Innholdsfortegnelse for July - August 2021 i Wanderlust

In March, we returned to Nepal. Foreign holidays were then illegal but travel for work was permitted. Navigating the rules set by the airline proved fiercer than those of the Nepali government. The challenge travellers face is that each airline and country potentially sets different rules and requirements. Entering the Netherlands by air, for example, one has to arrange a test that is certified by a clinic within 24 hours of boarding an aircraft (the solution is to fly into Belgium where there is no such rule, and take a train to your Dutch destination). Rapid self-administered tests exist. Lateral flow testing is being done in UK schools and by vaccinators; for these people self-swab, then drip a solution from their swab into a device that looks like a pregnancy…

The Hero’s Way: Walking with Garibaldi from Rome to Ravenna By Tim Parks £20, Vintage Back in 1849, Garibaldi retreated with his forces from Roma, across the Apennines to the Adriatic Coast. His follow- up to the excellent Italian Ways, Parks turn this loss into a victory as he follows the revolutionary’s footsteps, using the journey to tell a lesser-known tale about the man who would eventually unify Italy. Australia: The Cookbook By Ross Dobson £35, Phaidon A cookbook and history lesson all in one, this hefty tome celebrates three periods of Australian culinary culture – the ancient past, the colonial era and its diverse, multi-cultural present – as well as its regional tastes. Mad Travelers By Dave Seminara £12, Post Hill Press One of the travel phenomena of modern…

Masks Watch artisans chiselling wood and painting facial expressions onto masks at Ariyapala & Sons Mask Museum in Ambalangoda. The lightweight masks are made from kaduru trees, which grow around rice paddies. Local travel firm Pepper organises mask-making classes in Galle ($83). ariyapalamasks.com; pepper.life Batik Spend hours admiring fabric in Jez-Looks Batiks, a showroom in Jezima Mohomed’s front room in Matara. You can also watch women melting wax and making bespoke designs in the garden. Enquire about batik courses. jezlookbatiks.com Lacquer work Founded in 1882, the Kandyan Art Association (KAA) is set within the Kandyan Cultural Centre by Kandy Lake. Watch locals at work on the veranda then browse lacquer products inside at a fixed price. Enquire about classes. KAA is on Facebook. Beeralu lace The women’s cooperative Shoba Display…

“English?” asked the attendant checking entrance tickets into Onioshidashi Park. “You like John Lennon?”With that he pulled out a much-handled laminated photo, taken in the 1970s. It was a standard family holiday photo but the people looked familiar. With a jolt I realised it was of Lennon, Yoko Ono, and a very young Sean Lennon. “Taken where you stand now!” he gesticulated. “The landscape of solidified lava and rock was dotted with vivid green plants growing where they could” My guide, Soichi, explained that John and Yoko had spent their summers in the nearby resort town of Karuizawa for what was to be the final four years of Lennon’s life. Like me, they had come to Onioshidashi to marvel at the extraordinary landscape formed from an eruption of the Asama…

“To come to Greece meant that every single one of my senses was excited” Victoria, you visited Greece on your first trip abroad aged 17 and have rarely stayed away for long since then… Having almost never set foot outside the UK, coming to Greece at the age of 17 was such a transformative experience. To find myself in a place where the warmth, the colour and temperature of the sea are completely different, the food is very different. Back in ’70s England, there were not many imported foods available – everything was much more traditionally English; we had Cheddar cheese but feta, for example, wasn’t a supermarket staple. To come to Greece meant that every single one of my senses was excited; by what it looked like, what it…

1 Panguna Mine Eye-opening excursions delve into this colossal mine. Take your camera and absorb the mine dwellers’ powerful stories about the war. 2 Pokpok Island Swim, hike and snorkel on this paradise rainforested island, a short boat ride from Arawa. 3 Sing-sing gatherings Attend one of these colourful shows, common throughout Papua New Guinea, where villagers tell stories through song and music. 4 Mt Balbi It’s a two/three-day trek through jungle to scale this 2,715m active volcano, which rewards hikers with a crater of steaming sulphurous vents. 5 Yamamoto Plane Crash Hike through jungle near Kokopo to the crash site of the plane that was gunned down in 1943 carrying Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, mastermind of the attack on Pearl Harbour. 6 Tautsina…

Vital statistics State capital: Thiruvananthapuram (commonly known as Trivandrum) Population: 35 million. Language(s): Malayalam (official), though English and Hindi are widely spoken. Time: GMT+5.5 International dialling code: +91 Visas: UK passport holders must apply for an e-visa in advance (indianvisaonline.gov.in). Money: The Indian rupee (INR), currently INR103 to the UK£. Credit cards are widely accepted and there are ATMs in cities. When to go Kerala is warm year-around with relatively little seasonal variation in temperature (27°C-29°C). December to March is the dry, peak season. In June to August the south-west monsoon drenches the state. Lighter, less frequent rain can also be expected in April, May and September to November. That said, traditional weather patterns are becoming decreasingly reliable Most Theyyan performances happen November to April. Health & safety For the…

Kayak with sea otters in Monterey Bay, California Adorable but endangered, the sea otter seems relaxed enough in Monterey, where you might spot one floating on its back, nursing a cub or prising open shellfish alongside Fisherman’s Wharf or Cannery Row. Better still, kayak out into the bay and visit rafts of otters, keeping an eye out for sea lions, harbour seals and dolphins. Swim with sting-less jellyfish in Palau Head to Ongeim’l Tketau (Jellyfish Lake) on the island of Eil Malk to be surrounded by hundreds of thousands of golden jellyfish on their daily migration. Swimming in the lake was prohibited for several years after the cnidarian population plummeted, but restarted in 2019 – check locally for the latest updates. Board with belugas in Churchill, Manitoba Each July and…

Parades, music, costumes, city tours and food – lots of food. The HANSE member cities celebrate their friendships and traditions on International Hanseatic Days – an annual three-day festival. Participants from across the Hanseatic region take part, with a new host city chosen each year. Riga is scheduled to host the 2021 event (19-22 August); Gdansk and Visby have been chosen as hosts for 2024 and 2025 respectively. For more information on the festival and other HANSE events visit www.hanse.org…

History St Gallen St Gallen is one of Switzerland’s oldest and most picturesque cities, founded by the Irish monk Gallus in around AD 612. A Benedictine abbey was erected on the site of his cell in the eighth century. In the mid-18th-century a Baroque cathedral and abbey library were built, both with elaborate rococo interiors. Among the library’s 170,000 books are 2,500 handwritten texts, 420 dating from before the year 1000. St Gallen (pictured below left) joined the Swiss Confederation in 1454. Winterthur The city was founded in the 1170s on the site of a Roman colony. It became famous for heavy engineering in the 19th century, making it an appropriate home for the Technorama science museum and the Gewerbemuseum, devoted to applied art and design. The city’s prosperity was…

SANTA FE The heart of this distinctive city is the historic downtown. Santa Fe is the second-oldest city in the country, founded in 1609-1610, and unlike most modern American metropolises there is a grounded presence here, as if its roots have long settled. Native American ruins, etched in petroglyphs, are on its doorstep. Old Spanish pueblo-style homes and churches still stand. Everywhere you look, adobe buildings, which hark back to the city’s indigenous heritage, soften the eye – edges smooth and rounded, baked in warm earthy tones to harmonise with their surroundings. Climb one of the nearby peaks, look down and you’ll hardly know Santa Fe is there. Perhaps most striking of all, though, is the art. Creativity pours out of every corner. There are more galleries per square mile…

Hotels For culture buffs looking to stay in the heart of Santa Fe’s downtown district, try La Fonda on the Plaza: it has gorgeous Pueblo-style architecture, plentiful local art and a cool cocktail bar and restaurant, all within walking distance of the main sites. In Taos, the adobe-style Taos Inn has well-designed rustic-modern décor and one of the best restaurants in town. For a budget option in Taos, the Sagebrush Inn & Suites is a good bet, with a large courtyard, mountain views, and generous servings of south-western charm. Santa Fe Margarita Trail There is no better way to sample New Mexico’s signature drink than this trail linking 45 bars and restaurants (download the app to guide you). Each place offers its own signature mix, from chilli-infused to cotton candy-topped…

Location: Eastern UAE, 160km from Abu Dhabi. Getting there: Fly direct from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi with Etihad or to Dubai with Emirates. Getting around: It’s an 80-min drive from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain, 1 hr 40 min from Dubai. Frequent buses run to Al Ain from Abu Dhabi (X90; 2 hr 40 min) and Dubai’s Al Ghubaiba Station (E201; 2 hr 15 min). Much of Al Ain can be explored on foot or by taxis, which are affordable. When to go: October to April, when temperatures remain below 40°C. Accommodation: Al Ain Rotana is a five-star resort opposite Al Jahili Fort (rotana.com), while Green Mubazzarah Chalets are close to natural hot springs and Mubazzarah Dam at the foot of Jebel Hafeet (danathotels.com). You can also camp in…

Population: 6.5 million Language: Spanish (various dialects across Mexico); English spoken in busy tourist areas. Time zone: GMT-5 International dialling code: +52 222 Visas: Not required for UK nationals for stays of up to 180 days. Currency: Mexican peso (Mex$, MXN), currently around Mex$28 to the UK£. Health issues: The historic centre and most of the city feels safe, crime-free and hassle-free to wander. Protect yourself from the hot sun. Don’t drink water from taps. Recommended guidebooks: Mexico (Lonely Planet, 16th edition) Smartphone app: Google Maps is useful, though many hotels supply handy maps of downtown’s main attractions. Climate: Average high temperatures are 20-26°C year-round. It can get hot and humid. Dry season is November to April.…

Eat pudding A different beast to the tart, Bakewell pudding (which came first) is a gooey, strawberry-jammy, almond-y pastry pudding, with no icing, served with a pot of custard or cream. The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop is where the puddings were first commercially sold, having been invented by accident in the 1860s. Explore Buxton Just outside the national park, Buxton is one of only two British spa towns built by the Romans (Bath’s the other). Explore the Grade II-listed Victorian buildings and parkland of Pavilion Gardens, head up the grassy bank of The Slopes and browse nearby shops, including all five floors of Scrivener’s Books. Cave There are several show caves around Castleton, including Peak Cavern, which boasts the largest cave entrance in Britain. Nearby Treak Cliff Cavern, with…

Small & characterful Africa Pension The best in the budget range, close to downtown and set in a beautiful garden with big rooms but shared bathrooms. It was formerly the mayor’s residence, and his old balcony offers unsurpassed views over the city. Keskese St; +291 1 121 436 Mid-range Crystal Hotel Well located, with lovely staff and good service, this is among Asmara’s most popular hotels and deservedly number one on Tripadvisor. En-suite rooms have TV, WiFi and reliable hot water and electricity. Good restaurant too. Bihat St; www. crystalhoteleritrea.com Best address in town Albergo Italia The oldest hotel in Asmara, dating from 1899. It underwent extensive and expensive restoration in the early 2000s. Services and facilities include a bar and restaurant and six classes of room, from regular to…

“I recommend seeing Sliabh Liag cliffs from the water on a boat cruise and don’t miss the coastal drive from Killybegs to Kilcar. Visit the folk village at Glencolmcille and there’s a beach called Silver Strand with about 360 steps down. Don’t miss the seafood – squid, scampi, cod and haddock. We get it straight off the boats so you can’t get any fresher.” Mairéad Anderson, owner, Killybegs Seafood Shack. Visitors can take a boat tour from Killybegs to the Sliabh Liag cliffs.…

Taipei City skyline from Elephant Mountain, Taiwan From street level, seen as if by ants from within a dense lawn, it’s easy to lose perspective of the verticality of Taipei City’s skyscraper landscape. Yet perspective is close at hand. From the south-easternmost stop of Metro Line 2 (Tamsui-Xinyi), it’s a brief walk to the start of the Xiangshan Trail, a short, steep hike up Elephant Mountain. The trail leads to viewing platforms and boulders offering vistas that will leave you blinking with amazement at the luminescence and extent of Taipei City. Climb at dusk to see the twinkling neon lighting of a steel-and-concrete forest tint the darkening skies with phantasmagorical peachy and purple hues. All the while, your eyes are compulsively drawn to the fashionable Xinyi shopping district and, looming…

Travel during the pandemic is challenging, as is editorial coverage of destinations. While our expert writers strive to provide the most accurate information available, things can change on a daily basis. Please do double check all practical information regarding your trips before making any bookings. Now, more than ever, we encourage you to book your journeys through reputable tour operators that can reliably help when plans have to change. We list a number of outstanding trip options on our Trip Finder tool that you can access on wanderlust.co.uk/ tripfinder. Safe travels!…

WIN! A three-night Italian city break Thanks to the experts at Citalia you could be heading to an Italian city of your choice in spring 2022. Wander secret streets, discover local flavours in intimate restaurants and rediscover a more authentic side of Italy. (Closes 30 June) 15% OFF! Stanfords Established in 1853, Stanfords is the UK’s leading specialist retailer of maps, travel books and accessories. An essential first port of call for explorers and travellers, from Ernest Shackleton to Florence Nightingale to Michael Palin, Stanfords is offering 15% of all online purchases. 15% OFF! Lorton & Horn travel wallets We love the Lorton & Horn range of quality travel wallets, organisers and other travel goods, and you will too. Made from high-quality vegetable- tanned leather (vegan versions…

AQUALUNG XSCAPE wetsuit, £315 The new XSCAPE collection is 100% neoprene-free, instead made of an eco-friendly natural rubber. The 4+3mm XSCAPE wetsuit is designed for diving in warm water. The suit also features recycled, quick-drying fleece around the torso area to provide additional warmth. aqualung.com BANG & OLUFSEN Beosound Explore, £169 This new pocket-sized travel speaker may be just 12.4cm tall, but it offers an incredibly powerful sound experience. Designed with the outdoors in mind, it is lightweight, dust and water proof. It even features a carabiner so you can hang it from your rucksack. bang-olufsen.com KOMPERDELL Carbon FXP Cloud Foldable Poles, £159.95 These folding poles are an astonishing 173g and pack to an extremely small 45cm. Unique to Komperdell, the poles are self-deploying, yet despite the low weight remain…

Here’s what you could be getting… Ride: Cycle the World Explore the most thrilling on- and off-road cycling routes. Whether you’re experienced or are planning your first cycling trip, this guide will help you plan the perfect tour. Unforgettable Journeys Find slow travel inspiration with this guide, featuring 200 scenic journeys across the world to explore by bike, car, water, rails or on foot. Road Trips Ireland With its craggy coastline, dramatic nature and charming villages, Ireland is made for road trips. Find 24 drives across the country with this handy book. Road Trips Great Britain Market towns, castle ruins and vast natural scenery… Great Britain is a joy to uncover by car and inside this guide are 25 routes to help you do exactly that. DK Eyewitness England’s South…

Getting There: There are two Hokuriku Shinkansen trains, Hakutaka (10 a day) and Asama (24 a day), which depart from both Tokyo and Ueno stations and stop at Karuizawa. They are both covered by the Japan Rail Pass. The journey time varies but is on average 60 minutes. For those without a Japan Rail Pass, the cost is ¥6,020 each way for a reserved seat, and non-reserved at ¥5,490. Tickets can be bought on the day, but advance reservation is recommended. Buses from Tokyo (Ikebukuro Station East Exit) take approximately three hours and cost ¥2,700. Tickets must be reserved in advance. Getting Around: If not cycling there is a seasonally run ‘Red Bus’, with just 15 seats, which goes to the Manpei Hotel, goes through Kyu-Karuizawa Ginza Street, and to…

1 Theyyam Witness the moment when, once a year, the gods come down to earth and dance. This extraordinary ritual is entrancing. 2 Kannur The Portuguese St Angelo Fort and Dutch trading post at this coastal town provide insights into early colonial history. Also, check out the riotous morning fish market on the harbourside as the overnight catch is landed and auctioned. 3 The beach between Nileshwaram & Bekal The stretch of sand and surf, fringed by coconut trees, has nothing to stop you walking uninterrupted all day. And not a trinket seller to be seen. 4 Valiyaparamda backwaters Pristine, tranquil and a nirvana for birdwatchers. Go for the sort of experience that drew travellers to southern Kerala half a century ago. 5 Wayanad’s forest…

St Gallen Population: 75,833 Average July temp: 17°C Famous for: UNESCO World Heritage-listed Abbey of St Gall, the Old Town, oriel windows, linen and cotton manufacture. Winterthur Population: 111,840 Average July temp: 18.5°C Famous for: World-class museums, engineering, UBS bank (founded 1862), chocolates. Need to know The journey from Zürich Airport train station to Winterthur takes 20 minutes, to St Gallen takes 50 minutes. Winterthur–St Gallen takes from 35 minutes by direct train. How to get there SWISS (swiss.com ) offers flights from the UK and Ireland to Zürich. One-way fares with one piece of hand luggage start from £80, with checked baggage from £130, including taxes, fees and surcharges.…

Georgia O’Keeffe Museum One of the most important artists of the 20th century, Georgia O’Keeffe’s abstract modernist style helped define American art. New Mexico was her muse. She visited for the first time in 1917 and eventually moved to the state in 1949, where she stayed until her death in 1986. Her paintings capture the soft colours and stark beauty of New Mexico in a uniquely captivating and fragile way. See a wide array of her works, ranging from childhood pencil portraits to watercolours made in her 80s, at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe. www.okeeffemuseum.org Meow Wolf Part mad art installation, part insane playhouse and all-out unbridled fun, Meow Wolf’s House of Eternal Return in Santa Fe is what happens when 135 contemporary artists are given free rein…

It’s better known as the home of the Great Barrier Reef, but as the only place in the world where both of Australia’s Indigenous cultures meet, Queensland’s also one of the most interesting destinations to experience cultural tourism. Seven times the size of Britain, Queensland is today home to around 50 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language groups, with 4% of Queenslanders identifying as Indigenous. Thanks to more than 65,000 years of ancestral knowledge, passed down through generations, the culture continues to run deep in Indigenous communities from the Queensland outback to the tropical isles of the Torres Strait. Now, travel is also playing a role in safeguarding this heritage. “Sharing our cultural ways with visitors helps to create an understanding of our culture and ensures that we preserve our…

“The area of the forts of Loreto and Guadalupe is of great historical value – this was the scene of the historic battle of 5 May 1862, when the French army was defeated. It’s great to walk around the monuments, tunnels and museum, and ride the cable car for views over the city to Popocatépetl. It’s also worth visiting the Church of Fatima, the colourful old indigenous neighbourhood, and stopping at the restaurant of Doña Lupita, which has delighted locals with tasty traditional cemitas (sandwiches) for over 76 years.” Francisco Linares, guide, Journey Latin America…

Perched on a plateau 2,500m above sea level on the Horn of Africa, Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, is a majestic city in a magnificent spot, sitting high above the clouds. Its a strategic location, between the Red Sea coast and the hinterland, blessed with a salubrious climate that has sustained villages on this plateau for millennia. So it was no surprise that after the Italians occupied Asmara in 1889, they designated it capital of what became their East African Empire or Africa Orientale Italiana. Over the next 50 or so years, successive generations of Italian colonial planners and architects, reliant on Eritrean labour, knowledge, materials and skills, created a city that remains remarkably intact today; it feels rooted to an ancient past and yet still at home in its…

Explore… Don’t miss the recycling market of Medeber, where old scrap is reconfigured into new products by welders, cutters and machinists. Also, on the city’s western edge are two remarkable cemeteries: one for locals, with some ostentatious tombs; the other full of tanks and detritus from the independence struggle – a striking unofficial memorial. Eat and drink… Eritrea is famed for its spicy food served on a sour pancake-like bread, injera. Coffee is always a pleasure, from the slow-brewed ceremony to the quick café espresso shot. Fresh fruit juices, often served with ice cream, are sublime. Steam railway… If you can team up with fellow travellers, book a ride on the antique steam railway, rehabilitated by octogenarian Eritrean railway engineers. Around $500 will buy you a five-hour return trip part-way…

Day 1: Culture in Galway Start in this lively city: stroll the alleys around Quay Street, take a food tour, eat oysters and listen to live music. Then drive along the coast roads to Clifden, stopping at beaches – try Blue Flag-awarded Trá an Dóilín (Coral Strand) near Carraroe – and Derrigimlagh Bog, where pilots Alcock and Brown crash landed (uninjured) after the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919. Day 2: Westport From Clifden, travel north to Killary Harbour, Ireland’s longest fjord, which you can cruise by boat. Travel on to Westport, via Clew Bay and Croagh Patrick mountain. In Westport, tour 18th-century Westport House and visit Matt Molloy’s pub for live traditional music. Day 3: Achill Island Drive or cycle off-road to Ireland’s largest island, connected to the mainland…

Walk or cycle among ancient stone walls and church ruins on Inis Mór, one of the three Aran Islands; visit the cliff-edge fort at Dún Aonghasa and the rock formation of Poll na bPéist (the Wormhole). Or try Inishbofin Island, further north, for peaceful walks and good diving. www.aranislands.ie, www.inishbofin.com Climb Croagh Patrick, Ireland’s sacred mountain and pilgrimage site. The views from the 764m-high summit stretch over Clew Bay and its hundreds of islands. The climb takes three to four hours and is rocky and steep in places. www.croagh-patrick.com Cycle the Great Western Greenway, a 42km off-road trail running along an old railway from Westport to Achill island in County Mayo. The trail passes the villages of Newport and Mulranny, and there are super views of Clew Bay and the…

SARAH REID Indigenous Queensland Current Australian Society of Travel Writers’ Travel Writer of the Year, Sarah has embraced the opportunity to explore her own backyard while international travel is off-limits. She reveals Queensland’s top Indigenous experiences for us on p172. Which Greek island would you like to visit? “I’d love to explore somewhere new – the Ionian island of Kefalonia looks gorgeous.” NEIL GERAGHTY Hanseatic League cities A passion for history and architecture has taken Neil on a 20-year Odyssey ranging from ancient Peruvian rock tombs to mid-century homes in Palm Springs. He takes us on a tour of the Baltic’s Hanseatic League cities on p142. Which Greek island would you like to visit? “Megisti – a lazy seafood lunch in the historic harbour followed by a sunset dip in…

“Finally a moment to catch up with @wanderlustmag’s new glossy feel. @celbrash is making me wish for a trip to French Polynesia. One day maybe...”@tucano2 ”[On Togo] The Fetish market in Lome is a must-see, but you need a strong stomach as the stench is overpowering!” The Two Week Traveller “The Wanderlust World Travel Quiz Book  arrived in the post from@wanderlustmag. Now how am I ever going to get any work done with 200 pages of travel trivia to test myself on?” @DianeParkes1 [On our Austria webinar] “I've just watched the recording of this event as I was unable to see it live. As always, @ChallengeSophie was very inspiring and her zest for adventure is contagious. “ Darren Taylor…

UNEXPECTED WILDLIFE EXPERIENCES “In South Africa we entered a garden in front of a house (the entrance to a crocodile park) and there, lying on a picnic table, was a lion. It jumped off to play with the owner’s Jack Russell, then came up to me and put his massive front paws around my leg – just like a domestic cat – until the owner of the property arrived!” Terri Innes “We were camping in Venezuela and told not to leave any doors open in the shower block. The reason became apparent the next morning. A giant anteater was curled up asleep in the shower.” Patricia Smith “I spotted a muntjac deer at Tesco Extra car park in Reading.” Keiko Taylor “One morning on a road trip to Perth, I…

Hotels and restaurants throughout Bali offer cooking classes. Some of the finest are run by Bumbu Bali (bumbubaliresto.com), which offers a range of half-day courses for meat-eaters and vegetarians in Ubud and Jimbaran, including market shopping for the ingredients. Also try the beautiful Capella Hotel in Ubud (www.capellahotels.com), where you can learn how to make jamu using a method invented in the Mataram Kingdom era, some 1,300 years ago. WANDERLUST RECOMMENDS Island of Bali by Miguel Covarrubias (Hesperides Press), the essential cultural introduction to Bali.…

1 MASKS The coastal town of Ambalangoda is known for its wooden masks, which depict demons, gods and animals. Raksha masks, which portray 24 demons including the cobra and fire devil, are worn at festivals, while Sanni masks are used in exorcisms and Kolam masks for comic dances. A typical story sees the god of craftsmen provide masks and lyrics so servants can satisfy a pregnant queen’s cravings for dance. 2 BATIK The Dutch introduced the Indonesian technique of batik to Sri Lanka in the late 1600s. Dots and lines are etched on to fabric in wax before the fabric is dipped in dye. Common designs include peacocks, tea pickers, processions and rock art seen on the ancient fortress of Sigiriya. 3 LACQUER WORK Once a dying art, this labour-intensive…

Take a safari The Picchio Wildlife Research Centre offers a range of short tours to support its conservation work. Depending on the season, you can take a wildlife night drive, daytime nature walk, go out at dusk in search of flying squirrels, search for Asiatic black bears, or even, on a few dates in the autumn, go in search of the serow, an endemic goat-like animal. Prebooking essential. www.wildlife-picchio.com Go on a hike Surrounded by forest there are plenty of opportunities to walk around Karuizawa. Local beauty spots include Kumobaike Pond and the horseshoe-shaped Shiraito Falls, which makes up for its lack of height with its beauty. Or walk a section of the historic Nakasendo Trail to Usui Pass, imagining yourself back in the Edo-era when this was a key…

The author travelled with Reef and Rainforest (01803 866965, www.reefandrainforest.co.uk) who offer a 10-day Bougainville tour featuring nights in Arawa, Pokpok and Buka, from £4,995 per person, including international flights with Air Niugini from Singapore. Combine the tour with their introductory 7-day Papua New Guinea on a Reasonable Budget tour, featuring the Papuan Highlands, from £3,425 per person including all accommodation, domestic flights and transfers. Vital statistics Capital: Arawa; interim capital: Buka Population: 300,000 Languages: Pidgin (Tok Pisin) and island languages; English spoken widely. Time: GMT+11 International dialling code: +675 Visas: UK nationals require a PNG visa. Money: PNG kina, currently around PGK4.75 to the UK£. When to go Tropical Bougainville is hot, humid and wet year round, albeit tempered by cooling ocean breezes. Expect rain and temperatures of 24°C…

The American West is a place of scale and grandeur, where soaring peaks fall to slickrock canyons and the high desert stretches to an endless blue sky. It is a place imbued with its past: the Native American tribes who still honour and live on the land of their ancestors; the cowboys and pioneers who settled here; the wilderness that has still not been tamed, nor ever will. But when we think of the American West, we tend to think of its famous sites: the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains. But if that’s all we do, if we simply pass through the rest, we sell the region short. For hidden in the shadows, obscured by the glare of those brighter stars, are some of the West’s most treasured spots –…

Rio Grande Gorge Flowing more than 3,000km from Colorado to the Gulf of Mexico, the legendary Rio Grande must have been the subject of more cowboy campfire tales than just about any other river on the planet, and the section around Taos is recommended. La Vista Verde Trail is a 4km out-and-back hike along the inner gorge with views of the winding river throughout. The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, which looms almost 200m above the water, is one of the highest bridges in the country. It offers a bird’s eye view – walk to the middle, look deep into the snaking ravine below and you’ll know why they call it New Mexico’s Grand Canyon. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks Hike among these strange rock formations, just outside of Santa Fe. Dozens of…

International dialling code: +291 Currency: Nakfa (ERN), currently around ERN20 to the UK£. Take cash to change at hotels as there are no cash machines and banks are impossibly bureaucratic. Getting there: There are no non-stop UK-Asmara flights. Ethiopian Airlines flies via Addis Ababa, Fly Dubai via Dubai, Turkish Airlines via Istanbul and Egyptian Airlines via Cairo. Asmara airport is 7km south of the city centre, around 20minutes by taxi; expect to pay ERN400/£19. Getting around: The best way to travel around Asmara is on foot. Cycling, which is a national obsession, is a close second and the perfect way to venture further afield. Bike hire is easy. Taxis are also easy to find and cheap if you use their specified routes, but can get expensive for personal ‘contract’ hire.…

Wild, rugged headlands that face the full force of the Atlantic’s waves. A scatter of offshore islands that are home to forts, lighthouses, pirate castles and holy wells. Stretches of golden sand that curve into wide bays or tuck into secret coves, backed by steep cliffs, rolling dunes or flat slabs of fossil-embedded rock. Welcome to the Wild Atlantic Way, one of the world’s great drives, which runs 2,500km along the west coast of Ireland from Kinsale in County Cork to the dramatic cliffs of Inishowen in County Donegal. If you only have a few days, start at a mid-point such as Galway. You can either drive south to explore the peninsulas of Cork and Kerry or travel north for the raw landscapes of the west and north-west. The five-day…

International dialling code: +353 Currency: Euro (€) Getting there: Shannon Airport and Ireland West Airport Knock are the main hubs; there are smaller airports at Sligo and Donegal. Alternatively, fly or take a ferry to Dublin; Galway is a two-hour drive. Trains link Dublin to Galway, Westport, Ballina and Sligo. Getting around: The main towns and cities are well served by buses but you’ll need to have your own transport to explore the coast. Some bike hire operators also provide luggage transfer services. Weather: Conditions can be variable. Bring warm layers and a waterproof no matter what the season. Food tours: There are plenty of ways to sample local produce. Try Galway Food Tours (www.galwayfoodtours.com), Mayo’s Gourmet Greenway (www.mulrannyparkhotel.ie) or a coastal walk and tasting in Connemara (www.mungomurphyseaweed.com). For farmers…