Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i Wanderlust

DAVID HOLLAND Avid long-distance walker A member of the UK’s Long Distance Walkers Association (LDWA), David loves nothing more than taking to the trail. And on p74 he shares tips on how you can prepare for your first long-distance walk Mountain, desert, ocean or jungle… which are you? Anywhere where there’s a challenging walk. First great travel experience? My first LDWA challenge event in the Brecon Beacons. If I hadn’t plucked up the courage to go on my own that day, I might never have taken up walking. Favourite journey? The grandest has to be the GR20 path through Corsica. Top five places worldwide? I haven’t finished locally yet! I think the UK and Europe have everything I need. Passport stamp you’re proudest of? None, really. All walks are great.…

‘The biggest adventure for us now is the polar ice caps’ Where does your wanderlust come from? I think we’ve been nomads since we were kids. Our father was in the army, and because of his profession we travelled the length and breadth of the country. It gave us such an interesting start. We learnt so much from different cultures in India and met some amazing people, including tribespeople. But the Seven Summits and the Poles definitely got us to places where not many others have the opportunity to go. It was an eye-opener to see what’s happening around the world, be it climate change or other issues. It also meant meeting people from other backgrounds, and that human connection was important. As twins, do you do everything together? I…

Sadly, tour guides aren’t often thrust into the limelight. But that doesn't mean they’re not deserving of higher praise. And you clearly agree, having sent in your 2017 Guide Award nominations in droves, shouting from the rooftops about how these superstars have transformed your travels. We’ve somehow managed to whittle your picks down to a shortlist of eight – always a tricky task. But now we’re passing the baton to you, to help us pick the best of the bunch. If you’ve worked or travelled with any of the guides here, please send us your comments and feedback via post, email or via our website (www.worldguideawards.co.uk) to help the judges decide. The top trio will be recognised and awarded bursaries in a ceremony at London’s Royal Geographical Society on 5…

The Transcaucasian Trail, Georgia & Armenia TOTAL DISTANCE: 2 x 1,500km trails RECOMMENDED TIME: Three months Winner of Wanderlust’s ‘Innovation of the Year’ award at the Adventure Travel Conference 2017, the Transcaucasian Trail, when fully complete will be the first and only long-distance trail in the Caucasus mountains. Currently being forged through Georgia and Armenia (a future extension is planned to include Azerbaijan), this is a fascinating journey, featuring peaks over 5,000m and churches over 1,500 years old. Walking the whole trail when finished would take three months, though sections of up to ten days are already walkable. The trail passes through a diverse range of natural and cultural landscapes. Glaciated peaks and dense forests thread the Georgian side, while across the Armenian border lie ancient defensive towers and high…

Paolo Bonato, Jordan product manager at Exodus Travels, shares his tips on exploring the mountains, seas and ruins of one of the Middle East’s most varied countries… BEST TIME TO GO: The best time to visit Jordan is during the spring and autumn seasons; the days bring pleasant temperatures while the nights are refreshingly cool. During this time, the hills and valleys are also full of beautiful colours, making them perfect for trekking. MUST SEE: The spectacular ‘Rose-red city’ of Petra is perhaps Jordan’s best-known icon, but no less impressive for it. This ancient city is hidden away in the craggy mountains of the south, and it is unique for a number of reasons. Firstly, the Nabataean people that built it made the city defensible by placing it at the…

VITAL STATISTICS Region name: Deqen Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (DTAP) Prefecture capital: Shangri-La (China) Population: 353,500 Language(s): Mandarin, Tibetan and many ethnic languages, including Loloish Time: GMT+8 International dialling code: +86 Visas: Required by UK nationals. Tourist visas, valid for two years, may be obtained at Chinese Visa Application Service centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh (visaforchina.org); from £151. You need copies of your air tickets, confirmation of all hotel bookings and a detailed itinerary and supporting letter. Money: Chinese Yuan (CNY), currently CNY8.77 to the UK£. ATMs are common. When to go Dry season – In Yunnan, the end of this season sees great displays of wildflowers. Winter also brings snow to the moutnains, sub-zero chills at night and the return of black-necked cranes to Lake Napahai. Wet season –…

STAR LETTER Age is no barrier I can’t help but feel that Michael Lowe, author of the ‘Roaming oldies’ letter [May 2017, issue 176], is being a bit feeble. I am in my early 70s, as is my husband who only had a hip replacement three years ago. Yet we have just returned from a wonderful holiday in northern India, where we walked from village to village in the Himalayan foothills. It was just us and the guides. We also did a similar trek in northern Ethiopia 18 months ago, and on a recent trip we met a trio whose combined ages totalled 237 years. A tour group of two-to-four people avoids the problems of larger groups, where long-legged youngsters stride ahead (they’re too busy walking to enjoy the scenery).…

1 Think twice before tasting Belém’s tucupi sauce – if not prepared properly, it can be highly toxic; p28 2 Tie-dye was born long before the hippy days of the 1960s; it dates back to 4,000 BC in India; p60 3 Find you’re addicted to Chinese dish yingshu? It’s no surprise, really, as it contains opium leaves; p88 4 Forget power stations and cars, Sicily’s Mount Etna is up there as one of the world’s big air polluters; p133 5 You can now bring a portable treehouse on your travels, allowing you to sleep out – and high up; p85…

ON TOP OF THE ROCK Yoho National Park, Canada Photographer: Paul Zizka Canada is known for its eye-bulging views. Travellers head there in search of larger-than-life vistas and are met by vast waters, echoing wilds and sprawling forest, all neatly wrapped up in its national parks (free to visit in 2017). The Rockies are a fine example, with the toothpaste-blue Lake O’Hara stretching out beneath the peaks of Yoho NP. Photographer Paul Zizka has shot the grandest slices of these ranges as part of a series of books, each one a reminder that our travel horizons can always be wider. This image is taken from The Canadian Rockies: Rediscovered (£39) by Paul Zizka, one of several photo books on the Rockies to be published by Rocky Mountain Books in 2017.…

GLOBETROTTERS CLUB London, 3 Jun  www.globetrotters.co.uk The Church of Scotland, Crown Court, Covent Garden, WC2B 5EZ. Doors open at 2.15pm. £6; £3 for members. Call 020 7193 2586 to book. Paul Hughes reminds us that there are always adventures waiting to be had closer to home, while Duncan Gough recalls his time in Spain and shares tips on how to write up your travels. COOL MAN’S EVEREST London, 8 Jun  www.rgs.org Royal Geographical Society, 1 Kensington Gore, SW7 2AR. 7pm. Tickets £20; visit www.himalayantrust.co.uk or call 07770 733556 to book. Kenton Cool, one of the UK’s foremost mountaineers, reels off tale after tale spanning his impressive climbing CV, from peaking Everest 12 times to becoming the first person in history to complete the ‘Triple Crown’ (climbing Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse).…

VITAL STATISTICS Capital: Brasilia Population: 209.5 million Languages: Portuguese and various tribal languages Time: GMT-3 (Belém & Alter do Chão); GMT-4 hrs (Manaus) International dialling code: +55 Visas: Not required by UK nationals for stays of up to 90 days. Money: Brazilian Real (BRL), currently around BRL4 to the UK£. ATMs are found throughout the country and the majority of credit cards are widely accepted. When to go • Rainy season – expect up to 400mm of rain daily in March. May and December are drier, but still see heavy rainfall. • Peak crowds – festival season comes with crowds. The Sairé festival in Alter do Chão (Sep) and the Cirio de Nazaré festival in Belém (Oct) see most hotel rooms booked out well in advance. • Dry season –…

1 Sydney  You may be dreaming of a sun-soaked harbourfront and Australia’s iconic Opera House. But get it wrong and you may find yourself in a T-shirt, stood on the banks of its Canadian counterpart in icy Nova Scotia. 2 Birmingham  The UK’s second city isn’t typically a travel hotspot, but its airport has good links that stretch across the globe. Handy, unless you accidentally book a flight out of Birmingham, Alabama, in America’s Deep South, that is. It has been done. 3 San José  Costa Rica’s capital is a gateway to the country’s volcanoes, rainforests and rich wildlife. But make sure you comb your booking with a keen eye before confirming, as you could just as easily end up in Silicon Valley’s Californian hub San Jose, USA, or even…

Photography and astronomy have long been connected. Many of the photographic pioneers of the early 19th century were astronomers by training, first capturing the moon on camera in 1840. When travelling, lunar shots offer a chance to capture scenes under unusual lighting, from ‘moonbows’ (rainbows of moonlight) to lunar haloes. A more naturalistic treatment has its appeal, but long exposures and ‘night’ settings can give interesting effects that make a lunar shot stand out, such as in this image from 2016’s competition (‘Moon Reflection’ by Rafael Defavari), which uses the light of the city and moon’s reflection on the lake. It isn’t easy to achieve, but then the moon has always been associated with mystery and romance. 1 Use the moon  While not nearly as bright, the moon can be…

THE TARP What? Essentially this is just a versatile sheet of breathable, waterproof fabric that you can – with enough practice – arrange in a number of positions to sleep underneath. Most should come with guylines, to help you string it between trees or walking poles. Good ones also come with pegs/stakes. Why? Weight. If you are heading somewhere where the main issue is rain rather than cold, and you are happy to sleep out in the open in just a sleeping bag or just need a wind break, then the tarp does the job of a makeshift shelter nicely, while packing down smaller than a standard towel in your luggage. Why not? Faff. Until you get your tarp technique just right, erecting one of these efficiently and easily can…

Your Story Bishop’s blessing Winner of this month’s online writing competition, reader Celia Dillow recalls the most remarkable encounter of her travels… The most remarkable person I ever met while travelling married me. But it wasn’t like that… He was a bishop, and we met in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, long before the rich and the famous discovered the joys of Punta del Este. Back then, travellers didn’t bother with this gentle country or its capital, a bright and breezy spot on the edge of the Rio de la Plata. Downtown, its port buildings had long since given way to a vast collection of parrillas – huge, open grills with log fires blazing behind them. Nightly, glowing coals would be raked under meat, and we spent many an evening…

PHOEBE SMITH • EDITOR • Grabbing her staff and going on a pilgrimage. Not in Spain, but the UK... SEE PAGE 131 TOM HAWKER • PRODUCTION EDITOR • Realising there’s a world of new walking routes waiting for him... SEE PAGE 54 GARETH CLARK • SUB EDITOR/WRITER • Deciding which wild slice of Canada he’ll look to explore next... SEE PAGE 108 RHODRI ANDREWS • EDITORIAL ASSISTANT • Making sure that when he books a flight to Australia, he doesn’t end up in Canada SEE PAGE 77…

‘Crossing the Drake Passage is a must – your stories will be more interesting at parties’ When you think about visiting Antarctica, crossing the infamous Drake Passage is often never far behind. Despite its stormy waters, this section has long been an integral part of the ‘classic’ expedition cruise from South America. However, these days more of us are choosing to skip The Passage altogether and insted fly to meet a vessel anchored closer to the icebergs. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has just published figures showing a 36% jump in visitors taking the air and cruise combo, leaping from 2,353 people (2015-16) to 3,203 (2016-17) in just one year – making it the fastest growing route to Antarctica. “It saves time,” explains Amanda Lynnes from the…

Trying to pigeonhole Israeli cuisine is an impossible task. Its cooking is a reflection of the country’s history. After gaining independence from the UK in 1948, Jews from over 70 countries returned to their homeland from Europe, the Middle East and beyond. This influx brought a wave of new cuisines; one that still baffles travellers today looking for an authentic bite. For visitors to Israel, it’s not uncommon to find Austrian schnitzel, Yemeni kubaneh bread and Turkish börek on one menu. Head to the boulevards of Tel Aviv and it’s the same story. Stalls line its streets, where locals queue for falafel, a food brought here in the 1950s by Yemenite Jews and now the national dish. From Tunisian fricasee – fried rolls typically filled with tuna and spicy harissa…

A good travel challenge often makes for the perfect inspiration for the summer, and this month’s shelf has something to appeal to everyone. Having already cycled the Mediterranean coast and Europe, Andrew P Sykes’ latest two-wheeled wander sees him go vertical, from Europe’s most-southerly point 8,000km up to its northern peak in Nordkapp. Spain to Norway on a Bike Called Reggie (Summersdale, £10) is a light-hearted adventure guaranteed to have you considering your panniers. Tom Jeffreys has a slightly less spectacular itinerary ahead of him: Signal Failure (Influx Press, £10) sees him tramp out of Euston Station to follow the proposed – and often damp – route of the divisive HS2 rail line all the way to Birmingham, trying to get to grips with an angry, conflicted UK along the…

Why did you do a multi-day trek? I took on the 309km Coast to Coast (C2C) walk between the Cumbrian and North Yorkshire coast with my dad, to allow us to reconnect with our roots. It was also a good excuse to escape hurly-burly city life. How did you plan the walk? Fellwalker Alfred Wainwright’s old walking guide is still relevant, but it paid to purchase a newer book to accompany it. Large-scale maps and notes on the walk’s routes, towns and villages proved invaluable. How did you find it along the way? The C2C often uses pathways adopted by other routes, including the Pennine and Cumberland Ways. When it forges its own path, signposts are sporadic but there are some blazes and stencils on useful gateposts and tree trunks.…

‘The nasty thing about the oil from these plants is that the resin can get onto your skin from towels, clothes and even pets’ Plants have evolved an impressive array of unpleasant methods to stop animals eating them. Most of us in the UK will be familiar with the stinging properties of nettles, but venturing into the tropics may put you in contact with flora that can provide other, more unpleasant, surprises. WELL ARMED Some plants are covered in hidden barbed thorns. Probably the most likely (and awkward) encounter may occur when squatting outdoors for a pee or poo; always try to find or clear a vegetation-free squat spot first. Thorns are painful to pull out, especially from the buttocks. It’s not just thorns. Furry-looking seed pods, such as those…

The 1920s witnessed not just a new dawn in the way that we travel but the way we saw the world, as the rise of art deco stylised our dreams for the Jazz Age. Ads riffed on our fantasies, often using simple shapes and letting the viewer fill in the rest, such as in these posters (above) collected in William W Crouse’s The Art Deco Poster (Thames & Hudson; £28, out now). But in many ways their message is timeless. Many of these posters sought to sell travel as ‘the future’, and the artists’ duly obliged. A cruise ship hovers in front of a sci-fi-looking New York; a UFO-like locomotive tears out of the paper, its novelty writ large in a Bauhaus font. All this wide-eyed awe might look a…