On our radar
FALL COLOURS in Kyoto, a luxury train through the Peruvian Andes and a Stephen King-themed tour in Maine are the top travel experiences chosen by Canadian Geographic Travel staff this fall.
KYOTO, JAPAN It was Ginkaku-ji that did it for me. Seeing photos of the temple’s grounds and the swooping, cypressshingled twin roofs of its Silver Pavilion framed by a fiery palette of Japanese maples convinced me that flying 10,000 kilometres to see Kyoto’s fall foliage would be worth every penny. The former imperial capital is renowned for its burst of cherry blossoms in spring, but that bloom is fleeting, lasting only about two weeks. Its autumn colours, however, provide almost two months of calendarworthy photo ops, from October through December. Add the likes of the equally picture-perfect Daigo-ji temple or Okochi Sanso villa to your itinerary and you may just begin to understand the Japanese reverence for nature. kyototourism.org —Rachel Levy-mclaughlin, editorial intern
BELMOND ANDEAN EXPLORER, PERU South America’s first luxury sleeper train takes the five-star hotelon-wheels experience to new heights, quite literally: with a peak elevation of 4,313 metres in the La Raya mountain range, Peru’s Cusco-lake Titicaca railway is the fourth highest in the world. The two-night journey between Cusco and Arequipa, two of Peru’s most important cultural and historic sites, hardly seems enough time to fully appreciate t he amenities aboard Belmond’s Andean Explorer, which include sumptuously furnished observation and dining cars, a spa and gourmet meals i nspired by traditional Peruvian cuisine — to say nothing of the breathtaking scenery beyond the windows. belmond.com —Alexandra Pope, social media editor
BANGOR, MAINE “There’s something terribly wrong here in Derry,” says Mike Hanlon, a character in the 1990 television miniseries the much anticipated reboot of which looks set to scare the bejesus out of everyone when it hits Canadian theatres on Sept. 8. Based on Stephen King’s chilling novel of the same name, the film is set in Derry, Maine, a town as fictional as the story’s monstrous villain, Pennywise. Still, King fans can see the next best thing in Bangor, the real-life inspiration behind Derry and the location of SK Tours of Maine, which stops at 30 King-related sites, including the Barrens (featured in It), the cemetery where Pet Sematary was filmed, and the decidedly spooky home of the master of horror himself. sk-tours.com —Michela Rosano, associate editor