Ten Great Unknown Treks

by Kraig Becker on

Every adventure traveler knows about the Inca Trail or the Annapurna Circuit. They’re amongst the best known hikes in the world, and the amount of traffic on those trails reflects that. While they both offer amazing scenery and a great travel experience, that experience can be tempered by the crowds.

Thankfully, Backpacker is here to offer us ten great unknown treks, a list of outstanding long distance hikes that are, for now, relatively unknown and off the radar for most travelers. Backpacker thinks they’re all destined to eventually become classics in their own right, and I would argue that some of them already are, so they recommend that we get there before everyone else does.

The treks stretch from Europe to New Zealand, with a number of stops in between. They also range from a few days in length to several weeks, with accommodations running the gamut from backpacking tents to comfortable inns. For instance, they Pyrenees Traverse in France is 500 miles in length, with the trail winding through quaint mountain villages. At night, hikers stay in rustic huts that offer great food and ample access to local wines.
Looking for something a bit more adventurous? Then check out the Simien Mountains in Ethiopia. This eight day trek covers roughly 83 miles and is an interesting mix of culture, wildlife, and scenery. The trail crosses through gorges and rock canyons, and up 14,000 foot peaks, with active volcano vents dotting the landscape. Along the way you’ll pass through remote Ethiopian villages, while wild baboons wander the surrounding countryside and unique birds soar over head.

Each of the treks on the list is accompanied with great information for planning your own hike, including suggestions for a guidebook and map. You’ll also find other tips such as the best time of the year to visit and what essential gear you should take with you. Backpacker even goes so far as to recommend a top guide service to hire for each of the treks as well.

So, if you’ve already hiked most of the great trails of the world, or you’re simply looking for a trek that offers up a unique experience while still providing plenty of solitude, then this is the list for you. You’ll find outdoor adventures from around the globe, and some great ideas for your next trek that you may not have thought of before. Just make sure you get there before everyone else does.

Brave New Traveler chats with Brook Silva-Braga about his new documentary One Day in Africa

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Brook Silva-Braga, the man behind the much-praised backpacking documentary A Map for Saturday (and a former Gadling correspondent!), is premiering his new film One Day in Africa next week at the Cleveland Film Festival.

In anticipation of the film’s world premiere, Brook talked to our friends over at Brave New Traveler about whether Africa is as dangerous as most people think, how he decided whom to interview, and the most important lesson he learned from the whole experience. A couple excerpts:

“Africa is much, much safer than most people probably imagine. I’d argue that Mali is safer than Spain, Kenya is safer than Brazil, Malawi is safer than Thailand. There are certainly pockets of Africa that are among the world’s least safe places but they make up a small percentage of the continent.”

“There are some powerful points to be scored by exploiting westerners’ sympathy, guilt, or pity when telling stories from the developing world and it was my goal to make it more complicated than that. I think too many of the words and images coming from Africa originate in one way or another from people who seek donations for a certain cause from the rich world. I saw my role as providing a channel from Africa to the west that wasn’t influenced by any special interest or agenda.”

Be sure to check out the whole interview here. Read Gadling’s 2007 review of A Map for Saturday here.

The Classic Nile Cruise Gets an Upgrade

by Kraig Becker on

Travelers to Egypt generally share a similar experience. They arrive in Cairo, visit the Pyramids and Sphynx, swing by the Egyptian museum to check out Tut, then leave town for Aswan to scope out the dam, before boarding a Nile riverboat for a leisurely cruise back down the world’s longest river. Along the way, they’ll visit more ancient ruins, before ending up in Luxor a few days later, where they’ll tour, you guessed it, yet more ancient ruins.

The Nile Cruise has been one of the staples of tourism in Egypt for years. But according to a new story from the Daily Mail the classic cruise is undergoing major changes at the moment, with larger, more luxurious boats, longer cruise options, and more amenities.

The typical Nile cruise ship has roughly 15-20 small cabins, but the newest vessels to hit the river are much larger in size, including the Sonesta St George I, a boat with 57 cabins, a full service spa, and five-star service. Not to be outdone, the recenly launched Royal Viking cruise ship has 68 suites, most of which are twice the size the cabins on standard vessels, with four over sized rooms that include a whirlpool tub, large windows, and plasma TV’s.
Luxor is undergoing some changes of it’s own. While the amazing Egyptian temples remain as they have for 4000 years, the hotels and restaurants in the city are undergoing massive restorations, with a number of new additions being built as well. To cater to the increased traffic, the port has also been expanded to more comfortably accomidate more boats and the new larger ships as well.

It seems that the Nile Cruise is going upscale, with more options for travelers than ever before. Lets just ohpe the classic experience doesn’t change dramatically as well.

Africa is calling: students can win trip in video competition

by Alison Brick on

Students, listen up! Want to win a volunteer service trip to Africa?

Alicia Keys’ charity “Keep a Child Alive” and STA Travel are sending two people in January 2010. If you’re interested, you’ll want to apply by submitting a 60-second video that encourages people to text “ALIVE” to 90999. With every text, $5 gets donated to AIDS treatment for children and families in Africa.

Apply by May 1, 2009. First upload your video to YouTube, then finish the application by uploading it to www.statravelers.com/kca_psa_entries. What types of videos are they they looking for? “Creative, imaginative, innovative, and upbeat.”

To enter, you must be a full- or part-time student of an accredited college or high school, and be registered at KCACollege.com and belong to your local chapter. You must also be 18 years-old by 1/1/10.

The two Grand Prize winners will each get a free round-trip air ticket to work with Keep a Child Alive for one week in January 2010. The winning videos will also be aired on KCA TV (YouTube), on www.KCACollege.com, and at KCA events throughout the next year.

Keep a Child Alive is a charity dedicated to providing life-saving anti-retroviral treatment, care, and support services to children and their families with HIV/AIDS in Africa and the developing world by directly engaging the global public in the fight against AIDS.

The winners of last year’s competition just traveled to South Africa this past January. You can follow photos and videos that previous winners (journeywithtinamarie, SaddlerB, Eila401am) took from the trip, and you’ll soon be able to follow their blogs on STATravelers.com.

Top 20 list of most bizarre holiday grievances – Number 1? An aroused elephant

by Karen Walrond on

*SIGH*

You know, when I travel, there are certain things that can get me down: long, unexplained delays at the airport. Trying to check in at a hotel, and the room isn’t ready. And once checked in, a room that is dirty, or not what it was advertised to be. But in general, these are minor annoyances, and I know this. I get over it.

But apparently, there are travelers who truly need to consider switching to decaf: the Telegraph is reporting the top twenty most ridiculous holiday grievances by British vacationers, according to a poll taken by The Association for British Travel Agents (ABTA) and Thomas Cook. At the top of the list? One man on his honeymoon, who said he experienced “feelings of inadequacy after seeing an aroused elephant.”

Dude. It’s an elephant. I’m sure you’re more than adequate.

Ahem.

You can read all of the complaints here. And then think smugly to yourself that you must be one of the most easygoing travelers alive.