Heading out on a tiger safari is one of the essential Indian experiences. Here, from the pages of Great Escapes, we present five of the best. Share your safari memories below. Corbett Tiger Reserve The first wildlife reserve in India, Corbett was responsible for launching the tiger conservation scheme Project Tiger, and is well-known for…
Whether you are keen to learn more about their art and customs, such as the many dances of the corroboree ceremony or the songs of The Dreaming, or simply want an authentic trip to Uluru, there are no better guides to Australia’s outback than the many Aboriginal peoples who have lived her for millennia. All…
Go on a safari in a 4WD and you have the best of best worlds: a safe, secure vantage point from which to spot wildlife, and the mobility to whizz off as soon as the news comes over the radio of where to go for the best action. Go on walking or horse-riding safaris and…
Kenya is the safari capital of East Africa. Elephants, buffalo and wildebeest roam across vast plains, flamingos in their thousands wade in lake shallows, lions doze on sun-baked savannahs and herds of hippos graze by river banks. Yet in the scramble to see the country’s wildlife, local culture often gets overlooked and tribal people have…
Minimise your footprint in Luang Prabang with our green guide to the city, taken from travel bible Great Escapes. Enjoy a puppet show Every Thursday and Saturday at 7.30pm the kids at Children’s Cultural Centre, a project developed with Unicef, put on a traditional Lao puppet show. Throughout the year the CCC members (aged between…
The island of Borneo – which is divided between Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei – is home to some of the world’s best diving sites, along with a huge variety of plants, birds and mammals, some unique to the country. Yet it is also the land of the super-logger and oil-palm plantations that are eradicating the…
Respect the environment in Tokyo with our green guide to the city, taken from travel bible Great Escapes. Sleep at Yoshimizu With no telephones, TVs or refrigerators in the rooms, Yoshimizu Inn is the antithesis of the ultraconnected city on its doorstep – but then it is run by a former hippy who used to…
If you sometimes find yourself feeling a little environmentally guilty on your travels, and would like to do something a little more than reusing your plush towels two days in a row, consider one of these green holidays around the globe. Spend a week at Ecocabin, Shropshire Nowhere is 100 percent green, but Ecocabin –…
Turn a corner and you’re at one end of a long aisle, its sides lined with stalls selling nothing but chocolate. Turn a different corner and you enter another food-laden aisle, only this time dedicated to cheese, including matured Pecorino wrapped in walnuts, Norwegian Sognefjord geitost and Tcherni Vit green cheese from Bulgaria. There’s no…
Enjoy a more eco-friendly stay in Mumbai with our green guide to the city, taken from travel bible Great Escapes. Visit a handicraft centre India is home to over a billion people, more than a thousand distinct languages and countless different arts and handicrafts. Travelling across the country, you’ll no doubt encounter some of these…
Even after seven unbroken days on a train from Moscow, nothing can prepare you for the Chinese border. As you pull into the platform, which is lit up in neon colours, a Chinese-tinged version of the Vienna Waltz comes blaring over the Tannoy. Trying to work out the cultural relevance of this is a hopeless…
If, along with rest and relaxation, your idea of the perfect holiday hideaway involves cooking up your own meals with fresh ingredients, then a self-catering stay at Samakanda Guesthouse might be just what you’re looking for. Tucked away in the hills above the town of Galle, Samakanda comprises two comfortable, solar-powered cottages: one a restored…
Twenty thousand revellers each year come to Boom, Europe’s greatest outdoor dance-music festival, which takes place for a week over the August full moon on a lakeside ranch about 60km from Lisbon. In true summer-of-love fashion it combines non-stop dance music with eco-idealism: here you’ll find sustainability workshops, recycling and composting bins, a permaculture garden…
Holding the tiny cocoon in your fingers, it’s hard to imagine it contains a fibre of silk that will be 800m long when finally unravelled. And when you consider 100,000 silk worms are being cultivated here at Vang Viang Organic Farm, you’re effectively surrounded by 80,000km of silk – enough to circle the earth twice.…
Secreted away in the souk quarter behind the Basilica of the Annunciation, in a maze of streets too narrow for cars, lies the Fauzi Azar Inn – a 200-year-old mansion that has been converted into the most welcoming place to stay in Nazareth. Centred on an arched courtyard, its ten adjoining rooms are decked out…
Deep in the mountainous forests of Chiba’s Boso Peninsula, Gankoyama is the first “treehouse village” in Japan, offering a back-to-nature escape from the bustle of Tokyo. Eleven guest treehouses are grouped around a central treehouse/reception hall, with the whole complex surrounded by tall trees cloaked with creepers. You could just kick back completely and swing…
They may cross six countries and contain many colossal mountains such as Everest and K2, but journeying through the Himalayas isn’t just about making it to the top. The following five treks will give you more than just sore feet and lots of photos of snow-capped peaks. Meet the three sisters, Nepal Lucky, Nicky and…
Southeast Asia offers some wonderful treks, allowing you to spend days walking through dense rainforests, spotting spectacular wildlife, learning about the cultures of the many different tribes who live in the remoter areas, and often staying with them in their homes and sharing their meals. The following ten treks are highly recommended, and also ensure…
South Africa has the world’s first fair trade tourism scheme, with a growing range of places involved. The following ten experiences offer much of the best South Africa has to offer – from wildlife-watching to townships to wine tasting – plus you’ll know that the local communities benefited from your visit. For details of all…
Away from its sun-drenched beaches, palm-adorned resorts and colourful reefs, the real pulse of the Caribbean is found in the homes of the locals, and on the sometimes sleepy, sometimes vibrant streets. The following five experiences will give you a little taster of Caribbean life. Root veg and culture, Jamaica There are carnivals and festivals…
Enjoy a more eco-friendly stay in Mumbai with our green guide to the city, taken from travel bible Great Escapes. Explore Aboriginal Sydney Many people think Sydney’s history began with the arrival of Captain Cook in Botany Bay in 1770. Take a boat cruise with Tribal Warrior (www.tribalwarrior.org) around the famous harbour, however, and while…
If you’ve been thinking of swapping the traditional beach and beers break for something a little more, well, useful this year, allow us to present ten inspiring options. Whether it’s monitoring fish in Tobago or cleaning elephants in Thailand, these breaks allow you to really put something back on your travels. Help conserve the Galápagos…
The arty town of Berkeley, and particularly Alice Waters’ legendary Chez Panisse restaurant, can lay claim to being the birthplace of Californian cuisine, whose emphasis on fresh ingredients and fusion of elements from the state’s many gastronomic cultures has influenced restaurant menus the world over. And there are plenty more gastronomic delights to be discovered…