5 More Awesome Treks to Get Your Adrenaline Pumping
Already checked Spain’s famed pilgrimage off your bucket list? We dug up additional must-do adventures — all new for 2018 — from other top outfitters.
BY DON NICHOLS — Winter 2018
Africa, Tanzania
Four Seasons Serengeti
AFRICA
Wings Over East Africa
Outfitter: Abercrombie & Kent
The appeal: You and just 15 other adventure seekers spend 12 days seeing the “big five” and countless other wild species at the finest game preserves in Kenya and Tanzania, including the Masai Mara Game Reserve, Ngorongoro Crater, and Serengeti National Park. Traveling via a private-charter aircraft gets you to destinations quicker, giving you more time for safari treks. Luxury boutique camps and lodges pamper you.
Dates: September (plus February 2019)
Details: From $29,995; abercrombiekent.com; 800-554-7094
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ASIA
India: Delhi to Pench
Outfitter: Austin Adventures
The appeal: For 12 days, marvel at many of India’s top cultural attractions, such as the Taj Mahal in Agra, and discover the beauty of its natural attractions away from the urban scene. Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve impresses with its tall sandstone mountains, narrow gorges, ravines, waterfalls, streams, and dense teak and sal forests. At Pench, track a variety of wildlife sure to give you goose bumps, including leopards, sloth bears, tigers, and more. Overnight in some of the country’s best hotels.
Dates: February and November
Details: From: $4,598; 800-575-1540; austinadventures.com
Aborigine Man Paints Stylized Snake And Kangaroo On Eucalyptus Bark
Indigenous bark paintings. PHOTO BY CHARLES ALLMON/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC.
AUSTRALIA
Journey Into East Arnhem Land
Outfitter: Intrepid Travel
The appeal: The Yolngu people have called this vast and rugged region in Northern Australia home for more than a thousand years, and now you can spend seven days immersing yourself in the culture. Mingle with clans, sampling their indigenous lifestyle — hunt and gather with them, dance, make bark paintings, and more — and venture over to remote Bremer Island, an oasis off the mainland’s coast. We’re talking a true bush experience, so expect basic accommodations.
Dates: July-September
Details: From $5,110; 800-970-7299; intrepidtravel.com/us
EUROPE
Hiking Iceland’s Magical North
Outfitter: Mountain Travel Sobek
The appeal: Hike remote and rugged highland trails through Northern Iceland on this moderate-level sojourn. Your must-see list includes fishing hamlets, moonlike lava fields, and snowcapped volcanoes. Especially invigorating: a hike to Dettifoss, considered Europe’s most powerful waterfall. Despite being in this far-from-the-madding-crowd environ for eight days, no roughing it after sunset — bed down in cozy hotels for a good night’s sleep.
Dates: June-August
Details: From $7,595; 888-831-7526; mtsobek.com
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Kayaking in Brazil. PHOTO BY BRENDA ERNST.
SOUTH AMERICA
Brazil Multi-Adventure Tour
Outfitter: Backroads
The appeal: While exploring the diverse regions of Brazil, you’ll be walking, hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, snorkeling, and even stand-up paddleboarding. Your calorie-burning, six-day adventure — with activities ranging from easygoing to active — will take you from tropical highlands down to the dazzling Costa Verde coastline. There, hike to a mile-long beach and board a schooner for a cruise out to uninhabited islands and the water sports of your choice. Lights out in premier hotels each night.
Dates: January-March, November-December
Details: From $4,198; 800-462-2848; backroads.com
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