoing and there are plans to open a museum in Nardò
showcasing the findings later this year and to run guided tours of one of the caves
in 2018. What’s been unearthed so far has been extraordinary. The 45,000-year-
old teeth found here point to Porto Selvaggio being the earliest-known home of
Homo sapiens in Europe. They weren’t the first to dwell here, though.

June 2017 101

PUGLIA

The excavations have confirmed that Neanderthals probably lived here

as far back as 120,000 years ago. What’s also clear is that this land of
canyons and ravines has been inhabited ever since. At Massafra, near
Mottola, people still live in cave homes carved out of the limestone.
Near Egnazia, I visit Lama d’Antico, a tiny canyon hollowed out
by the stream running through it. Stray cats wind round my legs,
purring, as archaeologist Roberto Rotondo and Marisa Melpignano
(who’s financed restoration work here) lead me into caves that were
inhabited from AD 900-1300. There are ceilings blackened from fire
smoke, ‘cupboards’ carved into the walls, and two churches; their
fragile columns sculpted from the canyon walls.
At Mottola, I visit the Grotte di Dio (‘Caves of God’): four churches
chiselled into the walls of a ravine, covered wall to wall with
Byzantine frescoes still as bright as the day they were painted;
the saints’ gaze following me as I walk around, my eyes watering
in astonishment.
And on the day I finally make it to the tip of Italy’s heel, I stop at
the Zinzulusa Cave, on the eastern coast. The guide weaves me past
stalactites and stalagmites to a guano-spattered cave, set 150 metres
into the cliffside where, 10,000 years ago, Paleolithic man set up
home, overlooking the turquoise Adriatic.
I’d driven here from Lecce, hitting the sea at Otranto. From there,
the road cleaves to the macchia-rippled coastline, winding through
tiny fishing villages. The drive is Puglia at its finest; unspoiled,
unassuming, utterly spectacular — Amalfi without the attitude.
One minute, the Adriatic is sparkling 200ft beneath me; the next, it’s
twinkling through the car window.
Puglia finishes at Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy’s most southeasterly
point. This is where, legend has it, Saint Peter landed on his way to
Rome; the temple that once stood here was converted into a church.
From my vantage point on a prickly pear-studded cliff, I turn towards
the sea and watch it blush as the sun sets. De Finibus Terrae, the
Romans called this place (‘the end of the land’) — the last of that living
red earth; and the point at which the Adriatic and Ionian come together.
I look closer — at lines shimmering in the pink water, streaks of
tension where two currents collide. Pint-size boats hover between
The Rupestrian
church of San
them — it’s a prime site for fishing, this spot where two seas and
Nicola, part of multiple cultures have been shuffling together for millennia, the
the Grotte di mystical landscape drawing them in like iron filings.
Dio, Mottola “Did you feel it?” Niccolò will say later, when I tell him about Leuca.
“Did you really feel the land?” And I tell him I’ll never forget.

ESSENTIALS
Getting there & around Egnazia. egnaziaonline.it
Ryanair flies year-round to Bari and Brindisi from Lama d’Antico. lamadantico.it
Stansted. Airlines running summer services to Bari Grotte di Dio. mottolaturismo.it
include EasyJet and British Airways from Gatwick Grotta Zinzulusa. www.grottazinzulusa.it A D R I AT I C
ITALY
and Ryanair from Liverpool. Summer services to S E A
Brindisi include Ryanair from Manchester and British Where to stay
Airways from Heathrow. ryanair.com easyjet.com Borgo Egnazia. borgoegnazia.com
ba.com trenitalia.com Masseria Cimino. masseriacimino.com Bari
AVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 3h. La Fiermontina. lafiermontina.com
Monopoli
Public transport is limited — unless you’re sticking to Villaggio Vecchia Mottola. vecchiamottola.com EGNAZIA TORRE CANNE
the cities, hiring a car with GPS is essential. Angelo Custode. nardosalento.com VALLE D'ITRIA
B&B Corte Zeuli. cortezeuli.it
P S Brindisi
When to go e a
n l e
Puglia has a typically Southern European climate: More info Taranto i
n n
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER

Lecce
summer is often baking, winter mild, spring and viaggiareinpuglia.it s t
u Calimera
autumn warm. Avoid August, when Italians holiday
o l a

Nardò Martano
en masse and traffic is a nightmare. How to do it
Golf
CLASSIC COLLECTION HOLIDAYS offers seven nights
Places mentioned of
in Puglia, including three nights at Borgo Egnazia,
La Torretta del Pescatore. latorrettadelpescatore.com
Ta r a n t o
British Airways flights and seven days’ car hire from
Al Buco. ristorantealbuco.it £1,189 per person. 20 Miles
Il Frantolio D’Amico Pietro. ilfrantolio.it classic-collection.co.uk

102 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 OF THE

IMPENETRABLE PARK
Intelligent, gentle, vulnerable. No one who
looks into a gorilla’s eyes can remain
unchanged. It’s a mind-blowing experience,
but in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National
Park, it’s one you may have to work for

Words E M M A G R E G G

104 natgeotraveller.co.uk
IMAGE: ALAMY

June 2017 105

UGANDA
’m expecting my first sighting of a
mountain gorilla to be a hint of a black or
silver coat, glimpsed in the forest shadows,
somewhere far in the distance. But, it’s
not like that at all.
The trackers whisper that they’re close.
“How close?”
Seeing that I’m still fumbling with my
cameras, they answer with a gentle
‘are-you-ready?’ smile. Then they part the
foliage like a curtain, and there he is. An
adolescent male, the size of a small
armchair, in plain view, right in front of us. Just sitting
there. Munching.
I’m astonished to find myself almost within touching
distance. These days, nobody gets to do an Attenborough,
lolling in the greenery while mountain gorillas make
themselves at home around them. Since the BBC filmed
those unforgettable sequences for Life on Earth almost
30 years ago, experts have agreed that humans and
gorillas should remain at least 23ft apart to protect these
critically endangered animals from stress-related illness
and viral infections. Glancing
behind me, I try to reverse,
but the blackback, relaxed in
human company, simply
edges his handsome Then they part the
shoulders forward, intent on
plucking the juiciest foliage like a curtain,
myrianthus leaves he can
find. He clearly hasn’t read and there he is. An
the guidelines.
“This is Kaganga,” murmurs adolescent male, the
tracker Elisha Kastama. “His
name means big and strong.” size of a small
It’s a fine name indeed.
Mountain gorillas are a armchair. Just sitting
there. Munching
sub-species of the eastern
gorilla, the world’s largest
primate, and Kaganga, when
fully grown, will weigh more
than a motorbike. I gingerly
move away, keen to give him space. It’s time to meet
the rest of the family.
Ten million years have passed since the common
ancestors of humans and gorillas roamed forests like
these, but we still share 98% of our DNA and echo each
other in looks and habits, from our sociable lifestyles to
the way we examine our fingernails. The remaining 2%
covers specific adaptations, such as the layer of
reinforcing keratin that allows gorillas to walk on their
knuckles. Reflecting on his own early encounters, George
Schaller, the naturalist whose pioneering study inspired
Dian Fossey to dedicate her life to the cause, described
his profound sense of kinship and respect, writing, ‘No
one who looks into a gorilla’s eyes — intelligent, gentle,
vulnerable — can remain unchanged.’ Today, I’m gripped
by similar emotions. As the curious youngsters, peaceful
females and Bakwate the alpha male, a magnificent
silverback, emerge and settle down to browse, the more
accepted and humbled I feel.
Part of the joy of being here, deep in the tangled folds
of southwest Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable National
Park, is the sheer relief of making it. Bwindi is home to
almost half the world’s population of mountain gorillas
and around 45% of these — 13 groups — have become
106 natgeotraveller.co.uk
habituated to visitors through the quiet daily presence of
rangers over several years. For the tourists who now pay
US$600 (£480) to track gorillas, sightings are pretty much
guaranteed, but there’s no guarantee that it’ll be easy.
Yesterday, at a luxurious eco-lodge near the park
headquarters in Buhoma, I met a party of well-dressed
American retirees enjoying an après-trek lunch. They
were beaming. After a straightforward hike, unspoilt by
mud, heat or bloodthirsty insects, they found their
gorillas within a few hundred yards. Yet, for others, the
experience can be tougher. Bwindi is slightly lower in
altitude than Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda,
Africa’s better known gorilla-watching destination, but
its terrain can be exhausting. If the group you’re seeking
has moved to a remote part of its range, you must hike for
hours through a steep, roadless maze of thickly vegetated
ridges and valleys for your precious 60-minute audience.
It’s an adventure for some, but an ordeal for others, and
once it’s over, there’s no helicopter rescue for the
fit-but-footsore — everyone has to hike back again.
So, when I hear I’m visiting the Oruzogo group, it feels
like the short straw. The Uganda Wildlife Authority
(UWA) describes their patch
as ‘challenging’ and to get
there, I must set off before
dawn. Little do I know, as I
shake myself awake, that the
group has a secret I wouldn’t
want to miss for the world.
My journey begins with a
drive along the park’s
northern boundary. The
mountain road from Buhoma
to Ruhija is newly surfaced,
one of the many changes
brought about since gorilla
tourism commenced in 1993.
Below the once-treacherous
hairpin bends is a patchwork
of smallholdings, quilted
with bananas, sweet potatoes
and tea. As the sun comes up,
the villagers are already at work.
Our pre-trek instructions are part military-style
briefing, part pep talk. “We’re tracking gorillas, but we’re
also protecting them,” says Stephen Migyisha, our guide.
Like all the UWA rangers, he’s wearing dark khaki
fatigues with the Ugandan flag on one sleeve. “I want you
to be prepared, physically and mentally. At the moment,
you may look smart, but don’t be surprised if, at the end
of the day, that’s all changed.”
A neat line of freelance porters are waiting at the
trailhead. Most of them are students supplementing their
studies; all have been vetted for their skills. When Stephen
asks if I’d like to hire someone, I don’t hesitate; but when
Divotah Katusime steps forward and introduces herself,
I pause. At barely five feet tall, will she cope? Loaded with
cameras, water and lunch, my bag weighs a ton. I needn’t
have worried, though. To demonstrate her muscle power,
she practically pulls me over.
Right from the start, Divotah proves a godsend. On the
steep descents, she checks I’m not slipping; on the climbs
she lends an arm; and, when Stephen and the armed
scouts abandon the path and start hacking through the
forest with their pangas, she’s there to untangle me from
stray branches and deflect me from stinging vines.
 UGANDA

PREVIOUS SPREAD: The treetops of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

CLOCKWISE: Buhoma Lodge, an eco-lodge near the park headquarters; Uganda

Wildlife Authority rangers comparing notes before a gorilla trek; handmade clothing
for sale at Ride For A Woman craft cooperative; hiking the River Ivi Trail from
Buhoma to Nteka and Nkuringo
IMAGES: EMMA GREGG

June 2017 107

UGANDA

As the curious
youngsters, peaceful
females and Bakwate
the alpha male, a
magnificent silverback,
emerge and settle
down to browse, the
more accepted and
humbled I feel
Mountain gorilla in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

108 natgeotraveller.co.uk
IMAGE: SUPERSTOCK
UGANDA

June 2017 109

UGANDA

FROM TOP: Tea plantations

buffering the national
park keep gorillas at bay;
male mountain gorilla
in Bwindi Impenetrable
National Park

OPPOSITE: Uganda
Wildlife Authority ranger
Augustine Muhangi and
Gorilla Doctors field vet
Fred Nizeyimana examine
the gorilla hairs found in
their mountain nests

110 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 UGANDA

Meanwhile, Stephen keeps one ear on the radio. With

each exchange with the trackers, who left 90 minutes
before us, he accelerates. The gorillas are moving
uncharacteristically fast; the pace is relentless. We’re
battling the heat, but adrenaline and anticipation push
us on. And then, at last, three hours into our trek, we
catch up with the trackers. Handing our hiking sticks to
our porters, we prepare to meet the family.
The key thing the trackers don’t tell us at this point,
before they part the foliage to reveal Kaganga, is that
they’re not entirely sure what to expect. They’ve seen
some blood on the ground and are concerned that a
gorilla might be wounded.
One by one, members of the 17-strong group emerge
from the dense bush — youngsters, females and the
alpha male Bakwate, sitting confidently in the hot sun.
A pair of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for
Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, which has been
studying Bwindi’s gorillas since 1998, take notes. Nothing
appears to be amiss.
Suddenly, towards the end of our hour, Elisha and his
colleague Stanley Bashobeza gesture urgently for us to
come over. They point to a patch of deep shade under a
shrub around 30ft away, where a female gorilla called
Nyakina is reclining on her back, hugging something to
her chest. The ‘something’ moves. Could it be…?
With eyes on stalks, we watch as the newest Oruzogo
member squirms its tiny, sticky body. Born just before
we arrived, the baby gorilla is an incredible surprise
— even to the trackers and researchers who see the group
every day. Since the leaf-eating gorillas are naturally
rotund, pregnancy can be hard to spot; the only clue to deliberately trained to suppress their natural fear of
Nyakina’s condition was that she hadn’t been climbing humans don’t always make the best neighbours.
much in recent days. As I stroll through the leafy grounds of my eco-lodge
“We’ve never seen one this tiny,” says Elisha. “Normally, in Buhoma, just outside the national park, an
the mother gives birth at night, then hides for a while. unmistakeable pile of dung stops me in my tracks.
But Nyakina is very confident. It’s not her first. And she’s Twitching vegetation confirms my suspicion — gorillas
always been very friendly.” have come to visit. My heart thumps. While it’s
To prove it, Nyakina gets up and moves a few paces extremely rare for gorillas to attack humans, I’ve no wish
towards us, then sits between two youngsters who watch, to disturb them and hastily back away.
intrigued, as she delicately cleans the newborn and offers While gorillas in the garden may be a novelty, gorillas
them parts of the placenta. It’s as if she’s introducing the munching crops is no joke. An adult male can eat 30kg of
new baby to the toddlers — and she considers us to be plants each day. Bwindi’s smallholders have had to
honorary toddlers, too. develop intriguing solutions to this: buffering the park
with tea plantations works well — it’s a useful cash crop,
On the trail and gorillas seem to hate the stuff — and Hugo, short for
Miraculously for a sub-species with a birth interval of Human-Gorilla Conflict Resolution, Bwindi’s crack team
three to five years, mountain gorillas are the only great of volunteer gorilla-scarers, is effective, too.
apes whose numbers are increasing. However, like all too So much for keeping gorillas inside the park. Keeping
many endangered animals, they’re being hemmed in by local people out, to prevent disturbance and the spread
human population growth. Their two remaining of infections, is a more delicate matter. “It’s not just that
strongholds, Bwindi and the Virunga Massif (which people here are poor,” says Buhoma-based wildlife vet
covers parts of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka of Conservation Through
Republic of Congo), are like islands in the sky, smaller Public Health (CTPH). “Some people argue that the
than the Isle of Wight, separated by 15 miles of benefits of conservation — gorilla trekking fees, job
intensively cultivated farmland. Before long, they may opportunities — aren’t being fairly shared. So, they feel
contain as many gorillas as they can handle. justified in entering the forest illegally to take wood or
IMAGES: SUPERSTOCK; EMMA GREGG

Bwindi’s precious forest habitat is far better protected
now than it was between 1902, when science first
‘discovered’ mountain gorillas, and 1991, when it was
declared a national park. Tourism has helped save it — at
a price. Safeguarding gorillas is a complex process which,
controversially, limits or bans traditional forest
activities, from collecting firewood to living among the
trees, as in the case of the Batwa, a tribe formerly known
as Pygmies. What’s more, gorillas that have been
set snares for duikers [antelopes].”
CTPH tries to adjust the balance through healthcare
and education programmes and has launched a new
social enterprise, Gorilla Conservation Coffee, through
which ex-poachers now make a decent living from
growing coffee beans, which are sold in safari lodges
all over Uganda.
In all the villages I visit around Bwindi, I discover a
similar sense of purpose. Some community-run craft

June 2017 111

 UGANDA

shops and activities are still rough around the edges, but
plans are afoot to help them mature via a ‘Gorilla-
Friendly’ accreditation scheme. The Batwa Experience, a
demonstration of barkcloth-making, fire-making and
honey-collecting by Batwa cultural performers
determined to keep their ancestral forest skills alive,
turns out to be a highlight of my trip.
While my first gorilla encounter was supremely
satisfying, that one fleeting hour leaves many wildlife
enthusiasts wanting more. With this in mind, UWA now
offers an in-depth alternative, the Gorilla Habituation
Experience. For US$1,500 (£1,200) per person, four
visitors at a time can join a team of trackers, scouts and
rangers as they follow one of two semi-habituated groups
through the forest in southern Bwindi, monitoring the
gorillas’ behaviour, collecting data and helping them get
used to humans. Once
they’re fully habituated,
the activity will
continue as a
With a birth demonstration of
research techniques.
interval of three I cross the park to
Nkuringo via the River
to five years, Ivi Trail, a beautiful
nine-mile hike through
mountain gorillas towering mahogany
trees and giant ferns,
are the only then, on a cool, misty
morning, continue
great apes whose south to meet the team
at Rushaga. “On your
numbers are rising trek to the Oruzogo
group, there was an
advance party,” says
assistant warden
Geoffrey Twinomuhangi. “Today, we’re all in it together.”
I’m in capable hands. My guide for the day is UWA ranger
Augustine Muhangi and we’re joined by field vet Fred
Nizeyimana of the Mountain Gorilla Veterinary Project,
aka Gorilla Doctors.
As we enter the forest fringes, tinker birds chime
peacefully and a colourful turaco glides overhead.
Beneath the trees, the air is fresh with the scent of wild
bracken and herbs. Augustine is a mine of information.
As we walk, he points out some of the details they look
for on habituation expeditions, from fresh elephant
dung, a clear sign of potential danger, to half-stripped
urera shoots, indicating gorillas.
We turn off the path and wade downhill through
chest-high foliage. Below, we find the spot where the
Bikingi group was last seen, and the real tracking begins.
A subtle trail of bent vegetation leads us to the camp they
made last night, each adult gorilla having folded leaves
and branches into a springy mattress. We don surgical
masks and the team demonstrate how, during a census,
they identify each nest by its proportions and what the
IMAGES: EMMA GREGG

occupants left behind — grey hairs from the silverback,

black hairs from a baby cuddled up to its mother, dung in
sizes which roughly indicate each animal’s age — before
taking samples for DNA testing.
Some nests are on the ground, others part-way up
trees. “This can mean they were scanning their
surroundings for danger,” says Fred, who’s alert to any
indication of disturbance. Whether caused by disputes
with rivals, fear of elephants or intimidation by duiker

June 2017 113

UGANDA
PREVIOUS PAGE FROM
TOP: At the Batwa
Experience cultural
perfomance an actor
demonstrates the
traditional method of
smoking out bees and
collecting honey; Nyakina
and her newborn, the
latest member of the
Oruzogo group
ABOVE: Bwindi farmlands
114 natgeotraveller.co.uk
poachers, stress makes gorillas susceptible to
malnourishment, infections and parasites.
“Habituated gorillas are increasing in numbers faster
than non-habituated gorillas because they benefit from
‘extreme conservation’ measures such as veterinary care.
We monitor them closely. We don’t want people tracking
sick animals,” he says. If a gorilla shows signs of illness,
Fred will intervene by administering a shot.
The gorillas are just a half-hour away. The fi rst ones
I see are a female, shyly eating mimulopsis leaves, and
a youngster, high in a bendy sapling. Staring down with
a giggling face, he makes a cute, high-pitched attempt
at the pok-pok chestbeat which, coming from an adult,
would send shivers down the spine. Delighted, we sit
down to watch.
The silverback, Rushenya, guards his family like a
tank. When he decides it’s time to retreat under a shrub
for a siesta, he makes it clear we’re not welcome to follow,
rushing forward a few paces with a terrifying roar.
Immediately, we follow the drill: freeze, look submissive,
make reassuring mm-hmm noises.
“For now, this is his character, and it’s not a bad thing,”
says Augustine when I’ve caught my breath. “It’s easier to
habituate the silverbacks who are confident than the
ones who run away.”
Moments later, we see a totally different side to
Rushenya. Reclining in the shade, he’s every inch the
tender and tolerant father, allowing a pair of boisterous
infants to treat him as a trampoline. “He’s such a great
dad,” says Augustine, admiringly.
“Does watching this ever get old?” I ask.
But, I already know the answer. The team are clearly as
enraptured as I am.
ESSENTIALS
Getting there & around
Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways fly daily from
Heathrow to Entebbe via Addis Ababa and Nairobi.
ethiopianairlines.com kenya-airways.com
AVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 12h.
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is around 275 miles
from Entebbe by road. Alternatively, fly from Entebbe
to Kihihi (25 miles from Buhoma) or Kisoro (21 miles
from Nkuringo) with Aerolink. aerolinkuganda.com
When to go
It’s possible to track gorillas at any time of year. Many
visitors avoid the rainiest, muddiest months (Mar-May
and Oct-Nov), so UWA may discount tracking permits
from US$600 (£480) to $450 (£362) during this period.
More info
ugandawildlife.org
visituganda.com
Uganda (Bradt Travel Guides). RRP: £17.99
Where to stay
Volcanoes Bwindi Lodge. volcanoessafaris.com
Clouds Mountain Gorilla Lodge. wildplacesafrica.com
Nkuringo Bwindi Gorilla Lodge.
mountaingorillalodge.com
How to do it
NATURAL WORLD SAFARIS offers an eight-day Gorilla
Habituation Safari in Bwindi Impenetrable National
Park, including full-board accommodation, domestic
flights, private transfers, park fees, one gorilla tracking
permit and one Gorilla Habituation Experience, from
£5,035 per person, based on two sharing.
naturalworldsafaris.com
GANE AND MARSHALL offers a six-day private safari in
Uganda, visiting Queen Elizabeth National Park and
Bwindi, including full-board accommodation, domestic
flights, private transfers, park fees and one gorilla
tracking permit, from £2,355 per person, based on
two sharing. ganeandmarshall.com
UGANDA
Kihihi Kampala
Entebbe
L a ke
Kisoro V i c t ori a
Buhoma
IMAGE: SUPERSTOCK. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER
BWINDI IMPENETRABLE
NATIONAL PARK
Kabale
Kisoro
5 Miles
116 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 what lies
beneath
Shimmering sea life, bat-ridden caves, poisonous trees and
ancient reptiles — beyond the beach bars in the Cayman
Islands there’s a wilder experience waiting
Words Z O E M C I N T Y R E
IMAGE: GETTY

June 2017 117

CAYMAN ISLANDS

A silhouette
emerges
From the

118 natgeotraveller.co.uk

Sapphire depths.
Its distinctive shape comes into focus as it coasts languidly through
tendrils of coral that whisker the seabed. Up at the surface, I wait
patiently for the moment my new companion comes up for air.
Suddenly it happens: two paddle-like flippers pull powerfully towards
me. The world slows, I forget to breathe, and for a few stupefying
seconds the hawksbill turtle and I are eye-to-eye. I take in its tapered
head, bird-like beak and the intricate markings on its glossy carapace.
The turtle eyes me with detached suspicion, pops its head up for a few
gulps of air and disappears back down to the safety of the deep.
I’m not the first to be awestruck by the turtle-rich waters of the
Cayman Islands. When Christopher Columbus sailed past in 1503,
he named the uninhabited archipelago Las Tortugas due to the
sheer abundance of turtles in the surrounding waters. It was those
same creatures that drew in passing sailors and buccaneers, who
came here in search of fresh meat for their ravenous crews. Yet it was
another animal that Francis Drake reported sightings of in 1586; ‘great
IMAGES: GETTY; ZOE MCINTYRE
PREVIOUS PAGE: Seven
Mile Beach
OPPOSITE: Hawksbill sea
turtle, Little Cayman
RIGHT: Grand Cayman
beach
CAYMAN ISLANDS
serpents called Caymanas, large like lizards.’
Alas, this once-thriving crocodile was hunted
to extinction, but not before bequeathing its
name to the islands as its legacy.
Under British rule since the 17th century,
Cayman (never the Caymans) is now known
more as a tax haven than marine hotspot — a
place for stashing ill-gotten gains or, as John
Grisham described it in his bestseller, The
Firm, ‘sex, sun, rum, a little shopping’. Yet I’d
heard of a wilder side — one of secret caves,
endangered species and underwater marvels,
and it was this aspect I hoped to uncover
during a week-long island hop between the
largest and liveliest island, Grand Cayman,
and her petite sisters, Cayman Brac and
Little Cayman.
That said, it doesn’t take long for me to
succumb to tropical cliche. At the ritzy bar
of the Grand Marriott on Grand Cayman, I
lounge poolside between bejewelled sun-
worshippers sporting itsy-bitsy bikinis and
flawless nutmeg tans. Beyond spreads the
West Coast’s famed Seven Mile Beach — a
decadent stretch of powder-white sand,
home to the island’s most luxurious resorts,
where the glitterati congregate for their see-
and-be-seen showdowns. I watch handsome
guitarists serenading beautiful bodies
against a lipstick-pink sunset, and feel only
marginally guilty; it’s all quite hard to resist.
The next morning, however, beach-lounger
is exchanged for hire car as I explore the little-
developed North Side. The island is barely
20 miles from top to toe, but I take it slowly,
Caribbean style. First comes George Town,
the island’s capital, but hardly the shining
financial hub I’d envisioned; more a series of
colourful low-rises and gift shops huddled
around a harbour. Leaving town, I join a road
that hugs the shoreline and showcases the
island’s subtler delights: candy-coloured
bungalows on wooden stilts and locals selling
coconuts along the roadside. Free-range
chickens scratch along the sun-baked tarmac
and every break in the vegetation reveals a
stretch of dreamy coastline.
June 2017 119
 CAYMAN ISLANDS
A rutted track strewn with nibbling goats leads to the starting
point of the Mastic Trail. Here I meet Stuart, a National Trust guide,
for a hike along this thoroughfare long used by islanders to herd
cattle. Its boundaries of black mangroves and abandoned farmland
bookend a slice of subtropical forest left undisturbed for some two
million years, thriving in native flora. We follow a narrow boardwalk
into a cocoon of thorny arches and three hours of immersive nature.
Stuart knows the woodland like his own backyard. He picks leaves
that expel a peppery cinnamon scent and points out wild banana
orchids — Cayman’s national flower — sprouting from mahogany
trees. I learn to recognise the broad leaves of the silver thatch,
an endemic palm used by early settlers for roofing, basketry and
producing hardy salt water-resistant rope. “Guess what islanders
named this one?” Stuart smirks, pointing to a trunk with a deep-red
flaking bark. “Meet the Tourist Tree — a week on Cayman and most
visitors look similar.”
Breaks in the canopy illuminate the leaf-littered forest floor with
brilliant shafts of sunlight. We move at a meditative pace, the silence
broken only by the strident calls of jungle birds; the mournful coo of
the tropical dove drowned out by a raucous duet of parrots. Across
a damp boardwalk, we strike northward through a warp and weft of
twisted roots and fallen trees toppled by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
We give a wide berth to an innocuous-looking fruit tree that turns
out to be a deadly manchineel, one of the world’s most poisonous.
“Just brushing against its leaves will cause your skin to blister. A
drop of its resin will burn your skin like acid,” Stuart warns. Soon
after, we reach a limestone platform, where savagely sharp tooth-
like rocks spike us underfoot, and the nearby tree trunks appear
riddled with bullet holes — a sign that a yellow-bellied sapsucker
(woodpecker) has declared ownership of the territory. From there,
it’s on into overgrown grassland where iridescent butterflies bring
welcome flashes of colour after seemingly endless green.
120 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Wickedly potent rum punches
are served from a series
of colourful shacks slung
across a beachfront where
bathers gorge on jerk-
seasoned mahi-mahi fish and
sizzling conch fritters
My morning of moderate exertion permits
a pit stop at Rum Point, a sandy spot on the
island’s northern tip. Legend has it the beach
gained its name after barrels of rum were
washed up here from a shipwreck. True to
the name, wickedly potent rum punches are
served from a series of colourful shacks slung
across a beachfront where bathers gorge on
jerk-seasoned mahi-mahi fish and sizzling
conch fritters. At the Dak Shak, I order a
Mud Slide, a deliciously rich blend of Kahlua,
vodka and Irish Cream. Well-positioned
beach hammocks encourage you to snooze
away any tipsiness, lulled by lapping tides and
relaxing reggae grooves.
As the sun’s heat grows merciless, I find
subterranean refuge in the Crystal Caves.
My guide is Azan, a local with faded tattoos
and an enviable swagger, who in singsong
Caymanian tones spins stories from a
IMAGES: GETTY; ZOE MCINTYRE; AWL IMAGES
misspent youth spent spelunking among
the stalagmites. “My parents would tell me,
stay away from those caves. When they came
home they’d know straight away where I’d ABOVE: Seven Mile Beach
been. That red you see on the ground — no
stain remover gets that out.” OPPOSITE, CLOCKWISE
FROM TOP LEFT: Seven
Curiously, there’s a wild fig tree over nearly
Mile Beach; barman,
every entrance to the caves, the roots of each
Rum Point; signs at
one dangling down between the limestone Hammerheads Brew Pub
fissures like prying fingers. In addition to & Grill, George Town,
hordes of sleeping bats, the caverns are home Grand Cayman; Rum
to a series of otherworldly sculptures; some Point jetty
CAYMAN ISLANDS

June 2017 121

CAYMAN ISLANDS

122 natgeotraveller.co.uk

The farmers’ market is a
refreshingly local affair,
replete with friendly
stallholders pedalling baskets
of fiery scotch bonnet peppers,
homemade sea-grape jams and
strange barks tied in bundles
smooth as a shell, others contorted like a
grimace. I become acquainted with Azan’s
favourites; the cranial-shaped Skull, the
air-fisting Statue of Liberty and the silent
Bell. Our last view is of an underground lake
with water so pure it reflects the ceiling’s
limestone spikes with crystal clarity.
Back in George Town, I learn more about
the natural bounty of the island at The
Brasserie — a farm-to-table restaurant that,
on an island strongly reliant on imported
supplies, is leading a much-needed move
towards localism. I’m here for its Harvest
Dinner; a shared-plate affair where 20-or-
so guests dine on homegrown and locally
sourced fare at communal tables. Our
backdrop is an expansive conservatory
lined with vegetable-sprouting raised beds,
hanging herb baskets and trellises tumbling
with heirloom beans. “We want to showcase
what we’re producing,” chef Dean Max tells
us. “Most visitors to the Caribbean never get
a true taste. We’re trying to change that.”
For canapes, there’s melt-in-the-mouth
IMAGES: GETTY; ZOE MCINTYRE
goats’ cheese truffles rolled in pollen and
drizzled in honey from the restaurant’s own
apiary. Next comes succulent roasted pig, a
hearty bean stew sweetened with Cayman’s
OPPOSITE: Surfers at
Seven Mile Beach
sun-kissed tomatoes and textured snapper
caught on The Brasserie’s fishing boat. It
ABOVE: Limestone seems that Cayman’s farming traditions,
spikes, Crystal Caves though largely abandoned in the 1970s, are
CAYMAN ISLANDS
now undergoing a renaissance. Long may it continue, I mumble
between mouthfuls.
Meeting the locals
It’s little after 10am but Devan is already trying his luck. “You here
with your husband, Miss? Leave him home tonight, I take you
to Paradise,” he guffaws from behind mirrored lenses. I’ve met
Cayman’s answer to Casanova over conch chowder at George Town’s
Saturday farmers’ market — a recommendation from my previous
evening’s dining companions. It’s a refreshingly local affair, replete
with friendly stallholders peddling baskets of fiery scotch bonnet
peppers, homemade sea-grape jams and strange barks tied in
bundles. I slurp a mango smoothie from a banana-strewn breakfast
truck and strike up conversation with a young girl weaving baskets
from what I recognise as silver birch. “It’s an old skill,” she tells me,
“my mother-in-law taught me. I’m trying to carry on the tradition.”
Many other native plants are on show in the Botanic Park along
with the island’s most exotic resident: the blue iguana. Soon after
arriving I spot one basking on a rock — a hefty, prehistoric beast
with bloodshot eyes, curling claws and dinosaur-like spikes arching
along a sagging, blue-tinted body. “They may look fearsome, but
they can’t fight,” says Alberto, a guide at the Blue Iguana Recovery
Program, who refers to each ‘baba’ with a father-like pride. A decade
ago, there were less than 25 of these critters left on Grand Cayman,
but thanks to a dedicated conservation mission there are now close
to 1,000. “They’re territorial, so we know where to find them,” Alberto
explains. I casually enquire exactly where this might be; I don’t fancy
meeting one without warning.
On my last night on Grand Cayman, I indulge in a huge seafood
feast at the Cracked Conch, enjoying its palm-thatched bar and
breezy seafront setting. I skip dessert for a finale at Office in George
Town — a gritty, backstreet bar where the young, fun and scantily
June 2017 123

clad gather for after-work drinks. On the
outside terrace, dreadlocked dudes smoke
suspiciously aromatic roll-ups to the beat
of bass-heavy speakers. Inside, it’s a steamy
cocktail of cultures; tourists and locals, hip-
wigglers and rump-shakers, pressed together
to dance until we drop.
The next day, our little plane descends
towards a dusty runway, and I gaze down at
a splinter of land, pancake-flat and sand-
fringed. Little Cayman is aptly named; just
10 miles long and one mile wide, its blink-
and-you’ll-miss-it centre consists of a strip
of shop fronts, counting one grocery store, a
bank open twice a week and the airport that
doubles as a fire station. When I borrow a bike
to explore the island, road signs give right of
way to iguanas — understandable, when you
consider they outnumber the island’s human
population of around 200. I pass no cars on
the way to Point of Sands, a perfect crescent
beach backed by bowed palms, where I bathe
without another soul in sight.
Checking in at Southern Cross Club,
I’m slightly alarmed to learn my rustic
bungalow has no room key — a testament
IMAGES: GETTY; SUPERSTOCK
to the island’s nonexistent crime rates. Days
at the beachfront resort slip by in soporific
FROM LEFT: Blue iguana,
indolence, split between swims, siestas
Queen Elizabeth II
Botanic Park, Grand
and gazing into that azure sea. While more
Cayman; coral reef on dynamic guests propel themselves around
Bloody Bay Wall, on paddleboards, I manage a leisurely kayak
Little Cayman out to Owen Island, a tiny bush-tangled spit,
CAYMAN ISLANDS
which I comb for conch shells. Eventually I paddle back before the
sun burns its way across the horizon.
Come evening, a motley bunch congregates at the hotel bar, telling
tales of their day’s sightings out on the reef between lengthy slugs of
rum. They’re exactly the kind of quirky castaways you’d hope to wash
up on a desert island; nomads and mavericks, the sozzled and the
shoeless, wayward explorers and incurable romantics pricked by the
promise of paradise. Here I meet dive instructor Ed, who has shaken
off his Brummie accent for a sibilant, sun-soothed purr. “Why would
I want to go back to England,” he scoffs, “when my office is this sea?”
Another cloudless day breaks; early morning is Little Cayman’s
magic moment. Perched on a snarl of bleached driftwood, I watch the
early light blush the beach in a roseate glow. After breakfast, I join
Ed and his crew for a boat ride to Bloody Bay, where pirates allegedly
fought battles so fierce the waters ran red. Today, it’s one of the finest
dive sites in the Caribbean, largely due to the coral reef lying just
above what’s known as ‘the Wall’ — the edge of a submerged cliff that
starts as shallow as 20ft before plunging to dizzying 6,000ft depths.
We leave the bay’s luminescent waters and head out to the deep.
I plunge gracelessly off the boat straight into a kaleidoscope world
of brilliant coral, swaying purple sea fans, and neon-yellow tube
sponges, amid underwater terrain as rugged as any terrestrial
precipice. Transparent jellyfish ghost alongside razor-toothed
barracuda. Around a towering pinnacle, I narrowly avoid a headlong
collision with a grumpy-faced grouper before getting lost in a school
of stripy sergeant major fish and clouds of tiny florescent creole
wrasse sparkling like confetti.
If Little Cayman is an island of beach bums and aquatic fanatics,
Cayman Brac — just 15 miles away — is better suited to those with a
restless streak. It’s the wildest island in the archipelago, and there’s
little evidence of mass tourism. Locals are proud of their otherness,
referring to themselves as Brackers, not Caymanians — the ‘Brac’
taken from the Gaelic word for bluff, referring to the 150ft-high rock
June 2017 125
CAYMAN ISLANDS

The Bluff, Cayman Brac

sweeping across the island’s spine like a ESSENTIALS

mighty limestone fortress.
The name came from the Scots who settled
here in the mid-19th century, later joined by
Jamaicans, Welsh and other hardy souls.
Many of their ancestors remain — like Mitzi,
a soft-spoken woman who traces her heritage
to the first settlers. “They were deserters from
Cromwell’s army,” she tells me. Together,
we’re braving the island’s wind-battered
lighthouse path that leads into arid scrubland
Getting there & around Rum Point. rumpointclub.com
British Airways flies direct to Grand Cayman The Brasserie. brasseriecayman.com
The Cracked Conch. crackedconch.com.ky
from Heathrow four times a week. ba.com
Stingray City. stingraycitycaymanislands.com
AVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 12h.
Cayman Airways Express flies daily between the
islands. caymanairways.com Where to stay
Grand Cayman is easily explored by hire car. Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort.
Buses cover all districts. marriott.com
Le Soleil d’Or. lesoleildor.com
When to go Southern Cross Club. southerncrossclub.com

littered with spiky agaves and cacti towering Mid-May to October is hot and rainy, while it’s
mild and dry from November to April. More info
like giant candelabra. Finally, we reap our
caymanluxe.co.uk
reward; a sighting of endangered brown
Places mentioned
boobies nesting in the cliff edges. How to do it
Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Gardens.
The next day, I find myself in Le Soleil botanic-park.ky BRITISH AIRWAYS HOLIDAYS offers seven
d’Or, a boutique hideaway recently opened Mastic Trail Tour. nationaltrust.org.ky/ nights at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach
on the island’s south side, decidedly fanciful mastic-trail-tour Resort from £1,845 per person, room-only.
for rugged Brac. Its main building, awash Crystal Caves. caymancrystalcaves.com Includes BA flights from Heathrow. ba.com
with terracotta tiling and bougainvillea-
Miami
strewn balustrades, is redolent of a European Spot Bay
CAYMAN BRAC
chateau. The beach club boasts a private
LITTLE CAYMAN Stake Bay
stretch of immaculate sand adorned with LITTLE CAYMAN
& CAYMAN BRAC Bloody
massage booths and perfectly spaced GRAND Bay POINT
CAYMAN OF SAND
parasols. But the real draw is the hotel’s same scale as main map
Blossom Village
IMAGE: GETTY. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER

20-acre farm; an Eden of ambrosial produce

that sustains the on-site restaurant. I tuck 2 Miles
into their spoils for breakfast; an omelette West SE Rum Point
Bay
cracked from freshly-laid eggs, homemade North
VE
NM

bread with sun-sweetened mango jam and an West Sound CRYSTAL CAVES
ILE BEACH

exotic dragon-fruit salad. Bay MASTIC TRAIL

With the moment of my departure GRAND CAYMAN QUEEN ELIZABETH II

BOTANIC PARK Gun
looming, I take a final meander along the George Bay
beach. Not so far out at sea, I spot a dark Town
shadow break the glassy surface — a turtle
Bodden Town
peeks his head out to say goodbye. There can
C A R I B B E A N S E A
surely be no better send-off.

126 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

M A M B O
ITALIANO
The Italian language is not only musicality
and gestures — here are five great Italian A TASTE OF ITALY
expressions that are sure to wow the locals One of the best things about
learning Italian is the culinary
possibilities it offers up.
Stare con le mani in mano
TRANSLATION: To hold your own hands Italian cuisine has become a
ENGLISH EQUIVALENT: To sit on your hands staple in the West, bringing
This phrase could be used to address someone doing nothing while
everyone else is working, or to highlight a person’s poor manners if
a number of Italian words
they were supposed to bring a gift but didn’t. into our vocabularies. Penne
all’arrabbiata translates to
È il mio cavallo di battaglia
TRANSLATION: It’s my battle horse ‘angry pasta’ (presumably
ENGLISH EQUIVALENT: It’s my forte because it’s spicy), while farfalle
Used to indicate someone’s forte (another Italian word!), this phrase
can be used in just about any context. Go on, big yourself up!
(the pasta shaped like bows)
actually means ‘butterflies’.
Acqua in bocca!
TRANSLATION: Keep the water in your mouth!
ENGLISH EQUIVALENT: Keep it to yourself
Nobody wants to be blamed for talking about other people’s business.
Every time you reveal a little more than you ought to, use this phrase
to ensure your gossip partner won’t blow your cover.

Non avere peli sulla lingua

TRANSLATION: To have no hair on your tongue
ENGLISH EQUIVALENT : To make no bones about something
People without hair on their tongue are honest to a fault, even if they
run the risk of offending someone. They’re lacking a filter between
brain and tongue. Ready
to start
Non ci piove learning?
TRANSLATION: It doesn’t rain For a free trial lesson,
ENGLISH EQUIVALENT: No doubt about it head to babbel.com
Ending a discussion with ‘non ci piove’ means you’re very confident of or download
your closing line, and that what you’re saying is so conclusive that it the app
can’t possibly be up for further discussion.

HEADLINE SPONSORS OF

· 2017 ·
128 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 utch
MASTERPIECE
Flower season is when Amsterdam is dressed in its best
blooms: spring sees the fields around the city fan out in
a bold patchwork of tulips and hyacinths. Velvety petals
carpet the landscape, while markets are given over to
unique bulbs and rainbow bouquets
Words & photographs N O R I J E M I L

June 2017 129

NETHERLANDS

Open for only eight weeks of

the year, the flower gardens
of Keukenhof see a footfall
of over one million people.
The 79-acre park could keep
visitors occupied all day,
but the best place to see the
flowers is out in the fields
beyond. Here, among bliss-
inducing scents and colours,
flat paths are made for
carefree pedalling.

130 natgeotraveller.co.uk
NETHERLANDS

June 2017 131

NETHERLANDS

The tulip industry in The Netherlands dates back to the 16th century, when merchants shipped
in bulbs from Ottoman Turkey. Today, the epicentre of this floral trade is at Amsterdam’s
sprawling Aalsmeer Flower Auction, the world’s largest flower auction.

132 natgeotraveller.co.uk
NETHERLANDS

June 2017 133

NETHERLANDS

134 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 NETHERLANDS

In any Dutch town, bulb and flower markets are

part of daily life. During tulip season in Haarlem,
a port city just outside Amsterdam, florist Paul
Wijkmeijer at Klavertje Vijf prepares displays
for the Frans Hals Museum. The tulip made
Haarlem one of the most thriving European
towns during ‘tulip mania’ in the 1600s.

June 2017 135

NETHERLANDS

The Frans Hals Museum is hung with paintings focused on obsessive 17th century bulb
collectors who traded Amsterdam's canal houses for a single specimen. After the market crashed,
their greed was mocked but without their passion, Holland wouldn’t have its tulip fields.

136 natgeotraveller.co.uk
138 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 City life
ADDIS
ABABA
Lofty and leafy, with ancient sprawling markets and shiny
modern skyscrapers, Ethiopia’s capital is a surprise
package with a curious past
WORDS: Chris Leadbeater
F
our men are approaching at speed,
consuming with ease the gradient
under their feet offered by Mount
Entoto. They’re all wearing the same uniform,
the same expression of concentration and
focus, and for a second, I wonder if they’re
coming for me. But they continue upwards,
fluorescent trainers padding the tarmac,
exercise tops stretched tight over limbs and
torsos. I follow them with my eyes, until they
glide around a corner and the eucalyptus
treeline claims them, never once slowing
their pace as they race towards their futures.
A quartet of slight teenagers, they’re a
symbol of Ethiopian aspiration. And they
have every reason to be pushing themselves
on this 10,500ft peak, which frames Addis
Ababa. Long-distance running is firmly
IMAGE: AWL IMAGES
established as a route to better things in
Ethiopia. The proof lies two miles up the
road amid shady paths and tasteful
accommodation. Yaya Village opened in
2011 as a mixture of four-star hotel and
training camp for athletes seeking to hone
their fitness at altitude. It’s partly owned by
superstar runner Haile Gebrselassie, the
(now retired) Ethiopian master of the
marathon, who won two Olympic gold
medals and set 27 world records. The young
men who overtook me will be dreaming of
achieving even a fraction of the glory
amassed by a legend who’s considered one
of the greatest ever sportsmen, and of
taking the tape in New York, Dubai, Sydney
and the other major cities where he won.
Just the thought of their relentless stride
pattern is enough to snare my breath
— although the discernible thinness of the
oxygen at this elevation doesn’t help. Two
steps behind, my guide Yohannes Assefa
giggles. “Come on,” he says. “Just by getting
off the plane, you’re seven years younger than
you were yesterday. This little hill really
shouldn’t be an issue.”
He’s referring to the Ethiopian Calendar,
which, by dint of the Orthodox Christian
June 2017 139
ADDIS ABABA
tradition in the country, lags three quarters
of a decade behind conventional diaries
— 11 September, the next New Year’s Day,
will usher in Ethiopia’s version of 2010.
But, this quirk of the clock is not the only
unusual thing about Addis Ababa. For one,
it’s Africa’s highest capital, floating at 7,700ft
in the Ethiopian Highlands (to put this in
context, Kathmandu in Himalayan Nepal
goes about its day at ‘just’ 4,600ft). This
makes for a greenness and coolness of
climate at odds with the still prevailing
though inaccurate image of Ethiopia,
bequeathed by Live Aid and the famine of
1983-1985, as a place of dust and desolation.
In fact, the sun keeps its fiercest rays holstered
throughout the year, rarely shifting from its
groove of 21-23C, and the wet season of June
to September contributes to the leafiness by
treating Addis to four months of deluge.
Then there’s its age. Addis Ababa is a
child, disgorged onto the map as recently as
1886 by the Ethiopian emperor Menelik II,
who wanted a capital befitting his status as
a ruler of a rapidly expanding domain.
Gazing down from Mount Entoto, I can see
that this youthfulness translates into
another expression of Ethiopian aspiration.
Modern structures thrust upper storeys into
the sky, sunlight glinting on their windows.
At their feet, people mill about — the city’s
official population figure is 3.4 million, but
the real head count is likely to be much
140 natgeotraveller.co.uk
closer to seven million. These residents
spill out into the different districts — the
central area of Piazza, where museums
and churches supply a distinct grandeur;
the Downtown core of Urael, with its
bars, hotels and clubs; upwardly-mobile
Bole, with its priapic towers of desirable
apartments; and Merkato, a near-endless
sprawl of alleyways where some 13,000
merchants make up Africa’s biggest Green belt // Africa’s highest
city market.
This urban jam has been sugared of late capital, floating at 7,700ft in
by the opening of the Addis Ababa Light
Rail. Although funded by Chinese money,
the Ethiopian Highlands, has
the first rapid-transit system in sub- a greenness and coolness at
Saharan Africa sings a song of a 21st-
century Ethiopia. Its two lines were odds with the still prevailing
launched in 2015, dissecting the city
east-to-west and north-to-south via 39
though inaccurate image,
stations and 20 miles of track. It has prised bequeathed by Live Aid, of a
200,000 people a day from the traffic queues
— although Bole International Airport, on place of dust and desolation
the south-east edge of the centre, is
IMAGES: AWL IMAGES; GETTY; ALAMY
becoming increasingly equipped to bring in
more people. When I pass through its
arrivals hall, I’m impressed not just by the
size of the new terminal currently taking PREVIOUS SPREAD: A young woman makes traditional
Ethiopian hand-woven baskets, used for serving injera
shape, but by the feast of possible
flatbreads, on sale in Mercato Market
destinations listed on the departures board.
London and New York are there. So are OPPOSITE, FROM TOP: A multi-storey building gets a
Dubai, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, facelift; the sprawl of ephemera-filled Mercato
Shanghai and Cape Town. Addis Ababa is
becoming a hub, and it wants you to know it. ABOVE: Fruit-seller at the market
ADDIS ABABA

June 2017 141

ADDIS ABABA

IMAGES: GETTY

142 natgeotraveller.co.uk

All this makes it a city where you might be
tempted to linger, perhaps even for a long
weekend. Plenty of travellers visit Ethiopia
every year, but few take a good look at its
capital, preferring to head out to the rock
churches of Lalibela and the UNESCO-listed
ancient obelisks of Axum. While this may be
understandable, I decide to drag my heels.
Now, there’s every chance that I’m lost.
Yohannes and I have delved into the
labyrinth of Merkato, and, sure-footed on
home soil, he has briefly marched out of
sight, leaving me with two feasible turnings
and the thought that I’m Alice in a
wonderland maze not of clipped hedges, but
of many traders and stallholders. These twin
paths seem to be stacked with every piece of
ephemera you could imagine. There are
discarded car batteries and remote controls
divorced from their televisions. There are
yellow plastic cans, which once contained
cooking oil. There are various screws, bolts,
nuts and second-hand padlocks. There are
sheets of salvaged corrugated metal,
fearsomely sharp at the edges, carried on
tops of heads, forcing passers-by to duck
unless they want to lose theirs.
Then comes the voice. “You’re British,
yes?” There’s an irony to the fact that the man
making the enquiry is wearing a fake Arsenal
football shirt, but I nod in response. “I think
there’s nothing for you here,” he says. It’s not
a hostile comment; it’s even delivered with a
smile. It’s more an acknowledgement that
this four square mile tribute to the idea of
one person’s trash being his neighbour’s
treasure isn’t meant for tourists. He clinks
together two of the empty glass soda bottles
he sells as water carriers, and grins again.
“This is not Marrakech,” he says. “You’ll not
buy pricey bracelets and carpets here.”
He’s correct. There’s nothing for tourists in
Merkato. And yet, in another sense, there’s
everything: a glimpse of how Addis Ababa’s
economy has worked for decades — nothing
is without value — is as worthy as any
souvenir. I ask him, in curiosity, how much
his bottles cost. He smiles again, still
friendly, but the meaning is clear: ‘Don’t
waste my time.’
LOCAL SPECIALITIES
If Merkato is Addis Ababa at any moment
since 1886, Urael is rather more tied to 2017.
There’s an upbeat vibe to both Mickey
Leland Street and Namibia Street, watering
holes anticipating the evening. A crowd is
forming outside cocktail haven Shebeta
Lounge as I amble the former — but I’m
aiming for the latter, specifically 2000
Habesha Cultural Restaurant, a whirling
dervish of a place. Inside, an international
OPPOSITE, FROM TOP:
The bright lights of Addis
clientele — local diners, European expats, a
Ababa at night; popular set of Somali businessmen — is seated
modern band, Jano, around tables, listening to the house band
performing live plucking rhythms and harmonies from their
ADDIS ABABA
Market forces // It’s hard to
imagine Addis Ababa squashed
under jackboots. But its happy
mood conceals a 20th century
pockmarked by despair: the
Soviet-backed military
dictatorship and earlier
Fascist Italian occupation
one-string, bass-like masinko and five-
stringed kirar instruments. The menu offers
an array of Ethiopian dishes, including
gomen besiga (cubes of beef and spinach,
baked in a clay pot) and bozena shiro (yellow
peas slow-cooked with beef and onions).
The atmosphere is fuelled by carafes of tej,
Ethiopian honey wine, its bittersweet taste
serving to disguise its potency. By the time I
dash to the Ghion Hotel, seeking a
performance by Mulatu Astatke, the 73-year-
old musician who’s seen as the father of
‘Ethio-Jazz’, the night has taken on a woozy
quality. The music that emerges from this
darkened room— echoes of New Orleans,
but with a rumbling beat that’s entirely
African — enhances the mood, and the air
seems to thicken with each key change.
In such a context, it’s hard to imagine
Addis Ababa as a city squashed under
jackboots. But its happy mood conceals a
20th century pockmarked by despair. The
famine that sent rock stars scurrying to
Wembley Stadium in 1985 was caused, in
part, by the brutality and administrative
incompetence of the Derg — the Soviet
Union-backed military dictatorship which
‘ran’ Ethiopia between 1974 and 1991. This
oppression was but a delayed second course
to a vicious starter: the six years (1935-1941)
when Ethiopia (then known as Abyssinia)
was occupied by fascist Italy, and Addis
Ababa, as the centrepoint of resistance,
suffered the brunt of Mussolini’s anger.
Both epochs can be revisited here. The
former is detailed at the Red Terror Martyrs’
Memorial Museum in central Kirkos, which
replays the nightmare with grim precision
via the torture instruments, dusty coffins
and photos of some of the regime’s half-a-
million victims. The latter is kept alive via
two memorials: Yekatit 12 Square is host to a
column which salutes the estimated 30,000
Ethiopians who were massacred by their
conquerors on 19 February 1937, in response
to a failed assassination attempt on the
Italian leader Rodolfo Graziani; while, just
over a mile away on the edge of Piazza — on a
roundabout on Fitawrari Gebeyebu Street
— a giant statue remembers the sacrifice of
Abune Petros, a bishop who was executed by
June 2017 143
ADDIS ABABA

the occupiers in 1936 for publicly and

repeatedly denouncing their presence.
Yet, if you wish to step back into Addis
Ababa’s story, you cannot do so without
encountering one particular character.
Emperor Haile Selassie defined Ethiopia’s
20th century, governing from 1930 to 1974
(with the exception of a five-year exile during
the Italian fascist period). While he was
arguably no saint, he was charismatic to the
point of inspiring religious devotion — the
Rastafari movement in Jamaica still
considers him a messiah. And he left his
imprint on the city. His palace (in Piazza) is
now marooned on the campus of Addis
Ababa University and has been refitted as the
Ethnographic Museum. But amid some
intriguing artefacts, including art depicting
Ethiopia’s first fight with Italian colonialism,
the victorious Battle of Adwa in 1896, you can
detect the grandeur. Selassie’s bedroom is
preserved as a statement of majesty, even if
the size of the bed betrays his lack of stature.
He also haunts the National Museum, just
to the south — his colossal throne another
emblem of royal power. It’s mighty enough
to almost eclipse the prime exhibit, the
skeletal remains of ‘Lucy’, a woman who
Emperor Haile
strode the Ethiopian landscape 3.2 million
Selassie’s bedroom, years ago, as one of the mothers of mankind.
Ethnographic Museum, She was discovered in a lake bed in 1974, a
Addis Ababa University great year for humanity’s knowledge of its
roots, but a bad one for Selassie, who was
deposed by the Derg amid soaring inflation
and unrest. His demise was unseemly. He
was imprisoned, then reportedly died of
ESSENTIALS ‘respiratory failure’ in August 1975,
according to state media of the day. It wasn’t
When to go
University
500 yards until 1992 that his bones were found below a
Temperatures are a fairly constant 21-23C
Ethnological Yekatit 12 concrete slab in the palace grounds.
Museum Square throughout the year, although the wet season
of June-September contributes four months
Still, Selassie had the last laugh: he was
Piazza of heavy rainfall. re-buried with much pomp in November
2000 at Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Orthodox
Merkato Places mentioned bastion he founded in 1931. Athletes stream
ADDI S ABA BA 2000 Habesha Cultural Restaurant. past the gates as I near it; again, all sweat and
2000habesha.com application, oblivious to the magnificence of
Ethnographic Museum at Addis Ababa University. the building behind the fence. But, Ethiopia’s
Menelik II aau.edu.et
Square imperialists, you can be certain, are not.
Ghion Hotel. ghionhotel.com
Their fallen champion slumbers in style
facebook.com/theafricanjazzvillage
Addis within; his mausoleum an enormous
Ababa Red Terror Martyrs’ Memorial Museum. rtmmm.org
ETHIOPIA Urael Shebeta Lounge. facebook.com/shebetalounge exercise in cold marble.
Red Terror
Martyrs Memorial Yaya Village. yayavillage.com Before I cross the threshold, I’m drawn to
Museum one particular grave outside. Here’s another
Bole
More info Addis Ababa idiosyncrasy. The headstone
IMAGE: ALAMY. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER

ethiopia.travel serenades the soul of Sylvia Pankhurst, the

Getting there & around
Ethiopian Airlines offers a daily direct service from
Heathrow to Addis Ababa. ethiopianairlines.com
AVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 7h 30m.
The Light Rail system offers the quickest movement
around the city. St Urael station on Line 1 provides
access to Urael; Menelik II Square station on Line 2 is
the best choice for sights such as the National Museum
and Holy Trinity Cathedral. Tickets from ETB2 (7p).
How to do it
COX & KINGS offers three-night mini-breaks in
Addis Ababa for £1,245 per person, including
flights from London, private transfers,
accommodation with breakfast and city tour. They
also sell a 14-day Ethiopian Odyssey tour that visits
Axum and Lalibela. From £2,745 per person as a
group trip, or from £3,625 as a private holiday (with
flights from London). coxandkings.co.uk
suffragette and friend of Selassie’s, who
moved to the city in 1956 and died there four
years later. Clearly, my interest in her once
again denotes me as British, for I’m
approached by an elderly worshipper. We
swap strands of conversation, until he drops
the pertinent question: “So, Brexit — is it
fine for you, or not?” When the UK’s current
political affairs are a topic for discussion in a
country once the subject of world concern,
you know times have changed.

144 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 THE LAND OF ORIGINS AND ANCIENT HISTORY WITH
STYLISH, ICONIC AND SOPHISTICATED HOTEL IN ETHOPIA

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think
of Ethiopia?
The tropical monsoon climate which many are fond of, the
diversity of the 80+ ethnic groups, each with its own language,
the culture, custom and tradition, the history which goes way
back to 3000 years, or the impressive geological features and
man-made monuments?
Ethiopia is truly a land of contrasts and extremes; a land of
remote and wild places. Some of the most stunning places
on the African continent are found here. Many people visit
Ethiopia - or hope to do so one day - because of the remark-
able manner in which ancient historical traditions have been
preserved. It’s worth to come and visit your ancestor
“Lucy’/Australopithecus afarensis” and the birth place of Coffee.
The Radisson Blu Hotel Addis Ababa is idealy located in an
exclusive business area at the heart of Kazanchis Business
District, perfect base for exploring historical Addis Ababa
and its treasure such as the Ethiopian Ethnological and
National Museums, Menelik’s old Imperial Palace, St. George’s
Cathedral , the largest open market in Africa ‘Merkato’, and
many more. The hotel is designed to make your stay an
inspirational pleasure, creating a memorable sense of arrival
with its unique and iconic architectural design along with its
holistic hospitality that is in line with the needs of the
modern travelers.
Choose from 212 stylish rooms and suites, decorated in rich
neutral tones, with tastefull accents and prints. These rooms
cater to your comfort with climate control, pillow choices and
double glazed windows to ensure your peace. You can also
enjoy modern amenities, including satellite television
and free high speed wireless internet access. Accessible
rooms and smoking/non smoking preferences are available
upon request.

Radisson Blu is your perfect gateway on your next trip to

Ethiopia

www.radissonblu.com/hotel-addisababa
Tel: +251 115 157 600
info.addisababa@radissonblu.com
 City life
AARHUS
ZZ
Z

A little-known, laid back Danish city with a distinctly sunny

outlook, the 2017 European Capital of Culture is stepping
out of Copenhagen’s shadow and coming into its own
WORDS: James Clasper PHOTOGRAPHS: Nori Jemil

Y
ou can literally hear new life emerging in Aarhus. Whenever a baby is born in the
Danish city’s hospital, a bell rings in DOKK1, its new public library. And not just any
old bell, but the world’s largest tubular bell — with a weight of three tons. The happy
parents simply press a button in the maternity ward and it chimes.
I get chatting to a man with an office at DOKK1, and ask him if it’s a disturbance. Not at all,
he says. “It just brings a smile to everyone’s face.” It’s an apt comment. Aarhus has a few
nicknames, including the World’s Smallest Metropolis, but the City of Smiles seems spot-on
right now. Denmark’s second city has long lived in Copenhagen’s shadow, yet its designation
as a European Capital of Culture in 2017 has put a spring in its step.
You sense it strolling along Jægergårdsgade, a bustling street in trendy Frederiksbjerg,
south of the city centre. Nondescript a few years ago, Jægergårdsgade is jam-packed today
with bars, cafes, restaurants and shops. You can’t miss the mechanics of regeneration either,
from construction workers building shiny office blocks to a skyline peppered with cranes.
Yet, against all the urban development, Aarhus also happens to be blessed with beaches
and beech forests within easy reach. And, as you’d expect from a diminutive Scandi city, it’s
one best explored on foot or by bike — although unlike the capital, it isn’t pancake-flat.
And, if that sounds like hungry work, don’t worry. The de facto capital of the European
Region of Gastronomy in 2017, Aarhus boasts a trio of Michelin-starred spots, plus a galaxy of
affordable options. They include a new street-food market — a big hit with the 40,000
students who help make Aarhus the youngest city in Denmark.
Back at DOKK1, I spot further proof of the city’s youth — a ‘car park’ for baby strollers,
replete with lane markings. And, not for the first time, I find myself smiling.

146 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 On the timber viewing
platform beneath
Olafur Eliasson’s
‘floating’ 360-degree
glass walkway. Your
Rainbow Panorama is
the permanent work
of art at the top of the
Aros museum, with great
views of the city

June 2017 147

AARHUS
Why does Author Dan Buettner pinpoint Aarhus
as one of the world’s happiest cities? Trust. ‘You
can leave your baby carriage (and baby) parked
outside a cafe and not have to worry,’ he writes
CLOCKWISE: Aarhus’s cycle-friendly
streets; selling cakes in Den Gamle By
open-air museum; the old timber
windmill by the botanical gardens;
Australian artist Ron Mueck’s
enthralling, hyper-real ‘Boy’, 1999,
looms in the ARoS museum
EAT
KOHALEN: Few places are more
Danish than this cosy pub, which celebrates
its 110th birthday this year. Locals flock here
for traditional dishes, such as open-face
sandwiches and cured herring. It’s excellent
value for money, but booking ahead is
recommended. kohalen.dk
RESTAURANT PONDUS: The baby brother
of Michelin-starred Substans, this casual
eatery describes itself as a Danish bistro.
Enjoy well-executed, seasonal dishes — such
as pork belly with parsnips and lingonberries
— in a relaxed setting. The three-course set
menu for 295DKK (£34) is excellent value.
restaurantpondus.dk
RESTAURANT FREDERIKSHØJ: Don’t go
all the way to Aarhus only to skip the very
place that put it on the gastronomic map.
Super-chef Wassim Hallal won his first
Michelin star in 2015 — one of the first in the
city. His new Nordic menu takes inspiration
from the sea and the forest, which form the
the restaurant’s stunning surroundings.
Book well ahead. frederikshoj.com
148 natgeotraveller.co.uk
BUY
CITY CENTRE: Aarhus’ compact centre
is home to several top department stores,
including Salling and Magasin du Nord, as
well as Illums Bolighus, a one-stop shop for
Scandinavian design. And don’t miss Strøget,
a kilometre-long pedestrian street packed
with leading fashion brands and boutiques.
JÆGERGÅRDSGADE: Nothing showcases the
city’s renaissance quite like this street south
of the railway station. Linking the up-and-
coming neighbourhood of Frederiksbjerg in
the west with the old meatpacking district of
Kødbyen in the east, the once-grubby
Jægergårdsgade is today a fun place to shop,
eat and drink.
THE LATIN QUARTER: With its narrow,
cobblestoned streets, hidden courtyards and
medieval buildings, the oldest part of town
oozes historic charm. Spend the morning
exploring its shops and boutiques — many
of the local jewellery designers and
ceramicists have their workshops here
— and refuel with a top-notch coffee at
La Cabra in Aarhus Central Food Market.
LIKE A LOCAL
KULBROEN: In the summer, you’ll find
a busy food market and occasional jazz
festival beneath this decrepit bridge, which
was once used to transport coal. Residents
hope to turn the historic edifice into their
version of the High Line, Manhattan’s
railway line-turned-public park, even
extending it so that it links the train station
with the harbourside. kulbroen.com
DEN PERMANENTE: Enjoy a dip at this
much-cherished beach and outdoor
swimming bath, a 10-minute cycle ride out
of town, situated just below the woodland
park Riis Skov. Den Permanente has been a
hit with locals since 1933, and you can see
why: a beech forest provides its bucolic
backdrop. vigirbyenpuls.dk
INGERSLEVS BOULEVARD: On Wednesdays
and Saturdays until 2pm, head to Denmark’s
largest food market, south of the city centre.
There, you’ll find around 60 stalls selling
local meat, fish and cheese, fruit and
vegetables, and honey from local beekeepers.
facebook.com/ingerslevtorv
 AARHUS

SEE & DO
AARHUS SEARANGERS: Culture
vultures, speed demons and nature-lovers
alike will enjoy this adrenaline-filled tour of
the bay. The SeaRangers are experts on local
history as well as marine life. If you’re lucky,
you’ll see seals and porpoises. Hold on tight,
though. searangers.dk
AROS: The city’s contemporary art museum
is a must-visit, not least because it houses a
first-class permanent collection, including
works by Andy Warhol and Ron Mueck. But
the highlight is Danish-Icelandic artist
Olafur Eliasson’s Your Rainbow Panorama
— a 150m-long circular walkway, 50m above
the rooftop. Its multi-coloured glass provides
unbeatable views of the city. en.aros.dk
THE BOTANICAL GARDENS: You’ll be floored by
the flora at this award-winning attraction,
the highlight of which is four climate-
controlled greenhouses. The journey begins
amid the almond trees of the Mediterranean,
continues into desert and mountain regions,
and ends in tropical treetops.
DEN GAMLE BY: An imaginative open-air
museum, which shows how Danish people
lived in three distinct eras: 1864, the era of
Hans Christian Andersen; 1927, when
industrialisation took hold; and the hippie-
dippy days of 1974. ‘The Old Town’ was built
with 75 historical houses relocated from 24
towns across the country. dengamleby.dk
GODSBANEN: To see urban redevelopment at
its most dramatic, visit these repurposed
industrial buildings in the grounds of a
former railway yard. Since 2010, they’ve been
home to a range of creative businesses and
workshops, so there’s always plenty going on.
godsbanen.dk
MOESGAARD MUSEUM: With its wealth of
archaeological and ethnographic treasures
— including the Grauballe Man, the world’s
best preserved Iron Age bog body — as well
as the stunning views from its sloping grass
roof, this museum is not to be missed.
moesgaardmuseum.dk/en
VIKING MUSEUM: The basement of a Danish
bank happens to be the spot where the
Vikings founded the city of Aros a
millennium ago. It’s worth a visit to view the
artefacts unearthed here in the 1960s,
including 1,000-year-old tools and pottery,
and a Viking skeleton. vikingemuseet.dk

Take me to the river //

Students at Aarhus University
compete in the beer-soaked
Kapsejladsen boat race every
spring. Held every year
since 2000, it attracts
up to 25,000 spectators

June 2017 149

AARHUS

AFTER HOURS
ST PAULS APOTHEK: Head to this
former pharmacy on Jægergårdsgade for ‘all
kinds of fixes, smashes… and other fancy
cocktails’. Many are made with
quintessentially Nordic ingredients, like
the sea buckthorn that puts the twist in a
Tom Collins. stpaulsapothek.dk
S’VINBAR: This cosy corner bar in the centre
of town is the go-to place for a glass of wine.
It tilts towards Old World wines and with
more than 300 for sale, most by the glass,
there’s an unusual amount of choice. The
wine flight changes daily and focuses on a
particular grape or region. svinbar.dk
MIG OG ØLSNEDKEREN: If craft beer’s your
thing, make a beeline for this year-old bar on
Mejlgade. A Copenhagen brewpub spin-off,
it has 20 microbrews on tap — half from
Denmark and the rest from around the
world. facebook.com/migogolsnedkeren

Z SLEEP
ZZ
MØLLESTIEN 49 AND 51: Rambling
roses, half-timbered houses, cobblestones
— you won’t find a quainter option than
these tiny guesthouses, located on the city’s
prettiest street, a few minutes from Aros.
While one property has been renovated, the
other retains its original 18th-century
features. house-in-aarhus.com
SCANDIC AARHUS CITY: Location is key
for this four-star hotel — it’s a stone’s throw
from the main shopping street and walking
distance from the railway station. It also has
underground parking and onsite bar and
restaurant — though you’ll be spoilt for
choice if you do venture out. scandichotels.com
VILLA PROVENCE: Enjoy a taste of the
south of France at this cute boutique hotel.
Its 39 rooms and suites are individually
See the world through giant rose tinted decorated in Provençal style. Throw in a
spectacles with the ‘Sea Pink’ installation pretty cobbled courtyard and a plum
by Swiss artist Marc Moser location, right in the heart of town, and
la vie, c’est belle. villaprovence.dk

ESSENTIALS
Getting there & around When to go
Botanical
Ryanair flies daily from Stansted to Aarhus. Ideally, from April to October. Denmark has harsh Gardens
Norwegian Air flies twice a week (Thursday and winters but is typically mild throughout the rest of the
The Old Town
Sunday) from Gatwick to Aalborg. British Airways year with temperatures around 10C. The weather is Latin
usually very pleasant from late spring to early autumn Quarter
flies daily from Heathrow to Billund. SAS flies eight
times a day to Aarhus from Copenhagen. — but always pack a raincoat and a spare jumper. s
rhu
Aa
ryanair.com norwegian.com ba.com flysas.com
More info A A R H U S
AVERAGE FLIGHT TIME: 1h 40m.
ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER

Godsbanen ARoS
visitaarhus.com Midtbyen Dokk1
Explore Aarhus on foot or by bicycle — rent one Lonely Planet Denmark. RRP: £15.99
through Cycling Aarhus for 110 DKK (around £13)
a day. Alternatively, you can pick up taxis easily, How to do it
though they’re not cheap, and most cab drivers BRITISH AIRWAYS HOLIDAYS offers three nights’ B&B Aarhus
Aarhus
speak English. From mid-2017 there’ll be a light at the three-star Scandic Aarhus Vest from £269 per DENMARK Central Station
railway service running through the city. person, including return flights from Heathrow. rds g a d e
200 yards
J æ g e r gå
cycling-aarhus.dk/rent-a-bike ba.com

150 natgeotraveller.co.uk
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DUBAI LUXURY FAMILY FUN ARTS & CULTURE

Famous for five-star resorts, excellent
restaurants and indulgent spa experiences,
Dubai is the epitome of decadence and
luxury. It’s one of the best cities in the world
for pampering, shopping and cuisine. Enjoy
incredible scenery from the 27th-floor Skyview
Bar at the Burj Al Arab hotel, energising
treatments at the Heavenly Spa or shopping
the Avenues at Atlantis, The Palm. The opulent
opportunities are endless.
DETAILS: Five nights at the five-star Habtoor
Grand Beach Resort, Autograph Collection,
with free full board Tower Oceanfront Room
upgrades. Discounted price: £1,137 per person.
Dubai Parks and Resorts is a thrilling new
collection of attractions, and the first of
its kind in the Middle East. Boasting three
theme parks, one water park, and a dining
and entertainment complex, it’s a must-see
when you visit Dubai. Bollywood Parks Dubai,
LEGOLAND Dubai, LEGOLAND Water Park
and MOTIONGATE Dubai are fantastic fun for
travellers of all ages.
DETAILS: Seven nights at the five-star JA
Ocean View Hotel for a family of four, half
board, with a free 7 Day 4-Park Dubai Parks
and Resorts ticket for the entire family.
Discounted price: £3,687 per person.
Dubai is a must-go destination for travellers
looking for arts, culture and entertainment.
With a year-round events programme including
the Emirates Airline Dubai Jazz Festival, Arab
Fashion Week and sporting events plus the
imminent opening of the ‘super-venue’, BASE,
culture vultures, gig goers, night owls and thrill-
seekers will be spoiled for choice in Dubai.
DETAILS: A five-night getaway to the four-star
Hues Boutique Hotel, B&B. Discounted price:
£787 per person.
READ MORE ABOUT DUBAI IN THIS ISSUE, P.166

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June 2017 151

SPECIAL FEATURE

Tokyo
48 HOURS IN

The historic centre where it all began, the

Nihonbashi district is the perfect place to
spend a few yen and get a taste of the city
Words: Audrey Gillan

I’m standing in the birthplace of Japan’s most celebrated
foodstuff. It also happens to be the very centre of the
country. The two things are not directly related but seem
perfect, poetic companions. The district of Nihonbashi
is the point from which all distances in the country were
originally measured; the word means ‘Tokyo bridge’, and
at the very midpoint of said crossing is a brass marker of
Japan’s exact ‘Kilometre Zero’ spot.
Nihonbashi was also the original site of the Tokyo fish
market (now a 20-minute cab ride away in Tsukiji), where
Edomae-style sushi began, consumed on the hop by busy
fish vendors. A pile of rice topped with raw fish could be
eaten with just fingers. Commonly known as Tokyo-style
sushi, today it’s by far the most popular variant.
Back in the Edo period (1603-1868), Nihonbashi was the
hub of five routes, the Gokaidō, connecting the capital
with the provinces. It quickly became a mercantile hub,
and continues to flourish with artisan wares — think
exquisite washi paper, high-sheen lacquerware, and tiny
toothpicks, sold in shops that sit cheek-by-jowl with
luxury department stores. The old stone bridge, now
traversed by the expressway built for the 1964 summer
Olympics, seems thoroughly hemmed in and yet it marks
a centuries-spanning crossroads. At some traffic lights,
I spy four grown men driving Super Mario-style carts, in
outfits to match: the modern city thriving in its old heart.
This area is also an epicentre of spring’s hanami (flower
viewing), when the 169 trees of Cherry Blossom street
(Sakura Dori) are in full bloom, the focus of ‘welcoming
spring’ celebrations that include delicate foods perfumed
with the flowers. But you don’t have to wait until spring
to get a taste of Nihonbashi. Tokyo Station is a 15-minute
stroll away, notable not just for its pre-war, red-brick
facade, but for its endless subterranean food outlets.
On ‘Ramen Street’, join locals loudly slurping slippery
noodles and lip-smacking umami broth from big bowls.
And make a point of exploring Nihonbashi’s smaller side
streets and find a queue to join. More often than not,
this signals one of Tokyo’s top food spots. At Kaneko
Hannosuke, for example, customers are prepared to stand
in line for hours for its exemplary ten-don: tempura set
over a bowl of rice.

152 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 SPECIAL FEATURE

Must do
BEST OF JAPAN GOURMET TOUR
Taste flavours from the north and south of the
country in a 90-minute spin round some of the
best food shops and restaurants located in the
Coredo Muramachi shopping centre. This is a
learning experience with small samples from
each outlet, but you can head back to your
favourite spots in the centre armed with new
culinary knowledge.
nihonbashi-info.jp/omotenashi/gourmet.html

IMPERIAL PALACE
The Imperial Palace and its gardens are just
a short walk from Nihonbashi’s bridge. The
palace is built on the former site of Edo Castle
and is surrounded by moats and stone walls. It’s
the residence of Japan’s imperial family, so the
inner grounds are only open to the public on
two days a year (23 December, the Emperor’s
birthday, and 2 January); however, the Palace
East Gardens are fully accessible to the public.
japan-guide.com/e/e3017.html
Where to eat
SUSHI SORA
The sushi experience at Sushi Sora is a
culinary education in the district that gave
birth to Edomae-style sushi. Master chef Yuji
Imaizumi prepares rice and fish on the ancient
wood counter in front of you, turning them
into sushi masterpieces. mandarinoriental.
com/tokyo/fine-dining/sushi-sora

TEN-ICHI
For tempura heaven, sit at the counter and
watch as the chef delicately dips fresh fish and
vegetables into batter, before deep frying and
serving them up, piece by individual piece.
Don’t dither over photos — this stuff should
be eaten hot, hot, hot. tenichi.co.jp

TAPAS MOLECULAR BAR

This tiny eight-seat, one Michelin-starred bar
loffers molecular cuisine, sushi bar-style. Chef
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT:
Ngan Ping Chow presents a fusion of Japanese
Looking down Dotonbori
canal; spa, Mandarin
and Western cuisines that play with modern
Oriental; Imperial cookery techniques to produce a truly
Temple; Sushi Sora; chef, interactive experience. mandarinoriental.com/
Sushi Sora tokyo/fine-dining/tapas-molecular-bar

June 2017 153

SPECIAL FEATURE

Where to shop
MITSUKOSHI DEPARTMENT STORE
Set in a stunning stone building, this flagship store
offers daily pipe organ concerts and year-end choral
performances. The basement food hall is a gasp-a-minute
gourmet delight where you can sample pickles, rice
crackers, hams, sausages, mochi (chewy rice cakes) and the
like. mitsukoshi.mistore.jp/store/nihombashi

OZU WASHI
This traditional Japanese washi paper shop sells high-grade
paper for painting, calligraphy and origami. Pull out drawers
to find screen-printed glories that look marvellous when
framed. The site includes a gallery and a studio where you
can make your own washi paper. ozuwashi.net/en

IBASEN
Making beautifully, brightly coloured uchiwa (Japanese
fans) for more than 400 years, Ibasen features calligraphy
and Japanese art in its designs. Traditionally used for
keeping cool, fanning away insects, keeping a flame lit and
more, these wondrous objects are now most often pinned
to walls to display their full glory. ibasen.com/world_wide

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Japanese-style knives; counter, Mitsukoshi

Department Store; Presidential Suite, Mandarin Oriental

BRING IT HOME

KATSUOBUSHI (DRIED BONITO)

Ninben has been a part of Nihonbashi
for more than 300 years selling dried
bonito flakes, a traditional component
of the Japanese diet. Katsuobushi is
dried tuna, shaved into delicate flakes.
It’s often used as a food topping or
boiled in water to create dashi (stock).
The shop contains a dashi bar, selling
soup and rice dishes. ninben.co.jp

JAPANESE KNIVES
Nihonbashi Kiya — the Kiya Cutlery
Shop — has been around since 1792

and sells Japanese-forged steel knives.
Marvel at the array of task specific
knives before opting for the one that
suits you best for kitchen use. The
walls are also lined with kitchen knick
knacks such as peelers, scrubbers and
strainers. kiya-hamono.co.jp/english
GOURMET TREATS
Head to the Mitsukoshi depachika
(food hall) for dried goods, pickles and
seasonings. Snaffle some free samples
and grab a picnic for the plane home.
mitsukoshi.mistore.jp/store/nihombashi
Where to stay
MANDARIN ORIENTAL
The Mandarin Oriental features 179 guest
rooms and suites over six floors of the
38-storey Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, and
these, as well as most restaurants, bars, spa
and even some toilets, afford spectacular
views of greater Tokyo and beyond (you can
see Mount Fuji from certain points). A 37th-
floor spa offers four treatment rooms plus hot
tubs that look out across the city.
HOW TO DO IT: Rooms at the Mandarin
Oriental Tokyo begin at £380 per night.
Rates do fluctuate and are subject to an
8% consumption tax, 15% service charge
and accommodation tax of 200 Japanese
yen (roughly £1.50) per person, per night.
mandarinoriental.com/tokyo
Flights with Japan Airlines, from Heathrow
to Tokyo Haneda, start at £819 direct return.
Promotional flights are sometimes available and
can often begin as low as £480 for an indirect
return flight. uk.jal.com

154 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 JAL MOMENTS

We l co m i n g yo u a b o a r d w i t h a u t h e n t i c
J a p a n e s e h o s p i t a l i t y a n d m a k i n g yo u r eve r y m o m e n t
w i t h u s a n u n fo r g e t t a b l e ex p e r i e n ce . J A L .

Premium comfort for body and mind. JAL International Premium Economy Class, JAL SKY PREMIUM
Visit our website www.uk.jal.com
 ASK THE
EXPERTS
NEED ADVICE FOR YOUR NEXT TRIP?
ARE YOU AFTER RECOMMENDATIONS,
TIPS AND GUIDANCE? THE TRAVEL
GEEKS HAVE THE ANSWERS…

Q // I’ve booked flights
to Tbilisi for an active
summer break in
Georgia. I’ve never
been. Where would
you recommend I go?
Straddling eastern Europe
and western Asia, Georgia is
largely defined by the Caucasus
Mountains. Not many people
realise that it’s home to Europe’s
second highest peak, Mount
Shkhara (17,060ft), which is
actually higher than Mont Blanc.
For anyone looking for an
active holiday, in a destination
unspoilt by today’s modern
tourism, the country should be on
the top of their list. Summer is the
best time of the year to visit, with
sunny but cool days making the
weather ideal for exploring.
such as Uplistsikhe (in eastern
Georgia) and Vardzia (to the
south), and enjoying unspoilt
wilderness in the country’s many
national parks and reserves.
The epic Georgian Military
Highway, widely regarded as one
of the most beautiful mountain
roads in the world, will take you
close to the border with Russia
and the town of Stepantsminda.
This is the gateway to Gergeti
Trinity Church — silhouetted
against Mount Kazbek, it’s one of
Georgia’s most iconic images and
the view makes the three-hour
the year and is often cut off from
the rest of the world.
If you work up an appetite
after all this activity, do try some
of the local delicacies, such as
khachapuri, an oval-shaped,
cheese-filled bread, and khinkali,
Georgia’s take on dumplings.
Finally, bear in mind that the
country is one of the oldest
wine producing regions in the
world, dating back more than
7,000 years. In fact, the word
‘wine’ comes from the Georgian
word for it: ‘gvino’. It may be
little known in much of the
IMAGES: ALAMY; GETTY

Top experiences include
crossing narrow green valleys
to get up close to impressive
glaciers, cycling through lunar
semi-desert landscapes,
exploring rock-hewn settlements
steep hike worth it.
The highest permanently
inhabited village in Europe can
also be found in Georgia: Ushguli,
located at an altitude of 7,218ft, is
snow-covered for six months of
world but Georgian wine is very
much sought after in the former
Soviet Union states, so give it a
go — there are around 40 grape
varieties to choose from.
GORDON STEER

156 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Q // Will the laptop Following the USA’s lead, the UK
announced in March that gadgets
ban on flights affect
my travel plans?
larger than 6.3x3.6x0.6in must be
put in hold luggage on inbound
flights from Turkey, Saudi Arabia,
Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and
Tunisia. This applies if your
flight stops over in one of
these countries, too.
Stowing e-readers,
laptops and tablets
means relying on inflight
entertainment or
Q // I hear the EU is Charging consumers huge bills for
crossing borders across Europe
putting an end to is about to change. From 15 June,
roaming charges. How you’ll pay the same price as at
will this affect UK home to use your mobile phone
anywhere within the EU — for
holidaymakers? calls, texts and data — after the
European Parliament, Council
and Commission agreed on a deal
earlier this year after a decade-
long process.
According to the European
Commission, prices for roaming
calls, SMS and data have fallen
by 80% since 2007, and data
roaming is now up to 91%
Q // Where can I To see icebergs calving from their
mother glaciers, get yourself to
travel to for the best Greenland, during April/May. The
chance of seeing season runs April–September
icebergs calving? but the earlier on you travel, the
better chance you have of seeing
the big bergs being born and,
potentially, the Northern Lights
still in action. That said, most
Greenland tours and cruises take
place later in the summer when
the sea ice has broken for the
season and boats can pass.
This is a seasonal happening
although with global warming,
books — an inconvenience
for business travellers and
young families in particular.
Another problem is insurance:
historically, most policies haven’t
covered gadgets in the hold due
to the higher risk of damage
or theft . However, companies
including Saga and Holiday
Extras have responded quickly
with appropriate new policies.
More stringent restrictions
apply on flights from 10 Middle
Eastern countries to the USA, and
it’s thought Australia may soon
implement gadget restrictions
too. Stay up to date by checking
gov.uk, and check with your airline
if you have concerns.
AMELIA DUGGAN
cheaper compared to 10 years
ago. Prices have gradually fallen
over the years with travellers,
in the EU at least, no longer
receiving extortionate bills for
making the odd phone call or
checking their emails.
Of course, this kicks in just
as the UK triggers Article 50
and begins its negotiations to
leave the EU, so we may only
benefit for the remainder of our
membership; depending on
the terms of departure.
ec.europa.eu
PAT RIDDELL
Greenland’s glaciers are losing
ice at record rates. Go to
YouTube to see a now legendary
2008 film of the Ilulissat (or
Jakobshavn) Glacier calving a
chunk some three-miles wide.
Head to Ilulissat, if not to see
quite such a dramatic event, to
hike the Sermermiut ice fjord
for fantastic views of colossal
icebergs. Regional operators
also offer flightseeing tours
and boat trips. For more
info, including tours, go to:
greenland.com SARAH BARRELL
Health corner
Q // I’m travelling to sub-
Saharan Africa. Should
I be concerned about
clean drinking water?
The first thing to say is that not all
water in sub-Saharan Africa is bad.
Check the reliability of a tap water
source with trusted local users
such as NGOs and overlanders’
campsites. If in doubt, bottled
water is widely available; just be
sure to check the seal. About 25%
of ‘bottled water’ worldwide is
simply filled from the tap.
In more remote regions,
especially in the Sahel and central
African states, carry your own
purification means, be it a hand-
operated mini-filter (Katadyn
are excellent) or a vehicle-based,
higher volume filter.
Other methods of purification
include chlorine-based tablets or
2% tincture of iodine.
The simplest method of
purifying water is boiling it for at
least three minutes after filtering
visible debris through a cloth,
though beware of the lowered
boiling point of water at altitude.
DR PAT GARROD
THE EXPERTS
GORDON STEER //
UK MANAGER,
WORLD EXPEDITIONS
WORLDEXPEDITIONS.COM
AMELIA DUGGAN //
ASSISTANT EDITOR, NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER
SARAH BARRELL //
ASSOCIATE EDITOR, NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER
PAT RIDDELL //
EDITOR, NATIONAL
GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER
DR PAT GARROD //
TRAVEL AUTHOR
THEWORLDOVERLAND.COM
June 2017 157
TRAVEL GEEKS

THE INFO

TRANSATLANTIC BUDGET BATTLE

LOOKING TO CROSS THE POND THIS SUMMER? THERE’S A NEW NO-FRILLS
AIRLINE IN TOWN: LEVEL, LAUNCHED BY BRITISH AIRWAYS’ OWNERS. BUT
HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO BUDGET BIG SHOTS NORWEGIAN AND WOW AIR?

FRESH DEALS WHO?

£155
NORWEGIAN // One way to Seattle and Denver
why the
SLASHED NORWEGIAN currently operates
direct routes from the UK to seven
from Gatwick, starting September.
prices? US cities: New York, Boston,
Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Los

@FLYWITHLEVELEN
WOW AIR // One way to Chicago from Bristol,
MAR 18
On our second day of “life” Hello
world! Yesterday we hit record
sales: 52,000 tickets sold. Wow!
£139
Aircraft are becoming
more fuel-efficient
Angeles, Las Vegas and Oakland.
It has sold flights across the pond
from the UK starting at £69.
Edinburgh and Gatwick from July. norwegian.com
Increased competition is
driving prices down

Level’s two new

Airbus A330 Charging for extras
— such as snacks and
luggage — allows for
cheaper fares

Fly from
Barcelona to...
21 premium
economy
seats WOW AIR flies to nine North
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its Reykjavik hub: Pittsburgh, New
York, Washington DC, Boston,
USA // FROM 1 JUNE Montreal, Toronto, Miami, Los
BCN-LAX // TWICE A WEEK Angeles and San Francisco. This
293 year, Wow Air sold seats to New
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seats
USA // FROM 2 JUNE
BCN-OAK // THREE TIMES A WEEK

Norwegian’s long-haul flights

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC // FROM 10 JUNE
BCN-PUJ // TWICE A WEEK
25% more fuel-efficient than
ARGENTINA // FROM 17 JUNE
BCN-EZE // THREE TIMES A WEEK
are operated by Boeing’s
787 Dreamliner or 737 MAX IN THE LOOP
Sign up for airlines’
aircraft — said to be up to
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their older counterparts to bag bargain tickets

FROM
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LEVEL: LEVEL NORWEGIAN: LOW FARE WOW AIR: WOW BASIC

1 carry-on bag of 17x13x10in — no 1 carry-on bag of 22x15x9in 10kg 1 personal item of 17x13x10in
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ONE WAY FLYLEVEL.COM 30in seat pitch // collect Avios personal screen // 32in seat pitch universal plug

158 natgeotraveller.co.uk

HOT TOPIC
IS IT TIME FOR ZOOS TO BE BANNED?
A HANGOVER OF THE VICTORIAN SIDESHOW OR AN INTEGRAL PART OF
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION? WE ASK IF ZOOS SHOULD BE CONSIGNED TO THE
HISTORY BOOKS ALONG WITH THE BEARDED LADY. WORDS: JAMES DRAVEN
The polar bears in Winnipeg
have disco poo. Their
droppings look like
little glitterballs.
Before anyone starts
sprinkling the stuff on
their cornflakes, this isn’t the
hottest new beauty trend nor
is it a natural phenomenon:
Assiniboine Park Zoo’s
keepers use coloured glitter
in the bears’ feed to identify
their droppings.
Why? Well, scat reveals
all sorts of things about
individual animals;
information the keepers
share with the scientific
community. Many
zoos conduct such
studies, and also run
captive breeding
programmes for
endangered species.
However, critics say
this doesn’t justify
their existence.
“Zoos are prisons for
animals, camouflaging
their cruelty with
conservation claims,”
Mimi Bekhechi,
director of international
programmes at PETA,
explains. “Animals in zoos
suffer tremendously, both
physically and mentally.
They often display
neurotic behaviour,
like repetitive pacing,
swaying, and bar
AND ANOTHER THING... BLOCKBUSTER DESTINATIONS
KONG: SKULL ISLAND
Experience Travel Group
have created a two-
week tour of the March
blockbuster’s locations
IMAGE: GETTY
including Halong Bay
and the Tam Coc caves.
experiencetravelgroup.com
biting. Not surprising, perhaps,
considering the typical polar
bear enclosure is one
million times smaller
than the area they would
naturally roam.”
PETA isn’t alone. In April,
ethical tour operator Responsible
Travel — after consultation
with wildlife charity Born Free
Foundation — axed trips that
include zoo visits. It’s the first
travel company to publicly make
such a move.
“Only 15% of the thousands
of species held in zoos are
considered ‘threatened’,” says
Will Travers OBE, president
of Born Free. “An even
smaller proportion are
part of captive breeding
programmes and, of
those, a tiny fraction
have been released back
into the wild. That’s not a
record that justifies tens
of millions of wild animals
kept in zoos.”
PETA’s Bekhechi adds, the
aim of breeding programmes
is just “to produce baby
animals to attract visitors.”
Some, however, argue that
children benefit from zoos.
“We engage huge audiences
with wildlife, inspiring the
conservationists of tomorrow,”
argues zoological director of
ZSL London and Whipsnade
Zoos, Professor David Field.
That claim is up for debate.
LA LA LAND NERUDA
The City of Angels is Pablo Larraín’s biopic
encouraging visitors to of Chilean poet Pablo
recreate movie magic at Neruda hit cinemas.
the Oscar-winning film’s Tread in his footsteps
LA locations, including with British Airways’ new
Griffith Observatory. direct flights to Santiago.
discoverlosangeles.com ba.com
Q&A
HOW DO I TELL A ZOO FROM
A SANCTUARY?
The Global Federation of Animal
Sanctuaries (GFAS) operates
an accreditation system for
sanctuaries, rescue centres and
rehabilitation centres. Look out
for the GFAS seal of approval.
sanctuaryfederation.org/gfas
SO IT’S BETTER TO HAVE ‘CLOSE
ENCOUNTERS’ WITH ANIMALS IN
THE WILD, RIGHT?
Wrong! Step away from the
selfie stick. Don’t be suckered
into supporting companies that
offer experiences like hugging a
tiger, swimming with dolphins,
riding elephants, or snogging
a shark. These experiences are
often harmful to wildlife and
dangerous for you.
HOW DO WE SAVE WILDLIFE IF
NOT BY BREEDING PROGRAMMES?
PETA says: “People who care
about protecting endangered
species should donate to
organisations that safeguard
them in their natural habitats — if
a species’ native environment has
been destroyed, there’s nowhere
left for the animals to go.”
THE GREAT WALL
Do-over Matt Damon’s
sci-fi flop with Wendy
Wu Tours’ new active
Discover Tours, which
access more remote
sections of the Great Wall.
wendywutours.co.uk
TRAVEL GEEKS
A 2014 study by the Society
for Conservation Biology found
that of over 2,800 children
surveyed following visits to
London Zoo, 62% showed no
positive learning outcomes.
But, for every story that casts
zoos in a bad light — from Vince
the rhino’s poaching at Paris’
Thoiry Zoo in March; Cincinnati
Zoo shooting endangered gorilla,
Harambe, last year after a child fell
into his enclosure; or Copenhagen
Zoo killing and publicly dissecting
Marius, a two-year-old giraffe in
2014 — there are heart-warming
tales too. Zoos across the US
can take credit for reviving the
wild Arabian oryx, golden lion
tamarin and Californian condor
populations, among many others.
And Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo has
an on-site Wildlife Hospital to save
sick and injured native species.
In the age of social media, high
profile culls have sparked heated
debates. The shooting of Harambe
the gorilla spawned the most-
shared meme of 2016 and caused
a hounded Cincinnati Zoo to
suspend its social media accounts.
When it comes to lethal force and
animal welfare, at least, public
opinion swiftly sides against zoos.
But whether recent events
have triggered a profound shift in
public consciousness is harder to
quantify. Regardless of the merits
or ethics of zoos, one thing’s for
certain: they’re going to be around
for some years yet.
... AND
Warner Bros Studios
London launched its new
Forbidden Forest tour
for April, where Potter
fans can interact with an
animatronic Buckbeak.
wbstudiotour.co.uk
June 2017 159
TRAVEL GEEKS

CHECKLIST:
POLARISED SUNGLASSES

DRAGON ALLIANCE
Seafarer X
RRP: £220
7SEEways to
THE MIDNIGHT SUN
dragonalliance.com

WANT TO BATHE IN THAT 24-HOUR, GOLDEN GLOW? GO NORTH

FOR SUN-SOAKED BOAT PARTIES, ARCTIC RAIL ADVENTURES,
AND A ROAD TRIP TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD

PERSOL 1// THE ‘SECRET’ FESTIVAL
PO7649S 56 New events at Iceland’s Secret Solstice music
RRP: £243 festival (16-18 June) include an acoustic
sunglasshut.com performance in 5,000-year-old subterranean
lava tunnels, a dance party inside a glacier and
a midnight sun boat party outside Helsinki,
complete with DJs, a cocktail bar and the
chance to spot whales. The never-ending
sun will light up such acts as Foo Fighters,
The Prodigy, and the grand dame of R&B
renaissance, Chaka Khan. secretsolstice.is
2// THE EPIC SCANDI RAIL JOURNEY
FOSTER GRANT Ride the rails from Sweden’s Arctic
Juliet Pol to Norway’s fjords aboard trains that
RRP: £22.50 offer front-row seats to spectacular
fostergrant.co.uk wilderness. Board the Arctic Circle
Train from Stockholm to Narvik,
MIDNIGHT
Highway to Dawson City, before crossing the
Yukon River by ferry to follow the scenic Top
of the World Highway to Alaska. Returning to
Whitehorse, don’t miss Kluane National Park,
one of North America’s great grizzly bear-
populated wildernesses. travelyukon.com
5// THE PRETTY CITY BREAK
Celebrate what Finns call the ‘nightless night’
in Helsinki where, on Midsummer Eve, locals
head to nearby island cabins. Try Seurasaari,
an island specialising in traditional
celebrations: spirit-appeasing
bonfires and folk dancing. Also check
out Löyly on Helsinki’s waterfront
— a new, smoke-heated public
sauna. visithelsinki.fi

travelling along Sweden’s Baltic coast
to beyond the Arctic Circle. Continue
aboard the Northern Railway to
Norway’s coast, before the final
stretch, on the Dovre Railway,
through Norway’s national parks, to
RAY-BAN Oslo. May-August, eight nights from
RB2183 £1,425 per person. simpysweden.co.uk
RRP: £170
ray-ban.com 3// THE YEAR-ROUND ICEHOTEL
This summer, it’s the first chance
to experience a stay under ice and
midnight sun, at the new Icehotel
365. The Icehotel’s innovative, year-
round sister property, which opened
last year, uses sustainable energy
from the midnight sun for a year-
round igloo experience. icehotel.com
4// DRIVE TO THE TOP OF THE WORLD
SUN
for dummies
WHEN
End of May to the
beginning of August
WHERE
The further you travel
north, the longer the
days; up to 24 hours of
sunlight above the Arctic
Circle, and almost that in
bordering regions
WHAT TO PACK
Your camera. The
midnight sun’s golden
glow is the most
memorable part of any
6// THE REMOTE ISLAND RETREAT
The dramatic mountain setting of the
Lofoten Islands, a large archipelago
inside the Arctic Circle, is a place
where ‘drying racks’ still stand
outside rorbuer (fisherman’s cottages),
just as they have done since Viking
times. The village of Eggum comes
with an amphitheatre-shaped space,
designed by the architects of Oslo’s
Opera House, with views of the open
sea. visitnorway.com
7// THE CULTURAL ESCAPE
Wander along canals in a dusky light
that never quite fades to black during
the White Nights of St Petersburg.
From the second week of June to the
first week of July, the Russian city has
IMAGE: ALAMY

OAKLEY trip north, accentuating

24-hour museum openings, outdoor
Reverie Polarized Hire an RV in Whitehorse, gateway colours and lengthening ballet, fireworks and DJ sets until dawn
RRP: £160 city to Canadian Gold Rush country, shadows. Lots of scope at clubs Taiga and Contour Family Loft.
uk.oakley.com and follow the North Klondike for creative photography visit-petersburg.ru SARAH BARRELL

160 natgeotraveller.co.uk

Tech trave�er
SURFING AT 36,000 FEET
Wi-fi took off years ago but if
you join the Mile High (surf)
club, you still need to be aware
of the security risks, and sky-
high costs attached
In-flight wi-fi has been available
for a little over 10 years, but is it
worth the inflated connection
charges imposed by most carriers?
The first issue is safety. I’ve
spoken before about the danger
of using public wi-fi hotspots,
and these warnings go double
for in-flight connections.
Without password
protection
(paid services
direct you to
a registration
and payment
website after
connecting), there’s no
privacy for the raw traffic
carried across the network.
That means anyone intent on
reading your data, including
personal details entered in online
forms, can do so with relative ease.
It does require the equipment
and intent to hack into people’s
devices, but an extended flight
is the ideal place for this covert
criminal activity. Using a VPN (I
covered these security tools in
the Jan/Feb issue and online at
GET THE GADGET
Olloclip Core Lens
Gone are the days when
photography buff s had to carry
around large padded bags full
of delicate lenses. Modern
smartphone cameras are so good
you can capture most scenes with
just a couple of taps, and with the
latest Olloclip core lens adapters
to fit iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the
untrained eye would be hard-
ngtr.uk/2jxGLwv) affords users a
layer of protection; however, most
in-flight service providers block
the use of commercial VPN apps
— presumably to stop passengers
looking at objectionable material
and to aid their own marketing-
related data collection. Using a
VPN provided by your business
should probably work, though.
The second issue is speed.
Currently, most aeroplane wi-fi
services provide a tiny amount of
bandwidth — about one-tenth the
speed of a halfway decent
4G connection
— and that has
to be shared by
all passengers.
This will make
websites load
very slowly and
streaming video
impossible, so you’re better
off downloading content to
watch offline before you leave
home. With charges often billed
by the amount of megabytes used,
it will also get very expensive if
you’re doing anything data-heavy,
but if you can’t resist Snapchatting
from seat 52A, make sure your
device is running up-to-date
antivirus and firewall soft ware, and
avoid sharing personal data that
could lead to identity theft .
pushed to
say which
were taken
on a phone
instead of an
expensive camera.
This neat little clip houses
three separate lenses which
just slip over the corner of the
phone — no app needed — to
TRAVEL GEEKS
TECHNOLOGY REPORTER FOR @BBCCLICK
AND AUTHOR OF WORKING THE CLOUD,
KATE RUSSELL PICKS THE LATEST INNOVATIONS
TOP APPS FOR...
mapping
WALTER
IOS, FREE. Maps are great but sometimes just
wandering around a city will reveal its hidden
treasures. Walter is a smart compass that works
without an internet connection. Instead of pointing
north, south, east or west, it directs you towards
sights, shops, restaurants and bars within 20
minutes’ walk of your location. triposo.com/walter
MAPS.ME
IOS/ANDROID, FREE. Save roaming data costs by
downloading map data for the area you’re visiting
to use offline and on the move. maps.me
WIFI MAP
IOS/ANDROID, FREE. Find local wi-fi access points,
including password information where needed,
crowd-sourced by users of the app. wifi map.io
MOOVIT
IOS/ANDROID, FREE. Find your way around over
1,200 cities in 70-plus countries using public transit
links. Includes real-time updates and travel alerts.
moovitapp.com
time-lapse, panorama and even
360-VR — that uses your phone’s
camera. The neat plastic carry
clip can be worn on the lanyard
around your neck and even folds
apply fisheye, wide angle and out to create a mini tripod.
15x macro effects. ‘Selfie ready’, RRP: £99.99. olloclip.com
they fit on both the forward and
rear facing lenses and work for @katerussell
any application — stills, video, katerussell.co.uk
June 2017 161
TRAVEL GEEKS
HOW I GOT THESE SHOTS
PORTRAITS IN PUGLIA
NICO AVELARDI, PHOTOGRAPHER OF OUR PUGLIA FEATURE ON P.92,
EXPLAINS HOW HE CAPTURED THE SPIRIT OF THE REGION THROUGH
HIS PORTRAITS OF THE LOCALS ON THE SALENTO PENINSULA
I travelled south from Bari around
the heel, looking to capture its
fine landscapes, fascinating towns,
amazing food and, of course, the
locals that make this region so
unique. I tend to include people in
most of my shots — they’re the
soul of a destination and culture
— and Salento was no different.
When I see a potential subject,
I visualise them in a close-up
portrait. I approach them and
make conversation about the
place we’re in, what I’m doing or
more casual topics.
For close-ups, I set a wide
aperture — up to f5.6 — as I want
a shallow depth of field to make
the subject stand out from the
background. I shoot at a 50-70mm
focal length, so I can work more
162 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Similar features can be found in our free,
digital-only Photography Magazine. Issue 8
intimately with them. I fine-focus
on the eyes to create a connection
with the image, while emphasising
details, such as wrinkles or
defined eyebrows.
I never start shooting straight
away; I spend time with the subject
to allow them to get used to me
When the subjects are — it can take any time from one
comfortable, I start minute to hours. I also use this
time to find the best light and
shooting and get angles to work from. Once I feel
physically very close the moment is right, I ask for
in order to fill the permission to photograph them.
These two portraits are a great
frame, but it’s example of how I adapt my
important to detect approach to different situations
if and when the and subjects. I photographed the
man with the glasses in the town
connection ends of Calimera while I was searching
for elders who still speak Griko
LIKE THIS? READ MORE
out now. iOS/Google Play/Amazon
— a local dialect of Italiot Greek.
He was comfortable with me
taking his portrait fairly quickly.
On the other hand, for the man
with the cigarette in the town of
Nardò, it took over half an hour to
even approach him. He was part
of a group of men relaxing in the
main square. He was very quiet,
so I spoke to his friends at first
until I could get him involved in
the conversation.
I don’t direct my subjects at all,
leaving it up to them to show me
who they are. And I never
overstay my welcome — if I feel
they’re becoming uncomfortable,
that’s my cue to stop.
nicoavelardi.com
@nico.avelardi
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

Florida
A RIVER RUNS
THROUGH IT
Get to know Florida’s
watery heart on and in
the rivers of Columbia,
Levy and Gilchrist
Counties, where active
pursuits will put you in
touch with your wild side

Gilchrist County
Paddle the 55-mile Blueway Trail, a series of 50 crystal-clear
freshwater springs teeming with wildlife. Canoe or kayak
through wetland and over the blackwater Suwannee River.
Ginnie Springs, on the Santa Fe River, meanwhile, is one of
the clearest freshwater springs in the world. Conservationist
Jacques-Yves Cousteau summed them up in two words:
‘visibility forever’. You can cave dive or swim in the water,
which changes from a mesmerising turquoise to a deep blue.

Columbia County
In O’Leno State Park, ease into a drowsy vibe by hopping
in a canoe and slipping down the scenic Santa Fe
River. There are hammocks to laze in and pavilions for
picnicking in, but if you prefer to speed things up, trails
can be explored on foot or by bike. Thrill-seekers should
head to Ichetucknee Springs State Park to tube down the
river, which flows past shady wetlands. But don’t towel
off — you can snorkel or scuba dive in the otherworldly
Blue Hole Spring, reached via a wooded nature trail.
Levy County
Cedar Key’s sleepy houses are
perched on stilts above the Gulf
of Mexico, which harbours the
island’s claim to fame: shellfish.
Learn about aquaculture with
fishing communities before eating
the freshest clams, shrimps or blue
crabs for dinner, surrounded by
beaches, green islands and wildlife.
Other aquatic escapades include
scuba diving in the prehistoric
Devil’s Den Resort & Springs, found
within a dry cave featuring ancient
rock formations. The warm cavern
pool sinks to 60ft below ground
and steams on cold mornings.
GILCHRIST COUNTY visitgilchristcounty.com T: 00 1 352 463 3198
COLUMBIA COUNTY springsrus.com T: 00 1 386 758 1312
LEVY COUNTY visitlevy.com T: 00 1 352 486 3396
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
IN THE LAP
OF LUXURY
Take a look inside Singapore’s newest five-
star offering, Andaz Singapore
Opening its doors later this summer, Andaz
Singapore promises to be one of the city’s
leading luxury getaways. Cutting-edge
design, a refreshing take on hospitality and
impeccable facilities single out this five-star
hotel as a clear choice for luxury travellers.
Situated in the buzzing Kampong Glam,
Andaz impresses from the outside with its
stunning honeycomb lattice exterior — the
work of renowned architect Ole Scheeren.
Soaring 610ft into the sky, the hotel sits at
the heart of DUO — a modern, mixed-use
development, offering spectacular views
of both the ocean and the glittering city
skyline. At ground level, the Bugis MRT
station is close at hand, meaning getting to
and from the airport is simple — a boon for
business and leisure travellers alike.
Guests can unwind in one of 342 sumptuous
rooms and suites created by Hong Kong
designer Andre Fu, with warm hues of russet
and mustard inspired by traditional Indian
and Malay handicrafts. Also on offer is a host
of first-class facilities: a clutch of must-try
restaurants awaits, with a range of cuisines
at Alley on 25 and the creative twist on the
traditional pandan chiffon cake at Pandan is a
must-try. There’s a 24hr fitness centre in which
to work up a sweat, and the infinity pool on the
25th floor is the perfect spot to unwind and
soak up the views. But for some of the best
vistas in town, the rooftop bar is the place to
go — it’s ideal for unwinding with a cocktail
and 360-degree views of Singapore.
Just a 20 minute drive from the airport
and two minutes from the CBD, Marina
Bay and all the dining and entertainment
Singapore has to offer, Andaz is set to make
its luxurious mark on the city’s hotel scene.
ANDAZ SINGAPORE ,
5 Fraser Street, Singapore, Rep. of Singapore,
189354 E: singapore@andaz.com
andazsingapore.com
 COMING IN THE
JUL/AUG ISSUE

Come on in, set down your suitcase. Welcome to the first Big
Sleep Awards! With the help of our readers and a panel of judges,
we’ve selected the cream of the accommodation crop. Join us as
we salute the taste-makers and game-changers of the hotel world

Plus // Maldives, Kenya, Jamaica, Doha,

Luxembourg, Barcelona & Bali

On sale 1 June 2017

IMAGE: GETTY

For more information on our subscription offers,

see page 184

June 2017 165

166 natgeotraveller.co.uk
DUBAI: RETURN TO THE WILD
FAR FROM BEING A BARREN WILDERNESS, THE ARABIAN DESERT IS FULL OF LIFE.
WHAT’S MORE, THANKS TO THE DUBAI DESERT CONSERVATION RESERVE, VISITORS
TO THE EMIRATE CAN EXPERIENCE IT FOR THEMSEVELVES. WORDS: LAURA HOLT
N
ight is falling in the Dubai
desert. This golden
landscape of slowly shifting
sands feels a world away from the
mega malls and high-rise hotels at
the heart of this ever-expanding
emirate. Yet, I find myself
hankering for just a glimmer of that
garish light, as I take my first
driving lesson amid the forbidding
desert darkness.
Behind the wheel of a sturdy
Nissan Xterra, I wait at the bottom
of a vast dune, ready to surmount
it. The trick, I’m told, is to
accelerate up fast, taking my foot
off the pedal just before I reach the
top, allowing the vehicle to glide
over. But tonight, there’ll be no
gliding for me. I try it once,
twice, three times… and get
consummately stuck in the sand,
forcing a hasty retreat back down.
The convoy of 4x4s fares no better,
so it’s down to Greg Simkins,
conservation manager of the Dubai
Desert Conservation Reserve
(DDCR), to show us how it’s done.
Slamming his foot down, he shoots
the trucks up and over the dune
with ease, whisking us back to
camp just in time for dinner.
This is all in a day’s work for
Greg, who navigates this web of
delicate trails on a daily basis, as
part of his job managing the 87sq
mile DDCR. Opened in 2003, the
reserve was set up by two of the
emirate’s wealthiest men: the
chairman of Emirates airline,
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al
Maktoum and the current ruler of
Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid Al Maktoum. Covering 5%
of the state’s total landmass, the
reserve’s aim is to protect the
natural environment and
encourage biodiversity through,
among other things, the
propagation and reintroduction of
‘rare and endangered species’.
It all started with Al Maha
Resort, a luxury desert hotel
owned by Sheikh Ahmed’s
Emirates Group. Greg started work
at the resort as a guide, taking
guests on falconry excursions,
dune experiences and camel trips,
before hearing of an opening in the
conservation side of the business.
He switched roles and, in
2001, wrote a report on
environmental conditions in the
area, recommending it be
designated a protected reserve.
The result was the DDCR and,
over the next few years, small
populations of Arabian oryx, two
types of fox (red and sand), several
feline species (caracal and
Gordon’s wildcats) and various
gazelles (sand and Arabian) were
steadily reintroduced into the
reserve. These species were once
native to the Arabian Peninsula,
but many years of accelerated
development in Dubai, which not
so long ago was all pristine desert,
saw animal numbers dwindle and
disperse. In the case of the Arabian
oryx, it faced complete extinction
in the wild by the 1970s, only to be
saved by reserves such as this one.
More recently, the DDCR has
entered a new phase, teaming up
with wildlife conservation NGO,
Biosphere Expeditions. Operating
in 13 locations around the world,
Biosphere invites laymen, such
as myself, to assist scientists,
such as Greg, in collecting data,
while visiting a new destination
and studying the local wildlife.
Every trip has a so-called ‘target
species’, from primates in Peru to
snow leopards in Kyrgyzstan.
Biosphere was set up by
Matthias Hammer, a no-nonsense,
straight-talking German with a
military background, who now
spends his time travelling the
world, often sporting bare feet and
a brightly-coloured sarong. He
joins me for my trip and is keen to
get across Biosphere’s anti-
institutional approach. “You’re
‘participants’, not tourists. We’re
an ‘NGO’, not a company. And this
is an ‘expedition’, not a holiday,”
he says, unequivocally, as we
gather on the first day.
This may sound a little joyless,
but things perk up as we learn
about the tasks ahead. The DDCR
office is to be our base, Greg tells
us. We’ll be divided into groups,
which can change daily depending
on the area we’d like to see. We’ll
then be dispatched into different
zones across the DDCR to carry
out surveys and activities. These
fall into four distinct groups:
setting camera traps to see if we
can capture wildlife in its natural
habitat; setting live traps by
bating cages with tins of sardines
to obtain physiological data,
such as the vital measurements
of the animals; surveying new
and old fox dens for signs of life;
and finally, carrying out ‘circular
observations’, by locating a central
point in one of the reserve’s 62
quadrants and noting down any
wildlife and vegetation that’s
present there.
We’ll achieve all this by heading
out in our 4x4s — hence the
crash-course in desert driving. But,
first, we have to learn how
to use the equipment, “because
you won’t always be with a
member of staff in the field, so you
need to know what you’re doing,”
says Matthias.
Greg runs through the various
data sheets we’ll need to fill out,
which include both paper forms
and digital scientific apps. We are
briefed on how to use the handheld
GPS devices that’ll get us within a
few feet of previously recorded fox
dens and mean we can log the
locations of new cameras and live
traps, so that other teams can
check them throughout the
week. We also are given some basic
navigational tips on how to use a
compass, in case our digital
devices fail. It’s then time to
June 2017 167
CONSERVATION

release the pressure in our tyres so change. But that couldn’t be

DUBAI’S BIG FIVE
1. SNAKES
The many and varied reptiles in
the reserve include: the Jayakars
sand boa, which ranges from
12-26ins in size; the even-larger
Arabian horned viper, with its
fearsome-looking triangular-
shaped head; and the Sindh
saw-scaled viper, which leaves a
the wheels can cruise across the
sandy terrain, before we head out
into the dunes. It’s definitely a lot
to take in. But the Biosphere
approach is that anyone can take
part, providing they have a
willingness to learn.
That said, my fellow participants
do seem to be of a certain calibre.
There’s Jim, a wiry computer
hardware designer from northern
California; Albert, a softly spoken
farmer with an MBA in agriculture;
Ziggy, a legal assistant; and
Yvonne, a biologist. Not exactly
laymen, but ready to learn
nonetheless. It’s a mixed-aged
ensemble too, hailing from all parts
of the globe, including Britain,
America and Germany. The
unifying factor is a firm interest in
conservation and the environment,
especially animals.
Sufficiently bonded, our group
slips into the daily routine of
meeting at the DDCR office each
morning to pick up equipment, get
into teams and be assigned our
further from the truth, I discover.
For one thing, the light shifts
constantly, dark and ominous one
minute, red and romantic the next,
casting the dunes in a kaleidoscope
of ever-changing shadows. The
weather too, is unpredictable,
ranging from still and warm one
day, to fiercely windy the next,
forcing us to use shirts, sunglasses
and scarves to keep the sand from
getting into our eyes, ears and
noses. It doesn’t work. Several
showers follow. Still more sand.
The flora and fauna are a
surprise, too. Gnarled trunks and
windswept trees stand isolated
against a backdrop of endless
dunes, imbuing the landscape with
a surreal, Dali-esque quality.
During the establishment of the
reserve, many of these trees and
shrubs were planted to provide
sustenance for the reintroduced
wildlife. It’s for this reason camels
are kept out of the reserve, PREVIOUS PAGE: Camera
otherwise they’d make short trap photos of wildlife in
work of all the vegetation. the Dubai desert

‘side-winding’ track in its wake.
2. FOXES
Of the two foxes in the reserve,
the Arabian fox is most similar to
our common red fox, though with
larger ears and a smaller body.
Smaller, white-coloured sand
foxes are also present.
tasks by Greg, before heading out
to survey the sands, armed with a
packed lunch.
A common perception is that
deserts are a barren landscape,
devoid of life and impervious to
Of all the sightings though, one
of the best we witness is a pair of
pharaoh eagle-owls, a male and
female, that we spook while driving
past, sending the predators flying
out onto the slopes. We wait,
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
LEFT: Arabian horned
viper; Campsite of a
Biosphere Expedition
group; Collecting data
from the camera traps

3. GAZELLES
The reserve’s three gazelles
include: the large, long-horned
oryx, defined by its uniformly
white body; the flank-striped
Arabian gazelle; and the harder-
to-spot sand gazelle, which is the
only one to give birth to twins,
typically in spring and autumn.

4. CATS
There are three felines present in
the reserve: the domestic-sized
Gordon’s wildcat; the reddish-
brown caracal; and the decidedly
cute-faced sand cat, with its
distinctive black leg markings. All
are nocturnal and difficult to spot.

5. LIZARDS
Other scaly sightings include:
the UAE’s largest (and most
aggressive) lizard, the desert
monitor; the ruler-sized, yellow-
spotted agama; and the Leptiens
spiny-tailed lizard, which can live
for up to 80 years.

168 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 CONSERVATION

Pitch up // By night
we return to camp,
which in line
with Biosphere’s
tread-lightly mandate,
is a simple set-up of
bring-your-own tents,
located in a gorgeous
glade of ghaf trees

patiently watching, as they sit and
stare back at us, eyes like saucers.
Herds of oryx, with their
muscular, horse-like haunches, are
omnipresent, and we spy plenty of
Arabian gazelles too — their
springy, athletic strides make them
easy to spot in the dunes. By
coincidence, I’m here at the height
of calving season, and it’s a joy to
see so many leggy youths
gamboling around. Several sand
gazelles also reveal themselves,
distinguishable by their white
faces. All these sightings we note
down on a sheet of ‘random
observations’, which helps Greg
monitor the overall environment.
One of the biggest thrills, I
discover, can be not seeing
something, but getting a hint an
animal had very recently been
there: fox tracks tailing off through
the dunes; the smell of fresh
droppings outside a den. It’s
IMAGE: ALAMY
numbers in the reserve are
threatened by hybridisation with
domestic cats. It’s a rare and
cherished sighting, which all of us
delight in, however vicariously.
By night we return to camp,
which in line with Biosphere’s
tread-lightly mandate, is a simple
set-up of bring-your-own tents,
located in a gorgeous glade of ghaf
trees. There’s a couple of bedouin
mess tents for snacks and drinks, a
central campfire for evening
gatherings, and a set of basic
showers and toilets for essential
ablutions. Breakfast and dinner are
served in the five-star surrounds of
the Al Maha Resort, a short drive
away. Dusty and field-worn as we
are, we enter this luxury retreat via
the back door, in order to feast on
an array of curries in the staff
canteen, from butter chicken
to lentil daal.
Afterwards, we head to Al
the expedition; a chance to relax,
content in the knowledge we’ve
earned these luxuries.
The next chapter in the DDCR
story is an intriguing one. The
gazelle and oryx populations have
now become so plentiful that Greg
is considering reintroducing a
natural predator to help manage
their numbers. “We’re looking at
the Arabian wolf,” he tells me. “But
the problem with predatory
reintroduction is it’s seen as posing
a threat to people and livestock.
That’s not necessarily the case, but
that perception means we can’t
steamroll it through.”
Another thrilling predator
possibility is the Arabian leopard,
which has been critically
endangered since 1996, with fewer
than 200 individuals left in the
wild. If one or both of these
species were reintroduced, it
would make the DDCR experience
HOW TO DO IT
Biosphere Expedition’s eight-
day Arabia itinerary costs
£1,590 per person, excluding
flights. The next expedition
runs 20-27 January 2018.
biosphere-expeditions.org
Al Maha Resort has double
rooms from AED2,816 (£615),
including full-board and two
desert activities. Five per cent
of all profits go back into the
reserve. al-maha.com.
MORE INFO
Dubai Desert Conservation
Reserve. ddcr.org
Biosphere Expeditions has an
extensive blog and archive
of expedition diaries, offering
a real taste of what it’s like to
be a participant on the

peculiar the things you get excited Maha’s terrace bar, for cocktails an even more exciting one for ground. biosphere-expeditions.
about after a week in the DDCR. and a chance to trade tales of the participants. While the decision is org/diaries
One group is lucky enough to spot day’s exploits. It’s a nice contrast being debated, we’ll await with Dubai & Abu Dhabi (Lonely
a Gordon’s wildcat, whose low to the rough-and-ready reality of bated breath. Planet, 2015). RRP: £14.99

June 2017 169

THE DO-GOOD DILEMMA
HOW DO YOU FIND AN ETHICAL OPERATOR AND PROJECT TO ENSURE YOU’RE DOING
MORE GOOD THAN HARM? WE LOOK AT THE QUESTIONS POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS
SHOULD BE ASKING. WORDS: SAM LEWIS
F
ew would argue that
travellers who volunteer
abroad want to make a
positive contribution. Some
might say their altruism is mixed,
in part, with self interest, tinged
with idealism, or underpinned by
obligation or guilt. But motives
aside, the bigger ethical issue is
surely: what are the ramifications
of their work, and where is their
money going? Would it be better,
in fact, to stay at home?
Growing up, most of the
volunteers I knew were teachers,
nurses and doctors who travelled
with nonprofit charities or
nongovernmental organisations.
Today, practically anyone can
volunteer abroad and there are
hundreds of organisations that
will happily place them.
According to Amnesty
International, the volunteering
industry is worth around
$11bn a year, with the largest
organisations generating up to
$20m a year.
Raising money for a good
cause has become a commercial
enterprise — and that means
those in need aren’t the only ones
who are benefitting.
170 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Ruth Taylor, international
steering committee member
for interagency initiative Better
Volunteering, Better Care, says:
“Volunteering abroad is big
business and it’s important to
ask yourself whether, as an
industry, we’re making money
from poverty.”
Of course, in an ideal world,
as a volunteer I’d want 100% of
my money to go to charity. But
as a realist, I know that some
of it will pay for my food, travel
and administration costs, and
a percentage will also go to the
organisation to pay salaries
— with some taking more
than others. Even Amnesty
International has come under fire
on this count. The Sun called out
the Nobel Peace Prize-winning
organisation for allegedly paying
its secretary general, Salil Shetty,
around £200,000 a year (although
it should be noted that this sum is
comparable to other NGO senior
executives roles).
Beside the issue of how much
money is or isn’t finding its way to
a particular project, there’s the
question of whether the project is
actually necessary. Does it have a
long-term, sustainable goal?
Are there likely to be any
negative consequences?
With hundreds of
organisations clamouring
to take paying volunteers,
anyone interested clearly has a
responsibility to research not
only the organisation but to ask
pertinent questions about the
project they’ll be working on.
Transparency surrounding the
impact of the placement and
volunteers’ money should be a
prerequisite for signing up to a
volunteering scheme.
A key consideration, too, is
what a volunteer wants from
the experience.
The boundary between
holidaying and volunteering
has become blurred — some
volunteer programmes even
involve sightseeing or beach
time. Such trips are often
labelled with the derisory
portmanteau ‘voluntourism’.
Hratche Koundarjian, global
media manager at VSO, says:
“Our volunteers don’t have
tourist experiences. We don’t
arrange tours or sightseeing
opportunities. Our placements
aren’t holidays, they’re an
opportunity to contribute to
a properly planned, long-term
international development
programme. Our volunteers can
find their placements enjoyable
— but they’re also demanding.”
Does this mean that
international volunteering
opportunities that structure
themselves around an element
of travel and tourism alongside
a stint of charitable activity
are wrong or simply ineffective?
It seems most people on a
voluntourism project want a
balance between work and
free time spent exploring the
location. Ridhi Patel, founder
of Volunteering Journeys, says
volunteers can have the best
of both worlds, providing they
choose a project wisely. She cites
wildlife data-collection initiatives
as one such example.
Whatever your stance on this,
IMAGE: THE GREAT PROJECTS
it’s clear that every volunteer
— whether a full-time charity
worker or voluntourist — needs
to do some careful research and
background checks before they
embark on a trip if they really want
to make a positive difference.
June 2017 171
THE DO GOOD DILEMMA
Q&A
Q // What length of time do I
need to volunteer for to make a
worthwhile difference?
While you might struggle to
believe that volunteers can
make a huge difference in a
week, some long-term projects
can be achieved via short-term
placements, according to Sarah
Faith, marketing manager at
Responsible Travel — although she
admits they’re “a bit more elusive”.
She points to conservation
projects involving collecting
observational data — for example,
whale and dolphin research
projects in Italy’s Ligurian Sea,
and an initiative in Belize, where
volunteers help clear invasive lion
fish from reefs on dive expeditions.
Other organisations demand
volunteers commit to a minimum
length of time. But whatever the
timescale, volunteers eventually go
home, which poses questions. As
Better Volunteering, Better Care’s
172 natgeotraveller.co.uk
Ruth Taylor points out: “Think
what happens to the work that
the volunteers have been doing.
Does it just stop? Is it handed over
to local people? The best way to
ensure a project is sustainable
is for the organisation to have a
long-standing relationship with
the local community, which brings
volunteers in to add capacity
where needed and has clear exit
strategies for when volunteers are
no longer being sent.”
Q // What’s the goal?
Time isn’t the only factor
that determines if a project
is worthwhile. Taylor says:
“Too often, placements are
set up that are heavily driven
by the volunteer-sending
organisation and what it thinks
its customers (i.e. volunteers)
would be most interested in.
As well as being unethical and
immoral — forcing projects on
communities that don’t want or
need them — it also exploits the
good will of those who wish to
volunteer overseas.”
Remember that commercial
operators, unlike charities, don’t
need to prove to the Charity
Commission that they’re providing
a benefit. Volunteers must do their
own research to ensure a project
meets real needs and is designed
in collaboration with local
partners that understand the
local communities.
Speak to people who’ve been
away with the organisation before
and are enthusiastic ambassadors
for the programme. Online
forums and independent review
sites (such as Volunteer Forever
and Go Overseas) are useful for
determining whether you can
make a difference.
Check to see how long the
organisation has been running
and what it’s achieved so far and
whether its work is sustainable.
Q // I’m not a skilled professional,
will I have a negative impact?
There are some organisations
— notably VSO — that only
recruit professional volunteers
with specific skills, while most,
including at Volunteering Journeys,
advise checking to see if you have
the necessary qualifications for the
project. As Amnesty International
points out: “If you’ve never built
a well in the UK, chances are you
can’t build one in Uganda and
qualified Ugandan builders would
do a better job.” Unfortunately, it
says, there are too many examples
of unqualified young volunteers
being sent to build schools, which
qualified local builders have then
had to knock down and rebuild.
Most ethical operators should
interview volunteers to find out
what they can and can’t do and
place them accordingly.
On the flip side, Hands Up
Holidays (providing luxury
volunteer trips for families) says a
‘philanthro-volunteering’ model is
another way of contributing. Hill
says: “The main benefit our clients
bring is the funding they provide,
which we use to hire local experts
who do most of the work, with our
clients getting involved as much
as they feel able, overseen and
assisted by our local experts.”
IMAGES: THE GREAT PROJECTS; REEF CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL

Q // Where is my money going and
how much should I pay?
You need to be realistic — not
all of a volunteer’s payment will
be given to local communities;
a proportion will be absorbed
by running costs and salaries.
Volunteers should ask for
clarification on the exact
percentage. That said, how do
you know if you’re getting an
honest answer?
With a lack of regulation, it’s
a tricky one — as is the amount
you should pay, with volunteer
placements varying hugely from
a few-hundred pounds to over
£5,000. “Generally, the more
expensive the placement, the less
ethical it is,” says Taylor.
That theory is supported by
a report published in 2014 by
Leeds Metropolitan University.
It found there was an inverse
relationship between cost and
quality, with voluntourism
organisations with the most
expensive products tending to
be the least responsible.
Q // Should I avoid volunteer
projects with children?
In 2013, Responsible Travel
stopped providing volunteer
orphanage packages, and
many other organisations
have followed suit. Most travel
bodies, including ABTA and
VSO, discourage volunteers
from working at orphanages.
VSO’s Hratche Koundarjia
says: “Research has found
volunteering in orphanages
can be psychologically and
emotionally detrimental to
children, and the demand for
voluntary placements could
mean that more children end up
in orphanages, despite having
families at home that are likely to
be able to care for them.”
Volunteers can help, however,
by supporting permanent staff
in such establishments — or
by finding other opportunities
to work with children. Oyster
Worldwide, for example, runs
a scheme providing extra-
curricular sports coaching to kids
in townships in Brazil and South
Africa. Volunteers should expect
a criminal background check
before working with kids.
Q // I want to work with wild
animals — how do I ensure the
establishment is a genuine
centre for conservation?
Most operators recommend that
volunteers ask questions. There
are certain warning signs to look
out for — if the company says it
works with ‘orphaned’ lion cubs
or offers rides on elephants, for
example. “If they do, stay away,”
advises Vicky McNeil, director
at Working Abroad. “There are
many inappropriate projects
out there where volunteers pet
wild animals and bottle-feed
or ‘cuddle a cub’, before they’re
transferred to fenced parks for
‘canned hunting’, where wealthy
foreign trophy hunters can shoot
them easily as they’re not afraid
of humans and can’t escape due
to relatively small enclosures.”
McNeil adds there are
exceptions, including a wildlife
rehabilitation centre where a
trained wildlife vet is present
and where some interaction with
injured animals may be essential,
and so is actively encouraged.
Meanwhile, ABTA’s senior
sustainable tourism executive
Hugh Felton points out: “Any
legitimate sanctuary should
have a no-breeding policy and
any contact should be clearly
demonstrated to be in the best
interests of the animal.”
THE DO GOOD DILEMMA
MORE INFO
Amnesty International.
amnesty.org.uk
VSO. vsointernational.org
Volunteering Journeys.
volunteeringjourneys.com
Hands Up Holidays.
handsupholidays.com
Volunteer Forever.
volunteerforever.com
Go Overseas. gooverseas.com
Omprakash. omprakash.org
Grassroots Volunteering.
grassrootsvolunteering.org
Idealist. idealist.org
Tourism Concern.
tourismconcern.org.uk/ethical-
volunteering
The International Ecotourism
Society. ecotourism.org/
voluntourism-guidelines
Responsible Travel.
responsibletravel.com/holidays/
volunteer-travel/travel-guide
People and Places UK.
travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk
Childsafe.
childsafe-international.org
Campaign Against Canned
Hunting. cannedlion.org
June 2017 173
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

ASTURIAS
DISCOVER THE
REAL SPAIN
Go off-grid along this green stretch of the Iberian
Peninsula, wedged between Galicia and Cantabria.
Combining exquisite landscapes with an excellent
foodie scene, Asturias is slowly revealing itself to be
one of Spain’s must-visit regions
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

ULTIMATE
EXPERIENCES
A place where you can surf at sunrise,
descend to the depths of a mine before lunch
and track roaming bears in silent valleys in
the afternoon, Asturias crams everything
from soaring cliffs and mountain streams to
hundreds of majestic beaches into its borders.

Take the plunge

For a sense of calm, start out at the Fitu Look-
out and catch your breath at the top of this
1,100m-high balcony, stationed between the
handsome towns of Arriondas and Colunga.
Dramatic views roll out in every direction: of
staggering peaks, including those of the Picos
de Europa and the Cantabrian Mountains; and
of more than 100km of captivating coastline
fringed by the bluest of seas. Trace the outline
of the Bay of Biscay and decide which stretch
of sea you’ll dip your toes in, before gazing
over towns such as Caravia, Colunga and the
cider-making capital of Villaviciosa tumbling
down the hillside.
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

View from the top

For yet more jaw-dropping views, hit
the hiking routes that criss-cross the
mountains and lower valleys. Novice and
serious climbers will relish days tackling
the region’s rugged and mountainous
nooks and crannies. Every level is catered
for, whether you’re after an easy morning
stroll or want to take on something more
challenging — for the more adventurous
types, the thrilling multi-pitch routes of
Naranjo De Bulnes in the Picos de Europa is
worth a try.
Adrenalin-loving travellers needn’t
stop there: paragliding above Asturias is a
momentous way to discover its dramatic
landscapes. Tandem flights can be
launched at the Següenco lookout, with
views of the Cantabrian Sea, the mountains
and the Royal Site of Covadonga rolling out
beneath you.

Two-wheeled travel
If you like to work up a sweat, cycling
tours across this wild, untamed region of
northern Spain are a big deal, too. Taking
hardy cyclists past tiny coves and pretty
coastal villages, the routes up to the
peaks of Covadonga Lakes, Angliru and La
Farrapona are seriously spectacular. But at
an incline of 30% and emulating the Cycling
Tour of Spain (La Vuelta a España), they’re
not for the faint-hearted.

Untamed beauty
Elsewhere, unspoilt Asturias is also an
inexplicably charming place to track the
endangered brown bear. Elusive they may be,
but the numbers of these native creatures
have been steadily growing; it’s estimated
there are around 250 brown bears lurking
among the crags and deep valleys of the
region. Head to Somiedo Nature Park and
Fuentes del Narcea, Degaña e Ibias Nature
Park, whose swathes of dense native
forest offer some of the best chances
of bear-spotting.
As for the beaches, Asturias is sprinkled
with some beautiful, blissed-out arcs of sand.
Take La Griega — a glittering sandy beach
where locals soak up the rays, take to the
water for an enchanting swim, and break
from the sun with plates of superb seafood
on shady terraces. It’s also the setting for the
world’s biggest dinosaur footprints — wind
your way along the upper footpath on the
beach’s eastern side to peer down at these
goliath reminders of the Palaeolithic era.
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

Away from the well-worn paths lies the
Muniellos Forest Nature Reserve: this protected
patch of woodland is a stellar spot to explore
on foot. One of the most spectacular Atlantic
ecosystems in Europe and the largest oak forest
in Spain, Muniellos is all wild rivers in the
shadow of mountains and wetland forests of
birch, holly and beech. Pick up the trail to the
four mesmerising lagoons of Candanosa Peak,
and you’ll be following the footsteps of roaming
bears, wolves, foxes, wild boars and roe deer.
Rarely has getting back to nature felt so good.
PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
CULTURAL
EXPERIENCES
The Original Way of the Camino de Santiago, or
the Camino Primitivo, takes star billing when it
comes to cultural charms. The 198-mile route
links the capital of Asturias, Oviedo — home
to the El Salvador Cathedral — with Santiago
de Compostela, a magnificent cathedral of
austere elegance and the final resting place of
the Apostle St James. Taking on this walk, you’ll
be tracing the first ever pilgrimage made to
Santiago, undertaken by King Alfonso II in 813.
Picking its way along sedate paths through the
mountains, woodland and pretty towns such
as Las Regueras, Grado and Salas, this is a trek
not short of a view or two. The path eventually
leaves Asturias at the Acebo Pass and
continues into the province of Lugo in Galicia.
Spirituality runs deep here — and to
embrace the whole spirit of Asturias, you
also have to embrace the parties that are
crammed in to the calendar. There’s the
Canoe Festival during the first weekend
of August, where punters descend on the
region to battle it out on the Sella River.
Then there’s July’s Natural Cider Festival
in Nava, where you can indulge in a draught
of cider or two and the Humanitarian
Festival in Moreda; combining gastronomy
and folklore, it’s filled with nostalgic
charm. Prepare to be blown away, too,
at Antroxu (carnival) in Avilés and Gijón,
where spruced up dancers sashay in line
with booming floats.
 PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

FOOD
EXPERIENCES
Asturias also has some serious
foodie credentials, with a
remarkable number of rustic
tapas bars and Michelin-starred
restaurants pulling out all the stops
with avant-garde menus. Traditional
fabada asturiana is a heart-warming
stew of beans and smoked sausage,
while casseroles, fritos de pixín
(deep-fried monkfish), empanada
(small, savoury pies), the sickly sweet
arroz con leche (rice pudding) and
dishes focusing on seafood all make
up the region’s culinary repertoire.
Cheese is all the rage, too, and
the variety is astounding; namely
Casín, Afuega’l pitu, Cabrales and
Gamonedo, the latter two of which
are matured in the dark and damp
caves of the mountains.

HOW TO GET THERE

Easyjet flies direct from
Stansted, Vueling flies direct
from Gatwick and Iberia flies
from Heathrow.

BEST TIME TO GO
All year round

asturiastourism.co.uk contacto@turismoycultura.asturias.es 00 34 984 493 563 AsturiasNaturalParadise

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Advertisement Feature

ristocratic
In the footsteps of

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Bavaria is rich in stately homes and tra-
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Regal atmosphere In the footsteps of the Celts & the Romans The longest castle complex in the world

STATE SPA BAD REICHENHALL GUT ISING BURGHAUSEN

Built in 1900, the regal spa building
embodies the magnificent tradition of
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Since 1934 this estate on Lake Chiem-
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The symbol of Burghausen is the 1,051
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 Advertisement Feature

Jewel of the Renaissance era Sparkling Wilhelmine’s World

PASSAU REGION POSCHINGER GLASSWORKS BAYREUTH

Schloss Neuburg towers majestically In former times, Bavarian and French The Prussian King’s daughter Margra-
above the River Inn. It is the largest and kings obtained their treasures from the vine Wilhelmine shapes the image of
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people such as Empress Elisabeth of Austria (“Sisi”) and Imperial Chancellor Otto Fürst the elegant park as a fairytale ensemble
von Bismarck came to Bad Kissingen to take the waters. Just like today, the spa gardens of historic buildings. Flower beds, tree
banished the stresses and strains of everyday life and allowed guests to enjoy the privi- cultures, and terraces in the King’s sum-
lege of some time to themselves. mer residence: The Castle Park gardener
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 Summer Sale
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STAR LETTER
Life in ruins
I’ve visited my fair share of ancient ruins.
I’ve spent hours alone amid the crumbling
vestiges of the Angkor empire, watched
a watery sunrise dawn behind Giza’s
pyramids, and sat in the shade of the
Parthenon’s mighty pillars. But more than all
these, it was the mysterious Mayan temples
of southeast Mexico that set my imagination
racing. Your account of Chiapas (‘A message
from the gods’, May 2017) perfectly captured
the wonder and intrigue I felt looking round
the region’s jungle-swamped temples.
For me, the crowning jewel of
the state was Palenque.
The scale of the
religious complex
is awesome, and its
detailed carvings
of warriors, slaves
and mystic rites hint
at a sophisticated yet
bloodthirsty society.
Standing in the tomb
of the Red Queen — so
called because her body and sarcophagus
were coated in crimson cinnabar powder, I
couldn’t help imagining the excitement of
Racing hearts
Your fabulous pictures capturing the drama
of the Palio in Siena evoked strong memories
of our own magical experience (In Pictures,
April 2017). If you can, get there early to savour
the atmosphere, engage with locals and
sample delicious snacks in the square before
the colourful medieval parades begin. Secure
a prime position — the actual dash is over
before you know it! Afterwards, you’ll see men
weeping over huge sums gambled and lost.
The real highlight for us was a local Palio
held in Colle di Val D’Elsa, where we were
staying. Once it was over, the whole village
(and all the holidaymakers) congregated
around gingham-checked tables to enjoy
a communal meal outside.
TOM KINGHORN
In good faith
Tara Isabella Burton’s account of Jerusalem
(City life, March 2017) was a fascinating
insight into possibly the most interesting
city on the planet. As she explained, it’s a
challenging experience — a city that gets
many people thinking about the origins of
religion. On my visits to the city, I’m always

in
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struck by how one place could be the seat
of the three great monotheistic religions.
Jews live cheek-by-jowl with Christians
and Muslims and, by and large, it seems to
other tourists, we saw unrestored temples, work. If I only had time for one more foreign
walked through a bat-infested aqueduct and visit in my life, it would be to Jerusalem.
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June 2017 185

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‘Spain’ — a theme of our May 2017 cover story holds photography
and video gear, plus
As with all our fi nalists, Polly captured a minute detail: more than just a dress and shoes, personal belongings.
the image immediately connotes Spain. With the careful composition and framing of the RRP: £149.95.
dancers, the image also evokes a sense of movement and a festive atmosphere. manfrotto.co.uk

W I N N E R

1 POLLY RUSYN // LONDON: Nothing says ‘Spain’ like

the flamenco. I saw these performers on the streets
of Seville and was utterly captivated by their hypnotic
stamping and rhythmic clapping.

2 JANET MILES // SOMERSET: Around the City of Arts

and Sciences in Valencia are carefully placed pools to
reflect the lighting at night. I hadn’t appreciated the
building’s ‘fishiness’ until after I’d pressed the shutter!

3 ERNESTAS BILVINAS // DERBYSHIRE: The octopuses

on this barbecue in an old boat caught my eye — I had
to capture the scene before trying something similar
at a nearby restaurant.

To find out more about the next theme, to enter

and for T&Cs, visit NATGEOTRAVELLER.CO.UK

186 natgeotraveller.co.uk
 designed to
protect
Photo graphic & Travel Luggage

Hadley Small in Burgundy/Chocolate

made in england since 1973

billingham.co.uk/NGT
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

RAYMOND WEIL is proud to be supporting Swiss sailing team

Realteam as its Official Timing Partner and to introduce a new
freelancer able to support the crew in the most extreme sailing
freelancer collection
conditions. A nice little tip of the hat to Mr Raymond Weil who was
a member of the Geneva Yacht Club.

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