OFF-GRID ADVENTURE
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Traverse Japan’s Kii Peninsula on foot Kansai’s Kodō or ‘old ways’ — a meandering network of pathways that link sacred sites across the Kii Peninsula
with the ancient cities of Nara and Kyoto — have been plied by pilgrims for more than 1,000 years. Today, the Kumano Kodō draws travellers who are looking to broaden their spiritual horizons while pushing their physical boundaries. One of only two pilgrimage routes in the world to receive
UNESCO World Heritage status (the other being the Camino de Santiago), the Kumano Kodō reflects the Shinto tradition of nature worship. Its seven marked trails cover some of the most secluded corners of Honshū island, from the dense camphor and cypress forests of the Kii Mountains to the windswept Pacific Coast. Shrines, temples and torii gates appear at every turn, each one intentionally placed near a tumbling waterfall or a meandering stream to encourage a moment of quiet contemplation. The Kumano Kodō is no walk in the park — designed to be
a religious experience in itself, conditions on the trail can be arduous. The Kohechi Route bisects the Kii Peninsula from north to south, with 45 miles of isolated, vertiginous, zigzagging tracks. Favoured by the Japanese royal family, the more accessible Nakahechi Route traces earthen paths lined with traditional stone ishi-dōrō lanterns to the three Kumano Sanzan shrines: Hongu Taisha, Hayatama Taisha and Nachi Taisha. HOW TO DO IT: Walk Japan organises a nine-day Kumano Kodō pilgrimage from Osaka to Ise, staying in traditional inns and pilgrims’ lodgings along the way. Prices start at £2,200 per person based on two sharing.
walkjapan.com
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Be a castaway in the Outer Hebrides An arc of remote islands off the western coast of Scotland, the Outer Hebrides are one of Europe’s last virgin habitats.
It’s a place where the rules of nature must be obeyed, and where some daring travellers come to push themselves both physically and mentally. Each of the 70 islands has its own personality and geographical
peculiarities, ranging from unspoilt mountains to moors and machair grasslands. Shell-sand beaches, skerries, sea lochs and sheltered harbours have been sculpted over millennia by the wild Atlantic waves. The islands that are populated offer thrill- seekers activities such as freediving and coasteering (a hybrid of swimming, traverse climbing and cliff jumping), and it’s possible to walk or cycle the Hebridean Way, a 200-mile cross-island track between Vatersay and Lewis. Untamed islands such as Taransay — which has been free of
permanent residents since 1974, and famously hosted the BBC’s Castaway 2000 reality show — offer a window into off-the-grid living and self-sufficiency. Modern-day castaways must conform to an existence dictated by the rhythms of the ocean, diving for scallops and foraging for mussels before cooking their meals over an open fire, and learning traditional Hebridean survival skills such as tanning fish skins and fashioning nets. HOW TO DO IT: Led by survival and outdoors experts, RVIVAL’s three packages, Wild Waters, Survive & Thrive and Taste the Wild, each focus on a different aspect of life in the Outer Hebrides, with accommodation in luxury bell tent camps. Prices start at £6,600 per person for a three-night experience.
rvival.co.uk
Clockwise from right: Tierra del Fuego National Park is Argentina’s southernmost park; the Isle of Scalpay, Outer Hebrides; a Shinto shrine on the ancient Kumano Kodō trail, Japan
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NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
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