Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i National Geographic Traveller (UK)

Jini Reddy Any lover of the natural world will find it impossible not to fall for Punkaharju, where Finns come to rest and recharge. I never thought I’d be the sort to leap out of a sauna and take a dip in ice-cold lake waters, but when in Finland... PUNKAHARJU P.46 Julia Buckley Italy can be exhausting because it’s one bighitter after another — and the biggest-hitters of all are usually packed. Living in Venice, I’ve learned that escaping the crowds is the best way to see the country. After all, there are iconic sights everywhere. ITALY P.68 Sarah Marshall I last visited Madagascar a decade ago, but despite the challenges it continues to face, I was relieved to find it’s still like no other place on earth. It’s not…

With a mainly subtropical climate and mountain ranges running the length of the island, Taiwan offers perfect conditions for growing an array of crops, from rice and tea to fruit and vegetables. And there’s real pride in the produce: the aged soy my grandma uses; the competition Oolong tea with which my late grandpa was obsessed, and which never makes it outside Taiwan as it’s so popular; the Chih Shang rice that needs to be edition stamped to prove its authenticity. Fruit shops are piled high with mountains of longan fruit, sugar apples, melons and dragon fruit, all ripe and ready to eat. And, being surrounded by waters, there’s access to great seafood, too, from abalone to snapper. Even the eggs in Taiwan seem to taste better than anywhere else,…

Less than 15 miles north of Lizard Point, Porthleven is the most southerly working port in the UK. Though it was once most famous for its pilchard and mackerel output, today it’s popular with families who come for the excellent food, handsome harbour and proximity to beautiful Cornish beaches. Little ones will love dipping into rock pools and clambering over the cannons fringing the harbour that were salvaged from a shipwreck, while families with older kids can test out easy hiking on the South West Coast Path. GLORIOUS FOOD Try the Corner Deli, where hand-spun pizzas are crisped in the wood oven, or Nauti But Ice on the historic harbourside for cones of Roskilly’s brownie and marshmallow ice cream. In April, you can bring the family for the annual Food…

Hay Festival Set on the beautiful Wales-England border, this year’s packed festival includes travel writer Kapka Kassabova delivering the 2023 Jan Morris Lecture, Ray Mears discussing the British woodland, and Bear Grylls and Ranulph Fiennes celebrating a love of wild spaces. Authorled tours with Wayfair Walks explore the Brecon Beacons, while the Lviv BookForum brings Ukraine’s biggest book festival to Wales. 25 May to 4 June. hayfestival.org/wales Guernsey Literary Festival Celebrating bold writing and big ideas, this event includes highlights such as a talk by Susie Dent (from Channel 4’s Countdown) centred on her book An Emotional Dictionary — Real Words For How We Feel, and family-focused drawing classes from children’s illustrator Rob Biddulph. The festival also offers poetry competitions, writing workshops and the chance to stretch your legs on…

I arrived on Jeju Island a novelist and left a non-fiction author. Visiting the magnificent volcanic island — aUNESCO World Heritage Site — changed my life and, most pointedly, the direction of my writing career. I’d been in my New York City apartment working on a new novel about a businesswoman from Manhattan who goes to Jeju to meet the island’s famous haenyeo women divers, and later starts a company with them. I’d long been fascinated by the fisherwomen of Jeju who dive without oxygen, known as the mermaids of Korea. For centuries, they’ve farmed the ocean collectively to support themselves and their families, some still diving as they reached their eighties and nineties. I knew their lives would be rich material, but I was struggling to make my narrative…

On the sidewalks of St Helena, just over an hour north of San Francisco, it feels hot enough to fry an egg on the pavement. It’s around 35C on the manicured high street of the wine town, the heat radiating across the clipped rows of the surrounding vineyards. So naturally, I blame thirst for driving me into a cool tasting room at just 11am. Not that I should have to explain myself; this is Napa Valley, where drinking is encouraged. Surrounded by steel tanks and barrels, effervescent assistant Zack spends an hour pouring me samples. Then, a dozen boozy splashes in, when things have gone pleasantly fuzzy and the outdoor heat has faded to distant memory, he pulls out one final bottle. “This,” he says, filling my glass, “is really…

Home to some of the world’s most astonishing wilderness, South Australia and Western Australia offer countless ways to experience the nation’s unique wildlife — quokkas, emus, kangaroos and koalas are among the native animals that can be spotted on safari here. These special encounters can easily be combined with trips to world-class wineries, eating at farmto-table restaurants and snorkelling in crystal-clear waters. Using the state capitals of Adelaide and Perth as your bases, hike out into the Outback or hop on a ferry to learn more about the wild elements of Australia’s ancient land, home to the world’s oldest living culture. ADELAIDE & SOUTH AUSTRALIA Adelaide is one of Australia’s most laid-back state capitals, surrounded by sandy beaches, historic wine regions and market-gardeners’ farmlands. It’s also just a 15-minute drive…

The pull of the Mediterranean is strong in Central Dalmatia. Most visitors to this Croatian region arrive through Split, a poster child for this coastline’s clear waters and languid lifestyle. But head inland, and you’ll discover a destination that offers something a little more thrilling. Here, the Cetina River snakes south for 65 miles from the Dinaric Alps to the Adriatic, offering a natural playground for intrepid travellers; activities from canyoning to rock climbing are all on offer. Most tours are half-day long and include transfers. HIKE TO THE EYE OF THE EARTH For many, the highlight of a hike along the Cetina is Veliko Vrilo — or the Eye of the Earth, as the river’s source is also known. This rocky pool owes its nickname to its oval shape…

Tell us about this image. This shot was taken near the remote village of Bhujung in Nepal’s Lamjung district. Here, the Gurung community have been harvesting honey for centuries, trekking deep into the forest to collect the sticky delicacy from wild Himalayan bees. In this image, a honey hunter is seen coming down from a clifftop, bare-footed and with no protective gear; every tool used for the harvest is handcrafted with local resources. What sparked your interest in this assignment? This local tradition was first captured by French photographer Eric Valli in 1988, and those shots have stayed with me ever since I first laid eyes on them as a child. The bold and gripping images, which encapsulated a corner of my country, fascinated me entirely, stirring in me a…

ISSUE 112, MAY 2023 On my first visit to Italy, I headed high into the Apennine Mountains of Abruzzo, taking in several medieval villages, where, almost every night, each local restaurant would deliver the same local speciality — spaghetti alla chitarra — to our table with obvious pride. You could say it was a surprise the second time it was served, but by the fourth I was even more delighted — enjoying the subtle differences in flavour and technique, but even more so the convivial reception and dedication to perfection. Proof, if it was needed, that Italy’s allure can’t be separated into food or culture or history — it comes as a whole package. Having topped the short-haul category of our Reader Awards for four years in a row, it’s…

1 THE CAVERN CLUB Open since 1957, the Cavern will always be associated with The Beatles,who played here 292 times. Its stone walls are decked out in music memorabilia, a tribute to its long survival. The numerous stages have in more recent times welcomed the likes of Adele, Arctic Monkeys and Sir Paul McCartney himself. There’s live music every night, including a Beatles tribute band on Fridays and Saturdays. cavernclub.com 2 BRITISH MUSIC EXPERIENCE Walk on to the Grade II-listed Cunard Building, a melomaniac’s wildest dream. Through costumes and exhibitions, this museum tells the story of Britain as a musical powerhouse — from the British Invasion of the 1960s to the talent shows of the noughties. Expect holographic performances by Boy George and a dance booth to practise classic routines.…

Framed by the Pacific to the east and the snowy Southern Alps to the west, Christchurch (or Ōtautahi in Māori) is the largest city on New Zealand’s South Island and nicknamed the Garden City for its green spaces. While it’s known internationally for the series of earthquakes that rocked its foundations over a decade ago, gone are the days of a city rising from the rubble. Now, it’s known as much for innovation as it is for its beauty. Start with a coffee at chemistry-themed Bunsen, based in the charming clocktower of the Christchurch Arts Centre — which in a previous life housed science university lecture halls. Once sufficiently caffeinated, meander through the centre to take your pick of the boutique galleries and retailers. artscentre.org.nz A stop at The Fudge…

In airport departure lounges around the world, you can always find a selection of Scottish whiskies for sale. Upon the shelves will be bottles whose names recited together sound like poetry — Linkwood and Longmorn, Knockdhu and Knockando. Passengers seem to buy Scottish whisky as a final act before jetting off on a long journey: a token to be taken up into the air. Whiskies are delicious, prestigious. But their appeal worldwide is in their promise of a certain landscape, with labels that summon faraway glens, frosted Munros and rushing streams, some of whose currents have been captured. Many bottles are inscribed with the solemn fact: the word ‘whisky’ comes from the Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha, or ‘water of life.’ This water is — as often as it is not…

An Irish pub is, perhaps, not the obvious place to find yourself in the cultural heart of Japan. It’s with some trepidation, then, that I settle into a corner table at Field, an Irish pub above an udon restaurant in downtown Kyoto, where the door sign advertises that classic combination of ‘draught Guinness, good Irish music, and curry bread of Noharaya’. My apprehension turns out to be wildly misplaced. Over the next couple of hours, a succession of fantastically talented Japanese musicians takes to the stage, putting the fiddle, flute, banjo and tin whistle to a series of riotous jigs, reels and slides that wouldn’t be out of place in the pubs of Dublin. “Europeans and Americans living in Kyoto started the Irish music sessions in pubs in the 1990s,”…

THE EXPERTS Jonny Bealby Founder of Wild Frontiers Sam McManus Founder of YellowWood Adventures Jessie Hewitson Author of Autism: How to Raise a Happy Autistic Child Amanda Canning Deputy editor, National Geographic Traveller (UK) Angela Dove Travel insurance expert, MoneySuperMarket I’m planning two weeks in Pakistan with a friend. We’re both first-time visitors and keen to experience local culture and go hiking. Any recommendations? Pakistan is one of the most physically beautiful, historically rich and culturally fascinating countries on the planet — little wonder it was where we set up Wild Frontiers 25 years ago. It is, in our opinion, adventure travel’s best-kept secret. As well as the Kalash Valleys, Chitral and Hunza [see next answer], we also recommend getting further east, to the cities of Gilgit and Skardu. In…

There are usually two camps when it comes to the signs found in hotel bathrooms — the ones that ask you to reuse your towels to ‘help the environment’. The first — let’s call them the cynics — think it’s nothing more than a money-saving exercise and they’ll use as many towels as they want. Then there are the others — the optimists? — who think, ‘yeah, fair enough, I can use this more than once’. Many of us are in the later camp, although we might question the the hotel’s motives. Obviously, cutting back on laundry reduces a hotel’s impact on the environment and does indeed save money — but that’s not the issue. The issue is when hotels stop at that. Sign duly printed, virtue duly signalled, job…

LECCE Often hailed the Florence of the South — albeit with fewer crowds — Lecce is a riot of palazzi, domes and churches, all intricately hewn from golden limestone. The village, which has been put forward for UNESCO World Heritage status, is known for its 16th- and 17th-century sites, constructed in the flamboyant Leccese baroque style, such as the cathedral-topped Piazza del Duomo and the Basilica di Santa Croce. The latter is decorated with mythological beasts, cherubs and naturalistic detail swirling across its honeyed facade. For romance, explore the city in the blue of dusk, when this architectural ensemble glows gold. The city is the ideal base for exploring the Salento region, as it’s located between the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, meaning you can reach all the peninsula’s sights within…

WHAT’S NEW • FOOD • ON THE TRAIL • WHERE TO S TAY • FAMILY • INSIDE GUIDE • S TAY AT HOME • BOOKS It was a hot summer’s day, and I was walking around Soho in search of interesting frames. I spotted Nicole, a design student from upstate New York, from across the street. Her look stood out to me, so I asked if I could take her portrait. I shot a couple of frames before she threw up her arms and said, “What about this?”, revealing her very fitting tattoos — an ode to New York. This pulled the image together, highlighting her playful personality. jordanbanksphoto.com @jordanbanksphoto…

On the cusp of the Cheviot Hills and Northumberland National Park, a new museum dedicated to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria has opened in the market town of Wooler, aiming to breathe life into the stories of the area’s forgotten kings and queens. The Ad Gefrin Anglo-Saxon museum and whisky distillery is less than five miles from the archaeological site of Gefrin, a seventhcentury palace where Anglo-Saxon kings such as Edwin, Oswald and Oswiu held court in a vast complex of timber buildings, around 70 miles north of Hadrian’s Wall. Aerial photographs led to the site’s discovery in 1949 near the hamlet of Yeavering and it became one of the most important archaeological finds in 20th-century Britain, though little of it remains. It’s hoped the museum will encourage more people…

Hotel Indigo Bath While Bath has long been one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country, its quiet renaissance in recent years has made the Southwest’s most storied city more appealing than ever before. With over 5,000 listed buildings, many of handsome Georgian design, Bath preserves its distinct 18thcentury character at every turn. But rather than stand still, it’s been reimaginging and polishing its best assets. The latest developments include headliners such as the new Bath World Heritage Centre, the restoration of Cleveland Pools — Britain’s oldest lido — and the Bath Abbey renovations. And now there are various new and revamped hotels in town, too. Hotel Indigo Bath opened in September 2020 on quiet South Parade, close to the city centre. The 166-room property is largely disguised…

Relatively little-known outside Finland, but just under four hours northeast of Helsinki by train, Punkaharju is a tranquil land of birch and spruce trees, pristine waters and clear, crisp air. Located in eastern Finland, within the Saimaa region and part of the vast Finnish Lakelands area, it’s one of the country’s designated National Landscapes — an accolade reflecting its wild beauty and the important role forest culture plays in the Finnish psyche. A haven for wildlife and outdoors lovers, Punkaharju is where Finns come to retreat and recharge. It’s easy to see why the area has long been a magnet for artists, writers and poets — rumour has it, it even inspired JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth fantasies. The labyrinthine waterways of Lake Saimaa, Finland’s largest with just over 9,300 miles of…

01 TUSCAN LANDSCAPES With ancient hill towns and mist-covered valleys lined with olive groves and vineyards, the Val d’Orcia offers the most beautiful snapshot of Tuscany There’s a very important question to be answered when you visit Pienza: is this the most beautiful town in Italy? I’m going to say yes. Staring at the view from the town walls is like looking at a painting. Unspooling below are hills in 50 shades of green, cut through by slashes of grey — unpaved roads chiselled from the clay beneath. Cypress avenues stripe the landscape, terracotta Renaissance towns cling to every peak. And the backdrop to it all? Monte Amiata, a dormant volcano gently wrapping around the landscape, as if she’s gathering the valley in an embrace. I’m not the only one…

“The valley we’re in is home to over a thousand distilleries producing schnapps — the highest concentration in Europe,” says Hannes Schmidt, CEO of the Boar Distillery. He stands in the centuries-old distillery in the village of Bad Peterstal-Griesbach in the central Black Forest, explaining that the company switched from schnapps to gin a decade or so ago. Nestled on the slopes of the Rench Valley, the distillery makes limited batches using water from its own spring. And it’s not just any gin — infused with 19 local botanicals, it’s one of the world’s mostawarded. “The secret,” says Schmidt, “is in the Black Forest Burgundy truffle. We experimented for half a year to find just the right amount to add.” The Boar Distillery is open for visits and tastings, but…

There are a few things you immediately notice when arriving in Cape Town. The first is Table Mountain — an omnipresent, flat-topped massif rearing up above the Atlantic seaboard, wrapping itself around the city, presiding over everything with reassuring solidity. The second is that the city centre itself is relatively small, spread across a mere handful of blocks. This compactness is less by design and more a physical necessity. Cape Town started out as a halfway station for Dutch and Portuguese spice traders on their way around the southern tip of Africa to India in the 1600s. Ideally placed, it sprung up sandwiched between the sea and that huge massif. To grow, the city had to spill out into neighbourhoods beyond the foothills of Table Mountain. Each has retained its…