ASIA TOURS Escorted tours in Asia are packed with truly unforgettable moments, says Joanna Booth I
mmersive escorted tours are filled with wonder, from meeting South Korea’s female free divers to learning the lifestyle of semi-nomadic eagle
hunters in Mongolia. They open the door to the continent’s festivals, cuisines and cultures – a more enticing selling point than simple sightseeing. All prices are per person, based on two sharing, and do not include international flights unless stated.
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Celebrate the Nalakhar Festival in Bhutan
Bhutan’s sacred festivals are central to its culture, creating places for communities to come together and for Buddhist traditions to be preserved. Unlike some of the larger and more famous tsechus, the Nalakhar Festival in Bumthang isn’t on the tourist circuit, so travellers on this Undiscovered Destinations tour will be surrounded by villagers as they watch monks perform masked cham dances portraying deities and demons, and see locals
present folk dances and songs. This women-only tour has a female guide, female-run homestays and visits a Buddhist nunnery, giving a unique
perspective on this beautiful Himalayan kingdom. Book it: Undiscovered Destinations’ 12-day
Bhutan Festival Cultural Tour starts from £3,595, including transfers, all meals and visas.
undiscovered-destinations.com
Make hand-pulled noodles in China
Every sense is stimulated during this noodle-making experience in Xi’an, China. The Shaanxi province is known for biang-biang noodles: thick and bouncy in texture, taking their name from the slam of the dough against the table during the hand-pulling process. On Intrepid Travel’s food-focused tour, guests hone their skills with a local family by kneading, rolling and slapping, then cooking and eating their efforts in a feast of regional ingredients. Also visiting Beijing, Chengdu and Hong Kong, travellers can tick off the Great Wall and pandas alongside
Peking duck, Sichuan hot pot and dim sum. Book it: Intrepid Travel’s 10-day China Real Food Adventure starts from £1,945, including some meals.
intrepidtravel.com
6 of the best 2
ONLY-IN-ASIA EXPERIENCES
Meet female free divers in Korea There’s more than one way of growing old gracefully, as visitors to Jeju, the volcanic island off South Korea’s southern shore, discover. The haenyeo (women of the sea) don’t retire or slow down; these extraordinary free divers spend hours diving without equipment and hold their breath for over a minute to harvest seafood sustainably. On this G Adventures tour, guests sit with the women in the dramatic surroundings of Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) to hear about their lives and the skills handed down through generations, over a taste of their freshly caught seafood – abalone, sea
urchin, sea cucumber and sea squirt. Book it: G Adventures’ nine-day Journeys: Soul of South Korea starts from £3,399 including breakfast, some meals and transfers.
gadventures.com
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travelweekly.co.uk 2 APRIL 2026 41
PICTURES: Shutterstock/Wirestock Creators, Shanae Ennis-Melhado, Mirko Kuzmanovic
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