Dan Linstead November 26, 2010

The world’s new travel frontiers for 2011

Dan Linstead editor of Wanderlust recommends new adventure tours to some of the world's most exciting and relatively unexplored outposts for 2011

Wanderlust : Banda Aceh — Banda Aceh: Speed the recovery: On Boxing Day, 2004, 61,000 people lost their lives in the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh as the tsunami smashed into northern Sumatra. Although backpackers have returned, Intrepid’s Sumatra Highlights tour is the first time a major operator has featured the rapidly recovering region. Kicking off in Medan, the trip includes a stay on volcanic Lake Toba and jungle camping in Gunung Leuser National Park. Then you’ll enter Aceh province, where you’ll meet NGO volunteers, speak to children learning English, and visit tsunami landmarks to grasp  the true scale of this natural disaster. A sobering trip, but a hopeful sign.

• Who: Intrepid (+44 (0)203 147 7777, intrepidtravel.com) When: frequent departures How long: 15 days How much: £635 (excl flights) Photograph: Robert Francis/Intrepid

Wanderlust : Guinea-Bissau — Guinea-Bissau: Delve into West Africa: Here’s one for Africa completists: Undiscovered Destinations’ Guinea-Bissau Discovery tour lifts the lid on one of West Africa’s smallest and least-visited nations. Starting in sleepy capital Bissau, the trip includes a day tracking chimpanzees in the nearby forest, and several days hopping around the idyllic Bijagos Archipelago. Home to remote communities, saltwater hippos and turtles, these islands are culturally and biologically fascinating. The March departure also visits the lively Bijagos and Bissau Carnivals.
• Who: Undiscovered Destinations (undiscovered-destinations.com, +44 (0)191 296 2674, ) When: 4 Mar, 18 Oct 2011 How long: 8 days How much: from £1,699 (excl flights)
Photograph: Undiscovered Destinations Photograph: Action images

Wanderlust : North Korea — North Korea: Get inside the Axis: Thanks to an exclusive arrangement with the state travel monopoly, Regent Holidays’ North Korea East Coast Explorer group tour is a real one-off. Starting in Pyongyang, you’ll see the cult-of-personality monuments of this notoriously neurotic nation for yourself, and then head east to explore coastal areas rarely seen by visitors. Highlights here include a visit to myth-shrouded Mt Kumgang (off-limits for years) and the beachside Chilbo homestay. Illuminating and unique.
• Who: Regent Holidays (0845 277 3317, regent-holidays.co.uk) When: 1 October 2011 How long: 16 days How much: from £2,220 (excl flights)
Photograph: Regent Holidays Photograph: Action images

Wanderlust : Bhutan — Bhutan: Be first in the East: The Merak Sakteng region, nestled into the far east of this mysterious Himalayan kingdom, was closed to travellers in 1995, to protect its distinctive culture and – so the legend goes – its flourishing yeti population. In 2010 it was reopened, and a few tourists experienced its forest-covered valleys, largely untouched by the progress of time. Be one of the first to traverse the hillsides, high passes and raging rivers of the region, pausing to drink yak-butter tea with locals in shamo – the regional, and quite unique, headgear of choice, which is less hat, more spider.
• Who: Blue Poppy Tours & Treks (+44 (0)20 7700 3084, bluepoppybhutan.com) When: Anytime – tailormade How long: 10-21 days How much: from US$2,230 (approx £1,370) (excl flights) Photograph: Sarah Baxter

Wanderlust : Cambodia — Cambodia: Discover South-East Asia’s secret jungle: There aren’t many secret corners of traveller-friendly south-east Asia, but Cambodia’s hitherto off-radar Cardamom Mountains are one of the most exciting. Covering 20,000 sq km of the country’s south-west, the varied habitat conceals numerous endangered species including tigers, bears, hornbills and pangolins, plus half of Cambodia’s 558 bird species. Mountain Kingdoms’ Cardamom Mountains Trek visits O’Malu Waterfall, O’Spott Bat Cave and the Bokor and Popokvill Falls. The tour also takes in favourites such as the temples at Angkor Wat. [This article was amended on 3 December 2010. The original cited 2,300 bird species.]

• Who: Mountain Kingdoms (+44 (0)1453 844 400, mountainkingdoms.com) When: 29 Jan, 2 Nov 2011 How long: 16 days How much: from £1,395  (excl flights)
Photograph: Mountain Kingdoms Photograph: Action images

Wanderlust : Algeria — Algeria: Venture into the deep Sahara: Tired of Tunisia? Unmoved by Morocco? Explore’s Algeria: Tassili Plateau & Hoggar Mountains trip plunges you deep into the wild and magnificent heart of the Sahara, in this country that was previously off-grid because of safety concerns. Although there’s time to see the Unesco-listed Kasbah of Algiers, the bulk of this 4WD-and-camping trip is far to the south, where dramatic rock formations, prehistoric rock art and huge sand dunes hold sway. Highlights include the sand seas of the Tadrart El Biredj valley, stops at mudbrick Tuareg villages, and climbs up the volcanic Hoggar peaks.

• Who: Explore (0845 013 1537, explore.co.uk) When: 16 Apr, 15 Oct, 19 Nov, 17 Dec 2011 How long: 14 days How much: £2,237 (incl flights) Photograph: Explore

Wanderlust : DR Congo — DR Congo: Navigate the Congo: Few get beyond fantasising about Africa’s great river, running as it does through the troubled territory of the DRC. Hats off, then, to Wild Frontiers, whose Congo – In The Footsteps of Stanley expedition – centres on a 20-day, 1,000km river cruise from Kisangani to Kinshasa.  En route you’ll trek to pygmy villages, watch scenes of rural  life unchanged for centuries,  and camp on the riverbank. Not for the faint-hearted – but a thrilling achievement.

• Who: Wild Frontiers (+44 (0)20 7736 3968, wildfrontiers.co.uk) When: 9 Sep 2011 How long: 27 days How much: from £5,910  (excl flights) • From the new look December issue of Wanderlust magazine, on sale now, priced £3.99, wanderlust.co.uk Photograph: Wild Frontiers

Leave a Comment Cancel comment