Ancient ruins, windswept rock sculptures and a wild yet welcoming desert culture – this is the wonder of Jordan and why the remarkable country left such a lasting impression on Intrepid traveller Tori Salman…
“From the moment we enter the narrow, winding passageway called the Siq, I can barely contain my excitement. I’ve been dreaming of visiting Petra for years, and it is finally happening!
Having caught a red eye flight to Marrakech, Karl Thurlow arrived a little fatigued. Not an ideal start to his Active Morocco trip, but he didn’t need to worry because the senses kicked in as soon as he walked through customs and joined the wonderful world of Morocco…
“Riding shotgun in the taxi enroute to Djemaa-el-Fna, the square in the heart of old town Marrakech, my eyes grew large and a healthy smile dawned on my face…oh how good it felt to be back travelling in a foreign land, even if we had just dodged a camel and horse roaming the road. It’s exactly these kind of unexpected sights I love to see and they weren’t confined to the highways.
An inverted lotus flower hangs over Amritsar’s famous Golden Temple. It’s believed that the symbolic golden dome is gilded with 750kg (1163lb) of pure gold and as Nari Blackett discovered, appreciating the spiritual atmosphere of the temple is worth more than its weight in gold…
“From my first glimpse of the Golden Temple I was captivated. Eerie, melodic singing and drumming filtered through the night air as I saw the temple lit up from all sides with its reflection shimmering in the surrounding water. We had arrived in Amritsar in the evening and headed straight to the holiest Sikh temple for the ‘passing of the book’ ceremony. Every night from 9pm, hundreds of Sikhs turn out to pray, show their respects and put their sacred book to bed.
For centuries a popular mode of transport in China has been the trusty bike. It’s estimated that in a country of over 1 billion people there are approximately 800,000,000 bicycles, so Intrepid’s Boris ‘Bob’ Golodets decided that was how he wanted to explore the capital city…
“Riding the streets of bike-friendly Beijing is the best way to explore. You get the sights, the sounds and the smells as you peddle along dedicated bike lanes, through parks, past local markets and via back alleys. There are bike lanes on the main roads and in some places, such as near Tiananmen Square, the broad bikeway takes up almost half of the road.
This is your chance to walk in the footsteps of Wordsworth, Beatrix Potter and modern day farmers. Walking England’s Lake District is a very exciting new trip for Intrepid and there is only one special September departure of this premium walking experience.
Trace Wordsworth’s footsteps from his preserved Dove Cottage home to his estate at Rydal Mount. Here, the resident caretaker gives you an exclusive private tour of the house and gardens that Wordsworth himself designed. It’s an experience that culminates with a poetry reading, followed by a glass of wine and homemade gingerbread.
If your challenge is to find the world’s most amazing troglodyte villages, look no further than Goreme, Turkey! This region holds the record for having the most impressive evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period and Rami Hazou, adventure expert extraordinaire at Intrepid My Adventure Store Hawthorn, explains why it also has our planet’s most remarkable homes…
“Goreme in Cappadocia has long been known for its mysterious rock formations. The whole region was covered by volcanic ash matter when the Hassan Volcano erupted thousands of years ago and over time, as the weather has eroded the ash deposits, the Goreme Valley has developed a very strangely sculptured landscape.
If your guilty holiday pleasure is having time to linger over a lager or two, then San Francisco could be your perfect city. Darrin Ratajczak explains why it’s so easy to get to know this famous USA metropolis from the comfort of a local bar stool…
“I’m just going to come out and say it: I love San Francisco. But it’s not the San Francisco that you so often hear about. What I love is that it’s a city of stories and story tellers. Every neighbourhood, every street, every corner, every bar has a story and someone who is more than willing to tell it to you.
We’ve always knew that Intrepid’s Andrew Slee likes to keep his nose clean when he travels, but turns out he knows how to keep everything squeaky clean in Peru…
“If you’ve ever wanted to bathe in the same waters as an ancient Inca king, then the Banos del Inca (meaning baths of the Inca) near Cajamarca, in the Peruvian highlands, is the place to go. Legend has it that when the Spanish conquistadore, Pizarra, found his way to this part of Peru, the king of the region, Atahualpa, was camped by these springs.
May 20th this year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Restoration of Independence in Timor-Leste. There will be enormous celebrations and you could be there!
Our first Intrepid trip of the season starts on this anniversary, so it’s well worth arriving in the capital, Dili, a day or two early so you have plenty of time to kick up your heels with the locals. There’ll be parades, music and dancing in many of the districts, so no doubt the celebratory feel will carry on throughout Intrepid’s 15 day adventure.
