Getting the flavour of…
Tracking gorillas in Uganda
It has long been possible for tourists to visit Uganda’s endangered mountain gorillas, but encounters are generally with habituated animals and are limited to one hour. Now, however, visitors can track a semi-habituated family through the “fairy-tale” rainforest of the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, and spend up to three hours with them, to help them get used to human company, says Sue Watt in The Independent. Expeditions cost $1,500 (£1,160) per person, for groups of up to four. The day starts with a crash course in tracking – looking for discarded leaves, bent foliage, knuckle prints, and the like. You may not meet the gorillas, who are still “wary” and have been known to charge, but any time you do spend with them is likely to be “magical”, if nerve-racking. Steppes Travel (01285-601050, www. steppestravel.co.uk) has a six-day trip from £4,495pp, including flights.
Eco-chic in Arctic Norway
Norway’s Steigen archipelago – a mountainous wilderness rising from gin-clear seas, 62 miles inside the Arctic Circle – is “almost as remote as it gets in Europe”. Even so, you can now stay there in great style, says Peter Carty in The Guardian, thanks to explorer Børge Ousland, who is the first person to have reached the North Pole alone and unsupported. His new Manshausen resort has four shoreside wooden cabins, with an award-winning minimalist design featuring vast floor-to-ceiling windows. There is great hiking, climbing, kayaking and diving to enjoy, and a hot tub and spa to relax in afterwards. The local wildlife includes Europe’s largest colony of sea eagles – and there’s a fine museum nearby, in a well-preserved 19th century house that feels like a set for an Ibsen play. Sea cabins cost from £285 a night for two people (+47 23 38 22 00, www.manshausen.no).
A secret island in the Adriatic
Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast and islands are “overrun” with tourists in the summer, but you can still find peaceful pockets – such as the “pretty” island of Šipan, says Laura Goulden in The Sunday Times. Little more than an hour by ferry from Dubrovnik, it has no “must-see” sights – just a small castle, 34 churches (many open only on Sundays), and two little towns. And that’s the point: this island serves “as a reminder that there’s life beyond your to-do list”. The backcountry, fragrant with wild herbs and criss-crossed by dry stone walls, is great for walking. Or spend lazy days just soaking up the sea views from the terrace at the excellent Hotel Božica, or at Bowa, a beach bar that serves “simple” but delicious seafood. Hotel Božica (www.hotel-bozica.hr) has double rooms from about £85 a night.