Cycle across India in 2011

by Kraig Becker on

Looking for a new kind of travel experience? One that combines cultural immersion with physical challenge across a beautiful and mysterious landscape? Then perhaps Tour d’Afrique, the Toronto based company that specializes in adventure cycling tours, has just the thing for you. As part of their DreamTours program, the company has organized a 46 day ride across India that is set to get underway in early 2011.

Departing from Agra, just south of New Delhi, on January 29th of next year, the Indian Adventure Bicycle Expedition will cover more than 2050 miles. In the process, the route will pass through Rajasthan, the popular Mumbai, and on to the beaches of Goa, before continuing to the confluence of the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Mannar, and the Indian Ocean.

Cyclists who elect to ride the entire route will spend 37 days in the saddle, with nine more rest days built into the schedule. But for those who lack the time for the full tour, there are two other options, allowing for riders to enjoy an abbreviated course. The first is a 995 mile ride from Agra to Mumbai and the other a 1300 mile route from Mumbai to Kanyakumari that requires 25 days to complete.

Tour d’Afrique earned it’s reputation by launching an epic cycling tour of Africa that bears the same name as the company itself. Since then, they’ve also organized an equally epic tour of South America as well as an amazing ride along the ancient Silk Road. Their DreamTours program was launched last year, allowing us to come up with or own grand cycling tours, while the company uses its network of resources to organize the events. The Indian Adventure Expedition is one of the first tours to come from that program.

For more information on this ride, and the others that are available, go to the DreamTours website. Then, break out your bike, and hit the road. You’re going to need the practice.

Yukon Quest sled dog race begins today

by Kraig Becker on

Often called “the world’s toughest race”, the 2010 Yukon Quest international sled dog race begins today in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the top mushers, along with their teams of 14 dogs, setting out on a two week adventure through some of the most remote and wild backcountry found anywhere in North America.

The annual race, now in its 26th year, is a true test of stamina and skill. The racers will be challenged by a trail that is over 1000 miles in length, stretching from Fairbanks, to Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory of Canada. The route, which runs along frozen rivers and crosses four mountain range, is one that has historical significance. It was once used to deliver mail during the boom years of the Gold Rush, and it is legendary for its harsh conditions. February in the Yukon brings sub-zero temperatures, howling winds, crazy blizzards, and whiteout conditions.

24 sled dog drivers, mostly from Alaska and Canada, will get underway from the starting line on the Chena River in Fairbanks at 11 AM local time today. Amongst the mushers is former champion Lance Mackey, who returns to the Yukon Quest after taking a year off in 2009. Mackey is also the three time defending champion of the Iditarod and the only man to win both races in the same year, a feat that had previously been thought to be impossible. He is considered the odds on favorite to win again this year.

Over the course of the next two weeks, the Yukon Quest website will post updates on the race that include current standings and live tracking of the mushers out on the course. We’ll just have to wait to see if the race lives up to its “world’s toughest” moniker.

Somaliland: the other Somalia

by Sean McLachlan on

There are some places you just can’t consider for a vacation. While even Iraq has recently opened up to carefully handled tours, Somalia remains out of bounds. What with an Islamist movement proudly proclaiming its ties to Al-Qaeda, and a decades-long civil war between rival clans, there’s no chance of exploring the Somali culture and landscape, right?

Actually, that’s only half true.

The Republic of Somaliland is the northern third of what most maps show as Somalia. Anyone paying attention to the news knows that Somalia hasn’t been a unified nation for quite some time, but this one region, a little larger than England and home to 3.5 million, has managed to bring stability and a developing democracy to its people. Born out of the colony of British Somaliland, it gained independence in 1960 and immediately joined former Italian Somaliland to create what we now know as Somalia. A brutal dictatorship and a civil war later, it declared independence in 1991 and has quietly built a nation as the rest of Somalia disintegrated into chaos.

But no other country recognizes Somaliland as an independent state, which makes it very hard to get international investment and attention. Now Somaliland officials are hoping an increase in tourism will help to literally put their country on the map. It already has regular contact with its neighbors Ethiopia and Djibouti, and has representatives in several major capitals. The Tourism Ministry is busy making plans and there’s a good website highlighting Somali Heritage and Archaeology.

%Gallery-84671%With a countryside only thinly populated by nomads, Somaliland has good potential for safaris. Lions, cheetahs, zebras, antelope, and other animals are easily spotted. Even more stunning are the well-preserved paintings at Laas Geel, believed to be some of the oldest in Africa. They’re located near the capital Hargeysa and remained unreported until 2002. Colorful paintings of hunters and animals date back an estimated 9,000 years.

Other towns to check out are Barbera and Zeila, two ports with excellent coral reefs as well as old colonial buildings from British and Ottoman times. More important than bricks and mortar, though, is the chance to interact with a culture that has had comparatively little contact with the outside world. This is a rare chance to see a country unaccustomed to tourism, where there are no “tourist sites” and “local hangouts”. For the adventure traveler, it’s still pretty much uncharted territory.

After almost 20 years of independence, Somaliland is beginning to get some recognition from adventure travelers. The most recent edition of Lonely Planet Ethiopia has a short section on the country, and three young backpackers recently posted a video of their trip there on YouTube. A reporter from the Pulitzer Center has also covered the country on an online video. Somaliland could become the adventure travel destination of the new decade.

While Somaliland has some good potential, travelers should take care. Government bodyguards are required (costing $10 a day each) and there are few facilities for visitors. The country has also attracted the ire of Al-Shabab, an Islamist group with ties to Al-Qaeda that wants to take over the Horn of Africa. In 2008 a series of deadly car bombings blamed on Al-Shabab left two dozen dead in Hargeysa. Also, the countryside is not yet safe enough for foreigners to travel overland from Ethiopia on public transport. There are regular flights to Hargeysa from Addis Ababa and other regional capitals. The office for Somaliland in Addis Ababa (which is not recognized as an embassy by the government of Ethiopia) can issue visas and give advice. If you do decide to go, it’s best to plan well in advance and talk to the government as soon as possible.

Skiing + Paragliding = Speed Riding

by Kraig Becker on

When it comes to adventure sports, there always seems to be someone looking to push the boundaries in new, and sometimes unusual, directions. Take, for instance, the relatively new sport of speed riding or sky riding, as it’s sometimes called. The sport is a combination of skiing and paragliding that often sends the daredevils that try it, screaming down the side of an impossibly steep mountain at breakneck speeds.

Take this video for example. It’s a great representation of what speed riding is all about, as we watch adventurer Antoine Montant sliding, skipping, and flying (sometimes quite literally) along the face of a near vertical peak. Montant is delivered to the mountain by helicopter, and then gets to the bottom by any means necessary, which is often where the adventure comes in. When you run of slope, you trust in your paraglider to get you down safely.

Hint: Be sure to watch to the end to see Antonie wipe out. It’s not pretty, but don’t panic, he’s okay folks.

Austin-Lehman Adventures launches “preserve a park” program

by Kraig Becker on

Upscale adventure travel company Austin-Lehman Adventures has launched a new conservation and education program that will, on a yearly basis, highlight a designated national park and provide financial contributions to an organization that is associated with that park. This new initiative is dubbed the “Preserve A Park” program, with Glacier National Park being the first beneficiary.

2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Glacier being designated as a national park. Located in the state of Montana, along the border with British Columbia, Canada, the park is over 1 million acres of pristine backcountry wilderness. Home to hundreds of species of animals, Glacier is popular with those hoping to catch a glimpse of the amazing wildlife, which includes grizzly bears, mountain goats, elk, moose and much more. Other visitors come to take in some of the 700 miles of hiking trails or paddle the more than 300 mountain lakes, while some are happy to just drive the famous Going to the Sun Road.

Of course, Austin-Lehman is offering their own Glacier Park Vacations giving travelers a chance to explore the park in all of its splendor. And for every person who signs up for one of these trips, the company is donating $100 to the Glacier National Park Fund as part of the Preserve A Park program. There will be three Glacier Park trips for this year, each lasting 6 days and 5 nights, running from August 1-6, August 8-13, and August 15-20, with a cost of $2498 per person.

Austin-Lehman is one of the top adventure travel companies in the world, offering small group travel in North, South, and Central America, as well as Europe and Africa. For more than 35-years, the company has been organizing active excursions around the globe, while still offering an emphasis on culture and history as well.