The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Escape to the last empty spaces of Europe 5 Mush your team through Finland
Sensory underload – finding serenity in places where other people aren’t – can be achieved without trekking to Mongolia or the Outback. Paul Bloomfield seeks out the continent’s great wildernesses
Back in the late 10th century, Norse explorer Erik the Red launched possibly the most egregiously misleading advertising campaign in history. “Greenland”, as he marketed his exciting new development opportunity, could hardly be a less accurate description of the world’s largest island: of its 772,000plus square miles, 80 per cent is permanently smothered beneath a monstrous ice sheet. (To be fair, “barren, largely ice-encased wilderness” would make a less appealing moniker).
Yet Greenland offers in abundance something his fellow would-be colonisers sought: space. Though not totally devoid of humans – early Norse adventurers encountered people they called Skraelings, forebears of today’s Inuit inhabitants – the island had empty expanses to spare.
And that is still a key draw for travellers heading to Greenland – or Mongolia, the Australian Outback, Namibia and other corners of the globe renowned for their scant populations. Perhaps more than ever, in our unstable, post-pandemic world, the need to find peace and solitude seems urgent. Quiet travel, off-grid getaways, silent walking, isolation vacations – we are increasingly seeking sensory underload, finding serenity in places where other people aren’t.
What is surprising is just how close to home such destinations can be found. On our doorstep, in fact: Europe is blessed with numerous near-uninhabited tracts – including Greenland, whose stark beauty is finding new fans. And while regions nudging the Arctic Circle famously offer swathes of splendid isolation, so too do patches of Portugal, Greece and the Baltic nations, Scotland and Spain.
You might choose to stride out on remote hiking trails or mush a husky team to roam the wildest reaches – but some can be explored in comfort, even luxury, as this selection reveals.
1
Focus on fjords in Greenland
Population density: 0.07 people per square mile
Nearly nine-tenths of the tiny population of Greenland – the planet’s most sparsely populated country – huddles in settlements on the more-hospitable west coast. But though its landscapes may seem harsh, in summer gentians, harebells, saxifrages and other kaleidoscopic blooms festoon valleys and tundra expanses in the south, populated only by Arctic hares and peregrine falcons. Discover the World’s hiking expedition dodges icebergs and delves into fractal fjords to explore crevasse-riven glaciers and ice caves, following the Flower Valley trail above Narsarsuaq to a viewpoint across the Kiattut Glacier to the vast Greenland ice sheet. You will also visit the church remains and reconstructed longhouse at Brattahlid, Erik’s original estate founded around 985.
Discover the World (01737 428307; discover-the-world) offers a nine-night Hiking in South Greenland trip from £4,019pp including return flights between Reykjavík and Narsarsuaq, activities, accommodation and some meals. Departures June-September.
2
Find wilderness in the Scottish Highlands
Population density: 24 people per square mile
To traverse a true road to nowhere, head for Inverie. This hamlet on the southwest coast of Knoydart, home to some 120 inhabitants, boasts the only stretch of tarmac on the peninsula – not that it is connected to any other highway in Britain. Arriving at this remote settlement in this most isolated spot involves a boat or boots – and that’s what makes Knoydart so special. Appropriately enough, Wilderness Scotland’s sailing and walking tour visits Knoydart aboard classic yacht Eda Frandsen, watching for whales, dolphins, otters and sea eagles en route to the sparsely inhabited Small Isles and marginally more populated Skye.
Wilderness Scotland (01479 420020; wildernessscotland.com) offers a seven-day guided Knoydart, Skye and the Small Isles trip from £2,495pp, including meals and accommodation but excluding transport to Mallaig. Departures in May and August.
3
Rove Iceland’s lunar landscapes
Population density: 9 people per square mile reaches. No wonder: few terrestrial scenes are as lunar as the remote volcanic central highlands, much of which is not just uninhabited but surely uninhabitable. G Adventures’ trekking holiday strikes out from Egilsstaoir to hike in the not-so-small steps of those cosmonauts alongside the geothermal waters of Lake Myvatn, to the thundering falls of Dettifoss, along the aptly named Dimmidalur (Dark Valley), across mountain passes and over blacksand beaches to the 20,000-strong summer puffin colony at Borgarfjorour.
G Adventures (020 7313 6953; gadventures.com) offers a six-day Trekking Eastern Iceland trip from £1,199pp including accommodation, meals and guided activities, but excluding flights.
4
Pedal Spain’s empty interior
Population density: 65 people per square mile
The dry plains and wooded meadows know as dehesa seem to roll on forever in the landlocked region of Extremadura in western Spain, interrupted only occasionally – but memorably – by historic marvels: the Moorish-medieval castle of Trujillo, Caceres’s magnificent cathedral, and the medieval walls of Plasencia. Stretches of ancient ways include the Roman Ruta de la Plata (Silver Route) and one of the pilgrim trails to Santiago de Compostela, best traced on Macs Adventure’s cycling holiday. Pedal between luxury Paradores housed in converted palaces and convents, spotting cinereous vultures and imperial eagles in Monfrague National Park en route.
Macs Adventure (0141 530 5452; macsadventure.com) offers an eight-day Cycling the Paradors of Extremadura self-guided holiday from £1,265pp including B&B accommodation and luggage transfers, but not flights.
Population density: 4.9 people per square mile
In Lappi, the least-populated region of one of the planet’s most sparsely populated countries, winter only magnifies the sense of isolation. Snow blankets taiga, fells, frozen lakes and forests, and every exhalation creates clouds of tiny, sparkling ice crystals in the world’s purest air. Escape from modern life is just a sled-ride away, powered by your own team of huskies on Mountain Kingdoms’s adventure, swooshing along the edge of Pallas-Yllastunturi National Park between rustic log cabins. Experience the wonder of long Arctic nights lit only by candles, stars and, if you are lucky, the shimmering celestial ballet of the northern lights.
Mountain Kingdoms (01453 844400; mountainkingdoms.com) offers a seven-day Husky Sledding Arctic Adventure from £2,720pp, including flights, accommodation, meals and the services of a guide. Departures between December and March.
6
Bask in Norway’s Midnight Sun
Population density: 15 people per square mile
What is there to do in the middle of nowhere? Plenty, it turns out, during the endless days of high summer when the sun never sets on the wooded banks of the Alta River amid the tundra, valleys and glacier-scoured crags of northern Norway, high above the Arctic Circle. Based in the stylish Sorrisniva Arctic Wilderness Lodge, Best Served Scandinavia’s short break certainly packs in the activities – fishing for king crabs, pine forest hikes, alfresco saunas and a riverboat foray between the soaring cliffs of northern Europe’s largest canyon, Sautso.
Best Served Scandinavia (020 7664 2241; best-served.co.uk) offers a tailormade five-day Under the Midnight Sun at Arctic Wilderness Lodge holiday from £2,660pp including flights, half-board accommodation and excursions.
7
Hike the villages of Zagori
Population density: 10.3 people per square mile
Just a couple of centuries ago, the 46 Zagorohoria – stone-built villages – in the Pindus Mountains of northwestern Greece were flourishing, graced by grand, semi-fortified mansions and broad squares ranged around plane trees. By the 1980s, they were all but abandoned; today, though still sparsely inhabited, their Unesco-listed traditional houses, painted monasteries and round-arched packhorse bridges are being nurtured once more. They provide ideal bases for exploring the gleaming peaks and valleys on foot, roaming a spectacular network of waymarked trails. This hiking holiday from Walkers’ Britain meanders between the most enchanting settlements via the 2,950ft-deep Vikos Gorge and the haul up to Drakolimni (Dragon Lake).
Walkers’ Britain (020 8875 5070; walkersbritain.co.uk) offers an eightday Zagori Villages & Vikos Gorge self-guided hiking holiday from £1,090pp. The price includes all accommodation, breakfast and luggage transfers but excludes flights.
8
Follow the herd in Sweden
Population density:
6.7 people per square mile
Interesting fact: Sweden’s northernmost and largest county, Norrbotten, is home to roughly the same number of reindeer as people. But while its human inhabitants are concentrated in urban settlements, those hefty-antlered ungulates roam widely, grazing wildflower-strewn valleys and birchwoods, beneath peaks striped with waterfalls. This means sightings are near guaranteed for walkers on the Kungsleden (King’s Trail) snaking south from Abisko, some 120 miles north of the Arctic Circle – along which you might also spot the tracks of wolves, bears and wolverines among the orchids and bilberries. KE Adventure’s guided hike tackles the first 40-odd miles of the trail before veering off to Sweden’s loftiest peak, 2,104m (6,900ft) Kebnekaise, sleeping in convivial mountain huts en route.
KE Adventure (01768 7 73966; keadventure.com) offers a nine-day guided Kungsleden Trek from £2,485pp, including flights, accommodation and most meals. Departures June and July.
9
Explore Portugal’s ancient Alentejo
Population density: 62 people per square mile
Abundant historic remains provide potent reminders of Alentejo’s importance in centuries past: the megalithic Almendres Cromlech, begun at least 5,000 years ago; Roman, Visigothic and medieval marvels in Evora and Beja; and romantic walled hilltop towns such as Marvão and Estremoz perched high in the Serra de São Mamede mountains. Today, though, Portugal’s largest region is also its most thinly peopled – and a dream road-tripping destination. On Sunvil’s self-drive holiday you will dawdle between these towns through rolling wheat and sunflower fields, cork-oak forests and vineyards, bedding down in beguiling Pousadas housed in medieval monasteries and palaces.
Sunvil (020 8758 4722; sunvil.co.uk) offers an eight-day Discover the Alentejo Fly-Drive holiday from £1,197pp including flights, car hire and seven nights’ B&B.
10
Reflect on solitude in Estonia
Population density: 26.7 people per square mile
Estonia’s big-ticket attractions lie largely within the capital’s medieval city walls – the well-preserved Hanseatic Old Town, Toompea Castle, St Mary’s Cathedral and so on. But the population peters out sharply as you head south and west into Laane County, home to pristine white-sand beaches and dunes, soaring limestone cliffs, berry-speckled bogs and dizzying throngs of migratory birds in Matsalu National Park. This self-drive short break with Regent Holidays combines a delve into Tallinn’s historic heart with glorious solitude in a mirror cabin in Rooslepa’s dense forest, allowing easy access to Roosta Beach and the Nova Nature Reserve.
Regent Holidays (0117 453 3001; regent-holidays.co.uk) offers a five-day self-drive Tallinn City Break and Nature Escape from £1,075pp. The price includes flights, car hire, two nights’ B&B in Tallinn and two nights in a self-catering ÖÖD mirror cabin.