IMAGES: MATJAZ KRIVIC; ROCCO RORANDELLI, TERRAPROJECT-CO-REDUX; STEFANO BALDINI-BRIDGEMAN IMAGES; NORI JEMIL; SERGE PICARD, AGENCE VUREDUX; DAN BURNS, NATURAL SELECTION DESIGN; MICHAEL MELFORD, NAT GEO IMAGE COLLECTION; GETTY
4 JOIN THE BEARS
ALASKA, USA Katmai National Park is home to the highest concentration of brown bears in the world. Far from the crowded viewing platforms of the Brooks Camp Visitor Center, a guided trip down the Katmai coast reveals a different side of the park. Along beaches and bays, the bears feast on a diversity of foods, from sedge grasses and berries to roots and razor clams. “For me, seeing a single brown bear in the wild is meaningful, because it’s a sign that the landscape is healthy enough to support it,” says Acacia Johnson, a National Geographic photographer from Alaska.
5 HEAR IT LIVE
KYOTO, JAPAN Guidebooks speak of Kyoto as frozen in time, with hushed temples and Zen gardens. But after hours, Japan’s former imperial capital reveals a live music scene that can be loud and irreverent. At venues like Jittoku, Sarasa Nishijin and Field, rock, swing and even Irish music echoes into the night. Whether you’re into jazz or punk, there’s a community to share your jam. “This is what happens in Japan when the mask comes off,” says Kyoto guide Van Milton.
6 CRUISE AN EPIC RIVER
COLOMBIA Eighty percent of the population of Colombia lives in the river basin of the Magdalena, which flows for nearly a thousand miles from the Andes to the Caribbean. AmaWaterways’ new cruises along the river — the first offered by a major cruise operator — journey far upstream during seven-night trips, from the capital of Cartagena via Mompox town to Barranquilla city. Stops at 16th-century settlements, performances of vallenato and cumbia music, and visits to floating villages highlight the region’s culture along this mighty waterway.
7 ROAD TRIP WEST
ALBUQUERQUE, USA For nearly a century, Route 66 has beckoned travellers west. A trip along the Mother Road through New Mexico hits timeless landmarks, such as quirky motels and curio shops near Tucumari and symbolic etchings in Petroglyph National Monument. And in Gallup — mentioned as one of the places to “get your kicks” in Nat King Cole’s 1946 hit song Route 66 — you can see Indigenous performances featuring Zuni, Lakota Sioux and Navajo Diné dancers. Eighteen miles of the highway wind through Albuquerque, the longest urban interlude of the route in the US, and it’s getting a glow up with ongoing lighted sign restoration. While cruising down the brightened strip, stop in at the newly opened West Central Route 66 Visitors Center, which hosts a Route 66 museum, lowrider car shows and artisan markets in the outdoor amphitheatre.
8 EXPLORE ANCIENT ART
ALGERIA Algeria is home to Africa’s largest national park — and it has one of the world’s greatest concentrations of ancient rock art. Tassili N’Ajjer National Park is a geological wonderland of sandstone pinnacles, arches and sculpted outcrops. But these rock forests (such as the one at Adrit, pictured left) are only half the story. Neolithic hunter-gatherers and herders carved 15,000 petroglyphs here, including images of elephants, giraffes and rhinos. These large mammals are more commonly associated with Sub-Saharan Africa — a hint that this arid wilderness was once a lush grassland crisscrossed by waterways. Five- to seven-day tours, led by Tuareg guides, view the most spectacular works of Tassili’s art, including the Crying Cows, engraved at the base of a rock outcrop 7,000 years ago. READ THE FULL LIST ONLINE
BEYOND THE TRAVEL SECTION
| A N I M A L S |
This rare monkey species has found an oasis in the big city Typically an ‘urban avoider’, the critically endangered red-shanked douc hides on the isolated ‘Monkey Mountain’ of Vietnam’s Da Nang, a city of 1.2 million people.
natgeo.com/animals
| H I S T O R Y |
Here’s what inspired this 16th- century map of sea monsters At a time when the mortality rate for long maritime voyages was 50%, the Bible, legend and lore gave birth to a sea full of extraordinary creatures.
natgeo.com/history
| S C I E N C E | VISIT
NATGEO.COM/TRAVEL FOR NEW TRAVEL FEATURES DAILY
Is there a ninth planet out there? Starting in 2025, the Vera C Rubin Observatory — currently under construction in Chile — will be hoping to spot new comets, asteroids and perhaps even our Solar System’s Planet Nine.
natgeo.com/science
SEARCH FOR NATGEOTRAVELUK
INSTAGRAM SWITZERLAND
The watchmaking peaks Get a rare insight into how this complicated craft is alive and ticking in the Jura Mountains.
UK
Dinner-table traditions The highlight of a Sunday, the roast dinner is a celebration of British food. Here are some of the best.
ALASKA
How to visit like a local Looking for easy boat tours and off-the-beaten-path trails? Residents share their top activities.
MARCH 2024 45
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