AMAZON DELIVERY
Time was that exploring the Amazon basin by boat meant a lot of paddling. With the launch in summer 2019 of La Jangada, a 24-cabin catamaran, cruising the rainforest-fringed Amazon is going to be lot less arduous. Each luxury cabin has a balcony – all the better for admiring the myriad bird and wildlife from. Sailing from Manaus in Brazil, passengers on the 12- and 13-day itineraries are taken far into the basin reaching the Peruvian/Colombian border. During the trip, there are opportunities to go piranha- fishing and cayman-spotting and to learn about the medicinal plants of the rainforest. There are also visits to indigenous villages along the route.
www.rainforestcruises.com
ON THE ROCKS
Visitors to Matera in 2019 will find the southern- Italian hilltop city in festive spirit, having been named this year’s European Capital of Culture. Piazzas, galleries and churches will be host to a vibrant array of events, installations and activities. Cultural programme aside, the city has long drawn visitors to its World-Heritage-listed prehistoric sassi, tightly clustered houses and frescoed churches that appear to have evolved from the rock the city is perched on. The largely 18th-century Hotel Sassi,
www.hotelsassi.it, incorporates a renovated cave dwelling, while the five-star Palazzo Gattini,
www.palazzogattini.it, has views of the sassi district.
INNER PEACE
Gangtey Lodge, a Bhutanese farmhouse sympathetically converted using local wood, stone and fabrics into a 12-suite hotel, offers a supremely restful base for a visit to Bhutan’s unspoiled Gangtey Valley. Conceived by the husband-and-wife team behind Balloons over Bagan in Myanmar, Gangtey Lodge brings its guests into close contact with the Bhutanese people, their temples and culture. Archery, meditation classes, visits to morning and evening prayers, hiking, mountain biking and visits to prayer flag hoisting ceremonies are among the sensitively planned activities that allow guests to absorb the serene, forested, mountainous landscape and the pace of life of the people who live in it. Tasteful, luxurious rooms with wood-burning stoves and delicious meals await guests back at the lodge.
www.gangteylodge.com
GEORGIA ON MY MIND
For a country not much larger than Ireland, Georgia, tucked between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia, contains enough geographical drama to keep any curious hiker or mountaineer happy for weeks. The Caucasus Mountains contain peaks higher than the Alps, but their snowy passes melt away towards the Black Sea coast and its sub-tropical forests, whereas parts of south-eastern Georgia are semi-desert. The capital Tbilisi is a good place to start. It was once a Silk Road hub, hence its eclectic mixture of mosques, synagogues, Armenian churches, Persian-style sulphur baths and a Zoroastrian fire temple. Beyond Tbilisi are sites including the Gergeti Trinity Church standing proudly below Mount Kazbegi. Being the world’s oldest wine-producing nation, a visit to Georgia also ensures a selection of fine wines at the end of a day’s exploring.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80
