Original Traveller

ORIGINAL traveller

ISSUE N°1

TRAVEL LESS, TRAVEL BETTER

by

EGYPT - EMILIA-ROMAGNA BRITISH COLUMBIA - LAMU

Cover shot by Pia Riverola at Casa Eterea, a one-bedroom eco-lodge near San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Original Travel 111 Upper Richmond Road London SW15 2TL +44 (0) 20 3958 6120 www.originaltravel.co.uk

ORIGINAL traveller Spring - Summer 2022

E d i to r ’ s L e t te r Over the years we’ve published many award-winning brochures and even a book, but never a magazine.

Now, as the pandemic changes all our perspectives, we’ve decided to remedy that. Welcome to the first issue of Original Traveller, hopefully a timely reminder that travel is a key component of a properly fulfilled life. One that can always be undertaken with more thought and consideration, for sure, but one that is profoundly important. 2022 is the moment to make up for lost time and missed opportunities; to experience and relish again that special sense of ‘otherness’ that only comes from immersing yourself in another culture.

The good news is that the timing couldn’t be better. We doubt you’ll need much persuading to travel, but 2022 is a year of truly exciting openings and key travel-related commemorations. There’s the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of the first ever national park - Yellowstone in the USA - and the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt. I’ve always loved the words of the self-taught archaeologist Howard Carter on opening the Boy King’s tomb... “...as my eyes grew accustomed to the light, details of the room within emerged slowly from the mist, strange animals, statues, and gold - everywhere the glint of gold.

For the moment - an eternity it must have seemed to the others standing by - I was struck dumb with amazement, and when Lord Carnarvon, unable to stand the suspense any longer, inquired anxiously, ‘Can you see anything?’ it was all I could do to get out the words, ‘Yes, wonderful things.’”

We look forward to introducing you to many wonderful things in 2022. Wonderful places, wonderful people, wonderful experiences, wonderful rituals and customs, wonderful food and much, much more in this wonderful world of ours. After all, as far as we know, we’re the only inhabited rock in the cosmos. It would seem a shame not to explore it in all its glory.

TOM BARBER, CO-FOUNDER OF ORIGINAL TRAVEL

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tips

INSIDE TRACK Original Traveller n°1 — Spring - Summer 2022

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MEMENTO

TRAVEL HACK

The kitsch cat from Japan

Go green in Botswana 19

24 HOURS IN...

The inside track on Paris 20 — 21

TOP TEN...

National parks turn 150 42 — 57

EGYPT

The history of travel 58 — 69

EMILIA-ROMAGNA Secret Italy

10 — 13

COMING SOON

Your must-dos for 2022

70 — 81

HOW TO TRAVEL BETTER The top ten tips

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TRAVEL TRENDS

What’s hot (and what’s not)

82 — 95

LAMU

Kenya’s coastal gem 96 — 109

CUSTOM BUILT

Rituals from around the world

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HEROES

Patti Seery, boat building visionary 23

FINE LINES

Beyond Bauhaus in Tel Aviv 24 — 25

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Thomas Sjögren lives off the land 15

26 — 27

110 — 123

BETTER KNOWN

THE BIG PICTURE

BRITISH COLUMBIA

16 — 17

28 — 31

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TRIED & TESTED

INTERVIEW

ENDINGS

A shout out to Guyana

Get the right travel gear

Dive into Oman

Dreams can come true

Original Travel Co-founder Tom Barber 5

Until next time

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C o n t r i b u to r s JULIET KINSMAN

TOM HOLLAND

journalist and broadcaster

historian, author, broadcaster

Juliet Kinsman is Condé Nast Traveller’s first ever Sustainability Editor. A regular on BBC Radio London and Sky News, she’s been a journalist and broadcaster for 25 years, dedicated to amplifying stories of sustainability.

Tom Holland is an award-winning historian, best-selling author ( Rubicon, Millennium, Persian Fire ) and broadcaster. His translation of Herodotus: The Histories came out in 2013. He co-hosts the excellent new podcast The Rest is History.

Stanley Stewart is the author of three highly acclaimed travel books and several hundred articles based on journeys across five continents. He won Feature of the Year at the 2021 Travel Media Awards, and his latest book, In the Empire of Genghis Khan, charts his thousand-mile horse ride across Mongolia.

LIZZIE SHIPLEY travel writer

OLIVIER ROMANO photographer

ELLA MAWSON writer, editor

Lizzie Shipley is a freelance travel writer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. When not penning words, you’ll find her hiking, biking, freediving, trail running, camping and snowboarding (albeit badly) across Canada’s great outdoors.

Olivier Romano is the creative director at Voyageurs du Monde, Original Travel’s parent company. He photographed Lamu in Kenya for our first issue of Original Traveller.

Ella Mawson heads up the Content team at Original Travel and wrote the feature on rituals and customs from around the world.

Her own personal rituals include drinking too much tea and curling up every night with a good book.

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STANLEY STEWART writer and traveller

Original Traveller Spring-Summer 2022 Editor Tom Barber Creative Director Faustine Poidevin Picture Editor Daria Nikitina Contributing Editor Ella Mawson Contributors Tom Holland, Juliet Kinsman, Elliot Beaumont, Olivier Romano, Lizzie Shipley, Grant Harder, Stanley Stewart Original Travel 111 Upper Richmond Road London SW15 2TL +44 (0) 20 3958 6120 www.originaltravel.co.uk

By using Carbon Balanced Paper for this magazine Original Travel has balanced the equivalent of 3,097kg of carbon dioxide. This support will enable World Land Trust to protect 592m2 of critically threatened tropical forest.

Certificate number CBP009535.

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AROUND THE WO R L D in 24 pages

Go green (season) in Botswana; do Paris like a local; take it to the edge in Tel Aviv; meet a Swedish chef (who’s not a Muppet); sail Indonesia’s high seas; stock up on the best travel gear and gear up for Guyana, South America’s best kept secret.

memento

M a n e k i N e ko BECKONING CAT FROM JAPAN ‘I am a souvenir collector of note, and one of my all-time favourites is from Japan, appropriately enough one of my all-time favourite countries. I bought this maneki neko (literally: ‘beckoning cat’) at a stall in Tokyo not far from the Gotoku-ji temple. Legend has it that in the 18th century a local nobleman was sheltering from a storm under a tree when he saw a cat on the steps of the temple beckoning him to come over. He followed the cat into Gotoku-ji only to hear an enormous crash and see that the tree he had been under had been struck by lightning. The grateful ruler became a generous benefactor to the temple and if you visit now there are thousands of maneki neko everywhere. I love my cat so much because while he is undoubtedly incredibly kitsch, he’s a rather neat symbol of Japan – at the same time hyper-modern and a bit "bubblegum", but with a backstory that is rooted in tradition and reverence for the past.’

Frances, Asia Team www.originaltravel.co.uk

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Coming Soon CALENDAR 2022

As the world emerges from its coronavirus induced coma, dust sheets are being whipped off long-mothballed projects and new ventures are launching with a strong sense of renewed creativity and positive energy. It’s time to enjoy the thrill of the new...

Six Senses Fo r t B a r w a r a

D e at h o n the Nile

What’s not to like about one of our all-time favourite hotel brands – Six Senses – opening for the first time in one of our all-time favourite destinations – Rajasthan in India? This opulent 48-suite resort, originally a fort owned by one of the many Rajasthani royal families, incorporates two original palaces and two temples within the walls, with the painstaking renovations taking over a decade to complete. Enjoy state-of-the-art comfort, a sumptuous spa (a Six Senses signature) and regal restaurant, and make sure to throw in a visit to nearby Ranthambore National Park to spot tigers.

The long-awaited remake of Death on the Nile stars Gal Gadot (of Wonder Woman fame) alongside Kenneth Branagh as he reprises the role of Hercule Poirot and takes up the directorial reins again for the follow-up to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express. The film follows legendary literary detective Poirot as he solves the mysterious murder of a young heiress holidaying in Egypt. As a pleasing historical footnote, it was a Nile cruise aboard our very own paddle steamer – the historic Steam Ship Sudan – that inspired Agatha Christie to write the classic 1937 novel.

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coming soon

F l i g h t s to t h e A z o re s

Cosquer C av e P a i n t i n g s

British Airways is adding the Portuguese islands of São Miguel and Terceira, in the remote Azores archipelago, to its Heathrow short-haul network. With flights operating once a week throughout summer, this is a great new way to access one of the hottest new European destinations for hiking and biking. Oh, and the diving in the Azores is generally considered the best in Europe. Make the most of the new route by flying into São Miguel for its rich marine life and lush landscapes, and departing from Terceira once you’ve had your fill of picturesque stone houses and patchwork fields.

Many of France’s famous prehistoric cave painting sites are off limits because of fears that the carbon dioxide in visitors’ breath damages these priceless ancient artworks. There’s a different reason the Cosquer Cave paintings are a no-go: the entrance to the cave is now 37 metres below current sea level. Cue the creation of a perfect replica of the cave (named after the diver, Henri Cosquer, who discovered it in 1991) on the waterfront in under-rated Marseille, where visitors will be able to appreciate the 500 awe-inspiring paintings and engravings, created over 27,000 years ago.

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Tr a k t Fo re s t H o te l

M AC A U r u g u ay

With its arctic teepees, treehouses and ice hotels, Lapland has long had the monopoly on Sweden’s quirky hotels. No longer.

The Trakt Forest Hotel is an exciting new opening in the wooded southern region of Småland, with ‘floating’ forest rooms set on stilts between the trees. The streamlined cabins, designed by Swedish architect Gert Wingård, aim to blend minimalist Nordic design and creature comforts with a strong sustainable ethic.

Trakt is being built using (in places) fire damaged timbers and with wood wool as insulation, while the rustic log cabin restaurant will serve up delicious locally-sourced meals.

Designed by two Uruguayan natives – the award-winning architect Carlos Ott, and internationally acclaimed sculptor Pablo Atchugarry – the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Atchugarry (MACA) in Punta del Este will be the most comprehensive contemporary art museum in this small South American country.

The dramatic sweeping structure, built almost entirely from eucalyptus wood, will house a collection of more than 500 works across five galleries and a 90-acre sculpture park. The world-class museum will become a creative hub for the local community and aims to put Uruguay firmly on the art world map.

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coming soon

Xe n o d o c h e i o Milos

Re s t a u r a n t Klein Jan

The Greek restaurant group Estiatorio Milos has been set on world domination ever since acclaimed chef and restaurateur Costas Spiliadis opened the first outpost in Montreal in 1979.

Now he’s back in his homeland opening the group’s first fullblown hotel, Xenodocheio Milos, in downtown Athens. The hotel is set to be as sophisticated as we’ve come to expect, but we’ll most likely be there for the restaurant, an exercise in minimal elegance where Spiliadis can showcase his trademark ‘natural’ cooking technique, letting the finest ingredients speak – or taste – for themselves.

This new venture from Michelin-starred South African chef/ visionary Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen has been open a few months, but we’ve only recently been able to fly to South Africa again, so it makes the cut. This is destination dining in the extreme because essentially you need to be staying at Tswalu – a remote but beautiful slice of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa’s Northern Cape – to be able to eat here. It’s well worth it for the setting, the backstory and the extraordinary use of local ingredients, including salt from the nearby pans.

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travel trends

Tr av e l Tre n d s The Original Travel team have their fingers firmly on the pulse of travel.

Find out what’s hot, and what’s not.

TA K I N G O F F

Our continental cousins know that mountain highs are not just for Christmas and Easter. Time the Brits twigged too

Micro Hotels >

If you’re one for burning the candle at both ends then a) we salute you, and b) you’ll only need a micro hotel, where the public areas are glorious, but the bedrooms are, well, micro

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The Alps in Summer

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Night Trains

The sleeper train is back, with routes being revamped across Europe. Go to sleep in Paris and wake up in Nice – nice

< Anticication

That warm and fuzzy feeling from knowing you’ve booked a trip well in advance and can enjoy day-dreaming about it for months

< Niche Diving

Ditch your standard scuba diving. It’s all about rebreather, nitrox, sidemount and flouro diving now We’re looking at you, Salt Bae, and your swan’s neck salt sprinkling (check out YouTube).

Complete the sentence: ‘ A fool and his money...’

< Zoos

Unless of course it involves the animals roaming free and the humans behind ‘bars’ as in the visionary Bill Bensley’s WorldWild, slated to open in China in 2023

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Performative Gastronomy

< Revenge Travel

The premise of getting ‘revenge’ on covid feels rather unseemly.

Rather, let’s all just make up for lost time...

Getting Lost >

Install the What3Words app and you can tell your location to the nearest 3m².

Helps us guide you into the best rug stall in a labyrinthine souq

Travmin >

Slowly but surely we are returning to a world of normal travel. Can’t come fast enough (and can we can the 100ml liquid limit while we’re at it, please?)

GROUNDED 14

better tips known

B e t te r K n o w n GUYANA In the ever-growing pool of podcasts one that we particularly love is Better Known, where each week host Ivan Wise asks someone to name six things they think should be, well, better known. In honour of the format’s elegant simplicity, each issue we’ll be celebrating somewhere that currently flies beneath the radar but should be firmly on it. First up: Guyana, a country on the north coast of South America that’s roughly the same size as the UK but with a population of around 800,000 (as opposed to our 68 million). With visitor numbers in the low hundreds of thousands, there’s no danger of Guyana falling victim to overtourism anytime soon, but those that make it are in for a multidimensional treat. Forge deep into pristine tropical forests with indigenous guides to appreciate some of the planet’s highest biodiversity (think giant otters, jaguars and bird species galore); peer over the Kaiteur Falls (the largest single drop waterfall in the world by volume of water flowing over it), stay in community-run jungle lodges and wander around multicultural Georgetown, a delicious synthesis of African, Indian, Caribbean and British cultures, best expressed in fiery curries washed down with rum-infused coconut water.

We think Better Known should be better known so tune it at betterknown.co.uk.

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Tr i e d a n d Te s te d Great travel requires great gear, and these are the objects of desire that are rocking our world.

What SUP? Itiwit’s inflatable 9ft touring Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP); that’s what. Packs down into a suitcase-sized bag (even the paddle) to take on your next aquatic adventure, itiwit.co.uk, £250. (1)

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Travel takes its toll on your skin, but Oskia’s Rest Day Comfort Cream is the perfect facial restorative moisturiser, oskiaskincare.com, £56. (2) In-ear headphones are all the rage but sometimes it’s just better to slip on a pair of over-ears like Bose’s QuietComfort® 45s, settle back and watch the world glide by, bose.co.uk, £320. (3) The Waboba Extreme bouncing ball is the ideal sea or pool plaything. If you’re going for a watery week away, pack one. Actually, pack two because you always lose one, waboba.com, £7. (4)

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Buy an Ocean Bottle and you are directly funding the collection of 25lbs of plastic waste (the equivalent of 1000 plastic bottles) from our oceans.

The bottles themselves are pretty neat too, oceanbottle.co, £35. (5)

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The Sub Ocean Plastic watch is 100% made from recycled ocean plastics by the clever Swedish brand Triwa, and with multiple nods to the dive watches of old, triwa.com, £129. (6) Thunderball Swimshorts, inspired by those worn by Sean Connery in the eponymous Bond movie, are part of Orlebar Brown’s 007 Heritage Collection, orlebarbrown.com, £195. (7) FacePlant’s new Wasted Weekend shades are the world’s most sustainable sunglasses, made from plastic bottles with biodegradable lenses. When you’re done with them send them back to recycle, wefaceplant.life, £75. (8)

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The new Voyagers from Slovenian brand Elan are the world’s first high performance, all-mountain skis that fold in half so you can pack them in your suitcase, elanskis.com, £1,100. (9) Ultimate Ears’ waterproof Wonderboom 2 is hands down the best portable speaker, now with outdoor boost mode and longer battery life, ultimateears.com, £89.99. (10) This stylish GoPro Floaty cover not only protects your camera but keeps it – as the name suggests - afloat if knocked off while you’re surfing or snorkelling so you can keep your precious memories safe, Gopro.com, £34.99. (11) 17

original traveltraveller hack

Tr av e l H a c k GREEN SEASON IN BOTSWANA

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Everybody loves a life hack - those clever little workarounds that make the day-to-day definitively better.

The same applies to travel, so stop by here each issue for one of the team’s crafty travel hacks.

Botswana is one of the greatest safari destinations on Earth, but it can be expensive. The travel hack? Visit in what is known as Green Season (from November until March) and prices can be almost half that in high season. For full disclosure, it’s called ‘green’ season for a reason - namely, higher rainfall - but that rain is usually in the form of short, sharp downpours, which are pretty spectacular in their own right. The dry, dusty landscape is then transformed into a verdant vista where umbrella-crowned acacia trees offer shade to the animals.

And animals there are in their multitudes, because green season is also calving season, when myriad species of antelopes give birth. This in turn attracts the attention of predators galore, making for some intense game-viewing experiences. There are other animal encounters in Botswana that are only possible at this time of year: the longest (a 300-mile round trip) migration by any land mammals in Africa takes place as tens of thousands of zebras move from Namibia into the Nxai Pan National Park; then the salt pans themselves are flooded, attracting vast numbers of migratory birds. All this at a time of year when many northern hemisphere humans also like to migrate to warmer climes.

ISABEL, HEAD OF AFRICA AT ORIGINAL TRAVEL

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24 hours

24 H o u r s . . . i n P a r i s WITH OUR CONCIERGE

Our clued-up local Concierges are the ultimate insiders.

Who better to plan the perfect day?

9.15 am

11.00 am

1.30 pm

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel - Cour des Vosges - in the colonnade overlooking Place des Vosges, one of the most beautiful squares in the world.

See Paris from a different perspective on a private cruise along the Seine in a vintage motor yacht.

Lunch at the charming bistro Le P’tit Canon. Try the Breton sausage and aligot (cheesy mash) washed down with a lovely Crozes Hermitage.

5.00 pm

C o n c i e rg e

3.00 pm

Browse for fashion from brands with a strong ethical stance at Centre Commercial, brainchild of the Veja sneaker brand founders.

Meet Mathilde, Paris born and bred, and one of Original Travel’s clued-up local Concierges.

See some of François Pinault’s art collection at the Bourse du Commerce, once the corn exchange and now a contemporary art space.

7.30 pm

8.30 pm

10.30 pm

Order a ‘Days of Being Wild’ cocktail (mezcal, chilli cucumber juice, lime, egg white and sugar syrup) at Serpent à Plume, surrounded by objet d’arts.

Dine at award-winning Guy Martin’s Le Grand Véfour, a venue that has been various restaurants since 1785. Order the scallops with seared celeriac and admire the neoclassical décor.

Finish the evening at Yoyo, a club hosting dance music DJs in an old Art Deco exhibition space that’s been stripped back to the original concrete inside.

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top ten

To p Te n . . .

NATIONAL PARKS

Here we celebrate ten of the team’s favourite national parks; some well-known, others less so, but all protecting some of the planet’s most precious habitats in perpetuity.

Yellowstone NP, USA (1) The original and still one of the best. Gawp at huge geysers such as Old Faithful; and cougars, coyotes, bison and bears in their majestic natural habitat.

Gal Oya NP, Sri Lanka (2) Light on tourists, long on attractions from boat trips on the lake and bird spotting to walks with the indigenous Vedda people.

Vatnajökull NP, Iceland (3) The largest national park in Western Europe, encompassing the continent’s largest sub-Arctic glacier, dramatic volcanoes, rivers, ice caves and wetlands inhabited by herds of reindeer.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang NP, Vietnam (4) The park’s steep-sided hills are typical of karst limestone landscapes, but few karst regions have cave and underground river systems as magnificent as this magnet for spelunkers (cavers).

Triglav NP, Slovenia (5) The Julian Alps remain a semi-secret corner of Europe. Walk through pastures past shepherd’s huts on the Valley of the Seven Lakes trail to see the region in all its glory.

Morne Trois Pitons NP, Dominica (6) An unspoiled corner of the Caribbean that’s home to hiking trails through rich rainforest and past plunging waterfalls, intense volcanic hot springs and geysers.

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Volcanoes NP, Rwanda (7) The park’s thick montane forest-covered slopes, part of the Virunga Mountain range, are home to the majority of the world’s last mountain gorillas.

Kideop Valley NP, Uganda (8) The ‘Masai Mara without the crowds’, Kideop Valley is home to vast herds of elephants, buffaloes and flocks of ostriches kept in check by a healthy lion population. And there’s only one camp in the entire park.

Kakadu NP, Australia (9) Spot crocs galore, explore escarpments and billabongs (ox-bow lakes) on hikes, and learn about Aboriginal heritage from extraordinary 20,000 years old rock art.

Galapagos NP in Ecuador (10) Part pristine ecosystem, part petri dish for Darwin’s theory of evolution, all-round must-visit destination.

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heroes

P at t i S e e r y HEROES American-born Patti Seery moved to Indonesia in the 80s and fell hard for the country. Over the next 30 years she became a global champion for preserving the culture and crafts of Indonesia’s indigenous tribes, often travelling between the archipelago nation’s remoter islands by traditional phinisi cargo boats. Seery reserved a special passion for these phinisis, that had for centuries plied the waters of the Spice Island trade routes, and eventually she decided that – despite having never even owned a boat before - she would build her own. She embarked on this labour of love with a team of traditional Konjo boat-builders from a tiny community on Sulawesi Island, chronicling their remarkable age-old skill for building perfect vessels without written plans and taking care to honour the various rituals and ceremonies observed at each stage of the build. The end result, Silolona, was the luxury liveaboard phinisi that launched a thousand island-hopping dive boats (including her sister boat Si Datu Bua) in Raja Ampat, Komodo and other beautiful parts of Indonesia.

Seery sadly died in 2020, but lived long enough to see a fitting tribute to her passion when UNESCO recognised the unique cultural heritage of Sulawesi boat-building and seafaring tradition. Patti, you were a true inspiration. RIP.

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fine lines

© Matthieu Salvaing

Architecture

Fine Lines TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

Known as the ‘White City’ thanks to its 4,000-plus Bauhaus buildings, Tel Aviv is also home to another architectural marvel: the angular and astonishing Herta and Paul Amir Building at the Tel Aviv Museum of Modern Art. Inaugurated in 2011, this additional wing to the museum features a latticework of tessellated concrete edges above ground, but like an architectural iceberg the building also has a further three floors below ground level that are still flooded with light from the ingenious downward ‘slice’ of an atrium. The art on display isn’t bad either.

Contact one of our Israel specialists: + 44 (0) 20 3958 6120

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food for thought

Fo o d fo r T h o u g h t Chopped langoustine with crispy Jerusalem artichoke, ginger mayonnaise and dill vinaigrette Few foodie destinations have as profound a connection between place and produce as Bohuslan on the west coast of Sweden. Even fewer have a local champion as articulate as chef Thomas Sjögren. At his charming Stora Hotellet hotel and restaurant on the waterfront in the pretty clapboard village of Fjällbacka, Sjögren produces dishes using distinctive regional ingredients such as sea kale, juniper berries, orpine and bladderwrack, alongside the region’s sensational seafood.

Given the relative difficulty of securing some of the more niche local ingredients, we’ve chosen one of Sjögren’s less complex dishes to showcase his talents. ‘This dish means a lot to me’ he says, ‘because it was part of my winning menu on Chef of the Year in Sweden. I believe that the langoustines we source in Fjällbacka from our fisherman Ingmar Granqvist are among the best in the world!’ Stay in Fjällbacka, and we can arrange for you to head out with Granqvist to harvest the langoustine yourself.

INGREDIENTS SERVES 4

Langoustine: 4 (ideally) pot-caught langoustine, 1 lime Crispy Jerusalem artichoke: 1 Jerusalem artichoke, 500ml cooking oil Ginger mayonnaise: 1 egg, 150g fresh ginger, 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 lime, 150ml cooking oil Dill vinaigrette: 1 pot dill, 150g cavolo nero, 150ml cooking oil, 1 lime, 100ml apple juice

PREPARATION

1 Peel the langoustines. Finely chop the tails. Zest the lime.

2 Shave the Jerusalem artichokes and rinse in cold water. Pat them dry then deep fry in oil at 160 degrees until golden brown.

3 Grate the ginger, press all the juice into a bowl then throw away the flesh.

Put the egg, mustard, lime juice, lime peel, a pinch of salt and the ginger in a food processor and blend. Slowly add the oil in a thin stream until it reaches mayonnaise consistency. Set aside.

4 Heat the oil to 60 degrees, then blend with the dill and cavolo nero in a mixer for five minutes until it is completely green. Strain the oil then cool.

Squeeze the lime and mix with the apple juice. Beat in the oil then add salt to taste.

5 Mix the chopped langoustine with a tablespoon of olive oil, lime peel and salt and arrange on a plate. Top with mayonnaise, Jerusalem artichoke crisps and garnish with dill vinaigrette. Best served on chilled plates.

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the big tips picture

T h e B i g P i c t u re BOY DIVING INTO THE OCEAN, OMAN Oman is one of the all-time great family destinations. Your Arabian adventure should definitely include time in the capital Muscat, combined with an excursion to the dramatic Hajar Mountains (home to one of the world’s deepest canyons, and beautiful oasis villages) and the Wahiba Sands for a taste of desert life among the dunes. But the main draw is the country’s coastline – all thousand miles of it. From the beaches of Salalah in the south via the Daymaniyat Islands off Muscat to the rugged fjords of Musandam in the north, children will gravitate to the warm waters of the Indian Ocean for swimming, snorkelling, diving, dolphin watching and dhow boat cruises.

Contact one of our Oman specialists: + 44 (0) 20 3958 6120 27

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To m B a r b e r interview

Tom Barber co-founded Original Travel back in 2003.

Here he talks family holidays, flight-free trips, favourite foodie haunts and the future for the travel industry.

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interview

It’s been a tough couple of years; what does the future hold for travel?

our clients’ (and staff) flights and ground transportation is absorbed by tree planting projects, many of which we initiated ourselves and which have been running for years, so the trees are already mature and benefitting the environment. In addition, our Foundation donates a percentage of profits to a number of humanitarian projects in developing countries around the world. We have also launched initiatives such as a new portfolio of train-only itineraries in Europe; and we’re pioneers of ‘philantourism’ (travelling to destinations that are down on their luck), ‘undertourism’ (promoting off the beaten track destinations that would hugely benefit from tourism) and slow travel. We can - and will - do more, but we’re leading the change.

The coronavirus crisis hasn’t had many silver linings but it has forced people to reassess what’s important in life, and what they might consider changing. While we were in lockdown or unable to leave the UK, anyone with a passion for travel realised just how much they missed exploring the world. Now we’re all able to travel again at Original Travel we’re noticing a greater desire from prospective clients to seek out and book with genuine experts. If travel is so fundamentally important – the logic goes – it needs to be arranged perfectly. Obviously, this is something we’ve preached for years, but it’s still great to see! At the same time, we all – and especially the travel industry – need to take a good hard look at how we holiday. As a sector we are sometimes cast as the ‘bad guys’ but at Original Travel we passionately believe that travel can, and should, be a force for good. Fundamentally, the cross-pollination of ideas, understanding, respect and, of course, money, when people travel from one part of the globe to another should benefit both traveller and destination alike.

You talked about expertise earlier. What do you consider yourself an expert in?

I’m pretty well travelled, but I’m not nearly as much of a destination expert as the dedicated specialists in each of our regional teams. I guess my expertise is in a type of travel: family travel. With four children, the oldest two of whom are now teenagers, I have a pretty good understanding of what and where works for families with children of all ages. My children aren’t backwards in coming forwards so I get plenty of feedback, and that’s helped Original Travel refine our family trips over the years. Over the last few years it’s been very flattering to be recognised by Conde Nast Traveler (the US edition, hence the missing ‘l’) as one of a handful of the world’s Top Travel Specialists for family travel.

So what are Original Travel doing about it?

Earlier this year we launched our ‘Travel Less, Travel Better’ mantra. It’s a wide-ranging concept, but no less sincere for it. Should we fly less? Of course, and stay longer in destinations. Should we mitigate the effects of flying?

Again, 100%. To that end, all the carbon produced by

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So where works best for families?

walking old pilgrimage routes in Norway or Japan. Then there’s a related but distinct desire to get away from the constant noise of modern existence to places that are truly silent. We’ve created a portfolio of Pin Drop Travel locations where you can enjoy the sound of silence in places such as the remote NamibRand desert in Namibia.

The best trips we’ve had – always planned with the children’s ages and interests in mind – have been an epic adventure around South Africa from Cape Town to the Winelands and ending with a riding safari in the Waterberg; cultural (but fun!) city breaks in Rome and Paris; snorkelling and more in Oman; surfing stays in Portugal and messing about in boats in Corfu. In the next couple of years we’re planning to take them to Costa Rica, California and Canada, and when they’re all teens we’ll head to Japan and India for sure. I fervently believe that travel broadens a child’s mind every bit as much as academic learning.

If you could have one meal at one restaurant/streetfood stall?

Far too many to choose from, so I’ll go with a recent blow out at El Camino in Palma, Mallorca. Run by Eddie Hart (one of the brothers behind the insanely successful Barrafina tapas bar in London) El Camino is a winner on every level – super slick décor, excellent atmosphere and sensational food. The menu is mainly the tapas/pintxos staples (padron peppers, tortilla, jamon, Basque-style cod etc), but the sheer quality of every element – produce, preparation, presentation – is spectacular.

What’s your favourite hotel in the whole world?

Soneva Fushi in the Maldives pretty much single-handedly invented two of the classic hotel concepts – barefoot luxury and ecotourism. I’ve been lucky enough to visit as a couple, and then again with children in tow, and it works equally well in either scenario because it has real soul, a fabulous natural setting, activities galore, charming staff and wonderful food. Ask the kids where they’d like to go next time, and they will say, in unison, and without hesitation ‘Soneva Fushi’!

What’s your happy place?

Cycling the tree-lined trail along the perfectly preserved medieval walls of Lucca in Tuscany with my children and my parents, who live nearby. Halfway around we stopped for a delicious gelato overlooking the tightly packed terracotta roofs of the city below, counting the many tall medieval towers, one of which – Torre Guinigi – has several holm oak trees growing out of the roof. We finished the circuit with a well-earned lunch at a tucked-away gem of a restaurant called Trattoria da Guilio, where the children gorged themselves on delicious tortelli al ragu. It’s a perfect 3G (three generational) travel experience.

What travel trends do you see on the horizon?

Aside from a much more considered approach to how we travel, there are a couple more trends we’re seeing.

There’s a move to cherish the old ways of doing things and to learn skills that feel like they’re fast disappearing.

We call this Reconnect Travel, and we can arrange things like living with gauchos in the Argentinian pampas or

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Name a favourite shop/stall you discovered on your travels and what did you buy there?

mushing your own team of huskies through snowclad forests in Lapland is right up there, ideally with a Northern Lights sighting thrown in for good measure.

I nominate an entire city that’s ideal for honing your haggling skills, and that’s Khiva in Uzbekistan. The highspeed train now connects Khiva with Bukhara and takes a couple of hours rather than a seven-hour drive, so this tiny walled city (similar to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan) might soon be overwhelmed with tourists. Uzbekistan is primarily known for astonishing architecture and a fascinating history, but in Khiva (and Bukhara) there are stalls galore for buying excellent handicrafts from genuine craftspeople. Browse intricate Koran stands forged from single pieces of wood, and stock up on huge sheepskin chugmira hats and, of course, suzanis and other intricate textiles.

What’s the first item you pack when going away?

My Bedouin keffiyeh headdress, which I haggled hard for in Jordan and use as headgear, scarf, face protection, pillow, sarong and even once or twice as a towel.

Favourite places you’d like to namecheck?

I’m a sucker for Sri Lanka and while it’s becoming busier, the east and north are opening up so there’s always somewhere new to explore. It’s just a magical country. My wife and I absolutely loved our pre-covid Corsica trip without the children. It’s a remarkably beautiful island with beaches that wouldn’t look out of place in the Seychelles thanks to similar granite boulders and clear waters, and a stunning, wild and mountainous interior ideal for long range yomps. The blend of Italian and French cultures is pretty perfect too. Finally, I loved our trip to Israel a couple of years ago. We only scratched the surface by visiting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, but they are both mindblowing and dovetail beautifully. I’d always recommend that you also spent time in the West Bank to get a sense of perspective, too. We work with superb guides in both Israel and Palestine who provide much-needed and studiously objective context.

Where next?

Mexico at Easter. We were meant to be going back in 2020! I can’t wait to experience that extraordinary melting pot of influences and landscapes. It is a truly original destination, which, naturally, has huge appeal.

Your favourite holiday activity?

Diving over a pristine reef teeming with fish. My passion for diving is one of the reasons we launched Original Diving, our specialist dive holiday division. The PADI Bubblemaker course for ten-year-olds and older means that I can now dive with my elder children, which is a really wonderful bonding experience. Aside from diving,

Contact one of our Family specialists: + 44 (0) 20 3958 6120

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O u r C o n c i e rg e Service Our clued-up local Concierges take your trip to the next level.

Your local hero, your fixer, your eyes and ears, your far-flung friend, your informed insider, your right-hand man, your wing woman; your Concierge is on hand 24/7 to help, advise, reserve, modify and generally anticipate your every need while you’re in their beloved destination. They also love a challenge, so go ahead: put them to the test. Want the address of the best bar in town, far off the tourist trail? Or a suggestion for a truly original souvenir to remember the trip by? Ask away. Nothing’s too much trouble, or too trivial for them to handle. They can, and will, take an already stellar trip to even greater heights.

Before you even set off on your adventure, your dedicated Concierge will have been sent all of your trip details and your likes and dislikes. When you arrive, they’ll be in touch to remind you that they’re on hand to help (via phone, WhatsApp etc) with everything from last-minute changes, to tips and tricks on where to go and what to see and do. Thanks to their in-depth knowledge and passion for their destination, and taking your individual profile into account, your Concierge will be able to help with any requests,. They can find you the best babysitter in the area, choose a guide best suited to your specific interests and, if needed, change a flight, find a room and iron out any kind of issue while you focus on having as fun and fascinating a trip as possible. Original Travel is the only travel company in the UK to offer such a comprehensive concierge service.

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tips

Spain

CO N C I E R G E CASE STUDIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD

Returning from hiking the trails in the Doñana National Park, James and Anna realise they’ve locked the car keys in their hire car. Our Concierge Maria orders them a taxi and tells the couple to go ahead with their lunch plans nearby while she takes care of it. After a wonderful lunch, James and Anna return to the car to find a locksmith with the keys and their car unlocked.

India

Australia

As huge Bollywood fans, David and Emily are on a private guided tour of a Mumbai film set. Our Concierge Alisha surprises them with the opportunity to act as extras on a live film set. Ecstatic, the couple are dressed in traditional costume and join the cast. Alisha later sends them a memory stick with the evidence!

After an amazing three-week trip, two clients want to sign off in style with dinner somewhere special in Sydney. The local Concierge Denis, who has all the city’s maitre d’s on speed dial, manages to snaffle them a table at Sydney’s most happening restaurant, which normally has a three-month waiting list.

South Africa

Italy

The Brayshaw family wake up in Cape Town ready to start their beach day, only to open the curtains and find that it’s raining. They call local Concierge Carol to find out what there is to do in the area with their girls (aged five and seven). Carol reserves tickets to the Cape Town Science Centre which has lots of indoor activities and interactive exhibitions for children.

This evening was supposed to be date night for Charlie and Jenny but their one-year-old daughter Maya has been having a cranky day. Jenny WhatsApps their Concierge, Sophia, who rearranges both the babysitter and dinner reservation for the following night.

USA While out on their private guided tour of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, the Bell family realise that they are running late for their evening tour of MoMA. They are relieved to receive a message from Concierge James to say ‘I heard you were having fun with Lady Liberty so I moved your evening plans back by an hour - no need to rush! And take lots of photos!’

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100% Carbon Absorption We absorb 100% of the carbon footprint generated by our client and staff flights and ground transportation through our financing of large reforestation projects around the world.

Since 2009, our participation in the €100m Livelihoods Carbon Fund has helped combat climate change by taking a highly practical approach designed to have maximum social and economic benefit in destinations on the front line. We believe we were the first company in the UK travel market to take such a step.

7,400 TREES PLANTED DA I LY

How does carbon absorption work?

Today, air transport accounts for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and this is likely to rise.

Even if green technology continues to advance, over the next ten years it will remain difficult to travel ‘clean’. The only concrete option is to absorb CO2 emissions, particularly through tree planting. By financing reforestation projects around the world, we contribute to the absorption of carbon dioxide. Every day, 7,400 trees are planted, which adds up to about 2.7 million trees a year.

What is carbon neutrality?

Each trip made by our clients and staff has a measurable impact on global warming. We can calculate precisely the amount of CO2 emissions related to our clients and team’s travels. This makes it possible to know the exact number of trees that need to be planted in order to absorb the CO2 created.

2 2. 87 . 87 TO N N E S O F CO 2 3 OF OUR R E FO R E S TAT I O N

P R O J EC T S

2 03 0

in the spotlight

This is the carbon footprint of a return flight from London to New York. This equates to one and a half times the annual carbon quota that each person should adhere to in order to keep levels of global warming within sustainable levels. To absorb the CO2 emissions from this flight, 20 trees need to be planted.

CARBON NEUTRAL TRIPS

According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), it will take ten years to reduce our CO2 emissions by 50% and stay below a temperature increase of 1.5° - the critical threshold of global warming. The second phase involves achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2050, a highly ambitious goal but one that is achievable if all countries and industries work together... starting today.

1 0 0 P R O J EC T S s u p p o r te d

Our Foundation, created in 2009, supports a number of humanitarian projects in developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America. The projects include long-term reforestation programmes and support for local associations focused on economic and social development.

In Indonesia

In Senegal

In Peru

The island of Sumatra has lost 50% of its forest in 40 years.

NGO Yagasu has replanted 32 million trees. It also finances community development programmes, scientific research and the protection of mammal species.

Since 2006, the association Oceanium has worked for the protection of the environment and the restoration of the mangrove forests. In total, 104 million trees have been planted.

The province of Saint-Martin, in the north of the country, is 97% primary forest. The PUR Projet association protects over 741,000 acres by encouraging new forms of management, such as agroforestry.

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At O r i g i n a l Tr av e l , w e b e l i e v e t r av e l a n d to u r i s m s h o u l d b e a fo rc e fo r g o o d , a n d p o s i t i v e l y af fe c t p e o p l e i n t h e d e s t i n at i o n s w e v i s i t .

O u r Fo u n d at i o n , c re ate d in 2009, supports a number o f h u m a n i t a r i a n p ro j e c t s in developing countries in Africa, Asia and South America. Since 2009, nearly £1.5 million has been i n v e s te d i n t h e s u p p o r t o f n e a r l y o n e h u n d re d h u m a n i t a r i a n p ro j e c t s a c ro s s 3 0 c o u n t r i e s .

5 KEY AREAS

15% OF OUR BUDGET

Our Foundation Committee meets annually to select the programmes we will support. We focus on five key areas: child protection, vocational training, economic development assistance, preservation of cultural and natural heritage and safeguarding the lifestyles of indigenous peoples.

In addition, we also look to support emergency relief efforts in the face of large natural and humanitarian disasters. We spend almost 15% of our budget each year on emergency humanitarian aid.

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our foundation tips

In practice

In practice

CASE STUDY N°1

CASE STUDY N°2

In Kenya

In Bolivia

Shining Hope For Communities (SHOFCO) was created in 2004 for the protection and education of disadvantaged children, and to help promote the economic development of local communities. In Nairobi, SHOFCO manages and helps finance two schools in Kibera and Mathare, two of the largest slums in the world, enabling 500 girls aged three to 15 to attend school and improve their lives. The association also works to transform urban slums on a large scale by supporting the provision of drinking water and a women’s entrepreneurship programme.

We’re working to improve the living standards of village communities in the province of Jose Manuel Pando, where 98% of the population live in poverty. We support the ‘Weave the Future’ project, which trains local farmers to turn wool into high quality local crafts and textile products which they can sell to supplement their income.

In practice CASE STUDY N°3 In India Due to climate change, the number of mangroves in India’s Sunderbans region is rapidly declining. Our project aims to plant more than 16 million mangrove trees to protect the local communities’ homes and farmland from flooding and to restore local biodiversity. So far, over 11,100 acres have been replanted, positively impacting 250,000 locals and counteracting 700,000 tonnes of CO2.

Contact one of our specialists: + 44 (0) 20 3958 6120 37

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Original Services Our Original Services set us apart from the competition.

Book a holiday with Original Travel and all of these services come as standard...

B E FO R E YO U R H O L I DAY

B o r ro w a G o P ro

Pe r fe c t Picks

Borrow one of our GoPro cameras if you’re going on an Original Diving holiday

We provide you with destination-specific reading lists and music playlists

AT THE AIRPORT

U K D e p a r t u re Assistance

DURING YO U R H O L I DAY

Our App

Expert Guides

Access your itinerary, maps, live updates and detailed destination dossiers on our new mobile app

We use the best guides in the business, many of whom work exclusively for us

A member of our team will meet you at the airport

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O n e Po i n t of Contact

Hold Airline S e at s

P re - b o o ke d S e at s

Our destination expert will create a perfectly tailor-made itinerary for you

While fine-tuning your itinerary we’ll be holding airline seats

Airline seat allocations can be a bit odd.

We make sure you are all sitting together on the plane

Coronavirus Confidence

Contact one of our specialists: + 44 (0) 20 3958 6120

We offer flexible booking conditions and covid-covering travel insurance

Fa s t- Tr a c k Services

UK Airport Lounges

At UK airports we’ll speed you through check-in and security where possible

Enjoy the comfort of an airport lounge with free drinks and snacks, even if you’re flying economy

Fu n , Fu n , Fu n Packs

24 - H o u r Helpline

Financial P ro te c t i o n

Specially designed and destinationspecific quizzes and games for every child aged three to ten

Sometimes things happen; that’s why we’re on call 24/7 to offer assistance

With our ATOL and ABTA licences, your holiday is fully protected

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LIFE

is in the Detail

Take a deeper dive into some of our favourite destinations.

42 — 57

EGYPT: THE HISTORY OF TRAVEL

Tom Holland charts 5,000 years of tourism 58 — 69

EMILIA-ROMAGNA

Stanley Stewart explores ‘secret Italy’ 70 — 81

HOW TO TRAVEL BETTER

Juliet Kinsman’s ten green travel tips 82 — 95

LAMU THROUGH A LENS

Olivier Romano captures a Kenyan gem 96 — 109

CUSTOM BUILT

Ella Mawson on her favourite world rituals 110 — 123

BRITISH COLUMBIA

Lizzie Shipley swaps the UK for Canada

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E g y pt the history of travel

The world’s first tourist destination; Egypt has attracted the great and the good for more than five millennia. Tom Holland charts the ebb and flow of the country’s time travel. words by TOM HOLLAND

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On the instruction of Pharoah Psamtik II, Greek mercenaries arrive at Abu Simbel and promptly carve their names into the leg of one of the vast statues guarding the entrance to the temple. Presumably not on Pharaoh’s orders.

King Menes unifies Egypt, in the process setting in motion 3,000 years of dynastic succession and cultural prosperity.

Persian Egypt falls to Alexander the Great, who cunningly portrays himself as the liberator of the people, heir to the pharaohs and son of the god Amun. He begins construction of Alexandria, one of 70 cities to bear his name (with another – Bucephala, in latter-day Pakistan – named after his horse).

3150 BC c.590 BC

c.445 BC Herodotus, the Greek scholar known as the ‘Father of History’, visits Egypt, which is under Persian rule at the time. He leaves detailed accounts of everyday life in the country, including a suitably grisly description of mummification.

E

gypt is where tourism began.

Perhaps this is hardly surprising. By the fifth century BC, when the first tourist guide to Egypt was written, pharaonic civilisation was already more than two and a half millennia old. In that time, many stupefying monuments had been built: pyramids, temples, obelisks. Nowhere in the world boasted such an astonishing concentration of wonders. ‘Reason enough, then,’ in the words of one particular visitor, ‘to describe it at some length.’

The visitor was a Greek. His name was Herodotus – ‘the Father of History’, according to Cicero – and the account he wrote of Egypt stands as the fountainhead of all the many guides to the country written since. He was not, of course, the first foreigner drawn to the land of the Nile. Egypt was fabulously wealthy. There were many beyond its borders

332 BC

who craved its gold. The oldest representation of an Egyptian king ever identified – found in a grave dating back to around 3,800 BC – shows a tall figure wielding a mace with which he menaces three tethered captives.

Century after century, millennium after millennium, it remained the abiding duty of Pharaoh to keep the borders of his kingdom proof against such barbarians. Equally – as the Bible bears witness – outsiders continued to flock to the country. ‘Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.’ In times of famine, where else were supplicants like the children of Israel to go?

that tourists today would have no problem in recognising. He visited the Pyramids of Giza.

He poked around temples and labyrinthine funerary complexes. He marvelled at the Nile.

Herodotus, however, was not only interested in ancient monuments and natural wonders.

He was fascinated as well by the Egyptians themselves. ‘In almost all their customs and practices,’ he reported, ‘they do the exact opposite of the rest of mankind.’ The women urinated standing up, and the men squatting down. The crocodiles wore ear-rings. The dead were mummified. Herodotus – eager to talk to everyone, fascinated by everything, just gullible enough never to be boring – remains to this day a wonderful tour guide.

Herodotus, however, was different. When he travelled to Egypt, it was not to get rich, nor in search of corn. He came to gawp at everything that made the country distinctive, and to tour its wonders. His itinerary was one

The Greeks never lost their fascination with Egypt. Awe at the sheer scale and antiquity of the country’s monuments was mingled, in the case of many who journeyed to the country, with a certain contempt. The legacy of this

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25 BC

Diodorus, a Greek historian, notes that Egyptians so revere their sacred animals that during a famine they would be more likely to eat each other than their animals.

Greek geographer, philosopher and historian Strabo travels along the Nile to Philae, chronicling festivals featuring ‘extreme licentiousness’ and priests at Arsinoe feeding sacred crocodiles by hand. His descriptions of temples already half buried by sand were so accurate they allowed Auguste Mariette (more on him later) to retrace the exact location of the Saqqara tombs and more.

56 BC

Roman Emperors from Vespasian to Hadrian visit Egypt and the idea of a ‘typical’ tour - Alexandria, cruise on the Nile, Heliopolis to see the Temple of Ra, Pyramids and finally Memphis (close to modern Cairo) - begins to crystalise. In 130 AD Hadrian visits and leaves his own graffiti on the Memnon columns at Thebes.

69 – 138 AD

30 BC The Romans arrive as conquerors (rather than tourists or royal suitors) with Alexandria falling to the first Roman Emperor Augustus. The last dynasty of Ancient Egypt – the Ptolemaic (Macedonian Greek) dynasty – ends with the suicide of queen Cleopatra and her lover Mark Antony.

19 BC Roman historian Tacitus speaks to an elderly priest who had translated hieroglyphics into Latin and Greek, and describes the text of a document detailing tributes from conquered lands. It’s a first tantalising glimpse into deciphering hieroglyphics.

ambivalence has been an enduring one. A ‘pyramid’ in Greek was a small bun with triangular sides. An ‘obelisk’ was a cooking spit. A ‘crocodile’ was a garden lizard. Some Greeks would go into raptures over Egypt as the home of hidden wisdom; others, finding themselves next to the colossal statue of some pharaoh, would scratch their names onto his leg. ‘Like an Egyptian temple: amazing to look at, but inside you will find a priest singing a hymn to a cat.’ So the Greek saying went.

No wonder, then, in 331 BC, when Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and founded a new capital, that he should have planted his city on the coast. Suspended between the sea and the desert, Alexandria was a city where statues of Apollo and Athena stood in the streets alongside those of deities with the heads of animals. It was a city of superlatives: celebrated across the Mediterranean for its

library and its lighthouse, its spectacular palaces and its slot-machines. Even Romans – who generally despised anywhere that was not Rome – yearned to visit it. ‘Yes,’ confessed the great orator Cicero, ‘I dream, and have long dreamed, of seeing Alexandria.’

Unsurprisingly, then, when Egypt – following the final defeat and suicide of Cleopatra in 30 BC – was absorbed into the Roman Empire, a mania for all things Egyptian swept Rome.

Tourism, however, was severely restricted.

Egypt, rich and fertile, was the private fiefdom of the Caesars. Senators were banned from setting foot in it. The risk that one of them might use it as a base for an insurrection was viewed as too great. Tourism to the country became, as a result, fabulously exclusive – reserved for emperors and their intimates. It was Julius Caesar, who had arrived in Alexandria back when Cleopatra 45

was still a young woman and conducted a passionate affair with her, who had set the trend. The two of them, Roman general and Egyptian queen, had sailed down the Nile together on a luxury cruise. Indeed, so it was reported by one biographer, ‘had his army not refused to follow him, he would have sailed the whole way with her to Ethiopia.’

A number of emperors, following in Caesar’s wake, made a similar voyage down the Nile.

Their prime goal was Luxor, and the colossal statue of a seated man. This, in the opinion of the age, was the single greatest tourist attraction in the whole of Egypt. Although in reality the statue portrayed Amenhotep III, the grandfather of Tutankhamun, it was believed by Roman visitors to show an ancient hero named Memnon, an Ethiopian who had fought in the Trojan War, and been the son of the Dawn. Evidence for this identification was to be found in a miraculous

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phenomenon: at certain times during the early spring, at first light of day, the base of the statue would sing. Or rather, it would hum: for the sound, according to one travel writer, resembled the vibration of a single lyre string. ‘Memnon’s voice rang out like struck bronze, high-pitched.’ So wrote a poet, Julia Balbilla, who in 130 AD had accompanied the emperor Hadrian to Luxor, and heard Memnon sing. Masons, acting on commission, chiselled four of her poems onto the side of the statue. Carved with great skill and precision, this was graffiti intended to last.

By the end of the second century, however, Memnon’s song had faded and vanished forever. Much more was to fade and vanish as well. Egypt in the time of Hadrian bore witness to continuities – of worship, of culture, of language – that reached back over 3,000 years. The coming first of Christianity

and then of Islam drew a line under that fabulously lengthy chapter. The temples were given over to sand; the customs that had so intrigued Herodotus abandoned; the meaning of the hieroglyphs forgotten. The tourists who in Hadrian’s day had visited pharaonic monuments were replaced by a new category of sightseer: pilgrims.

Alexandria, once the intellectual powerhouse of paganism, was reconsecrated as something new: as ‘the most glorious and Christ-loving city of the Alexandrians.’ Monks took to the desert, where their prodigies of asceticism proved an irresistible draw to the devout. A monastery was planted at the foot of Mount Sinai. Then, with the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in 642, the country became even more of a palimpsest. New destinations, new landmarks, new objects of pilgrimage came to be founded. By the year 1000, Egypt had become a veritable powerhouse of Islamic

Not all Roman visitors are so appreciative. A certain Epiphanius, predating Tripadvisor by 18 centuries, visits the Valley of the Kings and in one tomb scrawls ‘I visited, and I did not like any thing except the sarcophagus.’

200 AD c.830 AD

Dionysius of Tel Mahre, the Patriarch of Antioch and head of the Orthodox Church in Syria, scotches earlier theories that the Pyramids are grain stores by claiming to have been inside one of the Great Pyramids of Giza himself and seeing a sarcophagus.

Meanwhile, looming on the margins of the imaginings of Christians and Muslims alike, the wreckage of ancient Egypt endured.

Pharaoh, in both the Bible and the Qur’an, served as the very archetype of idolatry; and so the monuments to his glory tended to be regarded by the faithful at best with disinterest, at worst with fear. Nevertheless, visitors to Cairo could not help but be aware of the pyramids; and many were the pilgrims who walked from the city to wonder at them.

Christians had long identified them as the granaries built by Joseph (he of the

Interest in all things Egypt intensifies, with great debate in Europe as to whether the Pyramids served an astronomical, as well as funereal, purpose. The wholesale removal of relics also intensifies, unfortunately, but with one silver lining – a newfound determination to decipher ancient hieroglyphics.

1600s AD

c.1150 AD

c.640 AD Amr ibn al-As, the leader of the Muslim forces that conquer Egypt following the collapse of the Byzantine empire (do keep up), visits the tomb of Ramesses VI in the Valley of the Kings and adds to the already extensive graffiti, writing his name in letters 10 inches tall.

civilisation: home to stunning mosques, exquisite calligraphy, and an entire new capital, dazzling and puissant, by the name of Cairo.

To this day, the great university founded there in 972, Al-Azhar, remains the most celebrated and influential in the entire Islamic world.

Muhammad al-Idrisi follows in the footsteps of centuries of Muslim scholars with a particular fascination for Egypt and the Pyramids, subsequently writing a book on the subject, and creating some of the world’s first maps.

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1249 AD Louis IX’s army arrives in Egypt for the Seventh Crusade. Difficult to argue they came as tourists, but – as per – the crusade ends in disaster after Louis’s defeat at the Battle of Fariskur and subsequent capture alongside thousands of his fellow crusaders.

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French Jesuit priest Claude Sicard, a skilled cartographer, explores the Nile Valley extensively, becoming the first European to confirm that Karnak and Luxor were in fact the ancient city of Thebes.

c.1710 AD

Napoleon and his 38,000-strong Armée d’Orient arrive in Alexandria with nearly 200 scholars, botanists, geologists, archaeologists and painters in tow. The army defeat the Mamluks (Egypt’s latest rulers) but withdraw after his fleet is destroyed at the battle of the Nile by one Horatio Nelson. The subsequent publication of the encyclopedic Description de l’Égypte (1809-29) lights the fuse of Egyptomania.

French scholar Jean-François Champollion wins the race to crack the code of hieroglyphs, in the process unlocking an infinitely greater understanding of life in Ancient Egypt. The Rosetta Stone, discovered during Napoleon’s expedition and subsequently requisitioned by the British (and also now in the British Museum), holds the key, with its text written in Greek, demotic and hieroglyphs.

1798 AD

1768 AD

1812 AD

Scottish explorer James Bruce arrives in Egypt for the first time and over the next few years explores far and wide, making the obligatory stop at the Valley of the Kings before becoming the first European to discover the origins of the Blue Nile in Egypt and Sudan.

technicolour dream coat); but by the 16th century, as the fascination of Renaissance scholars with antiquity came to exert an ever-stronger influence, Italians began to visit Egypt, not as pilgrims, but as tourists. In 1589, for instance, a Venetian travelled all the way to Luxor; ‘and my sole reason,’ as he put it, ‘was to see so many superb buildings, churches, colossal statues, needles and columns.’

He was to prove a trailblazer. In the centuries that followed, growing numbers of Europeans followed in his wake. The most celebrated expedition, and easily the most influential, was that of Napoleon in 1798.

‘Soldiers,’ he declared ringingly before the

1822 AD

Egypt is beginning to attract tourists, tomb raiders and eccentrics such as Giovanni Battista Belzoni (aka: the Great Belzoni), who removes the vast granite Younger Memnon bust (weighing seven tonnes) from Thebes. It takes 17 days and 130 men to drag the statue two miles to the Nile, where it was promptly shipped to England. It remains there to this day in the British Museum.

battle of the Pyramids, the great victory which won the French temporary control of Egypt, ‘remember that 40 centuries of history gaze down upon you from these monuments!’

Napoleon had come as a conqueror; but he had also come as a tourist. In his knapsack he had a copy of Herodotus, and in his train an entire army of savants. Given free range across Egypt, these various scholars compiled the first great modern survey of the country’s antiquities. The impact across Europe was seismic. The study of ancient Egypt was revolutionised. In 1828, when a French linguist named Jean-François Champollion landed in Alexandria, he did so as the man who, over the course of the previous decade, had deciphered hieroglyphs. Travelling up

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the Nile to Luxor, he was the first sightseer since Roman times to be able to read the ancient monuments.

It was not only scholars, however, who were gripped by Egyptomania. In 1869, at the grand opening of the Suez Canal, one of the guests was an Englishman named Thomas Cook: an entrepreneur who had pioneered travel for the growing middle classes. He was in Egypt at the head of his very first tour of the Orient; and in the years that followed he laboured hard to establish a tourist industry in the country. Backed by an impecunious Egyptian government dependent on Britain for its survival, he built an entire infrastructure pretty much from scratch: leasing

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steamships to churn up and down the Nile, employing armies of translators and guides, importing tinned food all the way from Blighty. By 1884, when the British colonial government was looking to transport an expeditionary force from Alexandria to Sudan, in the vain hope of rescuing General Gordon in Khartoum, there was only the one way to do it: commission Thomas Cook.

By the turn of the century, the tourist industry was such that Egypt had become firmly established as the favourite winter destination of well-heeled Western tourists.

Travellers could leave the icy cold of Northern climes and find, aboard a steamship or in a luxury hotel, all the familiar comforts of home. They could also take up new hobbies. When Lord Carnarvon, advised by

his doctors to winter in Egypt after a serious motoring accident, arrived on the banks of the Nile, it did not take him long to become obsessed by archaeology. The ultimate fruit of his new passion – the discovery, in 1922, of the still intact tomb of Tutankhamun – turbocharged yet another bout of Egyptomania. It has never faded since.

Today, 100 years on from the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, the fascination that Egypt exerts, not to mention the draw of its winter sun, has diminished not a jot. It remains one of the supreme global tourist destinations. Terrible though the past two years have been for everyone, the Egyptian government has not been wasting the lockdown. A spectacular new museum, complete with the funerary treasures of

Tutankhamun, the royal mummies, and the largest array of archaeological objects held by any museum in the world, is due to open at Giza later this year. Today, as it has always done, Egypt bears witness to the abiding truth of Herodotus’ judgement on the country: ‘it is a land which boasts an inordinate number of wonders, and possesses more monuments surpassing description than any other.’

The Brits are coming. Prime Minister Disraeli buys Britain a controlling stake in the new Suez Canal while Thomas Cook & Sons negotiate a monopoly on tourist-toting steamer services along the Nile with the Khedive, Egypt ’s Ottoman ruler.

Tourist numbers rise again, as do the number of businesses aiming to extract tourist dollars, such as the Zangaki Brothers, who photograph tourists at famous sites along the Nile.

A year of anniversaries. The 200th of Champollion’s deciphering of hieroglyphs; the 100th of Egypt becoming an independent state and also of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Also, the year of an opening; that of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the spectacular new home of tens of thousands of treasures from Ancient Egypt, all just a mile from the Great Pyramids. TB

1870s AD

Mass tourism in Egypt begins, with the expansion of resort towns such as Sharm el Sheikh on the Red Sea following on in the 1980s.

1975 AD 1921 AD The Steam Ship Sudan, part of the Thomas Cook fleet, makes her debut Nile cruise.

By TOM HOLLAND

1922 AD Howard Carter’s Carnarvon-funded expedition finally finds Tutankhamun’s tomb. The ‘Boy Pharaoh’ was written out of history by subsequent dynasties and so the tomb was never seriously disturbed by grave robbers, making it the most significant Egyptian find of all time.

Needless to say, interest in Egypt rises even more in the aftermath, with the likes of Agatha Christie and Winston Churchill taking cruises on the Nile.

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2010 AD

2022 AD Tourism numbers peak at 14.7 million visitors, but decline again after the Arab Spring, a spate of terrorist attacks and now the coronavirus epidemic.

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The Steam Ship Sudan O f t h e 6 0 - o d d p a d d l e stea m e rs , sternwheel steamers and dahabiehs (shallow-bottomed barge-like sailing boats) built or bought by Thomas Cook & Son Ltd between 1886 and 1921, only one remains: Steam Ship Sudan. She was commissioned from Bow, McLachlan & Co shipbuilders in Paisley, Scotland, in 1914 but then WWI intervened, with production switching to warships. Steam Ship Sudan was only completed in 1920, before making her maiden Nile voyage a year later and paddling between Luxor and Aswan until 1950, albeit with an interlude as a moored officer’s mess in Cairo during WWII. A series of Egyptian owners and businesses kept her at mooring or doing occasional cruises until eventually she became a floating hotel at Luxor given an occasional run out by her engineer. Then, in 2006, Steam Ship Sudan was bought by Voyageurs du Monde, Original Travel’s parent company, and returned to her former glory, polished wood decks, fez-sporting crew and all. To take a five-night cruise on board is to experience life as it was during the Golden Age of Travel - ideally in the Agatha Christie suite, named in honour of the author, who was inspired to write Death on the Nile while on board.

Six Day Cruise from Luxor to Aswan Day 1: Luxor to Qena Day 2: Qena, Dendera, Abydos and back to Luxor Day 3: Luxor to Esna and Edfu Day 4: Edfu to Kom Ombo Day 5: Kom Ombo to Awsan Day 6: Disembark in Aswan Six Day Cruise from Aswan to Luxor Day 1: Embark in Aswan Day 2: Aswan to Kom Ombo, Edfu & Esna Day 3: Esna to Luxor Day 4: Luxor to Qena & Dendera Day 5: Abydos to Luxor Day 6: Disembark in Luxor Contact one of our Egypt specialists: +44 (0) 20 3958 6120.

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N e e d to K n o w ABOUT EGYPT L I F E I S I N T H E D E TA I L Why us?

Thanks to our ownership of Steam Ship Sudan we have an unparalleled support network in Egypt, with a large team based in Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and on the Red Sea. Throughout your time in Egypt you will be met and assisted by our own staff to make the entire trip even more personal and comfortable.

Alexandria

Giza

Cairo

Your Concierges Egypt is such an important destination we have two Concierges.

Liliane, a former student in Cairo, speaks fluent Arabic and has worked in Nubia, Upper Egypt and Faiyum. Meanwhile Mouwafak is passionate about cinema. He oversees a European cinema festival in Cairo and knows all the best cafes, bars and restaurants in the city.

Karnak Valley of the Kings Valley of the Queens

Luxor

Fast Facts • Size: 386,659 square miles • Capital: Cairo • Population: 102,674,145 (Dec ‘21) • Density: 264.2 people/square mile • Pick a Number: 118 pyramids discovered in Egypt, so far • When to Go: Jan – Apr, Oct – Dec

Edfu

Aswan

Abu Simbel

One point of contact Contact one of our Egypt Specialists on +44 (0) 20 3958 6120

LIFE ON THE NILE Suggested Itinerary

L u xo r

The Nile Days 4 - 7

Days 8 - 10

Arrive into Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes. Explore the legendary temple complex of Karnak and the Valley of the Kings with your expert guide, and stay in the elegant belle epoque Winter Palace Hotel.

Cruise up the Nile onboard Steam Ship Sudan, watching the world go by from the sun deck and stopping occasionally to visit stunning temples such as Edfu and Kom Ombo.

Explore the lovely laidback city of Aswan. Take a felucca cruise to visit the Nubian village on Elephantine Island and the botanical gardens of Kitchener Island, visit beautiful Philae temple, and haggle hard in the busy souq.

Days 1 - 3

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A s wa n

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C U LT U R E H I T

DOSSIER

Read

Watch

Listen

The Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz, an epic saga of life in early 20th-century Egypt.

The Land (1970), by celebrated Egyptian director Youssef Chahine and featured at Cannes.

To a n y t h i n g b y U m m Kulthum, the queen of tarab - traditional Arabic folk music.

Sleep W H AT T O D O

Flaneuse du Nil: our very own dahabieh boat with just seven cabins, which sails on the Nile and Lake Nasser and is available for private hire.

Old Cataract Hotel: the best of the belle époque hotels in Egypt, with glorious views across the Nile and Elephantine Island in Aswan.

Eat Felfela: quirky décor and delicious mezze near Tahir Square in Cairo.

Anakato: colourful restaurant on the waterfront in Aswan serving Nubian specialities.

Discover

Experience Cairo Like a Local

Visit Abu Simbel

See a side to Cairo that visitors often don’t with your host - a teacher or student rather than a professional guide - who can give you an honest appraisal of their hometown.

Abu Simbel sits right on the border with Sudan and is accessed from Aswan. The engineering feats to move the site away from the new Lake Nasser are almost as impressive as the temple itself.

El-Fishawy coffee shop: The perfect pitstop in Cairo’s Khan el-Khalili souq for a mint tea and weapons-grade people watching.

Nobles Art Gallery: The place for more sophisticated souvenirs, such as alabaster heads and scarab beetles. Conveniently located outside Luxor’s Winter Palace Hotel.

FAMILY ADVENTURE IN EGYPT Suggested Itinerary

Days 1 - 3

Cairo

Days 4 - 6

L u xo r

Red Sea

Introduce the children to chaotic and charismatic Cairo, visiting the Pyramids in Giza (and, most likely, ‘enjoying’ a camel ride), getting deliciously lost in labyrinthine souqs and sailing along the Nile in an elegant felucca sailing boat.

Visit the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor, and the Valley of the Kings with your expert guide, especially chosen to bring these extraordinary archaeological sites fully to life for children. Then splash around in the pool back at the hotel.

Head to Hurghada for a few days by the sea. There are excellent beaches and lovely snorkelling, and children over ten can even enjoy PADI’s Bubblemaker try dive or gain their Open Water dive qualification.

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Days 7 - 10

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EmiliaRo m a g n a secret italy

Parma, Reggio Emilia, Modena, Bologna... We know the names, and the produce that these charming cities in Emilia-Romagna are famed for, but few take the time to visit. Stanley Stewart deploys his prodigious powers of persuasion to change that.

words by STANLEY STEWART trip by ORIGINAL TRAVEL

original tips traveller egypt

Basilica San Vitale, Ravenna

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Cannoli and coffee in Bologna

I

n Italy, the big cities tend to hog the limelight.

But in Emilia-Romagna, the very heartlands of northern Italy, there is a scattering of small cities so elegant, so full of artistic treasures, and so delightful that there are moments when I wonder what all those people are doing queuing at the Vatican Museum or the Uffizi Gallery. Florence is an education, Venice always a delight, Rome a splendid chaos, but it is these pocket-sized northern cities that offer a glimpse of an idealised Italy.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking of them as provincial. Parma, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Ferrara were all once capitals of prestigious duchies or city states.

Pint-sized Ravenna was once the capital of the Roman Empire. All these cities have palaces haunted by famous ghosts, churches full of masterpieces, theatres where great composers once played, Roman ruins that rival Caracalla, and wide piazzas of café tables, elegant diners and sunlit symmetries. No one here thinks themselves inferior to Florence or Rome. They all have the proud sense that but for their city western civilisation would barely exist.

They are born of river mud. Sweeping across the provinces of Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia-Romagna, the River Po and its many tributaries have created the Pianura Padana, the wide flatlands that cut a swathe across northern Italy from the foothills of the Alps to the Adriatic Sea. With fields rich with silt, this is Italy’s greatest agricultural region, its impressive larder supplying many of the finest ingredients of Italian cuisine including parmesan and parma ham, culatello, grana padano, mortadella, balsamic vinegar, and an entire chilled case of salamis. These plains produce Italy’s best vegetables as well as the flours for many pastas. It is the land of piadine – flat bread made with pork fat – and of the rice varieties used for risotto. This is where so many filled pastas – tortelli, tortellini, and cappelletti – were created. And where the grandfather of Italian cuisine, Pellegrini Artusi, gathered recipes for the first Italian cookbook.

On a misty autumnal morning, I headed to Parma, astride the arrow-straight Via Emilia, the old Roman road, that crosses these agricultural plains. Beneath immense skies, the landscapes were reduced to geometric simplicities. In these flatlands, perspective is the thing. Long straight roads, lines of pollarded trees,

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linear canals, all diminish towards a vanishing point in the hazy distance. Walled farmsteads rise like fortresses from fields of rich dark earth. Threaded with mists, the landscape becomes ethereal and haunting.

Hailed by Le Monde as the best place to live in Italy, Parma is a stylish sophisticated city. The Baptistry, as rich as an illuminated manuscript, is one of the masterpieces of the Italian Romanesque, the Palazzo Pilota is the size of Hampton Court and the audiences of the opera house, where Toscanini learned his trade, are said to rival those of La Scala for their discernment.

One afternoon in its Galleria Nazionale, I found an unexpected Leonardo – La Scapigliata – more exquisite than the Mona Lisa. For half an hour, I had it all to myself.

Parma’s greatest painter was Correggio, responsible for the cupola in the Duomo whose ranks of dangling bare legs – chiefly angels flying upwards into the dome – Dickens likened to the delirium of an amputation surgeon. The church authorities mischievously paid Correggio, a notorious miser, in small coins. Unwilling to employ a porter, he carried the huge sacks home himself in the midday heat, then fell ill and died of his exertions.

But it is the art of food that has made Parma most famous; it is no wonder that the last of the city’s ruling Farnese dynasty, the gluttonous Antonio, literally ate himself to death in 1731. Parmesan cheese was already such a valued export in the 17th century that Pepys buried his ‘parmazan’ to save it from the Great Fire of London. I went to see a ‘birthing’ in a fattoria near the city.

Chaps dressed like medical orderlies raised the soggy new-born mass of cheese from a primal soup of whey, then swaddled it in linens. Next door, in a warehouse that could have housed a couple of jumbo jets, tens of thousands of wheels of parmesan, each weighing over 80 lbs, were ageing on floor to ceiling shelving, cared for by inspectors who knock on the cheese with tiny hammers, listening carefully for imperfection. The same arcane care is found close by in the vast storage rooms of the wind-dried Prosciutto di Parma where inspectors use part of the fibula of a horse, a narrow bone particular for its ability to absorb and release aroma, to pierce the ageing hams at five points to check the quality.

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tips

Castello di Torrechiara could be the setting for an escapist romance of chivalrous knights and maidens in tall pointy hats.

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The hilly backcountry of Parma and Piacenza boasts numerous castles; many of which host themed visits, concerts and food and wine tastings. The most beautiful is the 15th century Castello di Torrechiara, whose square honey-coloured towers are capped with roofs of dark tiles. Built by Pier Maria Rossi, humanist, linguist, astronomer, military captain and ardent lover, there is something dream-like about Torrechiara. It could be setting for an escapist romance of chivalrous knights and maidens in tall pointy hats. Its loggia windows overlook verdant slopes of vines and the walls of its grand salons are adorned with strange frescoes – acrobats in gravity-defying stunts, a woman with her hair in flames, weird hooded figures crossing a river, a cloven-hoofed Pan proffering bouquets. Pier spent much of his time at Torrechiara in the Golden Bedchamber with his young lover.

The castle towers and ramparts seemed to protect them from real life t h o u gh s o m e w a gs suggest that they might also have been useful for keeping his wife, mother of his nine children, at bay.

panniers. More than the cars, more than the astonishing medieval cathedral, more than the famous Ghirlandia campanile, which leans almost as much as the one at Pisa, the people of Modena are proud of their balsamic vinegar. It is made from the must of Trebbiano grapes. Every family has their own barrels to age the vinegar. When a boy is born, they will start a new barrel so by the time of his marriage he will have his own stock.

Back again on the Via Emilia, I sailed into the arms of Bologna, the gastronomic capital of Italy, and the only city here that doesn’t really count as pint-sized. Home to the oldest university in Europe, with students still making up almost a fifth of its population, it is a handsome brick city, known as La Grassa, the ‘Fat One’, for its enthusiasm for good food. Its medieval streets enjoy a surprising and distinctive feature. They are lined with arcades offering shade from the sun, shelter from the rain and a delightful intimacy to window shopping. There are said to be 23 miles of these wonderful porticoes in Bologna. City ordinances demand that they are a uniform size – measured as the height of a man on horseback wearing a hat.

Nowhere in the world has quite such a spectacular display of golden shimmering Byzantine mosaics, arching across domes, flooding over vaults, commanding altarpieces, as here in Ravenna.

Back on the Via Emilia, I arrived in Modena, a city so prosperous that two of Italy’s luxury car manufacturers are based there – Ferrari, Maserati – while Lamborghini is just up the road. Ferrari has not one but two museums in Modena where, among sleek automotive contours, you can indulge that peculiar nostalgia evoked by old cars, even ones you could never possibly have afforded. As for the residents, they appear to keep their Ferraris carefully cloistered in the garage. The irony of Modena is that, like most of these small northern cities, the humble bicycle is the preferred transportation. In the car-free centre, everyone from toddlers to octogenarians pedals sedately through cobbled piazzas. When warnings came about American bombing during WW2, it was on bicycles that the residents fled with their valuables – money, jewellery and small kegs of balsamic vinegar strapped to their

Food is serious business in Bologna. The city is famous for tortellini, the small ring-shaped pasta that is usually filled with a mixture of meat and parmesan. The exact recipe, along with the precise width of tagliatelle, is closely guarded by Bologna’s Chamber of Commerce in the Palazzo della Mercanzia. As for the shape, it is said to be modelled on a woman’s navel. Theories about whose navel range from Venus’s belly button to Lucrezia Borgia’s - apparently a peeping Bolognese inn keeper glimpsed her navel through a keyhole. All in a lather, he ran downstairs to the kitchen and began creating tortellini. As with most stories it is probably the metaphor that counts – that Italian connection

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tips

Clockwise from top left: Corno alle Scale Regional Park; the music room at Casa Maria Luigia, Modena; Monastery of San Paolo, Parma; erbazzone, a breakfast speciality in Modena.

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Bologna has 23 miles of wonderful and uniform size porticoes - measured as the height of a man on horseback wearing a hat.

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emilia romagna

between passion and food.

In Bologna, the Apennines are close, and an afternoon drive south of the city brings you to hiking trails through woods of pine, chestnut and beech. In the Parco Regionale del Corno alle Scale, wolves, deer and bear still thrive, as well as golden eagles. On the fivehour hike above Lake Scaffaiolo, you can see both the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Seas on a clear day, as well as the curve of the Alps and the peak of Monte Cinto in Corsica. Come in autumn for the wonderful colours and you might come across truffle hunters with their dogs sniffing out the black gold so beloved of Italian chefs.

Nearer the sea, numerous rivers descending from the Apennines flow across the flatlands to the Adriatic. On the delta of one stands the fabulous city of Ravenna. Once it was a city of canals like Venice, sheltered in its own coastal lagoon. But centuries of silt have separated Ravenna from its waters. The canals are gone, and the sea is two or three miles distant.

arching across domes, flooding over vaults, commanding altarpieces, as here in Ravenna.

Start with the church of San Vitale, one of the greatest works of art that the ancient world has bequeathed us, and the prototype for Hagia Sophia. It dates from the sixth century, before architects had settled on the crucifix form for churches; San Vitale owes more to the form of a Roman bath complex. Beneath an octagonal dome and soaring above the alabaster altar and the sheets of marble that cloth the walls, are great fields of mosaics depicting angels raising golden crosses, Apostles supported by dolphins, portraits of the Byzantine rulers, Theodora and Justinian. It is a sumptuous visual feast with startling blues and greens shimmering on gold backdrops.

In autumn, you might come across truffle hunters with their dogs sniffing out the black gold so beloved of Italian chefs.

Not much of note has happened in Ravenna in the past thousand years. The city seems to have sunk into a millennial hibernation. But back in the centuries that historians like to refer to as the Dark Ages, Ravenna was a glowing beacon of civilisation and art, the heir to Rome, the capital of the Western Roman Empire and the greatest city in western Europe. In the Latin inscription found in Sant’Andrea chapel, ‘Either light was born here, or reigns here imprisoned.’ Ravenna is one of the most astonishing cities, not just of Italy but of the world, with no less than eight buildings on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The Byzantines, the heirs of the Roman Empire in the East, took the city in the sixth century, and cloaked it in all the glamour of the Orient. The chief agents of that glamour were Byzantine mosaics. You can see them in Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. You can see them in St Marks Basilica in Venice. But nowhere in the world has quite such a spectacular display of these golden shimmering surfaces,

Then cross the grounds to the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia.

The mosaics here, including a beardless classical portrait of Christ with a flock of sheep, are no less intense, but the small scale of this building gives them an intimacy, a sweetness. The deep blue vault of a night sky, glowing with gold stars, is my favourite mosaic in a city that is awash with them.

Ravenna is a treasure chest, the mosaics of its churches, chapels and mausoleums suffused with light. But step outside into its old, cobbled streets, and you find yet another small sublime city - handsome, sophisticated, and richly endowed with gracious cafes and excellent restaurants. Browse the street market in Piazza Medaglie d’Oro, stroll the length of Via Roma, stop for an aperitif in Piazza del Popolo, then go for dinner in the Coperto Mercato. If Italy’s big cities can sometimes feel hectic and over-burdened with visitors, you have found the perfect antidote in the small cities of Emilia-Romagna, cities that feel like towns, cities still content to move at the pace of a bicycle. • Contact one of our Italy specialists: +44 (0) 20 3958 6120

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N e e d to K n o w ABOUT ITALY L I F E I S I N T H E D E TA I L Why us?

Our love affair with Italy means we spend a considerable amount of time there on research trips, straying ever further from the beaten path in the knowledge that pretty much everywhere in Italy is better than anywhere else and well worth a visit.

Venice

Milan

Your Concierge in Northern Italy (we have several across the country) Federica is Venetian and a connoisseur of northern Italy and its wonderful cultural treasures. She will help if you want to avoid the queues for a museum in Venice, or take a private boat trip on the Italian Lakes. She will find you the perfect venue for a Milanese aperitif, or a secret restaurant away from the crowds, and help you explore the lifestyle of the Ligurian coast and, of course, Emilia-Romagna. As a mother herself, Federica knows what activities will appeal to young travellers - a real asset if you’re visiting with children.

Florence

Rome Olbia

Bari

Naples Capri

Fast Facts • Size: 116,350 square miles • Capital: Rome • Population: 60,367,477 (Jul ‘21) • Density: 519 people/square mile • Pick a Number: Italy has 58 World Heritage Sites, the most of any nation on Earth.

• When to Go: Jan – Dec, Dec – Apr for skiing

Matera

Palermo

One point of contact Contact one of our Italy Specialists on + 44 (0) 20 3958 6120

A ROMAN (FAMILY) HOLIDAY Suggested Itinerary

A Ta l e o f T w o C i t i e s

G l a d i at o u r s

Roamin’ in Rome

Arrive in Rome and orientate yourself in this eminently walkable city, fuelled by gelatos and with our top family-friendly restaurant tips. Then visit the Vatican City with a guide chosen for their ability to keep the children transfixed.

Experience Ancient Rome on a guided tour (again with your family guide) to the awe-inspiring Colosseum to learn about grisly gladiator fights. Then try your hands at the real thing (well, with wooden swords) at gladiator school.

Follow our recommended walking tour from Piazza Navona to the Borghese Gardens where we’ve arranged bike hire and you can enjoy lunch before heading back to the airport and home.

Days 1 - 2

Day 3

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Day 4

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C U LT U R E H I T

DOSSIER

Read

Watch

Listen

The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa beautifully chronicles a changing Sicily after Italian reunification.

Cinema Paradiso (1988), written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore; a love letter to Italy and the movies.

To hugely popular pianist and crooner Paolo Conte – you’ll know Via Con Me (‘it ’s wonderful, it’s wonderful...’)

Sleep W H AT T O D O

Blue Deer: Explore Italy’s beautiful Pontine or Aeolian Islands aboard this elegant catamaran, the biggest for charter in the Med.

Eat & Drink Trattoria Sostanza: An institution serving traditional Tuscan fare in Florence for over 150 years.

Book way ahead (there are only a handful of tables) and order the buttered chicken.

Harry’s Bar Bellini: the Venetian birthplace of the Bellini cocktail still serves the best in the business.

Discover

Dolomite Via Ferrata

Capri Boat Trip

Explore the beautiful Dolomite mountains in summer via the via ferrata, literally ‘iron ways’ a series of metal ladders and bridge systems that you can tackle before lunch in a delicious mountain rifugio.

After a delicious lunch at waterfront restaurant Fontelina, board your Riva speedboat for a spin around the iconic Faraglioni rocks and an afternoon swim in the Blue Grotto before heading to Punta Carena to watch the sun setting, sundowner cocktail in hand.

Herculaneum: Visit the astonishingly well-preserved Roman town with our expert archaeological guide for a bite-sized and less busy version of neighbouring Pompeii.

Santa Lucia al Sepolcro: Sicily’s Syracuse has rich Roman and Greek heritage, but this church is home to a gem from a different era: Caravaggio’s Burial of Saint Lucy.

A PUGLIA ROAD TRIP Suggested Itinerary

M at e ra

Lecce

Days 1 - 2

Days 3 - 4

First stop Matera in Basilicata, a World Heritage Site town famed for its ancient cave dwellings and the rock-hewn Sassi Churches, many home to beautiful frescoes dating back to the Middle Ages.

Head across Italy’s ‘heel’ to Lecce, a baroque beauty of a city home to dazzling facades and ornate churches, and best explored with our expert architectural guide (and fuelled by delicious local pasticciotti pastries).

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Beach Time Days 5 - 7

Spend a final few days on the coast, staying in an elegant masseria (fortified farmhouse) converted into a superb hotel.

Swim in the sea, laze by the pool and enjoy more of Puglia’s famously fine food.

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travel better

H OW TO T R AV E L BETTER Juliet Kinsman, author of The Green Edit: Travel, explains how heading on holiday can have a positive effect on people and planet, today and tomorrow. words by JULIET KINSMAN illustrations by ELLIOT BEAUMONT

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1.

Walk the eco talk Regenerative, conscious, mindful — we hear lots of these terms thrown around now, but what do they really mean? It’s important to use words with conviction. What’s key for me is we don’t just talk about respectful, eco-friendly or green travel, we think more deeply about what it truly is to be more responsible travellers who are sensitive to the places we go and the people we meet along the way, striving for genuine positive impact.

Buzzwords worth buzzing about are undertourism and redistributed travel and Original Travel’s own philantourism — where you choose a destination because it has had a tough time and by taking a trip you’re helping. Overtourism is a different discussion topic now to what it was before the pandemic. Hawaii, Barcelona, Amsterdam, free of mass tourism, all saw a boost in quality of life for the locals. But borders being forced to shut kept visitors away from other parts of the world most reliant on tourism; once-thrumming hubs were starved of much of their income, seemingly overnight, and are deserving of being back in the spotlight again.

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Go slower, fly cleaner It’s not only more eco-friendly to traverse new landscapes on foot, or by horse, bike or boat, but through positive slowness you get to savour the scenery as you pass it at eye level, feeling the fresh air on your face. What’s the main thrust of slow travel? Skipping planes in favour of overland transport. In order to make this more feasible for time-poor individuals, work out whether you can escape for a longer stretch, or configure a way of working while you’re on the road, to make it easier not to fly. When you are away, it’s always a big eco win if you shirk domestic flights. Take things glacial. Plump for public transport, such as trains or electric buses. Until they work out how to replace fossil fuels with household waste (Back to the Future flux-capacitor style), we can at least do our homework and make informed decisions about with whom we lift off.

Economy-class-only planes are greener. Why? Because they get a lot more people from A to B, in a smaller space, using less fuel per head. Carriers with lean-burn engines, smarter route technology and more sustainable fuel sources are the heroes, and the airlines making these claims change all the time, so let’s all keep doing our homework and holding them to account.

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2.

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Understanding carbon Yes, yes, we know you know, but we really need to understand the carbon cycle and the importance of decarbonising travel if we stand a chance of battling global warming. The release of greenhouse gases that is creating a layer in the atmosphere like a planet-swaddling blanket is on the up — there’s no escaping that.

What does our own footprint represent? The total amount of greenhouse gases – the emissions – produced by us, or a business, usually represented in tonnes of carbon dioxide. The good news is that Original Travel absorbs 100% of the carbon footprint generated by their client and staff flights and ground transportation through their help financing reforestation projects around the world.

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Book eco-loving accommodation

4.

A good starting point when assessing your potential accommodation’s green credentials is to look at how that property was constructed, or whether they have seals that denote sustainable qualifications, and detail how they’ve been built.

EarthCheck, Greenview and Green Key all measure and certify accommodation.

As for a roll call of properties that walk their talk, Original Travel particularly love Imvelo Safari Lodges for their conservation and community work in Zimbabwe; Il Ngwesi, the original community eco-lodge in Kenya; Shinta Mani Wild, which protects a wildlife corridor in Cambodia; Arkaba Conservancy in Australia for their biodiversity projects; the community-run Bho Hoong Bungalows in Vietnam; Lapa Rios in Costa Rica for their long-term commitment to community and sustainability; Caiman Ecological Refuge’s symbiotic relationship between ranching, research and ecotourism in Brazil, and Awasi Patagonia’s woodland protection scheme in Chile.

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Tips for different trips

Romance?

Forgo that far-flung tropical resort and invest in somewhere special closer to home that you’d not usually find an excuse to splash out on. You might not be guaranteed the hot sun, but a train-only break in a grand hotel in France with an incredible spa or elegant countryhouse estate with a Michelin-starred chef might be as rewarding and free of the hassles and impact of further flung international escapades.

Family?

Swap extravagant, exotic escapes for comfortable adventures under canvas where you ditch digital devices and walk, hike, bike, swim and beachcomb together.

Workation?

Sometimes Zooming won’t cut it, so if you need to go on a business trip or attend a trade show, at least make the most of it. Ask your Original Travel expert to see if they can blend your leisure time with your work trip for a bigger short break which is low on stress and high on fun.

Wellness?

Choose hosts who invest in water-saving tricks, such as low-flow showers and watering their gardens with greywater. Look for the places that use all-natural therapies enhanced with fruit, veg and spices. Rather than being lavished with huge fluffy white towels and leaving a knot-in-stomach-inducing wake of things to be washed and dried, there’s nothing wrong with turning down many a robe or disposable slipper. Say to staff that you won’t take the dressing gown and check it’s OK to use your own flip-flops. That way you spare landfills and laundry, and might spur them to think about how some customers might be more sensitive to what we leave in our wake.

Solo?

Don’t default to taxis, instead favour public transport or walking — it can be even more enjoyable to be out and about when you’re on your own. And factor in some volunteering as a great way of contributing positively and meeting others.

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What to pack Less is more, quality trumps quantity and all attempts to bring down the volume of your packing are valiant. Of course, keeping it to carry-on luggage only is the holy grail. Instead of buying new, charity shops are a great way to pick up second-hand steals, especially when they take a curated, cherry-picked approach to donations – whether it’s sweaters for ski trips or recent-season sundresses for posher summer forays. Try clothing rental companies such as Onloan and Rotaro where you pay a fee that is a fraction of the price tag to borrow fancy threads for a week at a time.

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Minimise emissions The need to conserve natural resources is the very essence of what green travel is all about — and so thinking about how to keep that fossil fuel combustion down is certainly a priority. Flying is the single biggest contributor to our personal footprints and it’s the taking off and landing parts that cause the highest emissions. While travelling, skip internal flights in favour of public transport. Staying in energy-efficient hotels and following a plant-based diet helps, too. Be low maintenance, the same as we said about spa time — don’t use lots of towels and don’t have sheets changed lots. Keep aircon down, reduce water use. It’s fairly common-sense stuff.

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Eat local, support local

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Eating local and seasonal isn’t just better for the environment, it gives you a more authentic taste of the terroir — and just like community-based tourism projects, it tends to leave more in local pockets. Sign up for activities such as making rotis at Bangla Sahib Sikh Gurudwara in Delhi. Supporting this charity also helps them serve free veggie lunches to those in need of a meal. In Sri Lanka, ask Original’s experts to add to your itinerary a visit to an inspiring skills-development school, which works with young people from a marginalised community. It’s those kind of philantourism touches that you may even remember most profoundly.

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Disconnect with tech, connect with locals It may not seem as though it has anything to do with being green, but releasing yourself from your phone when travelling will help you relate better to the humans you meet along the way. Learn a few words in the language – even just ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ – and the rewards are manifold. Better not to add to the handset zombies roaming the paths and pavements – instead of being glued to your phone, smile at passers-by. You may find going slow with an old-school map is better for giving you a more genuine sense of the lie of the land.

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The Green Edit: Travel (£9.99 Ebury Press) is pocket-sized but packed with lots of advice and available to purchase from your nearest independent bookshop, or downloadable as an eBook.

To learn more about how Original Travel help our clients travel better, visit our website: originaltravel.co.uk

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LAMU Photostory by Olivier Romano

The laidback island of Lamu off the Kenyan Coast is back in play, and the perfect place to combine with a safari in the country’s hinterland. Wander Lamu Town’s ancient alleyways, enjoy a drink at Peponi’s, snorkel over pristine reefs and generally enjoy a seductively slower pace of life.

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Contact one of our Kenya specialists: +44 (0) 20 3958 6120 93

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N e e d to K n o w ABOUT KENYA L I F E I S I N T H E D E TA I L Why us?

Several members of the Original Travel team have lived and worked in Kenya, a country we know well and love even more. The Kenya team can recommend the best mobile tented camps for following the Great Migration, the finest rhino conservation projects to see in action and the best beachfront bar in Malindi.

Lake Turkana

Your Concierge Faith, our Kenya Concierge, was born and raised in the capital Nairobi but has travelled extensively around the country. She is an expert at anticipating our clients’ needs and taking their stay in Kenya to another level. If you need to make a booking, change a reservation, find local assistance, even change a flight, have faith in Faith.

Mount Kenya National Park Lake Victoria Kisumu

Nairobi Masai Mara National Reserve

Fast Facts • Size: 224,081 square miles • Capital: Nairobi • Population: 54,985,698 (Jul ‘21) • Density: 245 people/square mile • Pick a Number: Two million wildebeest, who cross into the Masai Mara from Tanzania every July and August as part of the Great Migration.

• When to Go: Jan – Feb, Jul – Oct, Dec

Garissa

Lamu

Mombasa

One point of contact Contact one of our Kenya Specialists on + 44 (0) 20 3958 6120

FAMILY !BUSH ’ & BEACH’ ADVENTURE Suggested Itinerary

Nairobi

M a s a i M a ra ( T h e ’ B u s h ’ )

The Coast (The ’ Beach’)

Stay at Giraffe Manor where you’ll have giraffes lean through the window and steal breakfast, before visiting a local conservation project where they raise orphaned elephants.

Fly to the legendary Masai Mara where the family can enjoy 4x4 game drives to see the Big Five, go on walking safaris (kids over 12) with Maasai warrior guides in a neighbouring conservancy and learn to track animals.

Spend a final few days on the beautiful Kenyan Coast, enjoying some R&R or activities from sea kayaking, kite surfing and snorkelling to sailing and fishing for those who don’t do R&R (ie: the children).

Days 1 - 2

Days 3 - 5

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C U LT U R E H I T

DOSSIER

Read

Watch

Listen

West with the Night, Beryl Markham’s beautifully written reminisces of growing up in Kenya (then British East Africa) in the early 1900s.

Out of Africa (1985), starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford and based on Karen Blixen’s moving memoir.

Kenya Special, a compilation of funky Eastern African afro-beat tracks from the 1970s & ‘80s.

Sleep W H AT T O D O

Loisaba Star Beds: overlooking a waterhole and picturesque river valley these bedrooms allow guests to sleep out under the stars in the African night sky.

Lewa House: an extremely elegant private-hire safari lodge on the beautiful Lewa conservancy, perfect for a 3G (three generational) holiday as it sleeps 12 in separate cottages.

Eat & Drink Habesha: The best Ethiopian restaurant in Nairobi showcases the northern neighbour’s cuisine (think spicy curries and stews), best enjoyed at a table in the lush garden.

Ali Barbour’s: Enjoy delicious fresh seafood in this candle-lit coral cave restaurant on Diani Beach for destination dining par excellence.

Heli Safaris

Rhino Conservation

Northern Kenya constitutes over half the country, so this inaccessible and extremely beautiful region is best explored by heli. See volcanic Rift Valley lakes from above, enjoy sundowners on epic escarpments and fly camp miles from anywhere or anyone.

Kenya has several admirable rhino conservation projects, but in the Sera Community Conservancy you can even track some of the dozen or so protected black rhinos on foot while learning about the project (and spotting rare Grevy zebras and reticulated giraffes too).

Discover The origins of our species: on the shores of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, you can learn about the many key early hominid skeletal discoveries made here.

LAIKIPIA, NORTHERN KENYA Suggested Itinerary

Wa l k i n g S a fa r i

Community Lodge

Accompanied by Laikipia Maasai guides and camels to carry the heavy equipment, spend your days walking through beautiful acacia tree dotted bush spotting plains game and camping each night in lovely locations.

Stay at a community lodge owned and run by the local Samburu tribe in what is now a thriving habitat for many endangered species of wildlife who live on what was once a cattle ranch.

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Days 5 - 6

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L a i k i p i a L o d g e L i fe Days 7 - 10

Your final stay is in a lovely thatch-roofed lodge on a hillside overlooking the plains.

Spend your days in the infinity pool, going on guided 4x4, mountain bike or riding safaris, and learning about local conservation efforts.

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rituals and traditions In a fast-paced world that is always changing, rituals and customs are the threads that bind cultures and communities together. Passed from person to person and generation to generation, they can stick around for thousands of years and are a feature of all known societies. These customs can be mundane or spectacular, serious or joyous, sacred or secular. They can be shared by entire cultures and communities or vary from family to family.

Rituals are so ingrained in our lives that they often go unnoticed. It’s only when you step outside your own culture and venture to another that you can appreciate the many diverse beliefs and practices that exist around the world. From centuries old kaiseki dinners in Japan to the art of picking the perfect husky dog sledding team in Norway, experiencing another culture’s customs gives you a deeper understanding of a place and its people and is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the world.

While some of these traditions have stood the test of time, weathering the changes of modern life, others are fragile and at risk of disappearing entirely; this is perhaps what makes witnessing them such a special experience. Ella Mawson chooses nine of the best. words by ELLA MAWSON 97

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Kaiseki Dinners JAPAN Using ultra-seasonal ingredients and incorporating up to 11 courses, kaiseki dinners are a staple of every stay in a charming ryokan (traditional inn) in Japan. Kaiseki meals centre around small but perfectly presented dishes which are expertly prepared using traditional cooking techniques and served in your tatami matting floored bedroom. As you work your way through the many courses, you usually begin with an appetiser accompanied by sake and end with a pudding and matcha tea ceremony. The idea is to savour the food with all your senses, from the complex and often surprising flavour combinations to the meticulous presentation of the dishes and the super fresh seasonal ingredients. But as so often in Japan, kaiseki dinners are about more than just the food. Hospitality – or omotenashi – is at the heart of this centuries-old dining tradition, which began as a simple meal served at tea ceremonies. While the dinners have become ever more elaborate over time – first gaining popularity in aristocratic circles and now reserved only for special occasions – the core philosophy behind the tradition of simplicity, humbleness and expertise remains the same.

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H a d z a b e Tr i b e H o n ey G at h e r i n g SOUTHERN SERENGETI, TANZANIA Many of us are disconnected from the natural world in our day to day lives, but not the Hadzabe tribe. One of the last true hunter-gatherer tribes in Tanzania’s southern Serengeti, the Hadzabe have a deep connection with their surroundings and have held onto many of their ancient traditions including foraging for food, hunting with bows and arrows and using plant roots to dye their clothes. On a strictly controlled visit, accompanied by a translator, learn about their way of life (and how it is, inevitably, changing) and accompany them on outings into the surrounding bush. The most magical moment of the visit is observing how the Hadzabe collect honey with the help of honeyguide birds. These unassuming black and white birds, which are roughly the size of robins, are experts at tracking down beehives in the area’s thick-trunked baobab trees. While the bird flies ahead, the Hadzabe follow closely behind, waiting for the moment when the honeyguide pinpoints its payload. Then they swoop in to pacify the swarms with smoke and scoop out the honey (a delicacy that provides them with valuable calories) while the bird eats the bees and wax in a wondrous mutually beneficial relationship.

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The Art of the Pe r fe c t P i z z a NAPLES, ITALY Italy is famous for its pizza, and you’ll struggle to find better than in Naples. Prepared with a basic dough, raw tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and a drizzling of olive oil, Neapolitan pizzas are all about simple and fresh ingredients, and none of the fancy toppings you’d find in your local pizzeria.

In Naples, preparing the perfect pizza is more religion than profession - a true art form. Across the city, pizzaioli (pizza makers) compete to craft the finest pizzas, all in the hope of catching the eye of the True Neapolitan Pizza Association, an organisation founded in 1984 to certify pizzerias that practice the proper artisan traditions. Receiving certification is no mean feat: the ingredients must be fresh and all-natural, from the San Marzano tomatoes grown in the fertile volcanic soil in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius to the dough (0 or 00 wheat flour only). The techniques must be perfect - no rolling pins allowed - and the baking time is a strict 60 to 90 seconds in a furnace-hot wood-fired oven. With only a few hundred certified restaurants around Italy and the world, these pizza-making masters enjoy rock-star status and feed a constant stream of hungry diners – we can give you the inside track on the best.

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Sy n t h e s i s C e l e b r at i o n s CHIAPAS, MEXICO The town of San Juan Chamula, one of Mexico’s few autonomous townships, is known for its fascinating ancient rituals and beliefs. This is a place where shamanism and folk medicine are commonplace, the forests are said to be filled with spirits, and the majority of the locals speak Tzotzil, one of the 30 Mayan languages. In the heart of the town stands the whitewashed San Juan Bautista Temple – perhaps the most unusual church you’ll ever visit – where an extraordinary brand of pre-Hispanic Christianity, known as Chamulan Catholicism, is practised. From the moment you set foot inside the church, it feels like you’ve travelled back in time. In place of neat rows of pews and an ornate altar, there is a floor strewn with pine needles, hundreds of flickering candles, trails of incense smoke and chanting healers using eggs and bones to create treatments. It’s not uncommon to see chicken sacrifices, along with worshipping locals drinking the potent local moonshine pox to heighten the sensation.

Taking photos is strictly forbidden inside the church (along with wearing hats) so the only option is to take it all in with your eyes and commit the remarkable scenes to memory.

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Selecting a Husky D o g S l e d d i n g Te a m FINNMARK, NORWEGIAN LAPLAND The ancient art of dog-sledding was once an integral part of life, used by everyone from Arctic explorers to Alaskan pioneers. In the icy snowscapes of Norwegian Lapland, you can still experience the magic for yourself, beginning with the ritual of picking the perfect team of dogs. When you arrive at the dog sled cabin, don’t be surprised if the dogs in the enclosures begin to howl with excitement. After all, your arrival means one thing – some of them are going to get to run. To a soundtrack of enthusiastic yelps, the musher will determine your height, weight and strength before handpicking a team of dogs and securing them into their harnesses. The idea is to choose a team that work together harmoniously and are strong enough to pull you, but not too powerful that you won’t be able to apply the brake – a rudimentary spring-loaded plate with spikes on the underside that you jump on to slow the sledge. When your team of two, four, six or eight huskies are in place, you’ll have a briefing – in short, don’t fall off because the dogs will keep running and leave you stranded – and then you’re off. The cacophony of the dogs that weren’t picked fades into the distance to be replaced by the sound of paws padding in unison and the hiss of the runners slicing through the snow.

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K av a Te a C e re m o n y FIJI Fiji is a country brimming with ancient traditions and one of the most popular is the kava tea ceremony. A ritual in every village you enter, kava tea ceremonies have existed for thousands of years and are used to welcome visitors, mark milestone moments and resolve disputes. The ceremony begins with the production of the kava which involves pounding a plant root to a pulp, placing it in a cloth sack and mixing it with water, resulting in an earthy brew. While seated on the floor, your host will then serve the cloudy drink in coconut shells, with the option of high tide (full cup) or low tide (half cup). When presented with the kava, it is traditional to clap once and yell Bula! (meaning "hello"), drink the tea in a single gulp, clap three more times and then end with the word Maca (meaning “it’s drained”). With a bitter taste, this non-alcoholic drink (the country’s national beverage) is an acquired taste, but it is known to induce a wonderful sense of calm and serenity. Just don’t be surprised if it leaves your lips feeling a little numb and fuzzy!

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Meeting the Oracle LADAKH, INDIA Ladakh – The Land of High Passes – is a remarkable region that blends the history and culture of Tibet with the starkly beautiful landscapes of mountainous northern India. With its remote gompas (Tibetan temples), fluttering prayer flags and colourful prayer wheels, you can almost feel spirituality swirling in the air. One of the best ways to understand the region’s culture is to visit an oracle. Also referred to as faith-healers and shamans, oracles perform traditional rituals to aid those in need of physical healing or spiritual guidance. Many are Tibetan Buddhists and spend up to six years training under a senior oracle in secluded monasteries and villages to learn Buddhist scripture and meditation, and how to become a vessel for spirits and deities. Once approved – usually by a high-ranking Tibetan Lama - oracles tend to work from home, where they meet their patients and discuss their ailments.

The most memorable moment for most outsiders is when the oracle begins to chant, ring bells, pray and beat drums to bring on a trance-like state. During this time, it is believed a spirit enters their body and possesses them, providing wisdom and guidance which they can then share with their patients.

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The Milking Ritual TRANSYLVANIA, ROMANIA Age-old traditions are still very much a part of daily life in time warp Transylvania, and one of the most charming is the evening milking of the village cows. In most rural villages, families will often own at least one cow. In the morning, they are let out of their stables and herded along the cobblestone streets of the town by the village cowherds until they reach the meadows. Here, they spend the day grazing while the herders and their huge dogs keep watch for the wolves and bears that still roam the surrounding forests. Before dusk, find a spot on the cobbled main street and listen, local beer in hand, as the sound of cowbells grows ever louder. Soon the cows appear and as they clip-clop along the cobbles, the stable doors are flung open on either side of the street. The cows know their own homes and peel off obediently to make their own way back in. There, in the straw-strewn stable, the ageing family matriarch is ready and waiting, sitting on a milking stool to carry out a chore which has been repeated every evening for centuries.

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N av a j o Sw e at L o d g e SOUTHERN USA Humans have been taking part in ritual sweats for thousands of years and they are practised around the world, from Turkish hammams and Japanese onsens to Native American sweat lodges. This age-old tradition is often likened to a sauna, but beyond the surface-level similarities – a cosy enclosed space, hot steaming rocks, and a lot of sweating – this deeply spiritual ceremony is a world away from anything you’d find at your local gym. Stemming from Native American traditions, sweat lodge ceremonies are highly sacred, from the careful construction of the dome-shaped structure (traditionally built using willow bark and draped with blankets and animal skins) to the prayers offered during the sessions, which usually last for several hours. After changing into loose, lightweight clothing, take a seat around a fire pit in the dark womb-like space while a trained firekeeper brings in hot basalt rocks which have been warmed on a fire outside the tent. The ceremony that follows – which involves prayers, chanting, and free-flowing conversation – is designed to encourage healing, gratitude, reflection and connection, not only with yourself and those around you, but also Mother Nature. While spiritual and enlightening, this experience can be challenging, and as the temperature rises, the idea is to ride out the discomfort and turn your attention inward, although you are of course welcome to step outside at any point.

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In My Wildest D re a m s british columbia

Lizzie Shipley swapped London (and Original Travel) for Vancouver. Then coronavirus struck. Here’s what happened next...

words by LIZZIE SHIPLEY photos by GRANT HARDER 111

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ecently, I played a game of ‘Floor is Lava’, but with tree roots, ropes and mud pools. I saw 11 bears, wolf paw prints, countless bald eagles, a porpoise, sea lions, seals and a whale spout in the distance. I foraged for yarrow, labrador tea and chanterelle mushrooms and marvelled at moss-covered trees draped in old man’s beard (Usnea).

this vast expanse of land shares a profoundly deep, spiritual heritage with the First Nations – the indigenous peoples, excluding Métis and Inuit – that spans thousands of years. There are 634 Nations across Canada, each with their own unique culture and belief systems born from their connection to the land. Many Nations believe that humans and nature are interwoven, and so to really get under the skin of Canada is to connect with the nature, wildlife and solitude of the great outdoors; all of which are shaped by the changing seasons.

We were on the North Coast Trail, a 36-mile multi-day hike snaking the northernmost coastline of Vancouver Island; from the rocky, barnacle-covered outcrops of Shushartie Bay to the white sandy shores of Nissen Bright, where the trail links up to Cape Scott Trail and back to civilisation. That week I became a botanist and forager, Cheryl Strayed and David Attenborough, as we hopscotched between old growth forest, upland bog and moon crescent beaches. We tracked grey wolf paw prints in the sand and watched black bears hunt critters at low tide, like determined treasure hunters with metal detectors. Our solitude was broken a handful of times by mud-encrusted hikers, one of whom had yomped in from Cape Scott, surfboard in hand, to charter untouched reef breaks. Canada, a land so culturally prominent in our ideas of wild adventure, lives up to its reputation.

In a year where travel hasn’t been possible, I feel like I’ve lived in four different countries, as with each seasonal change Canada sheds one coat for another. It’s like rummaging through a fancy-dress box; from the dazzling white of winter to the pale pink blossoms of spring, rainbows of wildflowers in the summer to the fiery shades of fall (or autumn).

This fall (sorry, already speaking like a North American), I went to see the golden larches in Manning Park. Located a three-hour drive from Vancouver, Manning Park marks the transition zone between coastal rainforest and the desert landscapes of the Okanagan (BC’s wine region) and is one of the few places you can see the larch tree. To see these trees requires effort, as you need to hike up Frosty Mountain, which may or may-not be covered in snow. But it’s worth the sore calves as during a very brief window in the year, these deciduous conifers turn a buttery golden yellow. Reach the peak and you’ll get a birds-eye view over sun-sprinkled meadows of golden larch trees, as well as 360-degree panoramas of the surrounding peaks, including the ever-looming Mount Baker, America’s marker. The next day I went running along the SkyLine trail and found myself surrounded by fields of bright red and blood orange, with views over Frosty Mountain sporting the frosted tips of golden larches.

On the way down I paused at Lightning Lake, a turquoise beacon in the evergreen, for a quick dip in the warm afternoon light. Autumn, I’d decided, was my favourite season. A feast to the visual senses.

Admittedly, I didn’t know this before I moved to British Columbia. I’d envisioned Canada as one giant freezer. America’s younger, uncool sibling. But I’d grown restless of my hamster-wheel routine in the UK and needed a change, somewhere ‘outdoorsy.’ It was either New Zealand or Canada, and Canada is closer. I eventually made the nine-and-a-half-hour leap from London to Vancouver on 24th February 2020, two weeks before the world shut down. Would I have come had I known? Absolutely. Practically, British Columbia embraces an alfresco lifestyle that lends itself to pandemic protocols. Philosophically, living on the doorstep of such wild, spectacular beauty, has enabled me to slow down and take stock of my surroundings. While the North Coast Trail might seem extreme, you don’t need to ‘Bill Bryson it’ on a grandeur hike to experience these wild encounters, Canada’s identity is rooted in its natural landscapes.

Canada is often referred to as a young country, but

I’d last visited Manning Park in winter. Wrapped like Michelin men we went snowshoeing along the Pacific Crest Trail. We revelled in the eerie silence of a

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‘To really get under the skin of Canada is to connect with the nature, wildlife and solitude of the great outdoors; all of which are shaped by the changing seasons.’

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À Vev ey, l ’ h ôte l d e s Tro i s - C o u ro n n e s vu depuis le lac Léman.

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À Vev ey, l ’ h ôte l d e s Tro i s - C o u ro n n e s vu depuis le lac Léman.

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hibernating forest as we plodded across fresh, untouched snow (snowshoes feel akin to having giant tennis rackets strapped to your feet), broken by the occasional sound of creaking trees before one toppled over. It started silently snowing and we hiked back out in a winter wonderland. Winter is magical, my other favourite season. Yes, Canada does turn into one big giant freezer, but it’s a brisk cold that brings a smile to your face and a sparkle to your eye. While the wildlife might be hibernating, a whole new realm of experiences awaits. As a complete novice to all wintersports, I’ve managed to dip my boots into everything. From skiing to snowboarding, ice skating (on frozen lakes, naturally), cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, BC has it all.

Creek – a seven-mile winding blue run that leads you straight into Whistler village. But, with such popularity, be prepared for long line-ups for the first lift in the morning (insider tip: never go at the weekend). If you’re prepared to venture further afield, some of the best, under-the-radar winter wonderlands await.

In the UK, road trips were something to be endured.

Here, they’re part of the adventure. In February, we drove from Vancouver to Lone Butte along the rugged, spectacular Fraser Canyon. We arrived shortly before midnight under the hazy band of the milky way, the snow deep and the temperature hovering around -22 degrees. We’d entered Narnia. The next morning, we hit the road to Sun Peaks Mountain Resort. Sun Peaks feels like a mini-Whistler, but with shorter queues, night hours and even a little pub (total caveat: by Canadian standards) up the slope. It was another bluebird day, the snow was pillowy soft, and the temperature had hit a balmy -10 degrees (one other thing I’ve learnt here: there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad gear). I’d experienced night skiing before, the local mountains around Vancouver – Grouse, Cypress and Seymour – all stay open at night. But with little light pollution around Sun Peaks, you can ski down flood-lit runs under a patchwork of stars. I’ve even heard rumours of the northern lights making an appearance.

The next day we hit the road in search of frozen waterfalls. A road trip to Wells Gray Provincial Park took a wrong turn and two hours became six, but the scenery made it worth it (think snow sprinkled Toblerone mountains, frozen lakes and winding rivers). Eventually we arrived at Helmcken Falls to see Myrtle River flowing like a tap at full pressure over the rocky canyon rim, gravity ushering the flow of water 155 yards down into a pillow of snow resembling a giant cotton ball.

This winter, I have Revelstoke – renowned for its heli-ski lodges and soaring peaks – and ski-in/ski-out mountain village Big White on my bucket list.

When spring comes, I’m once again transported to another country, my favourite country. Vancouver beco-

Last winter, I tried cross-country skiing for the first time in an Olympic park. We left Vancouver in the early hours and drove up the Sea to Sky Highway, stopping for an early morning coffee in Squamish (my favourite place in the world) and watching the sun rise over Blackcomb Mountain as we made our way to Callaghan Valley.

Located south of Whistler, Callaghan Valley is a smorgasbord of lakes, waterfalls and thick forest, navigated by 80 miles of cross-country ski and snowshoe trails. It was a bluebird day and we skated in the groves of Olympic tracks while families in snowshoes popped in and out of the trees and dogs frolicked in the snow; all very majestic, wholesome stuff. Just 20-minutes north of Callaghan Valley, Whistler’s reputation precedes itself. The snow here can come up to your waist and it’s like gliding over clouds. Spread across two mountains – Whistler and Blackcomb – the variety of terrain is extraordinary. You can hike up Blackcomb to peer into the cool blue ripples of Blackcomb Ice Cave, kiss the sky on the Peak 2 Peak Gondola – which soars over Whistler village, glaciers, peaks and lakes as it ferries you between the two mountains – and ski or snowboard down the longest run in North America – the Peak to

‘Yes, Canada does turn into one big giant freezer in winter, but it’s a brisk cold that brings a smile to your face and a sparkle to your eye.’

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mes cloaked in pale pink blossom trees, and I get to spend mornings swimming off Jericho Beach while afternoons are reserved for skiing up the local mountains. I’d moved to Canada on the cusp of spring and remember the first time I stood in old growth forest.

We were road-tripping to Ucluelet, a small fishing village neighbouring the surf town of Tofino on Vancouver Island. We stopped to stretch our legs and felt wonderfully dwarf-like among towering red cedars and Sitka spruce. The sun pierced through the trees like a fairy-tale and it wouldn’t have been too far a stretch to see the characters from ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ emerge from the overgrowth.

When summer arrives, I’m once again reminded that this is my favourite season.

Contrary to popular belief, Canada does experience warmth and PNWs (Pacific Northwesterners) capitalise on this with a whole roster of new activities. Extended sunshine hours mean extended playtime in the great outdoors, including paddleboarding, kayaking and sailing the fjords of Howe Sound (look out for whales and orcas – a friend was recently joined by a humpback while out rowing after work), as well as hiking the peaks along the Sea to Sky and spending as much time as possible in Squamish.

the winding Cheakamus River provides ample opportunity for white water rafting and kayaking, while out on the ocean, the bright colours of kite surfers dominate the horizon. It is paradise. Further afield, I’ve ticked off things I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams. I saw a black bear take a morning dip at Widgeon Lake, stood alongside a grey wolf on Nootka Island (with its ‘next stop: Japan’ views) and witnessed my first moonrise while staying at a Wes Anderson-esque hut on top of Brew Lake Mountain. It was more spectacular than any sunset or sunrise I’ve ever seen. And, of course, the North Coast Trail. BC never ceases to surprise and amaze me.

‘When Spring comes, I’m once again transported to another country, my favourite country. Vancouver becomes cloaked in pale pink blossom trees, and I get to spend mornings swimming off Jericho Beach while afternoons are reserved for skiing up the local mountains.’

This year, the summer warmth extended into autumn, and as it comes to a close, I find myself on Spanish Banks, a beach in Vancouver.

I t ’s 2 a m o n S a t u r d a y morning and I’m drinking tea, a stark contrast to my weekends in London. A few weeks ago, a huge geomagnetic storm caused a dazzling display of northern lights across Canada. Notoriously elusive, the northern lights – or aurora borealis – are most often seen in the Northwest Territories in Canada; the more remote the better. You can’t see the lights through the clouds or where there is any light pollution – which means it’s very rare to see them in populated areas. However, this particular storm caused wide stripes of green to be seen dancing as far as Vancouver, and there’s rumours of it happening again tonight. While the likelihood of nature repeating itself is slim, people have migrated to Vancouver’s outdoor spaces in the hope of glancing at the aurora. Mysterious, ethereal, and spectacular.

Humans and nature. Canada, in a nutshell. •

Located between Vancouver and Whistler, Squamish is BC’s unofficial adventure capital. This small town is headed by The Chief, a goliath granite dome known as Siám’ Smánit by the Squamish First Nations, and which is considered to hold great spiritual power. It’s easy to see why, and a great number of people have a deep connection with its sheer rock face, from hikers to climbers, highliners, and even base jumpers (a definite spectator sport). Back down on earth,

Contact one of our Canada specialists: +44 (0) 20 3958 6120

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N e e d to K n o w ABOUT CANADA L I F E I S I N T H E D E TA I L Why us?

Canada is vast, with huge variations in landscape and culture, so while many companies claim to know it well, few really do. Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place. Our Canada team have sampled fine wines in British Columbia’s Okanagan and explored glorious glacial landscapes in the remotest parts of the Yukon.

Thanks to our French connections, we also know francophone Canada extremely well.

Your Concierge Christophe and his team know Canada like the back of their hands. They frequently travel the country and will be able to recommend where to shop in Montreal, book a whale watching cruise in Vancouver or steer you in the right direction of the restaurants you must visit, and which tables are the best. They are here to make your life easier and to add the little details to your holiday.

Whitehorse

Churchill Vancouver Winnipeg

Fast Facts • Size: 2,161,816 square miles • Capital: Ottawa • Population: 38,246,108 (Jul ‘21) • Density: 18 people/square mile • Pick a Number: 151,019 miles, the length of the Canadian coastline including islands – the longest (by far) in the world.

• When to Go: Jul – Aug Rockies, BC, East Coast and Yukon; Dec – Apr skiing; Jul – Aug and Oct – Nov Churchill polar bears.

Québec Montréal Ottawa

One point of contact Contact one of our Canada Specialists on + 44 (0) 20 3958 6120

ULTIMATE FAMILY ROAD TRIP Suggested Itinerary

The Canadian Rockies

Va n c o u v e r

Va n c o u v e r I s l a n d

See the Canadian Rockies in all their summer glory on a road trip from Calgary via Banff to Whistler, with mountain biking, canoeing on Lake Louise, trekking in Glacier National Park and white water rafting en route.

Arrive in the seriously civilised waterfront city Vancouver and savour the contrast of urban life - enjoying delicious family-friendly feasts (including mean meatballs and nice ices) - art tours and scavenger hunts.

Take a seaplane to neighbouring Vancouver Island for a stay at a seafront wilderness lodge. Take a boat trip to spot orcas patrolling the shoreline where bears roam, and learn about First Nations culture.

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C U LT U R E H I T

DOSSIER

Read

Watch

Listen

The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston, an award-winning piece of historical fiction set in mid-century Newfoundland.

One Week (2008); by no means a great film per se, but this motorbike movie’s journey has Canada’s epic scenery in a starring role.

Anything by Arcade Fire, the startlingly original Montreal collective who seamlessly hop genres from rock to Haitian rara street procession music.

Sleep W H AT T O D O

Fogo Island Inn: An angular architectural marvel on the eponymous island in remotest Newfoundland.

Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge: Dictionary definition glamping, with next-level comfort under canvas on beautiful Vancouver Island.

Eat Tojo’s: Vancouver’s large Japanese community means mean sushi.

None better than at Tojo’s.

Red Door Bistro: West Coast Canadian produce given the French bistro treatment in Whistler.

Discover Polar bears in Churchill

Bay of Fundy Whale (and Puffin) watching

Churchill, on the shores of Hudson Bay in Winnipeg, is known as the world’s polar bear capital. Stay in remote lodges and photograph these magnificent bears in their natural tundra habitat. You can also see beluga whales in high summer.

Wedged between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on Canada’s east coast, Bay of Fundy’s claim to fame is the world’s highest tidal range – some 50ft – and it’s a great place for spotting humpbacks and puffins.

St Lawrence Market: A magnet for Toronto’s foodies on Saturdays looking for delicious local lobster, and antique hunters on Sundays.

The Surf in Tofino: Canada’s surfing mecca, in BC, is somewhere to hang ten, or just hangout watching the pros.

YUKON HO! Suggested Itinerary

Whitehorse

D aw s o n C i t y

K l u a n e N at i o n a l Pa r k

Take a flight from Vancouver to the capital of Yukon, Whitehorse, to enjoy fun nightlife and guided tours of the Yukon’s gold mining and First Nations heritage before a canoe trip on the Yukon River.

Drive to ‘one horse’ Dawson City, a town little changed since the gold rush era and the staging post for hikes in Tombstone Territorial Park and panning for your own gold in Bonanza Creek.

Take a seriously scenic flight into Kluane National Park for an aerial view of the park’s vast glaciers.

Visit beautiful Lake Kathleen and – fingers crossed – spot the Northern Lights.

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See you KILLER again S H OT ? in Summer

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By using Carbon Balanced Paper for this magazine Original Travel has balanced the equivalent of 3,097kg of carbon dioxide. This support will enable World Land Trust to protect 592m2 of critically threatened tropical forest.

Certificate number CBP009535.

Photo Credits: Justin Nicholas/CONRAD MALDIVES (pp. 2-3) ; Christopher Churchill/Gallery Stock (p.4) ; Six Senses Fort Barwara, Chloé Sells/Gallery Stock, BG Collection/Gallery stock, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Grant Harder (p.5) ; Paola + Murray/Gallery Stock (p.7) ; Lukas Kohler/Getty Images (p.9) ; Six Senses Fort Barwara, Jérôme Galland (p.10) ; 20th Century Studios, Kléber Rossillon & Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur/Modèle 3D Ministère de la culture (p.11) ; Trakt Forest Hotel, MACA Atchugarry/Fundacion Pablo Atchugarry (p.12) ; Xenodocheio Milos, Hanru Marais/Restaurant Klein Jan (p.13) ; Belmond/Train Venice Simplon Orient Express, Faustine Poidevin, Ippei Naoi/Getty Images, Bensley’s WorldWild, SmallWorldProduction/AdobeStock, Paola+Murray/Gallery Stock, Zoé Fidji, Ippei Naoi/Getty Images, Cavan Images/Getty Images, Westend61/Getty Images (p.14) ; Chloé Sells/Gallery Stock (p.15) ; Michele Westmorland/Getty Images (p.18) ; Faustine Poidevin Nathalie Belloir, Le P'tit Canon, Lorenzo Zandri/Centre Commercial, Zoé Fidji, Vladimir Partalo/Bourse de Commerce-Pinault Collection © Tadao Ando Architect & Associates, Niney et Marca Architectes, Agence Pierre-Antoine Gatier, Serpent à Plume, Luka TDB/Getty Images (p.19) ; Un cercle, Iris Kuerschner/LAIF-REA (p.20) ; Hugh Sitton/Getty Images, Dashmed/Getty Images/iStockphoto, Oleh Slobodeniuk/Getty Images, Photo12/Alamy/Universal Images Group North America LLCDeAgostini, AndamanSE/Getty Images, Gulliver Theis/LAIF/REA, Photo12/Alamy/Ronnybas, Onfokus/Getty Images/ iStockphoto (p.21) ; Harry Cory-Wright, Silolona Sojourns (p.22) ; Amit Geron (p.23) ; Jonas Ingman (p.24) ; Stora Hotellet, Fjällbacka, Tina Strafen (p.25) ; Mark Hartman/Gallery stock (pp.26-27) ; Nils Ericson/Gallery stock (p.30) ; Jessica Sample/Gallery Stock, Pascal Shirley/Gallery Stock (p.31) ; Pia Riverola (p.32) ; Pia Riverola, Nuria Val & Coke Bartrina, Martin Heiberg/Wonderful Copenhagen, Hotel Alexandra Copenhague, Chris Tubbs (p.33) ; Romain Laprade (p.35) ; Micheal McLaughlin/Gallery Stock, Martin Westlake/Gallery Stock (p.37) ; Javier Tles/Gallery Stock, Jonathan Ducrest/Gallery Stock, Lloyd Ziff/Gallery Stock (p.38) ; James Leighton/Gallery Stock, Philip Nix/Gallery Stock (p.39) ; Paola + Murray/Gallery Stock (pp.40-41) ; Photo12/Alamy/Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005 (p.42) ; Odilo Rial archives du Steam Ship Sudan (p.43) ; David Roberts, R.A.Stock/Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, A. Dagli Orti/© NPL-DeA Picture Library/Bridgeman Images (p.44) ; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, USAPhotograph © 2022 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/William E. Nickerson Fund/Bridgeman Images, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division (p.45) ; Photo12/La Collection/Interfoto/TV-Yesterday, Thomas Cook Archive, Ilbusca/Getty images (p.46) ; Werner Forman Archive/Bridgeman Images, Thomas Cook Archive/ Record Office for Leicestershire/Leicester and Rutland, Maxime Du Camp/ Gilman Collection/Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005 (p.47) ; Luigi Mayer/G. Dagli Orti/© NPL-DeA Picture Library/Bridgeman Images, Agefotostock/Historical Views (p.48) ; Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division (p.49-52) ; Gerf Husein/Private Collection© Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images, Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Photo12/Alamy/Asar Studios (p.53) ; Shanina/Getty Images, Jérôme Galland, Walter Bibikow/Getty Images (p.54) ; Olivier Metzger (p.55) ; Bartosz Hadyniak/Getty Images/ iStockphoto, Olivier Romano, Zoé Fidji (p.56) ; Olivier Romano, eugen_z/Stock Adobe, Gulliver Theis/LAIF-REA, Olivier Romano, Gerhard Westrich/LAIF-REA (p.57) ; Jean Luc Luyssen/REA (p.58-59) ; Dagmar Schwelle/LAIF-REA (p.60) ; Ginetti Gino/ Adobe Stock (p.62-63) ; Alessandro Persiani/Adobe Stock, Stefano Scatà/Casa Maria Luigia, Salvatore Leanza/Adobe Stock (p.65) ; David Pellicola/ Adobe Stock (p.66) ; Pavel Vozmischev/Getty Images, Christian Bird/Getty Images, Thomas Tolstrup/Solskin/Getty Images (p.68) ; Akela-from alp to alp/Stocksy/Adobe Stock, Julien Capmeil/Gallery Stock, Ronnybas/Adobe Stock, Photo12/Alamy/Matrf, Lucy Laucht (p.69) ; Olivier Romano (pp.82-94) ; Scott Ramsay/Giraffe Manor/Perowne International, Agefotostock/Ton Koene, Jens Schwarz/ LAIF-REA (p.94) ; Christopher Churchill/Gallery Stock, Photo12/Alamy/CORREIA Patrice, Karisia Walking Safaris, Michael Whelan/Gallery Stock, Peter RIGAUD/LAIF-REA (p.95) ; Paola+Murray/Gallery Stock (p.98) ; Katiekk2/Getty images (p.99) ; Paola+Murray/Gallery Stock (pp.100-101) ; Raul/Adobe Stock (p.102) ; Olivier Romano (p.103) ; Chelsea/Adobe Stock (pp.104-105) ; Padma Lamo (p.106) ; Raluca Hotupan/Getty Images (p.107) ; Luis Tenza/EyeEm/Getty Images (pp.108-109) ; Grant Harder (pp.110-121) ; Un Cercle, Vincent Brillant, Grant Harder (p.122) ; Photo12/Alamy/Steve Bloom Images, Grant Harder, Vincent Brillant, Grant Harder, Grant Harder (p.123) ; Steve Woods Photography/Getty Images (p.124) ;

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