N ATG EOT R AV E L .

C O M | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8
15 EPIC
WINTER
RESORTS

OF THE

WHERE TO GO
IN 2018

W I L D FO R OA H U
W

HAWAII
V I S I O N S O F OA X ACA

MEXICO
LU C K Y I N D U B L I N

IRELAND
Plus: Ethiopia, Cambodia,
Jordan, Canada & more!
 Photographers using other lenses haven’t even seen what

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 EDITOR’S NOTE
BY GEORGE!

Mud walking is a
popular pastime
in Friesland,
Netherlands, a Best
of the World pick.

F
or those about to embark on a new year of enlightened wandering—and Nat Geo Highlights
I hope this includes us all—I’d like to share my two-step algorithm for
deciding where to go next. I learned it from filmmaker and National A SUBLIME TIME FANTASTIC FELINES
Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dereck Joubert, who has the storyteller’s
gift of distilling clarity from chaos. “The two most important questions to ask At the Nat Geo Museum in Tune in to Nat Geo WILD
Washington, D.C., “Tomb December 10 to 14 for
are: Will it be fun? Will it make a difference? And go from there.” of Christ” offers a 3-D the eighth annual Big Cat
So simple! A journey of a thousand miles starts with a spark of joy and ends virtual visit to Jerusalem’s Week. Footage by some
with a gleaming of meaning. Our seventh annual BEST OF THE WORLD issue newly restored Church of of the world’s best wildlife
the Holy Sepulchre. See filmmakers showcases the
features 21 destinations that will inspire your wanderlust, ignite your itinerary, natgeo.org/dc. power—and the plight—of
and invite you to make meaningful discoveries large and small. The notion species in decline, like
that travel can make a difference is not an empty platitude. When we bring AFTER DARK cheetahs, tigers, and lions.
To learn more: channel
curious minds to the places we visit, we broaden our horizons and enrich our .nationalgeographic.com.
When the sun sets, magical
capacity to relate to people in contexts far removed from our own. scenes arise. Night Vision,
The gift of going is about engaging in a global community through our a new Nat Geo title, show- SUBSCRIBE NOW!
actions and attitudes as travelers. At National Geographic we strive to make cases exceptional photos
of life around the globe Our goal is to inspire our
a difference through direct investment: 27 percent of our proceeds fund the after dark, from astronomy readers to explore the
conservation and education efforts that further our understanding of the planet fans viewing a supermoon world. For ideas about
JURJEN DRENTH

and generate solutions for a more sustainable future. We wish you fantastic in Australia to shoppers where to go next,
at a busy night market in subscribe to National
voyages filled with fun and meaning in the year ahead. Thank you for being a Taiwan. Buy the book at Geographic Traveler at
joyful companion on our journey. —George W. Stone, Editor in Chief shopng.com/books. natgeotravel.com.

D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA NUA RY 2 0 1 8
CONTENTS
DECEMBER/JANUARY
VOLUME 34, NUMBER 6

In This Issue

MINI GUIDE:
LOS ANGELES

We give you an
insider’s take on
the hot ’hoods, the
outdoor dining,
and the starry
scenes. p. 12

OBSESSIONS:
BIRDING

Listen up! A Nat

Geo explorer
shares his avian-
inspired soundtrack
to the bustle of New
York City. p. 22

BEST OF
THE WORLD

From Austria to
Argentina and
Tanzania to Texas,
get ready to globe
trot with our picks
for 2018’s must-see
destinations. p. 43

JOURNEYS:
PALAU

Checking off the

bucket list is tempt-
ing, but sometimes
it’s the return trips
that prove most
rewarding. p. 96

Follow Us

@NATGEOTRAVEL

Take a daily journey

around the world
through our social
media platforms.
MATIAS VERA

Colorful rock bands

amplify outings in
Argentina’s Quebrada de
Humahuaca valley (p. 83).

COVER: CROUCHING LION TRAIL ON OAHU, HAWAII, PHOTOGRAPHED BY VINCENT LIM

WHERE
WE WANT
TO GO T R AV E L W I T H PA S S I O N A N D P U R P O S E

IN 2018
EDITOR IN CHIEF PUBLISHER & VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL MEDIA
George W. Stone Kimberly Connaghan

DESIGN DIRECTORHannah Tak ADVERTISING NORTH AMERICA SALES OFFICES

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Anne Farrar SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL MEDIA John Campbell
EDITORIAL PROJECTS DIRECTOR Andrew Nelson 11211 Sixth Ave., 20th Fl., New York, NY 10036;
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the Balkans is SENIOR PRODUCER
EDITOR/PRODUCER Lindsay Smith natgeo.com ROCKY MOUNTAIN STATES Scribner Media been a sucker
a vastly under-
PRODUCER Marie McGrory Services, Tanya Scribner tanya@scribmedia.com WEST for crystal clear
explored re-
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gion, and I have ASSOCIATE PRODUCER Caity Garvey com DIRECTOR, CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS (LA) Casey white sandy
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2018 takes me
of stories MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA Adelina Carpenter acarpent@
to the Maldives
to be told.” EDITORS AT LARGE AND TRAVEL ADVISORY BOARD prodigy.net.mx
Costas Christ, Annie Fitzsimmons, Don George, to check out
—A.P.
Andrew McCarthy, Norie Quintos, Robert Reid ADVERTISING RESEARCH DIRECTOR Carrie Campbell some of the
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Karen Carmichael, Heather CONTRACTS MANAGER JoAnne Schultz thousand-plus
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CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Aaron Huey, Michael CIRCULATION PLANNING DIRECTOR Mark Viola
“I’d like to do Melford, Jim Richardson, Krista Rossow, Susan Seubert SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GLOBAL MEDIA AND EXPERIENCES
CONTRIBUTING RESEARCHERS Cait Etherton, Melissa Yulia P. Boyle
an estancia-to-
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estancia tour of Rossana Stella
Patagonia. PRODUCTION & MANUFACTURING EDITORIAL SPECIALIST, INTERNATIONAL EDITIONS
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 THE
DESERT
IS HOT
Absolutely
blazing.

AbsolutelyScottsdale.com
G R A N D CAY M A N ROA D T R I P O LOS A N G E L E S O A R M E N I A O BA L I O B I R D I N G O S I N GA P O R E O B E ST S K I LO D G E S O C RU I S E S
Into the White
Snow is the stuff of
imagination. It blankets the
landscape, muffling hard
edges in a frozen clime
that seems to slow time.
In the case of dogsled-
riding Greenlanders,
winter expands their realm,
sealing channels between
islands and inviting
N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
exploration. Bays become
byways as dogsleds, still a
Arctic Circle, is the part-
time home of Santa Claus.
main method of transpor- Though his stone-and-turf
tation between isolated hut may have been built
coastal communities, glide for a Danish TV production,
freely over the thick sea ice the fantasy surely warms
that connects islands like hearts during the long
Uummannaq (pictured) to nights of winter, when
the mainland and the vast imagination is elemental.
ice cap that crowns 81 —Elaine Glusac
percent of the country.
It’s no wonder local tykes
believe that Uummannaq,
which dwells under a
heart-shaped granite
mountain far north of the
EXPLORER’S GUIDE
MANTA RAYS
Taking the
Plunge
“Queen of Mantas” Andrea
Marshall has studied the
graceful swimmers for
more than a decade. From
her base on Tofo Beach,
Mozambique, this Nat Geo
emerging explorer and
manta ray ambassador
shares her preferred places
to spot and dive with
mantas—in, it turns out,
some of the world’s most
beautiful locales. Travelers
looking “to give back and
aid us in protecting these
amazing animals,” she
notes, can become citizen
scientists on one of the
trips organized by Ray of
Hope Expeditions, which
Marshall founded in 2012.
For upcoming trips, visit
queenofmantas.com.
—Carrie Miller
1 on monsoons.
Indonesia
Marshall describes this
nation as a “manta pub
crawl” for the sheer variety
of places to spot rays,
from the flourishing reefs
around Raja Ampat to the
island of Komodo, known
for its “dragon” lizards, to
tiny Nusa Penida, off Bali.
“Indonesia is accessible to
everyone,” Marshall says,
“with budget and high-
end options. The country
went from being one of
the biggest fisheries to a
protector of mantas.” Her
Nusa Penida tip: Dive at
Manta Point, where mantas
are “cleaned” by wrasse
fish. Manta season: Year-
round in Komodo and Bali;
December through April in
Raja Ampat.
N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
2
Maldives
One of the first nations in
the world to protect man-
tas, the island republic of
Maldives is swarmed every
year in monsoon season by
hundreds of the giant rays,
which swim into Hanifaru
lagoon to feed on plankton.
“I was moved to tears the
first time I saw it,” Marshall
says. “The lagoon is one
of the few places where
snorkelers can see big
aggregations of mantas.”
Manta season: May through
October, depending
3
Mexico
Some 240 miles off the
southern tip of Baja Califor-
nia, the Revillagigedo
Archipelago, a World
Heritage site, centers on
four islands known for their
remote diving sites and for
some of the best viewing
of sharks, whales—and
swooping giant manta
rays. “The mantas around
Revillagigedo are really
friendly,” says Marshall.
“And the archipelago is a
well-protected marine
JENNIFER HAYES
biosphere with very
seasoned dive operators.” Near Indonesia’s Raja
Manta season: November Ampat, a manta ray
through May. and a snorkeler meet.
 to t h e s e a .
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Obtain the Property Report required by federal law and read it before signing anything. No federal agency has judged the merits or value, if any, of this property. This does not
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ROAD TRIP
GRAND CAYMAN


³ Miles: 49 O Days on the Road: 1 O Great Snorkeling Site: Devil’s Grotto O Local Shopping: Farmers and Artisans Market at Camana Bay

holiday makers,
there’s a whole host
of sites to see.
Beach bums and On the other side
bankers. Lobster of the island and
soaked in truffle tucked into the
butter and spicy undeveloped inte-
jerk chicken. White- rior, discover blue
sand beaches iguanas, hidden
and crystal blue beaches, ship-
waters. Conven- wrecks, blowholes,
tional wisdom and surprising
regarding Grand sculpture. Despite
Cayman is, well, its name, Grand
conventional: It’s an Cayman, mostly
island paradise. But unaffected by
beyond the tourist recent hurricanes,
meccas of capital is easy to explore
city George Town, in a daylong road
teeming with day trip—leaving time
trippers off cruise to revel in more
ships, and the classic island life.
famed Seven Mile —Kelly DiNardo
Beach, with its
sunblock-slathered

On Grand Cayman’s
North Side, Rum
Point is decked out
with a colorful, globe-
touting signpost.
 STOP 1 STOP 3
Hip Hangout Ocean in Motion
ERIC LAUDONIEN/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (PIER), TAMER KOSELI (ILLUSTRATION), GUILLERMO TRAPIELLO (MAP)
Head east on Sea View
On the north end of Grand Cayman’s renowned Road toward an unusual
Seven Mile Beach soars its newest boutique resort, rock formation called the
the Kimpton Seafire, 10 stories of glass and wood Blowholes, where waves
crash into sea caves and
overlooking curving pools fringed by palms. The shoot water up through
decor nods playfully to the island setting, with fissures. These geysers,
seagrass rugs, driftwood chandeliers, and pops of which blast as high as 20
feet, are most dramatic
color, from lipstick-red pool chairs to cool blues and when an easterly wind
greens in the spa. Outside, paths wind to the white blows. Continue the drive
sand and cerulean waters, where seaworthy toys— around the island’s eastern
end and look for the sign
kayaks, rafts, a sailboat—await. for Wreck of the Ten Sails.
A trail leads from the
road to a windswept cliff
STOP 2 overlooking the treach-
erous reefs where, in
Flora and Fauna February 1794, 10 British
ships crashed and sank.
The monarch herself attended the 1994 opening of the Islanders saved more than
Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park, a 59-acre swath of varied 400 sailors; a small park
beauties, from cacti to orchids. See heliconia at the Floral with 10 stone markers
Colour Garden, where the bright blooms are arranged by commemorates the event.
hue, and discover a protected local treasure on the Wood- Allegedly, King George III
land Trail: the endangered blue iguana, endemic only to the was so grateful, he granted
Cayman Islands—and, yes, really a hypnotic shade of blue. the island its tax-free status.
STOP 4
Hideaways
Looping back along Grand
Cayman’s north shore,
you’ll find hidden coves,
quiet beaches, and tiny
hamlets. One favorite:
Old Man Bay, a crossroad
marked by a pastel pink
grocery cottage dating to
1945—and a green-and-
turquoise picnic table for
a toes-in-sand lunch (the
Seafire will pack you a
gourmet one). Also here:
Davinoff’s Concrete
Sculpture Garden, whose
menagerie features a giant
octopus, a 17-foot-long
crocodile, agoutis, sand
snorkelers, and a zombie—
all the work of David
Quasius, a retired Wiscon-
sinite and longtime Grand
Cayman vacationer. If you
get lucky, Quasius will be
there to share stories about
his favorite island and his
quirky creations.
D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA NUA RY 2 0 1 8
STOP 5
Seeing Stars
Continue west along North
Side Road. When it turns
into Rum Point Road, you’re
closing in on Wreck Bar,
the self-dubbed “home of
the mudslide.” Stop at the
colorful beachside shack
to sample the cinnamon-
garnished concoction of
vodka, Kahlua, and Irish
cream over ice. Back on
the two-lane road, drive
until you can’t go any
farther: You’ll be at North
Sound, the large bay that
scallops west Grand Cay-
man, and Starfish Point.
The namesake critters—
big red cushion sea stars—
gather here in knee-deep
water to feed. Avoid the
crowds by visiting on a
Sunday, and take time to
read the posted sign. One
of its fun facts: “Starfish
eat with their stomachs
inside-out. Gross!”
MiNi GUiDE
LOS ANGELES

“ ”
We are all citizens of Los Angeles because we have seen so many movies. —Writer D. J. Waldie

parks, L.A. brims

with attractions
to entertain its
Los Angeles’s long almost 50 million
association with yearly visitors. Los
celebrity culture Angeles County
often has it por- is home to more
trayed as a place than 300 museums
of sun-bleached and theaters; one
swimming pools of the country’s
populated by stars largest urban green
and starlets. But spaces, Griffith
there’s much more Park; and 75 miles
to this city than of glorious Pacific
stage-managed coastline.
settings and fleet- Architect Frank
ing fads. Lloyd Wright once
The settlement said, “Tip the world
of Los Angeles over on its side,
stretches back and everything
to 1781, when the loose will land in
town of El Pueblo Los Angeles.” Cer-
de Nuestra Señora tainly loose change
la Reina de Los has accumulated
Ángeles was found- into huge wealth
ed as a Spanish here. But there are
colonial outpost. other riches: the
Soon a thriving diversity of cultures
frontier town and and the unflagging
trading center, it energy that contin-
became part of ues to power this
the U.S. in 1848. modern metropolis.
The entertainment —Eric Rosen
industry took root
in the early 1900s,
attracting what
may be the largest
concentration of
creative profession-
als in history.
Beyond movie
studios and theme

Sun, sand, and

surf make L.A.’s
Venice Beach a
buzzing outdoor
playground.
BOOK iT
LOS ANGELES

Pillow flight:
Gravity takes a rest
at the Line LA.

W
oods and bright cottons decorate the 167
Big Sleeps guest rooms and 59 bunk-bed studios at
downtown’s FREEHAND HOTEL (O), the
O NEW
most recent incarnation for the 1924 Commercial
O CLASSIC
Exchange Building. Part of a collection of “communal”
O TRENDY
hotels, the Freehand also has that most L.A. of hotel
amenities: a rooftop pool with a cocktail bar, the award-
winning Broken Shaker. The BEVERLY HILLS HOTEL (O)
first welcomed guests 105 years ago, but L.A.’s “Pink
Palace” is as much a celebrity as ever. You won’t spot
Marilyn Monroe or John Wayne lounging by the pool,
TAMER KOSELI (ALL ILLUSTRATIONS), NIKK LA @NIKK_LA (HOTEL), MARC DOZIER (VENICE); PREVIOUS PAGE: RICHARD SILVER
but you still can stargaze as you stroll the pink-and-
green hallways. That is, when you’re not downing the
Polo Lounge’s famous McCarthy salad, sipping a mai
tai at Bar Nineteen12, or luxuriating at the spa. Opened
in 2014, THE LINE LA (O) quickly became Koreatown’s
new anchor. Its 12-story tower is a modernist master-
piece dating to 1964, and the room design references
mid-century aesthetics. Most nights the lobby is
packed with locals ordering handcrafted cocktails
at the bar before savoring celebrity chef Roy Choi’s
Mexican-Korean dishes in the rooftop Commissary.

Celebrity ACE HOTEL DOWNTOWN CHATEAU MARMONT FOUR SEASONS AT

BEVERLY HILLS
Sightings Downtown’s Ace Hotel has The courtyard at this
a gorgeously restored celebrity haunt on Sunset This landmark hotel has
Many celebrities are 1,600-seat 1927 theater Boulevard often is a setting long been a go-to venue
themselves visitors to (United Artists’ flagship for industry bashes. When for movie promotions and
L.A., and hotels are their movie house) that hosts the party ends, look for the awards lunches. Most
natural habitat. headlining acts such as likes of chanteuse Lana Del events are closed to the
Coldplay, cheered on by Rey and Game of Thrones’ public, but snag an out-
VIP fans like Matt Damon Kit Harington lingering on door table at the wine bar
and Jennifer Lawrence. the shady terrace. for a glimpse of A-listers.

N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
SEE iT
LOS ANGELES

Scene Venice Malibu Koreatown Downtown

Stealers in
La-La Land 1 Tick off the name-brand
boutiques on Rodeo
Drive, then browse local
2 A day in Malibu is a
vacation without leav-
ing L.A. Start with a hike
3 With everything from
surreptitious hide-
aways to cacophonous
4 Downtown L.A. has
undergone a dramatic
transformation, making it
labels along low-key Abbot to the waterfall in Solstice karaoke bars, Koreatown one of the nation’s most
L.A. is home to more Kinney Boulevard. Pick up Canyon, then head west to is perfect for a bar crawl. arts-driven destinations.
than 100 neighborhoods, a distressed hoodie and the cliff-backed beach at Start at the Normandie Among the exciting newer
but start with these a velvet bikini at Aviator Point Dume for secluded, Club to sip classic cock- cultural landmarks: the
four headliners. Nation or vintage denim sun-soaked relaxation. tails (try the daiquiri) in a gleaming, Frank Gehry–
at Current/Elliott. The Sip local wines in Malibu setting that evokes old designed Walt Disney
selection of international Family Wines’ outdoor Hollywood glamour. Then Concert Hall, home to
women’s wear and jewelry tasting room before tuck- take a clandestine turn at the L.A. Philharmonic; the
at Coutula is sourced by ing into a hearty dinner of speakeasies like Lock & Key four theater venues of the
owner Carrie Hauman oak-grilled steak and fish or the more divey R Bar, Music Center, including
during her travels, while at funky, saloon-like which offers karaoke or live the Mark Taper Forum;
Open the Kimono hawks The Old Place, where comedy most nights. Keep and museums such as
imaginative Japan-inspired Steve McQueen would those vocal cords warm for The Broad, which opened
loungewear. Refuel with a hang out after rides live karaoke at Jam. After in 2015 to house the con-
coffee and bialys or four- through the hills on one of you take your bow, play temporary art collection
grain porridge at Gjelina his Triumph motorcycles. It vintage arcade games at of philanthropists Eli and
Take Away. doesn’t get much cooler. ’80s-era Break Room 86. Edythe Broad.

Anything goes
along Venice’s
1.5-mile Ocean
Front Walk.
EAT iT
LOS ANGELES
Vegan fare
shines at Plant
Food + Wine
(right).
Delicious Plant-Based Plates
Dishes at In a city as health focused
as L.A., vegan eateries
Top Tables abound. Café Gratitude’s
several locations prepare
From vegan tacos to raw specialties, including
sustainably sourced macrobiotic bowls and
superfood smoothies.
seafood, L.A.’s food
scene gets four stars. Gracias Madre serves
meatless Mexican dishes,
such as sweet potato
flautas with cashew nacho
cheese, on its patio. Chef
Matthew Kenney whips up
palate pleasers like smoked
tofu Florentine with cashew
hollandaise at Plant Food
+ Wine, while Crossroads
elevates vegan cuisine with
an elegant ambience and
dishes such as artichoke
“oysters” with kelp “caviar.”
N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
Alfresco Appetites
Angelenos capitalize on
the temperate climate to
dine outdoors year-round.
Patrons of Manuela, part
of the Hauser & Wirth
Gallery in downtown’s Arts
District, savor seasonal fare
surrounded by sculptures.
Salazar, in up-and-coming
Frogtown, was repurposed
from an auto-body shop
into a Mediterranean gar-
den, where diners devour
tacos with house-made
tortillas. The patio at Santa
Monica’s Cassia is West-
side’s go-to spot for South-
east Asian flavors. Creative
cocktails and views of the
Hollywood Hills are draws
at E.P. & L.P.’s rooftop bar.
Takeout Treats
Want budget-friendly
delicacies? Try takeout!
Unit 120, in Chinatown, is
akin to a pop-up restaurant
in window form; a rotating
roster of young chefs man
the stoves for limited
engagements. Like its clas-
sic red-and-blue stand on
Sunset Boulevard, Twins
Sliders serves a nostalgic
mix of burgers, fries, and
milkshakes, including one
with bits of Cinnamon
Toast Crunch, Butterfinger,
and a Twinkie. Poke-Poke,
in Venice, focuses on the
healthy bowl trend, and the
egg-topped breakfast pizza
at Dinette is worth the trip
to Echo Park.
Edible Ethics
In L.A. good causes and
good food go hand in
hand. Chefs Roy Choi and
Daniel Patterson opened
Locol, a health-conscious
fast-food joint in Watts, a
neighborhood that needed
ADRIAN MUELLER (FOOD), LOUIE HEREDIA (RESTAURANT)
wholesome options and
jobs. Providence’s Michael
Cimarusti created the
Dock to Dish program in
2015 to promote seafood
sustainability and reduce
fraud by connecting fishers
with chefs. At his Melrose
restaurant, Wolf, chef
Marcel Vigneron champi-
ons sustainability with a
“zero waste” scheme that
uses all edible parts of the
ingredients he cooks with.
 Real.

Grand Canyon National Park

In person, the word “grand” seems much too small. As you stare,
wide eyed, trying to take it all in, you realize that maybe no word is
truly big enough. And really, there’s something wonderful about that.

Plan your [un]real getaway at VisitArizona.com.

PLACES WE LOVE
ARMENIA

N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
Storied stone churches, Perhaps no site
including what merges Armenia’s
Sanctuary some consider cultural and natural
the world’s oldest attractions more
Sometimes veteran cathedral, turreted powerfully than the
travelers stumble Echmiadzin Cathe- ninth-century mon-
upon a place so dral, a UNESCO astery complex of
fascinating they World Heritage site. Tatev (pictured), on
wonder how they And long before the edge of rugged
ever missed it. wellness travel Vorotan Gorge,
Take the nation of became a trend, itself a trekker’s
Armenia: Tucked Armenians flocked nirvana of trails
among Turkey, Iran, to the healing connecting villages
Georgia, and Azer- waters that flow that offer bed-and-
baijan, this ancient through the moun- breakfasts. Nearby
land is a story map tain town of Dilijan. are the abandoned
of clashing civiliza- With history cave villages of
tions and imperial around every bend, Old Khndzoresk
conquests, a blend it’s no surprise that and Goris, which
of East and West Armenians also resemble beehives
that Armenians have a passion for made of stone—
have safeguarded their rich culinary reminders that in
throughout their traditions; the old- tiny Armenia, capti-
turbulent history. est known winery, vating things come

MARKO UKKOLA
One of the first dating to 4100 B.C., in small packages.
countries to make was unearthed —Costas Christ
Christianity its here. At any given
official religion, meal, dishes of
Armenia is known pilaf, stuffed grape
for its centuries-old leaves, and kebabs
grace the table,
along with lavash
flatbread, made in
clay ovens.

Q P l a c e s We Love:
National Geographic Traveler
ce le b rat es t he U nit ed
Nations 2017 International
Ye ar of S us t ai na b l e To u r is m
for D eve lop m ent . Fo r m o re
i n format i on o n t his g l o b a l
initiative, visit unw to.org.
TRAVEL HACKS
BALI

DECEMBER TO APRIL: Like most tropical destinations, 920F 415

mm
Bali has a rainy season, which usually spans the winter
months. Daily showers are intense but brief, allowing 85 0
for plenty of sunny interludes to visit the island and its J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D
coast between outdoor yoga classes and shopping trips. Average high temperature Average rainfall

A balancing act in
the Sayan Ridge
area of Ubud

YOGA CULTURE LODGING FLIGHTS

From Sun Salutes to Downward Dogs Island New Year
Bali has become one of the world’s premier yoga A largely Hindu island in
Muslim Indonesia, Bali
destinations for amateurs and experts alike. The celebrates its new year,
YOGA BARN in inland Ubud runs daily classes and called Nyepi, according
multiweek teacher-certification workshops year- to the Balinese calendar
(March 17, 2018). Rituals to
round, plus an annual Bikram retreat (April 1-6, prepare for this “Day of
2018). Also popular here: the Ayurvedic spa and a Silence” include purifica-
healing center known for its detox and cleansing tion pilgrimages to the sea
and village processions of
packages, perfect for those New Year’s resolutions. demonic effigies. Hotels
Along the coast, the cliffside ULUWATU SURF VILLAS remain open on the day
resort offers classes, open to all levels, every morn- of Nyepi, but most public
facilities close because
ing for nine dollars. Visiting instructors hold special families stay home to fast
multiday yoga retreats throughout the year. and meditate.
Beach or Jungle?
Volcanic Bali offers both
beach vacations and jungle
adventures. Split your time
between the two with stays
along the southern shores
and in the island’s verdant
heartland, near the town of
Ubud. Look for promotional
rates at new hotels like chic
COMO Echo Beach, which
debuts in December—and
low-season offers at such
luxurious lodgings as the
Four Seasons Resort Bali
at Sayan (known for its
open-air yoga pavilion).
Best Connections
JUSTIN GUARIGLIA/REDUX (PHOTO), TAMER KOSELI (ILLUSTRATION)
There are no nonstop
flights from the U.S. to Bali.
Instead travelers can find
winter airfares starting
around $400 round-trip
from the U.S. to Asian hubs,
including Shanghai, Hong
Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo, and
Singapore. Connect there
on such budget carriers as
AirAsia, Jetstar, and Scoot,
or use Delta SkyMiles
to book awards with its
SkyTeam partner, Garuda
Indonesia, from major
Asian gateways.

N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM R E P O RT E D BY E RIC RO SE N
OBSESSIONS
BIRDING

Twitter Follower
Tune in to a city’s tweets to
hear nature’s avian rhapsody
By Ben Mirin

W
hen reports
emerged of
a Swainson’s
warbler in Brooklyn last spring, I
canceled my evening plans. After
all, it was the first official sighting
here of this Neotropical migrant
since 1950. As warblers go, this spe-
cies is notoriously elusive. It lives
in dense thickets and is so rarely
 YOUR
JOURNEY
seen that its loud, ringing song is often the only way
people become aware of its presence. Even then, the
AWAITS
best look any birder can hope for is a brief cameo in a
patch of dappled sunlight before the bird moves on.
After three hours in Prospect Park’s Ravine, no
one in our group of borough birders had seen the
warbler for more than a couple seconds. Even the
photographers toting leg-size lenses couldn’t punch
in fast enough to capture the bird’s soft brown plum-
age and telltale dark eye stripe. Tired of running back
and forth with the crowd, I stayed put, armed with a
large shotgun microphone, and waited for the bird
to come to me.
I’ve been a birder since I was three, when my mom
bought me a book on penguins. After I memorized
the book, she started taking me to the New England Ben Mirin’s Best
Aquarium, in Boston, to watch the rockhopper pen- Birding Spots in
guins. According to her, the only tantrum I ever threw New York City
as a child was when my parents took me away from
CENTRAL PARK
feeding ducks at the entrance to the San Diego Zoo
Safari Park. Apparently its world-famous animal attrac- In spring and fall, millions
tions could not match the thrill of watching mallards of birds fly over cities
during migration. Urban
fight over bread, and I screamed on the monorail for
parks are oases where they
a solid hour.
I never knew how much I loved bird songs in
densely congregate to rest
and feed before continuing A history of the world’s
on their journeys. This
particular until I couldn’t hear them anymore. In
2013 I moved to New York City to play music, and
phenomenon is colloqui-
ally called the Central Park
most significant
the daily onslaught of urban noise made birds dif-
ficult to hear, even when they were singing outside
effect, and if you go to its
namesake park in April or and thrilling
May, you’ll immediately see
my window. Instead, I listened to bird songs online
and started downloading them to make beats using
(and hear) why.
voyages.
only nature sounds. Blue jays became my synthesiz- PROSPECT PARK
ers, Canada geese held down the bass, and the wing
While Central Park is often
beats of a ruffed grouse created the best drum set ever. full of hardcore New York
Eventually I traveled to California to study wildlife birders, Prospect Park is
a sanctuary where avian
sound recording with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
ILLUSTRATION: TIAGO GALO; JOEL SARTORE (YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD)

enthusiasts can watch and

On day one of my training, my mentors turned listen for birds in a more
me loose in California’s Sierra Valley, where heavy relaxed atmosphere.
morning fog carries bird sounds for miles over open
THE BRONX ZOO
marshland. The sounds of cars carry equally well from
Route 70, which traces along the valley’s north side. That’s right, a zoo. I was
To filter them out, I crouched behind a dense patch of the Bronx Zoo’s first
artist-in-residence in 2016,
sagebrush and began to search for birds by ear. and I would often arrive
It didn’t take long to find a male yellow-headed to work before business
blackbird perched on a fence post just off the path. I hours. In springtime the
woods on the property are
was wielding a parabola, a dish with a microphone at alive with migratory birds, Available
its center designed to amplify high-frequency sound and when they are finished
waves toward a single focal point. Aiming it at my singing, you can visit the wherever
open-air exhibits at the
subject, I heard feathers rustling and claws scraping zoo’s World of Birds and books are sold.
on wood. The bird inhaled, contorted his body, and tarry with colorful toucans.

A WORLD
DE CE M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 20 18
OF IDEAS
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OBSESSIONS
BIRDING INSPIRE
Earth s most
beautiful and

DVENTURE
erupted into a classic, electrified mating call. The Nat Geo’s Year fascinating
sound in my headphones was unlike anything I had of the Bird
ever heard in a lifetime of birding. I was so enam-
We have our brains
natural
ored that I spent the rest of the morning patrolling on birds in 2018, the
the marsh with my eyes on the ground and my head- centennial of the Migratory landmarks.
Bird Treaty Act. Through-
phones on, absorbing the valley one sound at a time.
out the year, Nat Geo will
That experience gave me the tools and drive not celebrate the splendor of
only to explore the world but also to appreciate nature birds and their essential
role in nature. Follow
hidden in my hometown. Natural sound in New York
#birdyourworld for monthly
has to fight for airtime with everything else, but inspir- calls to action, and check
ingly, it still manages to break through now and again. out these new books.
In cities around the world, birds such as song sparrows,
European robins, and great tits alter the frequency of
their songs to become audible amid city noise. Diurnal
species like northern cardinals and American robins
often sing at night, when there is less human commo-
tion, and because city lights can offset their circadian
rhythms. Northern mockingbirds, famous for their
mimicry, even imitate city sounds while impressing
potential mates and defending their territories. In a
city filled with constant interruptions from cellphones,
sirens, traffic, and airplanes, the only way to record
their songs is to understand how the birds themselves
have adapted to city life.
As a natural sounds recordist living in New York, FIELD GUIDE TO
THE BIRDS OF
I try to make adaptation a two-way street. I pack my NORTH AMERICA
schedule with morning bird walks in the spring and
fall, when millions of migrating birds stop over in our The dramatically revised
seventh edition of this best
parks to rest. In summer I look for bird nests in my seller came out in Septem-
neighborhood and enjoy nighttime walks in Prospect ber 2017 and is esteemed
Park to record chorusing katydids. Listening to nature’s by birders around the
world for its comprehen-
orchestra helps me recalibrate my place in the web of sive coverage of North
all life. I reconnect with my three-year-old self, the American birds.
boy who went to the zoo to feed ducks. Now, any day
that I don’t get out and record, part of me feels like
throwing a tantrum.
The Swainson’s warbler’s song rang out again, this
time just 20 feet away. I froze, my recorder still roll-
ing, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. The
warbler sang a second time, and for a moment I saw
a flash of movement as it walked through a small gap
in the thicket. A photograph would have been next
to impossible in the low light, but I had everything BIRDS OF THE
I needed to document this rare encounter: a clean PHOTO ARK
recording of two vocalizations without so much as
This elegant book unites
an interruption from a jet or jogger. In New York, you animal portraits from Joel
could hardly ask for anything more. Sartore’s Photo Ark project
with text by Big Year birder books are sold.
Noah Strycker, spotlighting
BEN MIRIN ( @benmirin) is a sound artist and hundreds of species, from
National Geographic explorer. finches to eagles.

A WORLD
DE CE M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 20 18 OF IDEAS
www.dk.com
WHERE IN THE WORLD
A FLURRY OF QUESTIONS
1 Starting in early 2018, an
observatory will offer new
ways to get starstruck in Rancho
Mirage, California, long known
for attracting celebs. Which U.S.
president had a house here?

I
t seems appropriate that the snow-globe industry was born in Vienna,
Austria, no stranger to winter flurries. In 1900, mechanic Erwin Perzy
tried to brighten the newly invented electric light bulb by adding water
and semolina to the glass globe surrounding the filament. The swirling white
powder made him think of snow, and soon Perzy was producing orbs with
mini-churches and faux flakes that tourists snapped up as souvenirs. Snow
MARK THIESSEN/NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

globes now come in as many varieties as there are bucket-list destinations.

“People buy snow globes,” says Erwin Perzy III, who runs his grandfather’s
company, “because they are an idealized reminder of their vacation.” Test
your worldly knowledge with our snow-globe quiz. —Jennifer Barger

N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
2 Rio de Janeiro’s Jardim Botânico displays a
revamped zone in 2018 with flora from the
Amazon. Which European country made Rio its
capital when Napoleon threatened home rule?
5 Snowbirds are increasingly flocking south
to Tucson for its food scene, but they’re
not the only birds around. Name the local avian
speedster (and TV cartoon star).
8 Plans are in the works to give areas around
the Taj Mahal major upgrades, including a
new orientation center and museum. In whose
memory was the marble mausoleum built?
3 In recent years Costa Rica has generated
nearly 100 percent of its electricity from
renewable energy sources. What type of
4 Prized antiquities get new digs in early
2018, when phase one of the Grand
Egyptian Museum opens near the Great Sphinx
energy is produced by volcanoes? of Giza. Which pharaoh built the Great Pyramid?
6 Barcelona’s still unfinished Sagrada Família
is perhaps architect Antoni Gaudí’s most
famous work. Can you name the first house he
7 Home of the world’s steepest cogwheel
railway, Switzerland debuted the world’s
longest and deepest rail tunnel in 2016. What’s
designed, now open regularly to the public? the 35-mile-long passage called?
9 Dublin, a Best of the World pick for 2018
(see page 66), is capital of a nation known
for high-quality, hand-woven woolens. How
10 In 2016, 1.4 million tourists swarmed Machu
Picchu, causing the Peruvian government
to limit visitors. Name the mountain 400 travelers a
many sheep roam the countryside of Ireland? day can climb to look down on the ruins.
7. Gotthard Base Tunnel 8. Mumtaz Mahal 9. 5.2 million 10. Huayna Picchu
ANSWERS: 1. Gerald Ford 2. Portugal 3. Geothermal 4. Khufu 5. Roadrunner 6. Casa Vicens
SMART CITIES
SINGAPORE

Singapore, an
island nation less
than half the size
of Greater London,
has an outsize
reputation as a hot-
bed of innovation.
With autonomous
vehicles being test-
ed on the roads,
environmental
policies to manage
water resources
and protect green
spaces, and social
programs that
preserve heritage
in this multicultural
society, the Lion
City is a showcase
for urban living.
But it doesn’t look
only to the future.
“Singapore is
about being past-
forward, not just
fast-forward,” says
Gene Tan, a local
creative director.
Founded 52 years
ago, this city-state
of some 5.8 million
strives to sustain
both its natural
environment and
its distinct social
fabric. The Novem-
ber 2017 issue of
National Geographic
counts Singapore
among the world’s
happiest places
(noting that eco-
nomic stability
leads to personal
satisfaction). Start
your visit at the
Singapore City
Gallery, a museum
dedicated to the
nation’s surprising
structural evolution.
—Jaclyn Snow

High above city streets,

flourishing foliage
clings to the facade of
Parkroyal on Pickering.
 Eat
FOODIE PARADISE
Crafty venue Druggists
pours 23 rotating draft
brews to pair with spicy
global dishes, all set inside
an 80-year-old shophouse
that still hosts the spot’s
namesake, the Singapore
Chinese Druggists Associ-
ation. A must-try cuisine?
Nonya, the aromatic mix
of Chinese and Malay
flavors that originated
in Singapore, Malaysia,
and Indonesia. House of
Peranakan Petit serves
a savory selection of the
classics, like long bean
sambal and coconut-tinged
beef rendang. At Open
Farm Community diners
can take a post-meal walk
around produce plots to
LUCAS FOGLIA (HOTEL), NATHANWALLEN@GMAIL.COM (WATERFRONT AND RESTAURANT), COURTESY SUPERMAMA (SHOP), SENG CHYE TEO (TEMPLE); NG MAPS
see veggies and herbs des-
tined to appear on plates.
Stay
LUXURY GONE GREEN
Just a short stroll from the
main shopping strip along
Orchard Road, boutique
hotel Lloyd’s Inn features a
striking minimalist design
that highlights the lush
greenery adorning its roof
terrace, garden deck, and
dipping pool. Parkroyal on
Pickering calls itself a
“hotel in a garden,” with
floors wrapped in foliage
and waterfalls. From its
nearly 1,000-foot-long
garden walkway, guests
relish verdant views. For
a luxurious eco-escape
beyond the city, hop a
ferry to Cempedak resort
in Indonesia’s Riau Archi-
pelago and lounge in the
sustainably built bamboo
villas that meld into the
natural surroundings.
Clockwise from top:
Photo-worthy Marina Bay;
craft brews at Druggists;
hot shop Supermama; Sri
Mariamman, Singapore’s
oldest Hindu temple.
D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA NUA RY 2 0 1 8
Play
FAWNING OVER FLORA
Gardens by the Bay has
two huge conservatories
brimming with plants,
but it may be best known
for the Supertree Grove,
a group of man-made
structures that rise up to
160 feet and mimic the
functions of their natural
counterparts. Crossing
through four parks, the
Southern Ridges walk
offers elevated stops along
its six-mile route, giving
different perspectives on
the mix of jungle and urban
settings in the distance.
Take the ferry to Pulau
Ubin and rent a bike to
explore one of Singapore’s
last kampongs, or villages,
with plenty of flora and
fauna to check out too.
Shop
DECOR AND DESSERTS
Gallery shop Supermama
is famed for its blue-and-
white porcelain plates dec-
orated with iconic views of
Singapore. Collaborating
with a network of local
designers, The Farm Store
beckons buyers with offer-
ings like pillows, earrings,
and coasters inspired by
Singaporean culture. At
Ji Xiang Confectionery
the selection of handmade
ang ku kueh sells out
quickly. Go early to sample
the classic Chinese dessert
consisting of a sticky
rice-flour shell stuffed with
sweet or savory fillings
such as peanuts, yam,
and coconut.
South
China
Sea
MALAYSIA
SINGAPORE
IN
D INDONESIA
IA
N
OC
500 mi EA
N
500 km
BEST LIST
15 TOP SKI RESORTS

³ Plan your ultimate snowy escape this winter with our guide to cool places for everyone, from late-night revelers to families and foodies.

after the sun sets?

Oregon’s Mount
Hood Skibowl has
You don’t have to the largest night
be a mogul to love skiing terrain in
skiing moguls. the country. All
The best resorts, lifts have lighting,
all with impres- providing 34 runs
sive powder, are to zoom down as
increasing their stars twinkle above.
offerings on and Stay at Timberline
off the slopes, from Lodge, the state’s
igloo dining to only ski-in, ski-out
dogsledding with accommodation.
the kids. We’ve Read on for more of
narrowed the list our favorites.
to four categories —Amber Gibson
with options for
every level and
style of skier. Eager
to keep going even

At Timberline
Lodge, skiers
traverse out the
door and onto
N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM the runs.
WHEN YOUR PRIORITY FOR
THE HOLIDAYS IS HAVING YOUR
GUESTS SHOW UP ON TIME.
More people use the United States Postal Service to deliver
online purchases to homes than anyone else in the country.
Ship now at USPS.com/you

© 2017 United States Postal Service. All Rights Reserved. The Eagle Logo is among the many trademarks of the U.S. Postal Service .
®

Please recycle packaging materials whenever possible.

BEST LIST
15 TOP SKI RESORTS
Boutique
Bonhomie
BIGGER ISN’T
ALWAYS BETTER
After a day skiing, skating,
or bobsledding at Lake
Placid Lodge—the winter
activities at this upstate
New York “great camp” run
the gamut—you can warm
up in front of your own fire-
place; each of the 30 guest
rooms has one. Soft pillows
and throw rugs adorn the
intimate Dunton Town
House, a residence with
five guest rooms just off
Telluride’s main drag and
only a block from the Col-
orado town’s free gondola.
Nita Lake Lodge is the only
lakeside boutique hotel in
Whistler, British Columbia,
a mecca for skating—and a
short shuttle ride from the
Creekside ski lift.
Kid-Friendly
EVERYONE IN THE
FAMILY FEELS SPOILED
Children checking in to
Utah’s Montage Deer
Valley resort get to choose
a stuffed animal and play
with the resident Bernese
mountain dogs. The
Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe
in California caters to kids
with acres of nearby ski-in,
ski-out beginner terrain
and a kids’ club; parents
chill at the luxe spa.
Vermont’s Stowe Mountain
Resort ponies up fun for
all with skiing, ice skating,
dogsledding, an indoor
adventure center, and spa
treatments. A highlight at
France’s Evian Resort is
that country’s largest kids’
club, housing a pool, a
dance studio, and a theater
where children perform for
their parents.
From top: Chilling out at
Stowe Mountain Lodge’s
ice rink, an igloo turned
dining room at KAI Alps,
and a fire-warmed Lake
Placid Lodge guest room.
N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
Fine Dining
Delights
FEAST AND SIP
LIKE ROYALTY
Dine at Aspen, Colorado’s
Little Nell hotel, and one
of the more than 40 som-
meliers will find the perfect
pairing for your meal from
the house cellar holding
millions of dollars worth of
wine. Timberline Lodge, at
the foot of Oregon’s Mount
Hood, sources beef for its
Cascade Dining Room from
locally raised, grass-fed
cows; complement your
entrée with a Willamette
Valley pinot. Sip tea in an
igloo at KAI Alps, a hot
STOWE MOUNTAIN RESORT (RINK), HOSHINO RESORTS (IGLOO), LAKE PLACID LODGE (ROOM); PREVIOUS PAGE: TIMBERLINE LODGE (HOTEL), TAMER KOSELI (ILLUSTRATION)
springs resort reopening
in December in Omachi,
Japan. The signature dish
is yuki-nabe, or “snow hot
pot”—spun sugar melted
into a cooking broth for
meats and veggies. It can’t
get much cozier than a
truffled fondue for two at
Chedi Andermatt’s Chalet
restaurant in Switzerland.
Après Scene
LOUNGE LIKE, OR
WITH, A VIP
A who’s who of Austria’s
ski scene congregates
around the fireplace at
Hospiz Alm restaurant in
St. Christoph am Arlberg
to down post-slope shots
of schnapps and platters
of Wiener schnitzel. Chile’s
Hotel Portillo has no guest
room TVs, so patrons soon
find themselves in the hot
tubs, chatting over Chilean
wine. The elegant lobby
bar at Switzerland’s Gstaad
Palace is legendary for its
gemütlich vibe and live
music, savored with cherry-
based kirsch liqueur;
there’s no snugger spot for
people watching. During
the winter holidays, cap a
day on skis in Banff
National Park with ice wine
or spiked hot chocolate at
the Fairmont Chateau
Lake Louise’s ice bar.
CRUISING
THE NEW WAVE
Anchors
Aweigh!
Although 25.8 million pas-
sengers are projected for
2017, bigger and flashier
are hardly the whole story
for today’s cruise industry.
Just look at river-cruise
operator Viking Cruises:
When diving into the salt-
water scene in 2015, Viking
made waves upending the
traditional sea-cruise model
by offering distraction-free
journeys—no casinos, art
auctions, kids, umbrella
drinks, or up-charges for
beer and wine. European
voyages are a specialty,
but Viking’s map has
grown to encompass five
continents. Other cruise
lines are charting their own
visionary courses.
A Windstar Cruises
ship plies the Aegean
Sea off Santorini.
1 2
Small Is Beautiful
Windstar Cruises, known
for graceful sailing ships,
recently acquired the
luxurious smaller ships of
Seabourn. Able to access
tight harbors, the three
200-passenger yachts
cruise waters worldwide,
including those off Japan
and Iceland. For wilderness
expeditions, National
Geographic-Lindblad
has new builds to show
off. The 100-passenger
National Geographic Quest
navigates the narrow inlets
of Alaska, the San Juan
Islands, and British Colum-
bia, as will its upcoming
sister ship, Venture.
On the Horizon
In 2019 the Ritz-Carlton
Yacht Collection debuts
a troika of 298-passenger
ships that promises to
bring the hotel chain’s
gilded touch to cruising,
with curated journeys in-
volving local musicians and
artists. Watch for itineraries
in May. In December 2018
Celebrity Cruises, no
stranger to spectacle,
premieres a new ship
design with the arrival of
Celebrity Edge, spending
its inaugural season in the
Caribbean. With larger cab-
ins and balconies, the ship
features a multipurpose
cantilevered platform—the
Magic Carpet—alongside
16 starboard decks.
3
All-Inclusive
On European waterways
Uniworld’s river ships
bundle butlers, gratuities,
shore excursions, and pre-
mium drinks into the fare.
The cruise line’s 128-
passenger Joie de Vivre
arrived in March 2017,
ushering unpretentious ele-
gance to the Seine. Unwind
aboard the opulent fleet of
Regent Seven Seas, with
its selection of free shore
excursions at every port,
along with some of the
largest accommodations at
sea. The world is Regent’s
oyster, with globe-girdling
voyages from the far north
to the South Pacific.
WINDSTAR CRUISES
REP ORTED BY DAVID SWANS ON
GRAND HOTELS
PORTUGAL

At Six Senses Douro

Valley, alfresco
meals come with
vineyard views.

Grape
B
y the time a fourth person offered me a heartfelt apology BEST LIST: WINE ESCAPES
for the rain, I started to chuckle. Comfortably dry under my
Expectations umbrella on a stone terrace at the SIX SENSES DOURO VALLEY
In the vineyards of France’s
Château Smith Haut Lafitte,
and gazing through the soft mist at vine-covered hills along the Rio Les Sources de Caudalie
From vines to vintages,
Douro, I was fine with a little wet weather. Still, I wasn’t above taking attracts oenophiles with
finding inspiration to
its Bordeaux wine bar
follow a dream shelter in the hotel’s earth-toned wine library to learn about Portugal’s
and Vinothérapie spa.
By Melanie Wynne Douro Valley, the third oldest demarcated wine region in the world.
JOHN ATHIMARITIS/COURTESY SIX SENSES

For California wine-country

The library’s sommelier, his English accented with a velvety lilt, told
convenience and geo-
us tales of the dark, spicy red blends before us, made from Touriga thermal pools, head to the
Nacional, Tinto Cão, Tinta Roriz, Touriga Franca, and Tinta Barroca— Fairmont Sonoma Mission
Inn & Spa (unharmed by
the same grapes used in rich, toffee-scented ports that can age for
the recent wildfires).
decades. Inhaling deeply from my half-full glass, I decided then and
Overlooking Barossa Valley
there to pursue my dream of going to wine school. Now studying
vines, The Louise delivers
to become a sommelier myself, I would love nothing more than to some of South Australia’s
share a sense of place through the palate. finest vistas—and vintages.

N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
 live life luxuriously

T H E M O S T I N C LU S I V E LU X U RY E X P E R I E N C E T M

Enjoy every day exactly as you wish while exploring the world’s most beautiful places. Everything is included — from flights to
excursions and from gourmet dining to unlimited WiFi. Allow us to take care of every detail as you sail aboard our luxuriously
appointed, perfectly-sized ships to more than 450 destinations in the company of an intimate group of newfound friends.

You really can have it all aboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises®.

CALL 1.844.4REGENT (1.844.473.4368) | VISIT RSSC.COM OR CONTACT YOUR TRAVEL AGENT

ORDER YOUR COMPLIMENTARY BROCHURE AT RSSC.COM/NATGEO
GO WITH NAT GEO
BHUTAN

Wood carvings,
handcrafted by
Bhutanese artisans,
adorn the lobby.

I
n the 1970s Bhutan’s King Jigme Singye Wangchuck proposed BOOKING IT
Embracing a radical idea. Instead of measuring his country’s development
a State the traditional way, by gross domestic product, why not use more
Zhiwa Ling, a National
Geographic Unique Lodge
of Bliss enlightened metrics such as people’s sense of well-being, relation-
ship with nature, and embrace of cultural heritage? He dubbed it
of the World, offers 45
suites within Bhutanese
stone and wood structures
In Bhutan’s Paro Valley “gross national happiness.” Visitors find the spirit of GNH on full spread across 10 acres of
travelers check in to a display at Paro Valley’s ZHIWA LING hotel, built, carved, and painted by gardens below Himalayan
sublimely happy place peaks. Villages and monas-
ALISON WRIGHT (EXTERIOR), DANHELLER.COM (LOBBY)

Bhutanese artisans. Hear the daily chanting of Buddhist monks in the

By Costas Christ teries are a short distance
on-site temple, which incorporates 450-year-old wooden beams from away; the lodge organizes
the famed Gangtey monastery, or sink into serenity in a meditation guided excursions.
house perched over the lush landscape. Sample local specialties like To reserve your stay,
call 888-701-5486 or visit
ema datshi (chilies with cheese), served outdoors on a cantilevered natgeolodges.com/explore.
bridge in nice weather. Cultural authenticity also imbues the spa,
which offers a Bhutanese hot-stone bath treatment. And while it is
tempting just to wander the grounds, many travelers stay here as a
jumping-off point for Tiger’s Nest monastery. One of Bhutan’s holi-
est sites, it’s reached by a three-hour trek through Himalayan blue
pines and wild rhododendrons. In other words, a route to happiness.

N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
 YOUR
Let’s tell amazing stories together.
Contribute your best photos to Your Shot,
BUCKET
National Geographic’s photo community.
Our mission is to tell stories collaboratively
through bold photography and expert
LIST
curation. Show us your best!
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STARTS
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT,
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AND MONTHLY CIRCULATION OF
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TOP
10
Dublin, Ireland is one of Europe’s oldest cities and a vibrant urban hub full of culture and
character. Here are the top 10 things to do and see.
1 Guinness Storehouse
The beloved ‘pint of black stuff’ is anything but
ordinary. The stout has spread Dublin’s fame across
the globe, and you can see where it all began at
the Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness story is a
quintessentially Irish journey enlivened by colorful
characters and the brand’s iconic advertising.
2 Trinity College Long Room
and Book of Kells
Strolling Trinity College’s hallowed greens and
courtyards can feel a bit like stepping back in time.
In the 18th-century Old Library you’ll find the Long
Room, surely one of the world’s most impressive
library chambers, and some of Ireland’s most
cherished relics. But the Book of Kells is perhaps
the most famous medieval manuscript in Europe.
The ninth-century handwritten copy of the
Gospels is lavishly illustrated, irreplaceable, and
an absolute must-see for all Dublin visitors.
3 Little Museum of Dublin
Dublin is an ancient city, but the lives and culture
of its more modern residents are every bit as
fascinating as its Viking past. There’s no more
delightful place to explore them than at the Little
Museum of Dublin. As befits a peoples’ museum,
the collection is located in a Georgian townhouse
that’s delightfully crammed with artifacts, stories,
and exhibits of 20th-century life in the city.
ADVERTISEMENT
THINGS
TO DO IN DUBLIN
4 Kilmainham Gaol
Eerie, vast and deserted, Kilmainham Gaol is one of
the largest unoccupied prisons in Europe and holds
countless tales within its thick, cold walls. During
its operating history from 1796 to 1924, the gaol
housed ordinary criminals including men,
women, and children in addition to many of
Ireland’s foremost political figures.
5 Literary Pub Crawl
How would you like to raise a glass with James
Joyce or spend an evening watching Oscar Wilde
hold court in a cozy pub? You can’t, of course,
but the Dublin Literary Pub Crawl is the next best
thing and likely one of the most enjoyable walks
you’ll ever take. Follow in the footsteps of Irish
literary legends for a few hours, through the
streets of Dublin and into storied pubs where
pints are optional but certainly not discouraged.
6 St. Patrick’s Cathedral
St. Patrick’s Cathedral has stood watch over the city
for some eight centuries on a site where St. Patrick
himself performed baptisms. Ireland’s largest
cathedral is one of the few existing buildings from
medieval Dublin and was already ancient when
Jonathan Swift (author of Gulliver’s Travels) acted as
dean and was buried here in the 1700s.
7 Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle is a historic Viking stronghold, a
ceremonial seat used by Ireland’s modern government,
and a vibrant center for public exhibitions and events.
These attractions all add up to one must-see stop
for Dublin visitors. Delve under the castle to explore
original moats and fortifications, then emerge to stroll
the glorious gardens above.
8 St. Stephen’s Green Park
A green jewel in the heart of Dublin, St. Stephen’s
Green is the perfect place to stop and smell
the flowers. After all, people have been doing so
for much of the past 400 years. Today the park
retains most of the Victorian design elements
commissioned by Sir Arthur Guinness, who
restored the briefly private green and reopened
it to the people of Dublin in 1880.
9 Jameson Distillery
The Bow Street Distillery is hallowed ground for
those who enjoy what Joyce called the “light
music of whiskey falling into glasses.” Though this
is the very spot where John Jameson first got to
work back in 1780, it’s recently been refurbished
and reopened to welcome visitors on a 40-minute
tasting tour called the Bow Street Experience.
10 EPIC The Irish
Emigration Museum
The Irish story doesn’t end at the Emerald Isle’s
shores. Many millions of Irish have emigrated
and, in the process, reshaped other nations
around the world with their unique presence.
This interactive museum in Dublin’s Docklands
explores the whys, hows, and wows of 10 million
epic journeys.
Get details and tips to plan your trip at
ireland.com
JUMP INTO
THE NOW.
WE’LL KEEP
A SEAT FREE
FOR YOU.
In Ireland we live in the now.
So don’t worry about tomorrow.
Enjoy today’s stroll among
Dublin’s landmarks, the
stories that unfold on the
Guinness Storehouse tour, or
the enchantments of Ireland’s
countryside. The unanticipated,
the poetic and the astonishing,
they’re all in the now. Come
and share the now with us.

Visit Ireland.com
 H ANNUA
7T

21 Spectacular Places for 2018

Our editors and explorers pick the world’s most exciting destinations for the year ahead.
Best for Culture: 1. Harar, Ethiopia 2. Friesland, Netherlands 3. Cleveland, Ohio 4. Vienna, Austria 5. Tétouan,
Morocco 6. Labrador, Canada 7. Oaxaca, Mexico Best for City Life: 8. Tbilisi, Georgia 9. Phnom Penh,
Cambodia 10. Sydney, Australia 11. San Antonio, Texas 12. Santiago, Chile 13. Malmö, Sweden 14. Dublin,
Ireland Best for Nature: 15. Madagascar 16. Jordan Trail 17. Seoraksan National Park, South Korea 18. Ruaha
National Park, Tanzania 19. Albania 20. Jujuy Province, Argentina 21. Oahu, Hawaii
T Y P O G R A P H Y BY LU K E LU C A S
G LO BA L E N C O U N T E RS O N A LO CA L L E V E L

In Ethiopia, Harar’s old

town is a maze of alleys
lined with bright pink,
purple, and blue walls.

44 NATGEOTRAV EL .C OM
 east, anchored by
the enchantingly
contradictory city
of Harar. With 82
mosques, three of
which date from
the 10th century,
Harar—which bills Ethiopia’s best
itself as the “City of beer, strongest
Saints”—welcomes khat (a ubiquitous
the devout. Yet narcotic plant),
this is no place friendliest hyenas,
for the ascetic. In and not least,
Harar, Harar, a one-hour highest quality
Ethiopia flight from Addis coffee in a country
Ababa, cafés dole renowned for its
Why Go Now: out spicy fava beans. Follow
Find the most bean stew and your nose to the
surprising city craftswomen sell aromatic factory
in East Africa brilliantly dyed bas- to watch workers
kets. French poet roast, grind, and
The busloads of Arthur Rimbaud bag coffee on
tourists at rock- once lived on one old-fashioned
hewn churches of these narrow machines. Stock
and castles in streets, abandon- up: Alleyways in
northern Ethiopia ing writing for the Harar are rarely
haven’t yet discov- coffee and arms found twice.
ered the laid-back trades. Harar touts —Nina Strochlic
Best for Culture

Friesland, Netherlands
Why Go Now: Feel the frisson of Dutch creativity

While Amsterdam is all frenetic energy, Leeuwarden,
which was named European Capital of Culture for 2018,
is a serene refuge. Birthplace of M. C. Escher and Mata
Hari, the town is known for its annual flower market
and its world-class ceramics museum. But in the bid
for Cultural Capital, Leeuwarden stressed a larger role,
as the capital of the Dutch province of Friesland, and
its Frisian pride comes well earned. With its own lan-
guage, flag, anthem, and regional animal (the swan,
carved into farmhouse rooftops), Friesland clings
firmly to its arcane traditions and does everything a
bit differently. The province also offers mud walking
on the Wadden Sea and the singular sport of canal
pole-vaulting. Craft towns include Makkum, producing
coveted tin-glazed pottery since the 17th century, and
Vermeer-worthy Hindeloopen, where the furniture is
hand painted with swirls of candy-colored garlands.
Frisian sugar bread, laced with ribbons of cinna-
mon, lives up to its sweet name, for one last regional
surprise. —Raphael Kadushin

RUBEN DRENTH (CANAL HOUSES), LAUREN DI MATTEO (CITY GATE); PREVIOUS PAGES: DAVID KIRKLAND (WOMAN); NG MAPS
In Leeuwarden, a
former canal dock
now seats cafégoers.

Cleveland, Onion-domed churches

and cold-brew cafés
with new cultural energy.
Tap into it at the eight
deco skyscrapers,
including iconic Terminal
Ohio on streets a-flicker with theaters on Playhouse Tower, get new life as
gas porch lights might Square or at indie-music work-and-living spaces,
summon images of Kraków venue Beachland Ballroom. reviving neighborhoods
Why Go Now: Meet
or Budapest. But this is At restaurants the Black Pig like Hingetown and the
up—and meat up—in a
Cleveland. The big-boned and the Plum, young chefs Waterloo Arts District.
revived industrial city
Ohio city built by Eastern bone, carve, and reimagine Quirky shops offer every-
European immigrants and Cleveland’s long love affair thing from fresh-pressed
midwestern moxie ripples with meat. Downtown’s vinyl to wood-fired pizza.

46 NATGEOTRAV EL .C OM
 The Bab el Okla
gate leads to
Tétouan’s medina.

Vienna,
Austria
Why Go Now: Honor
game-changing artists

At the close of the 19th

century, the upstart
Secession art movement
shook the Austrian capital
to the core. In contrast
to Habsburg-approved
painting and sculpture,
these progressive
multidisciplinary artists,
headed initially by Gustav
Klimt, leaned toward
applied and decorative

Tétouan, Morocco
arts, and internationalism
over nationalism. They
met in grand coffee-
houses such as Café
Sperl and erected the Why Go Now: Be dazzled anew by Moroccan art
Secession Building,
known for its “golden Intricate carvings, handwoven carpets, and other traditional Moroccan
cabbage” leaf-work crafts have long influenced renowned artists and designers like Henri
dome. In addition to Matisse and Yves St. Laurent. But in Tétouan, a northern port city 40
Klimt, two other leading
members of the Seces- miles east of Tangier, a grassroots movement is redefining Moroccan art.
sion group—Koloman Contemporary artists such as Safaa Erruas, whose ethereal paper instal-
Moser and Otto Wagner— lations incorporate pins, needles, and other dressmaking elements, find
died in 1918. To mark
the centennial, several community at such places as Green Olive Arts. Here visitors can meet local
museums, including the artists at open studio events. “I love to wander the ancient cobblestone
Belvedere and the MAK, streets,” says Green Olive Arts director of studios Rachel Pearsey, a California transplant, “drawing the
will host exhibits to
celebrate these outward- layers of history and life.” GO WITH NAT GEO: Nat Geo Expeditions offers several trips to Morocco,
looking innovators. including a nine-day “Sahara and Beyond” itinerary.

Founded by Berbers in the third century B.C., Tétouan, Morocco, is home to the National Fine Arts Institute and
the Tétouan Museum of Modern Art, as well as Morocco’s most complete medina, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Labrador, Canada NORTH EUROPE

AMERICA 6 2
Why Go Now: Get acquainted with aboriginal culture in a new national park 3
4 ASIA
5
Following the road less traveled leads to Canada’s new Akami-Uapishku- 7 AFRICA
KakKasuak-Mealy Mountains National Park Reserve. Getting around the 1
4,131-square-mile national park requires significantly more effort. No roads SOUTH
AMERICA
cross this remote northern Labrador wilderness. Though the park is in its
AUSTRALIA
infancy, aboriginal peoples—Innu, Labrador Inuit, Southern Inuit, and Métis—
have stewarded this land for generations. Today, First Nations communities
are developing visitor experiences such as boat trips, craft workshops, and
guided walks. In Cartwright, tour operator Experience Labrador takes hikers
ANTARCTICA
along the white-sand Wunderstrand, the park’s 33-mile front porch.

REP ORTED BY MARYELLE N K E N N E DY DU CK E T T D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 47

Best for Culture

–7–

THE GIFT OF
COLOR
CELEBRATING THE HUES OF
MEXICO’S MOST VIBRANT STATE

BY JUSTIN FORNAL
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ADAM WISEMAN AND DIEGO HUERTA

48
 In Oaxaca the rich colors of
textiles stem from long-held
creative traditions. Miroslava
Cruz Ferra wears heirloom
attire and a white resplandor
specific to southern Oaxaca.
Photographed at a lizard
conservation center there,
she holds an iguana, a
symbol of the local people.
Best for Culture
 The baroque
splendor of Oaxaca
City’s Templo de
Santo Domingo
commands the
view from Hotel
Los Amantes.
Best for Culture
Since late morning I’ve been chasing 76-year-old traditional dyer
Habacuc Avendaño and his son as they braved the rocky coast-
line of Isla San Agustín in Oaxaca, Mexico. For hours Habacuc
scaled down slippery boulders into the frothing surf to pluck a
single tixinda snail hidden among hundreds of urchins, limpets,
and other marine mollusks. As soon as he pulled a snail from its
hiding place, the shell filled with a defensive exudate. Careful
not to spill the contents, Habacuc gently poured the cream-
colored liquid over a skein of cotton draped on
his shoulder. This was the dyeing technique his UNITED STATES
family had employed for hundreds of years. After
hours of trailing him through the unrelenting
PA
Oaxacan sun, I caught up with him as he stood C “Dyeing yarn this way is too much work to be
IF
IC
in front of a split in the rock. Instead of reaching
in for the next precious shell, Habacuc stepped
600 mi
aside and nodded to me. It was my turn. 600 km
I AM OBSESSED with the color purple, which I wear on an
almost daily basis. I have purple rooms in my home and a
lavender-painted car in the garage. My favorite musical artist,
Prince, set me on my purple path at an early age. For me the
color evokes bacchanalian rhythms and cosmic sensuality but
also antiquity and royalty. Purple stained the sails of Cleopatra’s
ship and the togas of Roman emperors.
The traditional way of tinting textiles purple involved marine
snails. But was anyone on the planet still dyeing fabric like this?
If so, how did the process actually work? Heartsick over Prince’s
death in 2016, I decided it was time to connect my recent interest
in indigenous textiles with my nearly lifelong passion for purple.
In pursuit, I head south. The Mexican state of Oaxaca is a
bastion of ancient color, a land where naturally dyed textiles
still dazzle with kaleidoscopic opulence. Here pre-Columbian
dyeing techniques remain in practice but are increasingly rare.
52 NATGEOTRAV EL .C OM
Near Oaxaca City, in Teotitlán del Valle, Fidel Cruz Lazo and
his family are renowned for their beautiful, handmade Zapo-
tec wool rugs, known as tapetes. Their rugs differ from most
others in the area, as all of their wool is dyed using natural
means. Although the actual recipes have been lost to history,
self-taught Cruz Lazo has done his best to reverse-engineer the
way he believes his ancestors colored their textiles using fruits,
minerals, clays, vegetables, flowers, and insects. At Casa Cruz
the family conducts demonstrations on how to
make its fabric dyes. “We are not worried about
people stealing Fidel’s recipes, so we have no
Gulf of secrets,” his wife, María Luisa Mendoza, says.
MEXICO Mexico
Mexico
OAXACA
OC
City lucrative. We do it because we love it and to keep
EA the old traditions alive.”
DIEGO HUERTA; PREVIOUS PAGES: DIEGO HUERTA (WOMAN), ADAM WISEMAN (CHURCH); NG MAPS
N
GUATEMALA
Historically, the most famous pigment to come
out of Mexico is red, which is made from a small
parasitic insect known as the cochineal. Cruz Lazo’s son shows
me how to harvest the insects off cactus paddles, where they
ingest the plant’s flesh and convert it into carminic acid. Once
dried, their bodies are ground up and mixed with water and
ammonia or sodium carbonate to render a blood-red dye bath.
Some historians consider this red the greatest treasure, after
gold and silver, that the Spanish plundered from the New World.
Next we pick pericón flowers (a tarragon substitute), which,
legend holds, were used in powdered form by the Aztec to relax
their sacrificial victims. The Cruz family now uses pericón to
make a brilliant yellow dye. We crush local indigo plants to make
blue, and walnut shells to yield a rich, chocolate brown. Seeing
the amount of work that goes into dyeing each spool of hand-
spun wool makes me appreciate how much we take color for
granted. I look anew at the clothing everyone is wearing, real-
izing what it would take to create those tints naturally.
 Near Pinotepa
Nacional these
Mixtec women have
added a white huipil
to their striped
pozahuanco wrap,
traditionally worn
on its own.
Best for Culture

The day ends with a homemade spread of quesillo cheese,

chapulines (grasshoppers), and pork tamales wrapped in corn
husks. After supper we toast with shots of red mescal colored
with ground cochineal. I ask Cruz Lazo if he has ever worked
with the snails to make a purple dye.
“That is a very special purple,” he says. “There are only a few
people alive still doing it. The men go out in the ocean and dye cot-
ton using one snail at a time. They cannot transport it, as they do
not want to kill the snails. You have to go to the coast to find that.”

I STOP IN OAXACA CITY to get my bearings. The Central de

Abastos market lures me in with the smell of grilled meat and
smoked chili peppers. I am immediately floored by an eight-year-
old culinary prodigy who’s overseeing a toasted-grasshopper
stand. She offers me samples from her overflowing baskets of
differently seasoned and sized chapulines while eloquently
pontificating on their subtle nuances. With a fistful of crunchy
insects, I sit down at a stall for goat soup. My steaming bowl
arrives with an island of chopped onions, cilantro, and lime
wedges slowly sinking into the fragrant broth. I drink beer and a
large mug of foamy hot chocolate made from local cocoa beans.
I find an entire corner of the market dedicated to witch-
craft and traditional medicine. Among the bags of snake pow-
der, dried roots, copal incense, and statues of saints, I discover
dust-covered Jenny Hanivers—dried stingrays shaped into mer-
maids, demons, or other mythical creatures—hanging from bits
of twine. This haunting folk art, which is believed to have orig-
inated centuries ago in Antwerp, Belgium, found its way into
Mexican brujería (witchcraft), where it functions as a talisman
against evil spirits. The industrious bruja selling them informs
me that the terrifying-looking poppet will protect me on my voy-
age and help me find my way to the sea and the snail dyers. My
expedition now has an official mascot.
Since my visit, Oaxaca has suffered two powerful earthquakes,
but my friends there say that the infrastructure of the city and the
ADAM WISEMAN (ALL PHOTOS EXCEPT PURPLE-DYED YARN), KIM FORNAL (PURPLE-DYED YARN)

region is intact, with tourists welcome more than ever.

ALTHOUGH THE ACTUAL SNAIL dyeing takes place on the

coast, the dyers of Oaxaca live in a small inland village. The
drive into Pinotepa de Don Luis (not to be confused with the
larger Pinotepa Nacional) doesn’t look very different from the
approach to the previous dozen villages I’ve driven through. But
as I get closer to the town plaza, I see most of the older Mixtec
women wearing pozahuancos, the traditional wrap skirt woven
with bright red, blue, and purple stripes. In front of the central

Rainbow coalition (clockwise from top left): Restaurante Casa Oaxaca

serves a tostada of worms, grasshoppers, and ants; mescal distills in
Santiago Matatlán, self-described world capital of mescal; at Casa Cruz,
in Teotitlán del Valle, indigo is ground by hand; indigo dyes items such
as hair wraps; natural sources richly tint strands of yarn; skeins of snail-
dyed purple dry on Isla San Agustín; El Chimeco restaurant, in Bahía San
Agustín, plates the day’s fresh catch; agave abounds.

54 NATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 55
Best for Culture
More than a millennium
before the Spaniards
arrived, Monte Albán—
a 30-minute drive from
Oaxaca City—was a
flourishing Zapotec
center of open-air
markets and precisely
aligned temples.
market, I’m drawn to a woman wearing a pozahuanco with purple As in Oaxaca City’s other markets, 20 de Noviembre
stripes much softer and uneven in tone than the others. I realize market brims with food stalls serving everything from
chicken soup to hot cocoa. Locals head to this part
hers is the real thing, the red dyed with cochineal, the blue from of the market for its tasajo, thinly sliced grilled beef,
indigo, and the purple hand dyed using the tixinda snail. Her accompanied by grilled vegetables and a tlayuda tortilla.
name is Margarita Avendaño.
It turns out that Margarita is one of the most respected weav-
ers in the region. She has had her work showcased at El Museo
Textil de Oaxaca and the New York Botanical Garden. On a reg-
ular day she sits at her stall in the central Mercado Municipal.

I'M DRAWN TO A
She weaves versions of the classic Mixtec pozahuancos from
synthetically dyed cotton thread. A few times a year when she
receives the snail-dyed thread from her brother Habacuc, she
gets to make the genuine article.
WOMAN WEARING
Although it varies, it takes about three skeins of snail cotton to
produce one pozahuanco. Since the snail dyers collectively make
A POZAHUANCO
only 40 skeins per season, a completely naturally dyed wrap is MUCH SOFTER AND
UNEVEN IN TONE
considered an absolute treasure and family heirloom. Margarita
wears hers with great pride.
Pinotepa de Don Luis has a colonial central plaza where every-
one gathers to sell tamales, tacos, and textiles. Here Margarita
THAN THE OTHERS.
insists I try the famed tamale de tichindas. Tichindas are small,
sweet mussels that are cooked in banana leaf–wrapped tama-
HERS IS THE
les while still in their shell. The mussels open during cooking, GENUINE ARTICLE.
58 NATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
 Best for Culture

infusing the cornmeal with their briny oceanic stock. This dish
cruz Gulf of Mexico
is a local specialty of Pinotepa; it’s also impossible to eat grace- V
fully. As we share a small park bench, the plaza floods with tra- R
A
ditional Mixtec carnival dancers. In every corner of the city men P U E B L A C
145
with wooden masks parade about, playing raucous music and Tehuacán
D

performing elaborate line dances. Some of the dancers are sober, Coa
others not so much.
135
Leaving Margarita to tend to her market stall, I set off to

G U E
D

s us
explore the town. Most private yards have a calabash tree that
is harvested to make ornate canteens incised with images of
O A X A C A of

R R
mystical animals. A family of shell dyers owns one of the homes I Oaxaca Teotitlán del Valle Te h u a n t e p e c

E R
ie XOXOCOTLÁN

S
pass. The father shows me his purple-stained fingers; he returned rr INTL. AIRPORT Santiago Matatlán

O
from the coast just a week ago. His daughter had already used notepa de a
M San José Ciudad Ixtepec
Don Luis ad del Pacífico
the purple string he brought back to intricately embroider a r e
d e l
white dress. She offers me a sniff of the thread, which still smells
strongly of the sea. HUATUL
Before leaving, I visit Margarita at her home, where she dresses INTL. AIRP Te h u a n t e p e c
IONAL
in the traditional style, simply wearing a pozahuanco held up Isla San Agu K

by her loom strap. “This is how we used to dress, but now the 50 mi
P A C O C E A N
younger generation wears shirts with their pozahuanco,” she says. 50 km

Margarita has dozens of synthetic pozahuancos in her col-

lection, but at that moment, she has only one of the rare snail-
dyed articles for sale. She eyes me running my fingers longingly
over the soft uneven purple threads. “My brother had to hunt Travel Wise: Oaxaca
ADAM WISEMAN (MARKET); PREVIOUS PAGE: ATLANTIDE PHOTOTRAVEL (TEMPLE); NG MAPS; PARKS DATA FROM THE WORLD DATABASE ON PROTECTED

hundreds of snails to make that purple.”

AREAS (WDPA), MAP DATA © OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS, AVAILABLE UNDER OPEN DATABASE LICENSE: OPENSTREETMAP.ORG/COPYRIGHT

“I know.” The fabric is clearly out of my price range, but in INSIDER TOUR GUIDE
with smaller villages such
my heart I know I may never have this opportunity again. The Traditions Mexico as Pinotepa de Don Luis.
timeless debate rages in my head: Do I pay my bills or purchase Eric Mindling of Traditions Rest up at this no-frills hotel
Mexico has been organizing (+011-52-954-543-5611) before
quixotic treasure? immersive tours and venturing out to the coast.
The Phoenicians are thought to be the first civilization to expeditions through Oaxaca
produce purple from marine mollusks on a large scale dating since 1997. His skilled guides WHERE TO EAT AND DRINK
have access to even the
back to the 16th century B.C. Tens of thousands of murex snails Caldo de Piedra
most remote communities.
Northeast of Oaxaca City,
would be crushed in dyeing centers such as Tyre, Lebanon, col- traditionsmexico.com
in the town of Tlalixtac de
oring garments reserved for the Mediterranean region’s most Cabrera, Caldo de Piedra’s
WHERE TO STAY
powerful people. Certain dynasties would even restrict who was house specialty is a traditional
Hotel Los Amantes soup cooked tableside
legally permitted to wear royal purple. Across the Atlantic, the In an updated colonial- using fire-heated stones.
Mixtec people would later discover a mollusk of their own, and era building in Oaxaca caldodepiedra.com
instead of crushing them by the lot, they would simply squeeze City’s historic center, this
boutique hotel fills its public Restaurante Casa Oaxaca
them one by one. spaces and 10 suites with Alejandro Ruiz’s acclaimed
For centuries the men of Pinotepa de Don Luis have walked contemporary art for sale. kitchen in Oaxaca City
their eight-day pilgrimage to reach the hidden beach village of hotellosamantes.com celebrates the state’s
flavors in sophisticated
Bahía de San Agustín. Here they take small boats out to rocky Parador de Alcalá ways, from rabbit leg
coves where they find the tixinda. For weeks on end, the men Also in Oaxaca’s historic with yellow mole sauce to
scamper over the rocks hunting snails and dyeing cotton that center, this 18th-century Oaxacan chocolate mousse.
former mansion offers 21 casaoaxacaelrestaurante.com
they will bring to weavers like Margarita. The fewer than 20 living luxe rooms and a blue-tiled
snail dyers now take cars and have government-issued permits rooftop pool. Traditional
Mexican breakfast is included. GO WITH NAT GEO
that allow them to legally harvest a few times a year. Margarita’s
paradordealcalaoaxaca.mx Nat Geo Expeditions offers
brother has been snail dyeing since his youth. the seven-day trip “Mexico’s
I meet Habacuc and his son at a restaurant in Bahía de San Hotel Casavegas Day of the Dead in Oaxaca,”
Agustín. He agrees to let me join them for a day of tixinda dyeing. Outside Oaxaca City, a backstage pass to this
base yourself in Pinotepa colorful annual festival.
Habacuc orders the grilled red snapper with chipotle peppers, Nacional, which has big-city natgeoexpeditions.com/
and I am easily talked into the fresh iguana. The owners insist conveniences compared explore; 888-966-8687

D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 59
Best for Culture

I drink the iguana’s blood mixed with mescal to keep me strong

while harvesting snails. After lunch, we take the 20-minute boat
ride to Isla San Agustín.
Once on the uninhabited island, Habacuc tosses a skein of
white cotton over his shoulder and takes off barefoot over a
barnacle-covered jetty. So begins the daylong Easter egg hunt.
In one hand, he holds a stick that he uses to pry loose the golf
ball–size snails he finds stuck deep between the rocks.
When he streams the snail exudate onto the cotton, it isn’t
purple but a whitish yellow. After milking the tixinda, Habacuc
places the unharmed snail back into the water to recover.
Habacuc and his son repeat this process for the next several
hours. Habacuc’s speed and agility are incredible. I do my best
to keep up and not fall into the surf. Seeing my obsessive tenac-
ity, he finally allows me to help him.
Thrilled, I reach into a crevasse between the rocks, trying
to extract a particularly large tixinda. I quickly turn the freed
shell upside down with the opening facing the sky. Immediately,
the snail squirts out its cream-hued exudate, filling the knobby
shell like a small shot glass of milk. I carefully extend my arm
so as not to spill the contents. Habacuc smiles approvingly and
pours it over the cotton.
At the end of the day, we all crawl down to the beach and start
to build camp. After gathering some urchins and sea limpets from
the rocks to eat, I collapse onto the sand. My head is sunburned,
my back is sore, my feet are bloody, and I couldn’t be happier.
Habacuc strolls over and drapes the dyed skeins of cotton
over a fallen tree. The snail exudate has oxidized, transform-
ing from yellow to blue and finally into unrelenting purple. As
the remaining bits of blue fabric fade to violet, the evening sky
behind it perfectly follows suit.
Every drop of color produced directly from the Earth carries
with it not only the essence of its native terrain but also the pro-
found spiritual intention of those who have toiled to gather it.
Their labor and sacrifice make me ashamed of the times I squan-
dered the gift that is color, a gift that Oaxaca celebrates daily.
The striped pozahuanco I did end up buying from Margarita
doesn’t sit in a drawer. It isn’t displayed on a wall. Back home
in New York when attending formal events, I will often wear a
black tuxedo and wrap the pozahuanco around my waist like
a kilt or sarong. When I wear it, I can almost smell the salty
air and feel the spray from the waves back in Isla San Agustín.
I dream of pulling primordial gifts from the sea and painting
the world purple.

JUSTIN FORNAL ( @justin_ fornal) is a writer and video

producer currently researching rare indigenous textiles
around the world. Born and raised in Mexico, ADAM WISEMAN
( @wisemanphoto) traveled to all 32 Mexican states for his
DIEGO HUERTA

book Mexico: A Culinary Quest. Austin-based DIEGO HUERTA

( @diegohuertaphoto) started his six-year “Inside Oaxaca”
project to photograph the customs of Oaxacan dress.

60 NATGEOTRAV EL .C OM
During a festival in Ciudad
Ixtepec traditional gowns
embroidered with silk
flowers dazzle as brightly
as a shower of fireworks.
W H AT’S C O O L I N U R BA N H OT S P OTS

its 1,500-year
history has imbued
Georgia’s resilient
capital city with
an eclectic, make-
do aesthetic. Cafés rising sea of glass
and teahouses in towers, reshaping
Old Tbilisi are the cityscape at a
secreted behind dizzying pace. Walk
cracked facades the cobbled lanes
and centuries-old of disarmingly
Tbilisi, courtyard walls. In disorganized Old
Georgia tree-lined Vera, Tbilisi now to
adaptive reuses— experience the
Why Go Now: such as chic Rooms city’s charms: the
Discover a Hotel Tbilisi, a 24-hour sulfur
modern marvel former publishing baths, the plump
house—welcome khinkali (spiced
Riding out Persian, the new while meat dumplings),
Arab, Byzantine, preserving the and the legendary
Ottoman, Russian, past. Rampant hospitality of the
and then Soviet development, how- locals. —Maryellen
occupations over ever, is creating a Kennedy Duckett

62 NATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
Tbilisi surprises with its
architecture and art,
such as a petal-roofed
Public Service Hall and
these bronze figures on
Baratashvili Bridge.
Best for City Life

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Why Go Now: Explore a kinetic capital of Khmer culture

Phnom Penh plays a leading role in director Angelina
Jolie’s latest film, First They Killed My Father,
Cambodia’s foreign-language submission for the 90th
Academy Awards. Oscar buzz for the Cambodian geno-
cide drama is boosting interest in all things Khmer.
Visit the kingdom’s capital city for a full-sensory deep
dive into Cambodian urban life—a chaotic mix of hip
retailers and restaurants, French colonial architecture,
and Khmer history and culture. Observe the spectacle
from the Rosewood Phnom Penh, the city’s tallest lux-
ury hotel. Set to open in late 2017, the posh pad occupies
the top 14 floors of Phnom Penh’s tallest skyscraper,
617-foot Vattanac Capital Tower One. Discover Khmer
cultural treasures in the Royal Palace compound, home
of the ornate Silver Pagoda (Wat Preah Keo) and its
life-size gold Buddha. Then learn about the Khmer
Rouge reign of terror in the harrowing Tuol Sleng
Genocide Museum.

Outside Phnom
Penh’s Royal
Palace grounds

YADID LEVY (MONKS), DAVID A. BARNES/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO (MURAL); PREVIOUS PAGES: JOSE FUSTE RAGA (TBILISI); NG MAPS

Sydney, The iconic sails of Sydney’s

Opera House remain as
Australia dazzlingly white as ever,
but inside the performance
Why Go Now: Applaud venue major changes are
an urban icon debuting. A $273 million
upgrade launched in May
includes state-of-the-art
acoustics, a hangout-
friendly foyer, and other
improvements that will
make a night at the opera a
showstopper, both onstage
and off. The first phase
of the renovation wraps
up in December with the
reopening of the Joan
Sutherland Theatre, the
building’s second largest
performance space, where
programs include the
return of the Australian
Ballet in 2018. After the
show, enjoy a glass of
Hunter Valley shiraz at
the Opera Bar, and watch
boats come in and out of
the harbor, a scene worthy
of its own ovation.
—Alexandra E. Petri

64 NATGEOTRAV EL .C OM
 Murals animate the
walls in Santiago’s
Barrio Bellavista.

San Antonio,
Texas
Why Go Now:
Party like it’s 1718

The Alamo isn’t the

only thing to remember
about San Antonio. The
south-central Texas city
lassoes three centuries of
history—reason enough
to throw a big-as-Texas
Tricentennial Celebration.
Kicking off the yearlong
fiesta are an epic New
Year’s Eve concert and fire-
works extravaganza. More

than 550 arts and cultural
events follow in 2018, most
highlighting San Antonio’s
confluence of cultures,
including indigenous,
Canary Islander, Spanish,
Mexican, and German.
“I find it fascinating when
people come together
to make cities. That is the
nature of San Antonio,”
says 2013 Texas Poet
Laureate Rosemary
Catacalos, who is curating
forgotten histories of San
Antonio for a tricentennial
story wall. “It has been a
completely international
and intercultural city from
the beginning to now.”
Santiago, Chile
Why Go Now: Discover South America’s spiciest new art scene
In Chile’s capital and largest city, buildings are fair game for vivid
graffiti. “Santiago’s recent history—since the ’60s—is expressed on its
walls though the use of color and style,” says Al Ramirez, founder of
the city’s Stgo Street Art Tours. Top neighborhood “galleries” for walk-
ing tours include bohemian Bellavista as well as Brasil and Yungay,
hotbeds of the Chilean-style street art known as BRP (Brigada Ramona
Parra). In long-neglected San Miguel, see how an open-air mural “museum” is inspiring community
revitalization. Adds Ramirez, “Many people can visit Santiago and see only the historical sites and
viewpoints from the top of pretty buildings. Street art is perfect for people who love to soak in the
local culture and understand what Chile is really like.” GO WITH NAT GEO: Nat Geo Expeditions offers
several itineraries that include Santiago, such as the nine-day “Explore Chile and Argentina” trip.

Swedish design studio Wingårdh recently converted an abandoned freight depot to house Malmö Market Hall.
Food stalls and cafés include Favvo Glass for ice cream, Poms for sandwiches, and Holy Greens for salads.

Malmö, Sweden NORTH

AMERICA 14 13
Why Go Now: Taste global flavor at a Swedish smorgasbord EUROPE 8 ASIA
11
Backed by fertile Skåne Province farmland and home to nearly 180 nation- AFRICA 9
alities and more than 700 restaurants, Malmö is a United Nations of food.
“Copenhagen considers Skåne its own kitchen garden,” says Titti Qvarnström, SOUTH
AMERICA
Sweden’s first female chef to earn a Michelin star, when she headed the
AUSTRALIA
kitchen at Bloom in the Park. “We do have strong influences from the Danish 12 10
capital with its cutting-edge Nordic cuisine, but this doesn’t limit the variation
and creativity in Malmö food.” Case in point: traditional Scanian äggakaga—
an egg pancake served with smoked bacon and lingonberries—remains a
ANTARCTICA
local favorite, but the number one street food is falafel.

REP ORTED BY MARYELLE N K E N N E DY DU CK E T T D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 65

Best for City Life

– 14 –

Greater Dublin is
home to some 1.3
million people, but
its core, as in the
pub-filled Temple
Bar area, remains
engagingly intimate.
PHOTO BY DELPIXART
 LUCKY AND
CHARMED

BEFRIENDING THE LOCALS IN THE

WORLD’S CHEERIEST CITY

STORY BY PÓL Ó CONGHAILE • PHOTOGRAPHS BY KIERAN DODDS

Best for City Life
Just a 25-minute DART
train ride from the
capital, the coastal
village of Howth offers
Dubliners sea breezes,
cliff walks, and locally
caught seafood.
Best for City Life
P. J. Murphy sometimes surprises visitors with this question.
“Of course, they can’t refuse,” he tells me.
We’re in Sweny’s, a Dublin pharmacy that features in James
Joyce’s Ulysses (“Smell almost cure you like the dentist’s door-
bell,” as Leopold Bloom muses). It’s no longer a working apothe-
cary, but the mahogany shelves and woody whiff of books make
me feel like I’ve stepped over a cordon into a museum exhibit.
Murphy is one of the volunteers, entertaining visitors with lunch-
time readings, freewheeling chats, and alarmingly forensic ref-
erences to Joyce. He’d talk the hind legs off a donkey.
“If you open that book there on page 151, you’ll find the third
verse of ‘The Lass of Aughrim,’” Murphy says, pointing out a copy
of Dubliners to an Austrian couple who stumble into
the time capsule. “I’m going to sing it for you now.”
And he does, whipping out a guitar that, he says,
was left behind by an Italian student (everything has
a story in Sweny’s).
With his bow tie, lab coat, and Einsteinian explo- IRELAND
sion of hair, Murphy is part mad scientist, part literary
professor. But he’s all Dublin. As we banter, another
visitor drops by, an American woman browsing for a
literary souvenir. She settles on a diary with an image of Joyce’s
masterpiece as its cover.
“You can write your own Ulysses,” Murphy grins.
CALL IT A DUBLIN MINUTE. One moment, I’m walking from
the train station toward town, a route I’ve taken a thousand
times. The next, I’m in a short story.
What is it about this city? I was born in Dublin. I work here.
I’ve lived here. I regularly curse its winter grayness and lopsided
development, its choking traffic and soaring rents. But then the
magic happens. I want to find out if this really is the friendliest
city in the world, as so many tourists say it is. And if so, what
strange chemistry makes it that way?
70 NATGEOTRAV EL .C OM
Dublin’s charm isn’t breaking news, of course. The path
between Guinness, Trinity College, and the Book of Kells is well-
worn. But its secret lies in the spaces between. I’ve known that
since I was a student here, writing stories and playing in bands
and squandering food money on Friday nights. Cleaved in two
by the River Liffey (and with a juicy northside-southside rivalry),
Ireland’s capital is an intimate and wonderfully walkable puzzle.
“What do you know about Irish food?” asks Ketty Quigley.
Sheltering from spits of rain under the portico of the General
Post Office, she is kicking off another Delicious Dublin food tour.
“Stew and potatoes?” someone ventures.
A generation ago, perhaps. When I was growing up, “Irish
cuisine” didn’t exist beyond dishes like bacon and
NORTHERN cabbage. As in most other Catholic households, fish
IRELAND
(U.K.) was for Fridays and “fine” meant “French” dining.
Now, we’ve realized the quality of Irish ingredients,
Dublin from mouthwatering cheeses to smoked fish and
mountain lamb, and we’re not afraid to have fun with
them: Just try a scoop of the caramelized brown-
80 mi
80 km
bread ice cream at Murphy’s, for example. A new wave
of chefs, restaurants, and entrepreneurs is creating
casual spaces that click.
Our island nation is also finally embracing its seafood.
“Before, you couldn’t get fish in this country without having a
white tablecloth rolled out in front of you,” says Niall Sabongi,
owner of Klaw PoKē, a new seafood joint on Capel Street that
serves the trendy raw-fish salad.
On Quigley’s tour, I knock back a tart and punchy brew at
Vice Coffee Inc. We taste Irish chocolates at Cocoa Atelier, fresh
scones at Camerino bakery, and steaming trays of fish-and-chips
at Super Miss Sue.
Like so much else with this city, however, food proves a mere
NG MAPS
entry point, an excuse to pull at every conversational thread
we encounter along the way. Quigley is French, she tells us;
she moved here from the Loire Valley about a dozen years ago.
“I fell in love with an Irishman,” she says. “So I stayed.”
I’m reminded of the standard Dublin greeting, “What’s the
story?” You don’t have to answer. You can toss it back (“Not
much. Story with you?”). Or you can get dishing (“Wait till I tell
ya …”). Often shortened to a single word (“Story?”), it evokes the
city’s literary chops, but also the casual, off-the-cuff creativity
that lifts a good conversation.
There’s an Irish word, seoraí, which describes “the flourishes
and stylish additional details in storytelling,” as translated by
Darach Ó Séaghdha, author of Motherfoclóir: Dispatches From
a Not So Dead Language. Those details are the reason that “two
people tell a story, but one tells it better.” Case in point:
a) “The football player is tired.”
b) “He’d given it everything. He could barely run the length
of himself.”
Dublin is a place where everyone is said to have a novel in
them, if only they’d go home and write it.
REMEMBER THE FINANCIAL CRISIS of ’07-’08? I do. That’s
when my wife and I bought our house. (I’m still scared to look at
the bank statements.) Recession spiked the city like a football,
but it’s bouncing back.
“Five or six years ago everybody was afraid to say they were
doing well,” Klaw PoKé’s Sabongi tells me. “They’d put their head
down. But we’re out of the slump, outward looking.”
It’s not the only change. Ireland has voted to legalize same-sex
marriage. Leo Varadkar has become its first gay taoiseach (prime
minister). In Dublin the high-tech Irish Emigration Museum
(EPIC) has opened in the Docklands; the National Gallery shows
off a $35 million revamp. The Luas Cross City tram launches soon
and a U2 museum may one day rock the city. Ireland’s capital
is having a moment.
At Meet Me in the Morning on Pleasants Street, I wolf down
a bowl of “Eggs & Greens,” built on leaves, artisan bread, and
Gubbeen chorizo; it feels like a reboot of the Irish breakfast.
Heron & Grey, the city’s newest Michelin-starred restaurant, is
a 24-seater shoehorned into car trunk–size Blackrock Market.
Inevitably you’ll run into a leprechaun. But cultural clichés no longer
define Dublin, says the author. “Dublin is savvy and self-assured enough
to absorb them, while also celebrating modern Irishness and creativity.”
 Best for City Life

Irish eyes: With people under 25 comprising 33 percent of the Irish population, youthful energy fires up Dublin’s shopping, dining, and
entertainment scenes. Opposite: Most visitors to Trinity College make a beeline for the Old Library and the celebrated Book of Kells, an intricately
illuminated gospel completed by A.D. 800. But don’t miss the college’s Science Gallery with its brain-expanding exhibitions and cool café.

D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 73
DUBLIN IS WHERE
EVERYONE IS SAID
TO HAVE A NOVEL
IN THEM, IF ONLY
THEY’D GO HOME
AND WRITE IT.

Fishy Fridays? Try organic rope mussels at the Fish Shop on

Benburb Street. Something’s cooking all right.
Downsides? There’s a plague of gourmet burgers. And “New
York–style” eateries. And doughnuts. God, Dublin really has
hit peak doughnut.

“Is it yourself?”
Walking along South Anne Street, I bump into a colleague.
He’s in a chipper mood, breezing by with leather satchel slung
over a pink T-shirt, orange sneakers, and khaki shorts. It’s June,
and the sun is splitting stones.
He gestures to his outfit: “I just said feck it,” he tells me.
“The rest of them are there outside Kehoe’s if you want to pop
over for a pint.”
It’s 4:30 on a Wednesday afternoon. I’m sorely tempted. Back
in the day, I wouldn’t have thought twice. Kehoe’s, a warren of
snugs, bars, and living rooms crammed into a Victorian house,
is a rabbit hole. Go down there, and you never know when you’ll
come out. “Sorry,” I say, taking a rain check.
“You’re grand.”
Sorry. Grand. The salt and pepper of our sentences. I push
on, musing on the malleability of Hiberno-English. In Ireland,
sorry can mean “Excuse me,” “May I have your attention,” or
occasionally, “Sorry.” Grand means “OK,” “Not bad,” or “That’s
fine” (it does not mean “great” or “magnificent”). We don’t do
direct here. Or literal. We talk around topics, not through them.
We’re embarrassed by compliments. We love casually devastating
takedowns (“she’s big-boned”). We drive English like we stole it.

I MEET JOE LANDY, a retired farmer who volunteers with the

Little Museum of Dublin’s “City of a Thousand Welcomes” initia-
tive, in the Porterhouse bar. Ambassadors like him take tourists The popular
BERND JONKMANNS/LAIF/REDUX

Temple Bar pub

for a pint or a cuppa to answer basic questions (“What’s it like anchors the
to drive on the left?” “What exactly happened in 1916?”). But namesake district,
mostly they just chat. which the author
says is “a bit like a
“I was with one couple about two weeks ago,” Landy says, “and tiny Times Square.”
the guy told me: ‘I want to retire to this country.’ I said: ‘Have you
ever spent a winter here?’ The guy said he had, but that it has

74 NATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
 Best for City Life

D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 75
Best for City Life

Ha’penny Bridge
crosses the River Liffey,
which divides Dublin
into north and south.
Opposite: Craft whiskey
is booming in the city
at such places as
Teeling Distillery.
Best for City Life
nothing to do with the weather. I said: ‘Well, what is it then?’”
“He said: ‘The people.’ ”
Visitors just can’t believe Dublin’s friendliness, Landy says.
Dubliners are not Disneyland cast members. But their chem-
istry with visitors, the mix of Celtic charm and Mediterranean
warmth—well, it can turn even the hardest of hearts to putty.
My encounter with Landy reminds me of a slogan on one of
the museum’s T-shirts—“Dublin: Europe’s largest village.” It’s
true. Some 1.3 million people live in this city, yet I always meet
someone I know. Walks take me from Georgian squares to the
European headquarters of Facebook and Google, but streets feel
as familiar and overlapping as the lines on my hand.
In the Liberties, a historic working class neighborhood, I
pass pubs and Catholic churches and street vendors selling
from prams. The smell of coffee seeps from a hipster café. At
the rebooted Teeling Whiskey Distillery, hashtags are stamped
on barrels, copper vats shining like exotic fruit. In its café a
Caryna Camerino of Camerino bakery on Capel Street moved to Dublin
from her native Canada. “I don’t know why, but Dublin felt like home,”
she says. “It just feels like conversations are waiting to happen.”
construction worker sits next to me with white headphones on
and a paperback on his lap. A cushion between us is embellished
with a paraphrase of James Joyce: “The light music of whiskey
falling into a glass—an agreeable interlude.”
I wonder what P. J. Murphy at Sweny’s would think.
At the Powerscourt Centre, a boutique shopping mall off
South William Street, I linger in the concept store, Atrium.
Years ago, I bought a pair of earrings here for my wife. We’d
just been through the stress of replacing a nanny—or rather,
she had—and I wanted to get her a gift. I found it in a pair of
earrings the designer, Chupi Sweetman, had cast from a swan
feather collected along the Royal Canal. A block away, Grafton
Street is bloated with international brands. Here, I smile when
I see the familiar swan-feather earrings next to new local goods
ranging from Jill de Búrca’s hand-embroidered textiles to Pearl
Reddington’s hot takes on knitwear.
There’s a svelte young shop assistant on duty, with a rustle of
raven hair and a jet-black T-shirt. I ask after some of Reddington’s
pieces. “That’s me!” she beams. The 23-year-old is gearing up to
stock her first collection, she tells me, using Donegal yarns and a
“color story” of navy blues, grays, and neon yellows. Right now,
 Jonathan Swift’s death mask.
Continue east toward Aungier
Mish.Mash General Street, refueling with a
Post Office
EPIC takeout slice at Dublin Pizza
D U B L I N DOCKLANDS Company or a doughnut at
Vice Coffee Inc. Aungier Danger.
Brother Hubbard North River Liffey
Fish Shop Klaw PoKē
HAʼPENNY BRIDGE Evening Stroll
Camerino
Indigo & Cloth
Science Gallery Start with a pint of Guinness
The Porterhouse Siopaella at the old-school Toner’s on
Dublin
The Gutter Bookshop TEMPLE BAR Book of Kells
Baggot Street. Take a deep
THE LIBERTIES Trinity College dive into contemporary
Murphyʼs
Cocoa Atelier Irish food at the deceptively
Guinness Powerscourt Centre Swenyʼs Pharmacy
The Westbury simple Etto, followed by a
Storehouse GRAFTON ST.
Super Miss Sue National Gallery of Ireland dash of classic Dublin glam
Kehoeʼs at the Shelbourne Hotel’s
ANNE ST. S. Horseshoe Bar. Afterward,
Dublin Pizza The Little Museum of Dublin
St. Patrickʼs Cathedral Company let your hair down on grungy
The Shelbourne Dublin
Aungier Danger BA Wexford Street, stopping
St. Stephenʼs Etto GG
OT in Against the Grain
Teeling Against the Grain Green Toners
Whiskey Distillery for Irish craft beers and

ST
WEXFORD ST.
Whelan’s for live music.

.
Whelanʼs
Meet Me in The Dean
the Morning DUBLIN WHERE TO STAY
AIRPORT
Number 31 The Dean
AREA Howth
ENLARGED When it opened in 2014, the
Luas (tram) DART
Dean gave Dublin’s boutique
Green line (rapid transit rail) Dublin Dublin
Bay hotel scene a kick in the
Red line
Heron & Grey backside. Some amenities
Cross City 5 mi
(Scheduled to 0.25 mi Killiney feel a bit gimmicky (we’re
open Dec. 2017) 0.25 km 5 km looking at you, mini-Smeg
fridges), but bold splashes
of contemporary Irish art
and expansive views from
NG MAPS; MAP DATA © OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS, AVAILABLE UNDER OPEN DATABASE LICENSE: OPENSTREETMAP.ORG/COPYRIGHT

Sophie’s rooftop bar are the

she’s trying to boost her fledgling label. I pull up her Instagram Travel Wise: Dublin real deal. deandublin.ie

on my phone, and together we flick through her twists on the The Westbury
THREE CITY WALKS
traditional Irish geansaí (sweater). DAY TO NIGHT Run by the family-owned
Not long ago, Irish design seemed like it was reserved for Morning Mosey Doyle Collection, this grand
museums and Duty Free stores. Now it feels like a living thing. dame near Grafton Street
Scratch that selfie itch at
embellishes five-star opulence
Trinity College before walking
with local touches like an
THERE’S ONLY ONE PLACE for me to wrap up my walks. I’ve west down Temple Bar from
Irish afternoon tea, custom-
Anglesea Street. Skip the
had a flea in my ear about Kehoe’s ever since that chance meeting woven wool carpets, and the
pubs here for independent
urbane new brasserie Balfes.
on South Anne Street. Now it’s Saturday, the stars have aligned, stores such as the Gutter
doylecollection.com
and I squeeze in through a side door. A singsong is under way Bookshop, Siopaella, or
Indigo & Cloth, following
in the upstairs lounge, the woods are worn, the wallpaper waxy, Number 31
Essex Street all the way to
and sash windows let cool air in from the street. My friends have Fishamble Street, where A hidden doorway on
Handel’s Messiah was first Leeson Close leads to one
already arrived and are cradling glasses. of Dublin’s best small hotels.
performed in 1742. Loop back
“How’ya, ya bollix!” to cross Grattan Bridge onto The sunken lounge and
I smile, feeling a little yip of endorphins. Nobody’s sorry, Capel Street, opting for soup communal breakfasts are
and contemporary art at highlights. number31.ie
everything’s grand, the ribbing has started, and we’re rolling
Mish.Mash or brunch with
back the years. I think that, yes, in moments like these, Dub- a Middle Eastern twist at
lin might just be the friendliest city in the world. Tomorrow Brother Hubbard North. GO WITH NAT GEO

morning, I’ll be cynical. We all will. But right now Dublin isn’t Nat Geo Expeditions offers
Afternoon Amble several itineraries to Ireland,
a place. It’s a state of mind.
Grab a tour (and a taster) at including the new 10-day
Teeling Distillery, the craft “Tales and Treasures of the
PÓL Ó CONGHAILE ( @poloconghaile) is an Irish travel writer whiskey hub in Newmarket. Emerald Isle,” which visits
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D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 79
W I L D E X P E R I E N C E S I N T H E G R E AT O U T D O O RS

India about 88 with National Geo-

million years ago. graphic (natgeo
Being a continental expeditions.com)
castaway allowed to learn about con-
Madagascar’s servation efforts
plants and animals and to see lemurs
to evolve in a leaping through
relative bubble. the treetops of
Madagascar A mind-boggling Andasibe-Mantadia
90 percent of its and Ranomafana
Why Go Now: plant and animal National Parks.
Leap for lemurs life exists only here. —Maryellen
Among the home- Kennedy Duckett
Madagascar makes grown bunch, the
memories unlike lemur plays a star-
anywhere else on ring role. Roughly
Earth. The world’s 100 species of the
fourth largest nimble primates
island, located in are found on Mada-
the Indian Ocean gascar, and almost
about 300 miles all are endangered
east of Mozam- due to widespread
bique, split from deforestation, cli-
mate change, and
other threats. Join
a 2018 Madagascar
Wildlife Expedition
 At the Andringitra Massif
in Madagascar, the
endangered ring-tailed
lemur can be spotted
on exposed rock.

D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 81
Best for Nature

Jordan Trail
Why Go Now: Hike a newly marked historic route

Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad all walked this
path, followed by generations of nomads, mer-
chants, crusaders, and pilgrims. Today the
newly minted 404-mile Jordan Trail transects a
modern-day kingdom, in eight separate sections.
Linking ancient trade routes, the Jordan Trail cuts
through the mystery of the Middle East, leading
travelers through flowering forests, deep stone
canyons, and ruddy deserts, culminating at the
turquoise shores of the Red Sea. Along the way
hikers explore Greek and Roman ruins, impres-
sive biblical sites like Mount Nebo, the Ottoman
outpost of Dana, the UNESCO World Heritage site
of Petra, and the strangely Martian landscape of
Wadi Rum. Camels and towering castles add a
fairy-tale ambience straight from the pages of the
Arabian Nights, while hikers get a true taste of
boundless Jordanian hospitality in village home
stays, friendly guesthouses, and Bedouin camp-
sites lit by flickering candles and a thousand stars.
“The trail has a power over all those who walk it,”
says thru-hiker Muna Haddad, who completed
the trek in 44 days. “You surrender to the stories
that it evokes.” —Andrew Evans

The Jordan Trail

highlights the
country’s most
scenic sights.

PASCAL MANNAERTS (CAMELS), ELAINE FERRITTO CALIP (DIVER); PREVIOUS PAGES: PETE OXFORD (LEMUR); NG MAPS

Seoraksan When South Korea hosts its

first Winter Olympic Games
National Park, in February, the gold
Korea’s northeast, is one
of the most mountainous.
While not an Olympic
(Seoraksan)—Korea’s third
highest mountain—topping
out at around 5,600 feet.

South Korea medal for jaw-dropping

settings will go to the
host province: Gangwon.
Why Go Now: Aim for About 70 percent of
Olympic heights the Korean Peninsula is
covered in mountains,
and Gangwon, in South
venue, the province’s
Seoraksan National Park
is a peak performer.
In fact, the UNESCO
biosphere preservation
district encompasses 30
peaks, with Mount Sorak
To see the heights, the
park, and the Sea of
Japan all in one swoop,
ride the Seorak Cable Car
up to Gwongeumseong
Fortress, the ruins of a
13th-century castle.

82 NATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
 Off the Albanian
coast, a diver
examines
amphorae, cargo
from a Roman-era
shipwreck.

Ruaha
National
Park,
Tanzania
Why Go Now: See lions
to help save them

Ruaha National Park is

where the wild things
are—and where hordes
of safari-goers are not.
Located in central Tanza-
nia, the country’s largest
park is home to about one-
tenth of the world’s threat-
ened African lions. Few

tourists and a relatively
untouched landscape
boost opportunities to
spot the big cats—some
grouped in supersize
prides of 30 or more.
“[Seeing a lion in the wild]
is one of the most inspiring
and incredible experiences
you can have,” says Amy
Dickman, director and
founder of the grassroots
Ruaha Carnivore Project,
which promotes sustain-
able wildlife management
in and around the park.
“There is nothing like
that moment when a lion
looks up from close by
and looks at you.”
Albania
Why Go Now: Dive into an underwater treasure trove
In Albania it’s still possible to boldly go where few tourists have gone
before. Decades of isolation under Stalinist leader Enver Hoxha kept
most development at bay. As a result, areas such as Butrint National
Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site—with its sunken aqueducts
and shipwrecks—remained relatively untouched. Off the southern
Albanian coast, Hoxha inadvertently preserved underwater cultural
heritage and coastal ecology by banning scuba diving (to prevent
people from escaping). “As a cave diver, I have explored virgin caves that no one has ever dived in, a
rarity in many parts of the world,” says underwater archaeologist Peter Campbell of the Albania Center
for Marine Research. Diving tourism remains uncommon, but an underwater sculpture park for divers,
snorkelers, and glass-bottom boats is in the works.

In Argentina’s geologically spectacular, stratified Jujuy Province, saddle up a Peruvian Paso horse and ride into
the sunset-like landscape. Outfitters include Ampascachi Horse Riding Holidays, which offers an eight-day trek.

Jujuy Province, Argentina NORTH

AMERICA EUROPE
Why Go Now: Roll with rainbow rocks 19
ASIA
17
16
21
Nature-made rock stars are the main-stage attraction in remote Jujuy AFRICA
Province. Located in the outermost limits of northwest Argentina,
SOUTH
Jujuy is home to the visually stunning Quebrada de Humahuaca, a 18
AMERICA
narrow mountainous valley and UNESCO World Heritage site. A colorful 20
15
AUSTRALIA
geological quilt, crafted over millennia, cloaks the landscape. Elevate
your Instagram with sunrise or sunset shots of the multihued rock
bands—including pinks, whites, purples, reds, oranges, and browns—
tinting Cerro de los Siete Colores (Hill of Seven Colors) and Paleta del
ANTARCTICA
Pintor (Painter’s Palette) in Maimara.

REP ORTED BY MARYELLE N K E N N E DY DU CK E T T D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 83

Best for Nature

– 21 –

Not far from

Waikiki’s high-
rises and high-end
shops, the Koolau
Range inspires a
natural high—what
native Hawaiians
call mālama ‘āina,
respect for the land.
 PARADISE
RESTORED
GOING BACK TO THE LAND ON HAWAII’S
MOST DELICIOUS ISLAND

BY CHRISTOPHER HALL

85
Best for Nature

Big-wave season on
Oahu’s North Shore
stretches from
November through
February, when
surfers from all over
the world gather
at swell spots such
as Waimea Bay.
Best for Nature
Spiky and mottled red, they dangle in thick clusters from the tree
in front of me. All around on this hillside farm, mangoes ripen
by the thousands on long, arching branches, and squadrons of
avocados hang fat and heavy overhead. Citrus, papayas, figs,
breadfruit: I’ve spotted them all, along with a jackfruit the size
of a soccer ball. And in the distance, at the far fringe of the broad
Waialua district, I see a turquoise ocean fronting the fabled big-
wave surf beaches of Oahu’s North Shore.
“Being out here a couple of hours makes you feel you’re gonna
live another 20 years,” says Wendy Gady, who has been showing
me around Poamoho Organic Farm on a May afternoon. I pick
a lychee, flick off the top of its red husk, and gently squeeze
until the white fruit inside pops into my
mouth. Full of juice, with a startling hit of Kauai
sweet, tangy, and floral flavors, it is nothing
80 mi
like the canned lychees I’ve encountered in 80 km
Chinese restaurants. It may be, I think, a taste
of paradise.
If so, it is a paradise regained through
hard work, determination, and a vision to
heal the ‘āina—the land—of Hawaii. Though
Poamoho farm feels like a primordial Eden,
a place where bounty has always been there HAWAII
(U.S.)
for the picking, in fact these fruit trees were
PACIFIC
planted only 15 years earlier, after more than OCEAN
a century of intensive sugarcane cultivation
in Waialua left the land exhausted. This
certified- organic orchard represents one response to a ques-
tion posed in recent years across the islands. Now that cheaper
overseas competition has killed off Hawaii’s once prodigious
sugar industry—the last commercial mill closed in December
2016—what becomes of the hundreds of thousands of acres for-
merly planted in sugarcane? Real estate developers have their
own answers, but local communities, and those alarmed that
Hawaii imports a staggering 92 percent of its food, passionately
advocate for diversified agriculture and open space.
I’ve known about this issue for more than three decades,
ever since the first of many visits to these islands I’ve come to
love deeply. It seems especially critical on Oahu, home to nearly
88 NATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
one million of the state’s 1.4 million residents. As houses, malls,
and resorts sprout on former sugar land closer to sprawling
Honolulu, the sentiment of the farmers, New Age hippies, surfers,
and other rural-loving folk who live on the North Shore a mere
30 miles away is succinctly stated on the bumper stickers and
T-shirts you often spot up here: Keep the Country Country.
Selling its produce to grocery stores and white-tablecloth
restaurants alike, seven-acre Poamoho farm is a small but excit-
ing success story in the North Shore’s post-plantation evolution,
an embracing of what generations of native Hawaiians have
called mālama ‘āina, respect for the land. Although Gady is a
relatively recent arrival on Oahu—she married a local guy—
as the daughter of a fifth-generation Iowa
PA C I F I C farmer, she has the concept ingrained. “To
Oahu OCEAN me it boils down to taking care of the land
Honolulu
H Molokai for future generations,” she says.
A
W Maui But with some 17,000 acres of sugarcane
A
I having once grown on the North Shore,
I
around 12,000 of them in Waialua alone, I
Hawaii
AARON K. YOSHINO; PREVIOUS PAGES: RYAN MOSS (MOUNTAINS), KENT NISHIMURA (SURFERS); NG MAPS
wonder at the effort it will take to bring new
life to this sublime corner of Earth and to
U.S.
preserve its rural ways.
I think about my own experience earlier
OR
EQUAT in the day, after arriving in Honolulu on a
long flight from San Francisco. Driving north,
I literally breathed easier as layers of urban
congestion peeled away, leaving views of
mountains, coffee orchards, and fields of pineapple and alfalfa.
A scant 40 minutes after leaving Honolulu, I was standing in
Gady’s little slice of heaven. Will future Oahuans and visitors
to this island be able to do the same?
THE SUN HAS BARELY RISEN as I poke along the sandy shore, a
mug of strong coffee in hand and the Pacific lapping at my toes.
It’s my first morning on Oahu, the day after my visit to Poamoho
farm, and dawn is proving a hushed, seductive time on the North
Shore. The crowds of day-trippers won’t materialize for hours to
gape at the waves of Sunset Beach and Waimea Bay—not so huge
now that winter is over—or to line up for a food-truck shrimp
Oh, poi!: Homestead
Poi owner Hanale
Bishop mashes taro
root by hand the
traditional way at
his farm in Waiahole
to make the staple
Hawaiian side dish.
Best for Nature
 In Hawaiian ‘ono means “delicious,” whether a refreshing coconut drink straight from the shell in Kahuku (above left); or GMO-, pesticide-, and
preservative-free hot dogs and fish tacos at VJ’s North Shore Dogs & Burgers in Haleiwa (above right); or standout breakfasts at Kaimuki Superette, in
Honolulu (below). Opposite: Lanikai Beach, on Oahu’s eastern coast, with one of the Mokulua islets in the distance, is the place to revel in sunrises.
AARON K. YOSHINO (BEACH), RYAN MOSS (COCONUTS), ERIN KUNKEL (VJ’S FOOD TRUCK, SUPERETTE)
Best for Nature
lunch or a shave ice at Matsumoto’s. The nighttime perfume of
flowering plumeria trees still hangs in the air, and dew dampens
beaches pockmarked with the excavations of nocturnal horn-
eyed ghost crabs.
Though I’m ostensibly on a walk to spot honu, the Hawaiian
green sea turtles that frequent these waters, my gaze keeps wan-
dering mauka, toward the land, and the Waianae Range running
along one side of Waialua. The peaks are a powerful presence,
rising abruptly and radiant in the morning light, the deep clefts
in their flanks robed in lush vegetation. Dominating the range
is Kaala—at 4,025 feet the highest mountain on Oahu.
I see the peak again during lunch in Haleiwa, an old sugar town
that moves to a Bob Marley shuffle these days and has no lack
of places to buy a surfboard or an acai smoothie. I’m sitting with
Milton Agader and Al Medrano at a picnic table at the Red Barn
Farmstand, a roadside stand and outdoor café. As we tackle hefty
smoked-brisket sandwiches, the two sun-burnished farmers talk
about the days of King Sugar in Waialua before the mill closed in
1996. “The whole economy ran on sugar,” says Agader.
He and Medrano worked a combined 45 years on Dole Food
Company’s Waialua plantation. Though sugar had been planted
here as far back as 1865, production really took off around the
time a railway linked the North Shore with Honolulu in the late
1890s. By that time, waves of immigrant sugar workers—Chinese,
Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Filipino, and others—along with
longtime Polynesian inhabitants, were already forging modern
Hawaii’s unique cultural identity.
“Growing sugar meant plowing, planting, fixing irrigation
pipes, burning the fields, cutting the cane, and hauling it to the
mill,” continues Agader, a Kauai native. “It was hard work, but,
you know, I miss those years.”
“We were younger and stronger then,” laughs Medrano, who
as a kid immigrated from the Philippines to Oahu with his wid-
owed mother, a laborer in the pineapple fields. “Even before Dole
finally laid us off, we’d already started growing vegetables in our
spare time on six acres we leased from them.” Seventeen years
later their Twin Bridge Farms now covers 300-plus acres and
specializes in seed corn, potato-seed testing for mainland states,
and tender asparagus snapped up by top island restaurants.
Agader, 74, admits to taking it easier in recent years, traveling
for pleasure and business, while Medrano, who is 62 and runs
the farm’s day-to-day operations, says he’s slowed down too.
But they don’t strike me as the types to ever simply hang it up.
In fact the Red Barn is their latest project, only recently opened.
In an unusual twist it is run by other farmers and showcases the
produce of many local farms, not just Twin Bridge’s. “We’d like
this to represent all of us growing food on the North Shore,” says
Agader. “And we hope it becomes a gathering spot.”
DURING MY WEEK on the North Shore, I meet others trying
to keep the country country on former sugar land. At Kahuku
Farms, a 125-acre commercial operation with a shady farm-stand
92 NATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
THERE’S NO LACK
OF PLACES TO BUY
A SURFBOARD.
café and tractor-pulled wagon rides, I chat with a family member
of the owners—descendants of Japanese sugar workers—while
enjoying a sweet-tart liliko‘i (passion fruit) cooler and a grilled
panini plump with mozzarella and fresh veggies. Afterward I
stop at a roadside stand to buy small bags of fuchsia-fleshed
dragon fruit from farmers who grew it on 468 acres—managed by
Turtle Bay Resort—which only months earlier were permanently
dedicated to agricultural use. At Mohala Farms, a popular stop-
over for young people from around Hawaii and beyond eager to
exchange their labor for organic-farming experience and a place
to stay on the North Shore, I see the traditional Hawaiian thatch-
roofed pavilion (hale) where sold-out farm dinners take place.
In Haleiwa I rendezvous with cacao grower Seneca Klassen,
hop in his dusty pickup, and bump along a red-dirt road to his
14-acre orchard about 500 feet above the town. There we walk
past trees with dirigible-shaped pods of yellow, red, and purple
hanging from branches. Klassen breaks open one pod to reveal
big, slime-covered seeds—cacao beans—that he will dry and
ferment before roasting and transforming into his Lonohana
brand chocolate in a Honolulu warehouse.
“This farm has been an amazing journey,” says Klassen, a lean,
articulate man who was part owner of an Oakland, California,
chocolate café before moving to Oahu. With years of sugar cul-
tivation having turned the soil into an inert clay mixture, he
explains, his team has used tons of organic matter to reinvigorate
it. “When I started planting in 2009, I didn’t really understand
the concept of mālama ‘āina,” he says. “I was focused on some-
thing specific—cacao—that I wanted out of the land. But over
time I’ve realized that my important work here is to care for this
little spot, which will be around long after I’m gone. Yes, we’re
growing cacao, but we’re also remaking this into the forest it
ERIN KUNKEL (SURFERS), BEAU JOHNSTON/GETTY IMAGES (TURTLE)
would have been in the old times.”
ONE SATURDAY MORNING I make the five-minute drive from
Haleiwa to the town of Waialua for the small but lively outdoor
produce market of a co-op whose members farm small plots
set aside by Dole for displaced sugar workers. The market takes
place at the defunct sugar mill, and on my way there I pass the
town’s modest houses and a city park with a bandstand next to
venerable banyan trees. A large sign proclaims Waialua “Home
of the World’s Best Sugar.”
The market is in full swing when I arrive around noon, with
perhaps a hundred shoppers and a dozen vendors who sell
 Wave action: Surfers of all ages gather at sunset on the North Shore (above), which hosts some of the world’s most prestigious annual big-wave
competitions, including the Quiksilver invitational (known as the “Eddie”). Green sea turtles (below) can be spotted on Oahu year-round. The Hawaiian
subpopulation of this species was taken off the endangered list in 2015 and is rebounding, but it remains threatened.
The scenic route
to the North Shore:
This stretch of road
between Hanauma
Bay and Waimanalo
on the southeast
side of Oahu
provides a thrilling
drive bounded
on one side by a
volcanic crater and
on the other by the
Pacific Ocean.
 Best for Nature

everything from kale and papaya to soursop, poi, and prepared

Turtle Bay Resort
foods such as sticky rice and huli-huli chicken hot off the grill. I
Kahuku Farms
walk around the mill grounds, where in the few remaining rusted Sunset Beach
Puu o Mahuka Heiau
Waimea Bay
metal buildings I come upon a soapmaker, surfboard shapers, Ha Waimea Valley
PA C IF IC
Wa leiw Haleiwa Beach House
and facilities for processing the coffee and cacao beans that ial Red Barn Farmstand,
u

a
Dillingham
Dole grows on the North Shore under its Waialua Estate brand. Ranch
Waialua Bakery O CE A N

a
Twin Bridge Farms Mohala Farms
Late that afternoon I hike near Dillingham Ranch, a historic Poamoho Organic Farm
W Kaala
2,700 acres of equestrian grounds, polo fields, one of Hawaii’s a Dole
4,025 ft

K
1,227 m Plantation

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largest coconut-tree groves, and a restored lodge now used as a

o o
na
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private event center. The hike starts flat but soon climbs steeply

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Lanikai
into the foothills of the Waianae Range. Pearl Beach

u
Kailua

nge
City
An hour later I stand at a vista point looking out over the H3 alo
an

R
Pearl aim
H1

a
Waialua district. I see the old sugar mill’s smokestack in the Harbor n W
g
Ko Olina e
foreground, monster-size white wind turbines along a distant Honolulu
ridge—technology both past and present—and a checkerboard DANIEL K. INOUYE
H1
INTERNATIONAL
of fields that once were an uninterrupted sea of cane. Many fields 6 mi AIRPORT
Waikiki Hanauma
have clearly gone to guinea grass, a tall, invasive weed. But a fair 6 km
Beach Bay
number look cultivated, and they make me think of something
I heard earlier that day, at the market, from a land-conservation
manager I met. “We’re still figuring out what the agricultural
landscape will be,” he said. “Progress may be slow, but we’re Travel Wise: Oahu sandwiches, baked goods,
and juices and smoothies
making it.” WHEN TO GO made from fruits grown on
The North Shore’s famous the bakery’s own organic
waves are at their most farm. Try the tangy-
NOT EVERYONE I meet is a farmer. I hike for half a day with
towering and powerful during sweet soursop smoothie.
Kahokulei‘a “Hoku” Haiku, a native Hawaiian kahu (cultural the winter, when important waialuabakery.com
practitioner) and trail guide who was born on the North Shore surfing competitions are
held. From May through Haleiwa Beach House
and has an intimate knowledge of its paths, valleys, and hidden
September, the water is This airy, modern dining
waterfalls. We start at the site of Oahu’s largest old Hawaiian calmer for swimming and room features “garage
heiau (temple), Puu o Mahuka, which overlooks Waimea Bay. snorkeling. door” walls that slide up
A rectangular platform outlined in stacked black volcanic rock, to let in the trade winds
WHERE TO STAY and a view of the ocean.
it is thought to date from the 1600s.
Turtle Bay Resort Stop here for craft beers,
“Waialua was the Mar-a-Lago of old Hawaii,” says Haiku. cocktails, pupus (appetizers),
The main—and only—resort
“Most of the island’s chiefs and chieftesses had a place here, on the North Shore fosters
or fresh, local fish dishes.
and Waimea Valley was home to powerful priests. ” haleiwabeachhouse.com
a low-key vibe throughout
Before we start back, Haiku asks me to join him in an oli, a its 850 acres, which include
FARM STANDS
VINCENT LIM @VINCELIMPHOTO; NG MAPS; MAP DATA © OPENSTREETMAP CONTRIBUTORS,

pools, restaurants, a spa, and

blessing. As I repeat after him, he prays to gods and ancestors about five miles of coastline. Kahuku Farms
and thanks them from our hearts. We close with the Hawaiian Activities include kayaking You can find more than fresh
AVAILABLE UNDER OPEN DATABASE LICENSE: OPENSTREETMAP.ORG/COPYRIGHT

phrase meaning “with love,” chanted three times—once each in protected Kawela Bay,
home to green sea turtles.
to the past, the present, and the future. Aloha e, aloha e, aloha e.
turtlebayresort.com
The day before leaving the North Shore, I drive along a dirt
road that runs through open fields outside Haleiwa. There I West Oahu
stumble on the grass-choked ruins of a 19th-century Catholic Most of the other hotels on
Oahu are in Waikiki or the
church built of volcanic rock and later used by the sugar workers new and quickly developing
now buried beneath simple crosses and stones in the graveyard. Ko Olina area of West Oahu.
It is a haunting reminder of the past, and yet I am also aware of Properties here include
Disney’s Aulani and the new
sounds in the distance that signal hope for this beautiful land. Four Seasons Resort Oahu.
I hear a tractor rumble to life at nearby Mohala Farms. And
from a roadside stand, beneath mist-covered Kaala, the joyful WHERE TO EAT
laughter of a young worker rings clear. Waialua Bakery and
Juice Bar
On the main drag in Haleiwa,
San Francisco–based CHRISTOPHER HALL ( @HallWriter) this laid-back beach shack
wrote about Brittany, France, in our April/May 2017 issue. of a bakery serves deli
fruit and vegetables at this
farm stand. Take a wagon-ride
tour, eat at the outdoor café,
and buy prepared foods, such
as the farm’s liliko‘i (passion
fruit) balsamic dressing.
www.kahukufarms.com
Red Barn Café
This farm stand features the
produce of local growers. The
café offers breakfast burritos,
wraps, and other lunch
fare; it also sells prepared
foods and periodically offers
cooking classes, farm tours,
workshops, meet-the-farmer
meals, and live music.
redbarnfarmstand.com

D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 95
Hello, Again
I
t’s dark outside when the plane from Guam begins its
descent to Palau. I can’t see the Pacific islands, but I can
feel them, waiting down below. I can feel the cloak of hot,
heavy air that will meet me at the airport, smell the scent
of tropical foliage, and, in the slightest breeze, the nearby
sea. I’ll drive past coastal villages, passing mangrove swamps,
cross a bridge, and head to Koror, Palau’s main city. I’ll check in
to a hotel, drink a couple of beers, and go to bed knowing that,
before the sun begins to pound, tomorrow morning will offer a
glorious welcome to a place to which I can never say goodbye.
Right after breakfast my wife and I drive through Koror,
down to a spot called Icebox Park, on the edge of the Malakal
Channel, where we park and contemplate what lies just across
the water: Palau’s greatest gift, the Rock Islands, a flotilla of about
400 coralline islets. Undercut by the sea, they are mushroom-
shaped, densely forested, and difficult to set foot on or to climb.
As islands go, they are mostly touch-me-nots. When, on a slow
boat, we see them one at a time, they are handsome. When
we cruise past them for miles, they seem like part of a larger
design. “Paradise,” these days, is a word that invites irony. But
this is it, and the Palauans know it. It is
their retreat, an escape from crowds, cars,
noise, work, ambition, and maybe—for a In the South Pacific,
little while—politics. They need the Rock new discoveries arise
Islands more than I do. And they need from many happy returns
to share them. Again and again my wife
and I are invited to return to the Rock
BY P. F. KLUGE
Islands, and we never say no. A refusal
ILLUSTRATION BY
would be an insult.
GERALDINE SYPIECCO
Back in Koror I start to run into people.
Their greetings are very Palauan. No hug
or smile, no lei or aloha. They spot me, and the look on each face
is close to a scowl. “When did you come back?” they ask. It’s the
tone of an interrogation. Why were they not informed? And how
many days would have passed if we had not met by chance? But
I like surprising old friends, all happy to get on my boat or sit
down for a chat. “Talking story,” they call it, and it always begins
with an exchange and comparison of memories, a mosaic of oral
histories. Bygone political campaigns, long-defunct bars (the
Cave Inn! the Boom Boom Room!), and famous visitors; I once
spent time with Lee Marvin on a movie location in the Rock
Islands. And we recall local heroes, including Lazarus Salii, a
charismatic, moody politician—and a close friend of mine—who
took his own life near the end of his first term as president. Lots
of people want to talk to me about him. He keeps showing up.
In Palau the past is inviting, suggestive, elusive. There’s always
something to learn, and no secret is meant to be kept forever.
About 30 years ago locals began planning for Palau’s new
capital. “A lot of people wanted something that was island style,”
recalls my friend Polycarp Basilius, a politician and businessman.
That would probably have meant low-rise, one-story build-
ings from local materials, breezy, pleasant, unprepossessing.
“I wanted something American.” Basilius and his allies won,
and the result, on a hill on Babeldaob island north of Koror, is
something out of a sci-fi movie or a “Doonesbury” cartoon: three
massive buildings, executive, legislative, judicial, that could be
mistaken as the headquarters of a much larger nation, i.e., the
United States. (The $45 million project was supported by the
government of Taiwan, grateful for Palau’s continuing diplomatic
recognition.) What makes the place so surreal is that nothing—
no other buildings, no streets or neighborhoods—surrounds it.
Isolated and insular and yet very American. It’s a good place
to wonder about Palau’s future and whether these American
buildings in the middle of a tropical nowhere will suggest the
distance between far places or the connections.
On Peleliu island, a World War II battlefield that lacks the
usual memorial battlefield trappings—signs, maps, rangers—my
wife and I are invited to call on the island’s governor, Temmy
Shmull. He sits behind his desk, and it feels as if he’s been waiting
for me. We’ve barely said hello when he looks down at a book
lying on his desk. “Page six,” he announces and begins to read
aloud. “Farther south, out of sight, is Peleliu, island of Bloody
Nose Ridge, rusted landing craft and
war-littered caves, famed for the savagery
of the battle fought between Japanese
and Americans during World War II and,
more recently, for the high quality of its
marijuana, grown in sawed-off oil barrels,
smuggled to Guam in Styrofoam coolers,
in hollowed-out baseball bats, in the
bellies of frozen fish.”
Governor Shmull looks out at me.
“Page six,” he says again. He’s smiling.
He’s been reading from a book I wrote 25 years ago, The Edge
of Paradise, an account of my experience in the islands and,
also, an elegy for my dead friend. The book sold decently in the
United States. In Palau it mattered and still does.
And here I confront a pleasing truth about Palau: The place
that I remember is a place that remembers me.
How many times have I been back to Palau? A dozen? No, way
more. And still counting. A few years ago a local newspaper ran
a piece on my return. Front-page stuff. KLUGE IS BACK. To me it
wasn’t just an ego trip; it was a confirmation of something shared.
The world is full of people with bucket lists of places they
need to see before they die. But far better is finding a place when
you are young, a place that stakes a claim on you and never lets
go, a place like Palau, with people, living and dead, you cannot
forget. There’s a Palauan expression used when you refer to a
former intimate, an old flame. He or she, you might say, is your
“it was.” It’s not a boast; it’s more like a wistful acknowledgment.
Palau is my “it was.” And “it is.” And “it will be.”
P. F. KLUGE is a professor, journalist, and novelist whose most
recent book is The Williamson Turn.
D E C E M BE R 20 17/JA N UA RY 2 0 1 8 97
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WORLD WISE
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Picture This
How well do you know
our Best Trips 2018?
W
e just devoted an entire issue to our seventh-annual Best of the World list
and packed it with smart writing, sharp photography, and savvy travel
tips—but we’re not done yet! We have more Best Trips coverage online
at natgeotravel.com, including lush photo galleries, inspiring videos, and practical
ILLUSTRATIONS BY TOMI UM

By Amy Alipio information on each destination. Think you’re ready to book that plane ticket? First,
test your knowledge of this year’s picks by matching the illustrations above with
our 21 Best of the World destinations (see page 41 for the full roster). Note: Some of
these do require you to have read the story. We’re not going to grade you, but if you
get all the answers right, you’ll be on your way to a year of exceptional journeys.

14.Jordan Trail 15.Oahu, Hawaii 16.Tbilisi, Georgia 17.Tétouan, Morocco 18.Jujuy Province, Argentina 19.Albania 20.Cleveland, Ohio 21.Labrador, Canada
Sweden 8.Sydney, Australia 9.Oaxaca, Mexico 10.Phnom Penh, Cambodia 11.Friesland, Netherlands 12.Ruaha National Park, Tanzania 13.Dublin, Ireland
ANSWERS: 1.Madagascar 2.Seoraksan National Park, South Korea 3.San Antonio, Texas 4.Santiago, Chile 5.Harar, Ethiopia 6.Vienna, Austria 7.Malmö,

N ATGEOTRAVEL .C OM
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