Written by Google Maps can be unreliable at the best of times when you’re travelling in China, but in the southern megacity of Chongqing, a map of any kind turns out to be almost entirely useless. Built across a series of impossibly steep mountainsides and vertiginous valleys at the dramatic confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, […]
Sitting on the Giza plateau, in the butter-light of sunset, I was asked by Mahmoud (owner of a camel called Michael Jordan) which was my second favourite of all of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Of course, the Great Pyramid of Giza (a renewed Insta hit now that a family of dogs has […]
Britain’s highest aqueduct Thomas Telford’s Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is the centrepiece of a world heritage site that crosses three counties and two countries. They call it “the river that runs in the sky”, and there is a rough magic to standing halfway across, looking down on the tumbling River Dee, source of the slow-moving flow at […]
The global travel industry is set to fully recover from the Covid-19 pandemic this month, according to U.N. Tourism. During the first nine months of 2024, international arrivals worldwide reached 98% of pre-pandemic levels, compared to the same period in 2019, it said. The remaining 2% gap will close this month, according to the organization, […]
At the summit of Mount Ida on Crete, I discovered a stone chapel with a frozen free-standing bell leaning against it – it was as if time had stood still. Outside winter, Eastern Orthodox priests and worshippers hike to the highest point on the Greek island, and services are held in the chapel. But it […]
Fika on ice, Sweden We booked a brilliant skating experience in the Stockholm archipelago with True Nature Sweden. There are one-day guided tours for beginners and more experienced skaters (from 13 years upwards). Skating on the sea, or on lakes, feeling the wind blow (faster as you up your speed!) is truly exhilarating. The day […]
Whether or not the term Silk Roads is a myth or a handy catch-all for a dauntingly wide geographical network spanning mountain chains, deserts, cities and seas, the idea of it still entices travellers. There are countless extraordinary places to explore along its various strands from Asia to Europe, and these 10 choices represent only a […]
I first learned about the Écrins national park in relation to a specific nature reserve within it. The réserve intégrale du Lauvitel was established in 1995 to “monitor the natural dynamics of ecosystems” with all human influence removed. This so-called wilderness area was one of the first of its kind in Europe. A video showed […]
The water glitters, rippled by a rising wind, and Victorious glides silently on three huge, maroon sails. We’re the only boat in sight, surrounded by grey sea and vast sky. Every direction offers a subtly different picture: patches of blue and fluffy clouds, billowing blue-black clouds, occasional rays of sunshine beaming into the Wash. A […]