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10 EdItOrIaL
VOL. 10 ISSUE 7
| 168

nOVEmbEr-dECEmbEr 2022 POStCard

26 48
26 Travel To Table
Quenelle De Brochet: Of thE COVEr StOry
french finesse 48 besT of The World é
Our year-ender issue packs a forward-looking list of global destinations framed by five
30 The InsIder é
categories: community, nature, culture, family, and adventure. the places, irrespective
Only in Ottawa of their geographical positioning on the world map, make a compelling case for a visit in
2023. Go birdwatching on a family holiday in colombia, hike a network of the austrian
thE ItInErary alps’ most charming villages, or ride the K-pop wave through Busan in south Korea—the
world awaits for those curious to explore.
34 Under the emirati sUn,
aBU dhaBi
38 48 hOUrs in seattle,
On thE
U.s.a. COVEr
42 the BiG BinGe, dUBai eclectic,
resurgent and
evergreen, our
thE addrESS list of global
destinations
80 ProPerTy revIeW: make a
POstcard dewa, BhUtan compelling case
86 ProPerTy revIeW: sKyview 108 for a visit in
2023. among
By emPyrean, JammU
others, you can
help sustain
90 ProPerTy revIeW: the
thE bUCkEt LISt
matteO cOlOmBO/Getty imaGes (cOver)

Glass villa, GOa an ultimate

100 mist and mOUntains in darJeelinG adventure
92 ProPerTy revIeW: playground in
ananda in the himalayas, 108 traversinG the trans BhUtan trail é Utah, Us.a.
UttaraKhand (photograph

96 besT sTays: tamil nadU’s thE mEmOIr by matteo

colombo/Getty
heritaGe hall Of famers 122 BiKaner’s memOry Palaces images). 
 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

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8 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 FUr BIG MOUNTAIN
16TH DEC, 2022 17TH DEC, 2022

FlIpsyde
18TH DEC, 2022

Orange
Festival:
A Cultural
Bonanza
EDITORIAL laKshmi sanKaran

SEnSE OF an EndIng tOP OnLInE

PICkS

A bAGh FULL oF
PrINTS
the geometrical and paisley prints
of Bagh, that once dressed tribes
across the malwa plateau and
beyond, are under threat from
industrialisation and technology.

T ime is a jet plane, it moves too fast,” goes the old Bob Dylan
lyric. In National Geographic Traveller India’s case, the tarmac
is in sight for a permanent landing. Reader, this latest edition of the
print magazine, launched in July 2012, will be its final one. Even
in conclusion, we’ve kept our eyes on the future, bringing you a SyDNey SPrINGS
wonderful curation of the most interesting destinations for your 2023 To LIFe

vamiKa sinGh (Prints); PhOtO cOUrtesy: destinatiOn nsw (sUrfinG), PhOtO cOUrtesy: ahilya By the sea, GOa (villa)
itineraries, an immersive look at the new Trans Bhutan Trail and mind-bending meals by masterchef
a bookmark-worthy traipse through Darjeeling that outshines any oUr masters, eye-catching shows at the
generic guide. We hope that our collective passion for soulful travel mISSIoN sydney Opera house, and well-
writing remains as transporting and transformative for you as it has appointed hotels in the heart of it
been through the decade. all show there simply aren’t enough
national
Before we set off into the sunset, a word of thanks to subscribers
Geographic hyphens to herald springtime in the
and loyalists, companions on our long journey. Your unwavering traveller new south wales capital.
appreciation and championing of beautiful stories spurred us to india is about
seek out quests and adventures for more unusual, planet-friendly immersive
and meaningful experiences. We were also lucky and privileged travel and
authentic
to collaborate with countless contributors—writers, illustrators
storytelling,
and photographers from India and abroad—whose undying and inspiring
incisive curiosity for the world added to our editorial credibility. readers to
Good journalism hides hours of toil and enjoyment behind it. create their
Every iteration of this magazine was the dazzling showcase of own journeys
and return
talented and creative writers, editors, designers and artists who
with amazing
worked here. They left their mark on NGTI as we hope NGTI did on stories. Our
all of you—to keep searching, keep exploring and keep travelling. ❚ distinctive A GoA Weekender
yellow AT AhILyA
rectangle is a an intimate beachfront hotel,
window into
a world of
ahilya By the sea located in a quiet
Write to me at natgeoeditor@ack-media.com or editor, national Geographic traveller unparalleled corner of dolphin Bay, is perfect
india, 2nd floor, 204 dhantak Plaza, makwana rd, Gamdevi, marol, andheri east, discovery. for the slow traveller with a taste for
mumbai, maharashtra 400059, india. understated luxury.

10 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 Hornbill
Festival NAGALAND

festival of festivals

1 - 10 DECEMBER
NAGA HERITAGE VILLAGE
Are you ready for a celebration of all things Nagaland? From bedazzling cultural performances that will
enthral you to breath-taking displays of physical prowess to tantalizing culinary delights, the Hornbill Festival
will keep you on the edge of your seats, asking for more. Bringing all of Nagaland together, the Hornbill
Festival celebrates Nagaland's sheer diversity, across tribes, creeds and gender. For ten days, the people of
Nagaland
Opp: Indoor Stadium, Raj Bhawan Road,
Kohima -797001, Nagaland
nagalandt tourismdeptgon nagalandtourism nagalandtourism tourism.nagaland.gov.in nagalandtourism2014@gmail.com
A Wild RoAst

Back in another timber
den of Karnataka, native
wildlife and humble
stories surprise suhas
dwarkanath as he sips on
a bold cup of robusta.
text by Muskaan Gupta
Photographs by siddarth Kejriwal
Partner Content
Hyundai
Timber dens across the country’s southern part are
drenched in lush foliage—think verdant acres of coconut
palms in Wayanad, silver oak holds in Karnataka or
woody spice groves under the sprawling green. The
abundant native flora of the Western Ghats, seemingly
exotic to the bypassers, invites planters, farmers,
caretakers and curious travellers into its den. Following
through, Suhas Dwarkanath cruises along with the
Hyundai TUCSON to his third destination—Coorg—to
add a chapter to India Coffee Stories.
Coorg’s plantations are different from
Chikkamagaluru’s, even though both are just over
140 kilometres apart in Karnataka. An amateur coffee
drinker’s belief, such as mine, would be that this
geographical difference would only bring in differences
in production techniques, which, in turn, would lend
the beans unique flavours. However, the contrast, as
Dr Sujata Goel—a botanist and self-proclaimed farmer,
also the mind behind Mojo Organic Plantations—
discloses, is the soil. Neighbouring plants that share
nutrients, species small and big, from cats and ducks
to microbes feasting on roots, determine the transfer
of flavour-altering molecules to give every plantation
produce its own character.
Coorg’s plantations tend to be smaller in size as
forests were converted into farms. Chikkamagaluru,
on the other hand, witnessed the development of
barren lands into farms. The former naturally packs a
rich variety of native species onto farms that magically
enhance the final brew.
Located 10 kilometres from Madikeri, Mojo Farms is
the perfect example of sustainable agriculture. Twenty-
five acres of slopes are distributed across four divisions,
vividly demarcated by sparkling streams and Kaveri
tributaries that nurture the soil bed for bananas, nutmeg,
cardamom, pepper, citrus fruit, vanilla, and, of course,
coffee. While coffee is intercropped, the plantations
sprawl across three to four acres of sloped land where
a magnificent range of native dragonfly, cicada, cricket,
civet cat, snake, duck, cow and deer roam freely. As
Suhas zips down from Wayanad to Coorg, navigating
the muddy terrain with ease, Hyundai’s smart voice
feature—on command “open sunroof”— reveals an
endless view of a tall silver oak canopy with the blue sky
peeping through in bits, while the chirping of crickets
and birds alert him of the tropics.
Coorg receives an average rainfall of 200 centimetres
each year. “This year, we’ve crossed five metres
already,” Dr Sujata explains, while noting that erratic
rainfall is why commercial large plantations aren’t
suited to the region. In the dense rainforest jungle, the
crops thrive alongside untouched wildlife to yield small
batches of delicious produce. “But how does wildlife
affect the crop?” Suhas wonders. Circular agriculture is
the answer.
Each organic farmer swears by the idea of a cyclic
food chain, but it’s not often we see how it plays out
and flavours the produce. “The weeding out concept
is extremely destructive because weeds actually are
native flora populations that create the primary habitat
for a lot of wildlife,” Dr Sujata explains. When plants
are untouched by pesticides or chemical fungicides,
the balance and the health of the soil is maintained as
the natural diversity below the surface is untouched.
The small section of predatory populations of insects
are food for the wasps, dragonflies, birds, little rodents
and frogs of the fields. “If there is no provocation in
terms of losses due to death and disease, no pathogens
come. The need for disease control does not come into
the picture. And if you don’t bring in agrichemicals to
control the so-called pathogens, then the crop stays
extremely good, extremely rich in flavour.”
On the farm, plantations occupy horizontal,
vertical and oblique spaces to form a self-sustaining
ecosystem. However, the trick lies in distributing
the crops efficiently. Here, coffee grows on slopes,
intercropped with citrus and some woody spices such
as cinnamon. Cardamom and banana are planted at the
base of the valley on well-drained soil of the rainforest
belt, while the drenched slopes foster cinnamon, clove,
nutmeg, avocado and passionfruit vines. Creepers
such as vanilla go horizontally, while black pepper runs
vertically. When a lot of volatile organic compounds are
synthesised, crops such as coffee undergo a metabolic
reaction, picking up flavour notes of other plants.
Two varieties of robusta on the farm, the region’s main
coffee produce, are Old Peridenia from Sri Lanka, and
CxR, Suhas explains. However, they aren’t the only
coffee bushes, robustas are intercropped with arabica
varietals too. But the latter is a fragile crop, much more
susceptible to the stemborers due to the low or almost
no presence of an African compound called chlorogenic
acid, which makes robusta a strong crop. Yet, the pest
does not cause destruction, as the soil is native to a
fungus (Bavaria bassiana) that infects the stemborers,
leaving the crop undamaged. “Listen to the land,” Dr
Goel’s simple sounding sentence rings with heavy
weight after this explanation.
***
When a cup of Coorgi coffee is placed in front of a
drinker, a complex boldness ensures the finish of the
cup. Locally consumed with a dash of milk and black
jaggery, a simple tasting opens up a connoisseur’s
palate to the role of wildlife in every sip.
Ducks roam freely across the fields, diving in for
insects, much like chickens. Their eggs attract snakes
who further filter out the smaller predators. The
droppings of the birds restores nitrogen to the soil,
while the cow shed generates enough biogas and
compost to sustain the needs of the plantation. Each
layer of this ecosystem eventually finds its way to the
consumer’s tongue as flavours battle to transform
into their unique versions when left untouched.
Apart from native residents such as deer, rodents,
caecilians, reptiles and amphibians, wild palm civet
cats make their way inside the periphery around
November, once the coffee berries start ripening
to a bright red. Although majorly carnivorous, they
consume the mucilage of the arabica berries but are
unable to digest the coffee bean, which changes
character in their gut and is filtered out in their scat.
Unappetising to many, upon filtering their waste, the
coffee beans are rinsed and cleaned thoroughly and
processed. “The flavours are incredibly mild and very
unique. The coffee is very light and is only available in
the smallest batches.”
Inside India’s largest coffee-producing region,
hundreds of production stories sit at the base of
cups, dust the morning coffee grinders and richly
fill up a room with the aroma of the craft. As Suhas
unwinds at Rainforest Retreat with Dr Sujata,
sipping on a bold filter coffee, shared anecdotes
of farm work, love for the beverage and a curiosity
to uncover the wildlife-centric brew, seals the day.
Hopping back onto the steep hill roads, the Hyundai
SmartSense ADAS feature, Smart Cruise Control with
Stop and Go is an enormous help and Suhas retires
to the SUV’s comfort to take on the rocky terrain for
his next exciting coffee discovery.
ArAku
An IndIgenous
Blend
Nestled in Andhra Pradesh, ethnic
micro-lots of Araku coffee ring bells
of praise across the globe.
 Partner Content
Hyundai

VAlley:
Text by Muskaan gupta
Photographs by Arun Beeman
T
he pursuit of the best-tasting coffee has taken Suhas
Dwarkanath to some of the most unique landscapes
across South India. His dynamic SUV, the all-new
Hyundai TUCSON, has been a splendid companion for India
Coffee Stories. Having traversed the Western Ghats first,
the coffee connoisseur now makes his way to the Eastern
Ghats, whose splendid red soil and muddy terrain proves to
be a stark contrast to the terroir of Karnataka and Kerala’s
lush forest landscapes. Navigating over 100 kilometres
from Visakhapatnam, Suhas relies on the Downhill Brake
Control of the Mud Terrain Mode to pilot smoothly to Andhra
Pradesh’s Araku Valley and uncover a fine example of a
proficient social model.
***
A
quick aerial pan reveals oddly cut patchy farms in
shades of lime-green and brown. Water dams and
short overbridges add to the panoramic scenery of
the land, which is drenched in rusty red soil. Even though
waterfalls cut through the terrain, sharp turns of drab
stretches announce the entry into a dry wasteland.
In 2000, the Naandi Foundation took over the highlands
of Andhra’s Eastern Ghats, replenishing the arid soil
into a cultivable bed through years of soil prepping and
regenerative farming. Everything from milk and yogurt to
organic compost bulked and softened the ground. Today,
all of the hard work reflects through an excellent soil carbon
percentage and a high water retention capacity of the soil.
Endless beds of coffee thrive alongside almonds, jackfruits,
citruses, tropical fruits and warm vanilla whose flavours
slowly seep into the ripening cherries.
Suhas prepares a fresh pour-over in the back of his
TUCSON boot, parked along the scenic highway. The
aromatic indulgence is a fresh jump into the world of the
award-winning coffee that is renowned by Parisians for its
unique aroma, complex body and long finish.
Back in the homeland where they’re grown, this product
comes with the backstory of empowering indigenous
communities. Naandi Foundation’s philosophy of the ‘Araku
Way’ strives for a two-fold social benefit: to rework the
landscape for the environment’s betterment and uplift the
lives of local ethnic communities through employment on
sustainable farms. In fact, the method left ripples as the
beans, once planted, led to the creation of ‘Arakunomics,’ the
valley’s unique economic model.
Over two decades, 700 plots on an acre or two have been
turned into coffee plantations. The expertise of a Paris-based
agronomist, Hippolyte Courty, inculcated the knowledge of
how to to treat the land well and grow the beans, harnessing
the chemistry of agriculture. Across all of Araku’s villages,
each plot is looked after by individual families that have long
resisted selling their property off into collated land holdings.
The results are is small batches of single-origin coffee, each
with a unique flavour profile and body.
Araku is a non-traditional coffee-growing region, which
makes the yield a marvellous product. The valley’s climate
and red soil were never favourable for this crop ever since the
British planters first set foot in it. The added challenge that
coffee plantations required thorough year-long care made
cultivation far-fetched. Teaching farmers how to tend to the
plants was also a challenge. But while all logistical troubles
found an end with a creative solution, Naandi Foundation
had to work with changing mindsets before the yield was
standardised.
The tribal society has a strong kinship rooted in equality,
where everyone demanded the same price for their produce.
“It amazed me how the majority of the native youth were not
enticed by the capitalist way of life. Money is not really the
motivator for most of the people in these villages,” Suhas
writes over an email exchange. The small families would
deny enterprising of their land holdings; all offers to merge
estates coupled with the economic benefits never moved
the community. The idea was staunchly rooted in tending
to personal land holdings without hiring extra labour. Suhas
adds how it would take a lot of trust-building for the farmers
to sell their produce as part of any outside agglomerations.
Nonetheless, the success of the crop lies in a new model of
coffee plantations—small holdings where each plot is self-
sufficient.
Today, Naandi Foundation has managed to eliminate
the middlemen from the region’s coffee business, helping
farmers gain a better price directly from the global market.
Reduced poverty, increased access to education, healthcare,
electricity, and better housing, can all be traced to the small-
batch business model.
***
B
idding adieu to the Araku’s farms, Suhas heads
along safely with the Hyundai TUCSON. The Forward
Collision Avoidance Assist alerts him of moving
vehicles approaching at a blind junction, applying automatic
breaks, while the Safe Exit Warning feature ensures all
roads are clear, offering him a green signal. The next coffee
destination on the map is Araku’s Coffee Café in Bengaluru.
A concept space to narrate the valley’s social enterprise,
while displaying the best processing picks—natural, washed
and honey—where incredible flavours of caramel and fruits
shine through every jar.
Araku’s specialty coffee employs 19 ethnic groups, that
tend to the sustainable arabica cherries. The commercial
victory to the coffee training lies in a production of different
lots, all graded over 90. The world-famous coffee gained
popularility among the French markets and received
the prestigious Prix Epicures in 2018; following the high
praise, Suhas sets up for a cupping session at the café.
The two micro-lots from the villages of Doravasala and
Dihugasarapalli unsurprisingly meet the high ranking
in all 10 characteristics of aroma, body, acidity, flavour
and aftertaste, completing a wholesome journey to
the valley.
David Hogg, Naandi’s Chief Agriculture Advisor, describes
each cup of Araku coffee as “an alchemy of people coming
together.” The sentiment whistles much like a memoir to
Suhas’ travel journey with Hyundai TUCSON, where the
premium SUV zipped smoothly to multiple terrains across
South India, leading him to passion projects around the
beverage. Toggling the Multi Air Mode and sinking into the
comfort of his 10-way Power Adjustable Driver Seat, he
embarks on the final leg of his adventure to discover unique
coffee stories across India.
 Kohima Coffee Culture
UnCOVErIng nagaLand’S
FrUIty arOmaS
Training a new generation of baristas and revolutionising
coffee at a café level, Nagaland’s coffee scene is a story of well-
roasted passion
Text by Muskaan Gupta
 Partner Content
Hyundai

h
is quest to source unique brews has taken Suhas Dwarkanath across four
South Indian destinations, cruising the premium Hyundai TUCSON to
Chikkamagaluru, the home of Indian coffee, Wayanad for spice-rich notes,
into Coorg’s wild forests, and to Araku Valley to sample a genius product
of social entrepreneurship. On the final leg of India Coffee Stories, Suhas
relaxed in the comfort of his cooling seat and set his destination to the rugged
landscape of Nagaland to scoot closer to another story of passion.
The three-point road trip—from Dimapur, Nagaland’s largest city, to Khonoma, a
verdant village home to new-age coffee farmers, and Kohima, a cultural centre with
a cluster of cafés—endured a steep 4,000-foot climb. Having switched to the mud
terrain mode by the Hyundai SmartSense ADAS, Suhas recalls a pleasant drive
dotted with vistas of steep cliffs, ringing greenery, and a curiosity to discover how
a non-traditional region has become an upcoming pioneer of coffee.
The headquarters of Été Specialty Coffee Roasters, Kohima,
are located 6,500 foot above sea level, in the Temperate
Belt over the Tropic of Cancer. And that’s no mean feat,

ARUN BEEMAN
for the specialty coffee roaster sources the vast majority
of its beans locally, from a region outside the ‘bean belt’ or
Torrid Belt, traditionally-recognised as the ideal area to grow
coffee; despite existing in the exterior of this delineation, the
Naga coffee domain, which holds a similar agricultural slope
and a temperature range as the exemplary coffee country of
Karnataka’s hills, has become a destination for local production
and roasting. In a region where the nuances of coffee culture
are still relatively nascent, a healthy handful of homegrown
aficionados like Lichan Humtsoe, the founder and owner of Été
Coffee, are forging a new frontier of top-notch cafés that run on
a strict know-how of coffee science.
“No amount of the hard work that you have put into the chain
(farming, producing coffee) makes sense if they spoil it at a
café level, so we decided to train the baristas first,” Lichan tells
Suhas. This approach highlights the role of roasters, for even
tailoring the terroir to be suitable for coffee cannot prevent
the perfect bean from deteriorating if not metamorphosed
from green to brown correctly. From the time a bag of green-
coloured beans enters the roastery, till a dark concoction
reaches your table, serving is a three-step process: studying
the bean before roasting, optimising flavours of the coffee in
the roasting chamber, and brewing to extract a good cup. Été’s
aim is to make their baristas masters of the beverage.
As per the Specialty Coffee Association guidebook, Lichan
informs, countless chemical reactions take place within 8
to 13 minutes inside the roasting chamber, between the
dehydration of the cherries and the colouration of the beans.
“The presence of citric acid will mean that your coffee contains
notes of citrus fruit. If it’s malic acid, that coffee could taste like
an apple. Likewise, if it’s ascorbic acid, then it will taste like a
gooseberry.” Undoubtedly, precise knowledge of the roasting
process takes a good bean to greatness.
Once the coffee beans are in the roasting chamber, arresting
the heat at the correct time, for the perfect mild, medium, or
dark roast, changes the characters. “The first crack is the
time when, generally, most of the acids develop and peak,”
explains Lichan. To optimise floral and fruity notes, the roasting
process is stopped here. But for more complex, bold, nutty, or
chocolatey flavours, something with a fuller mouthfeel, roasters
will go for a darker roast. “That’s when more oil development
happens. With extremely dark roasts, there comes a bigger
bitterness as it allows the rapid extraction of caffeine. The
byproduct of the processes of caramelisation and the Maillard
reaction (the chemical reaction among amino acids and
reducing sugars) is something brown and sugary,” he adds
about the flavour profile.
The final step to a memorable cup of coffee is how it is
brewed, processes which play to distinct profiles from the same
bean. A French press appears to have a filtration process, but
it only holds a mesh device that pushes down the residual
grounds, allowing the oils from the coffee to freely get into your
cup. What makes the French press an appealing choice for
many home-brewers is that the final cup has a bold body,
with buttery and heavy characters that enhance its viscosity.
An AeroPress pushes hot water through the coffee ground,
filtering the concoction through a compact paper filter which
removes all oils and residual grounds, lending a clear and clean
brew. So, two immersion techniques brew entirely different
cups. Typically, the most common way for a barista to extract
coffee is with an espresso machine, which pulls a well-
balanced liquid with a harmonious intensity, making it perfect
for mixing with other components like water, milk, or ice cubes
because of its density.
Harvesting the right aromas or offering a wide selection
of flavours from the same bean is where Été Coffee hopes
to secure a foundation. “If you make Indian coffee the brand,
KENNETH LAWRENCE (PORTRAITS); ARUN BEEMAN (CAR AND LANDSCAPE)
any foreigner can make use of this coffee bill. But when you
make Indians or our professionals the brand, that is something
hardly anyone will exploit,” Lichan declares. “That’s when our
people will enjoy financial freedom and economic growth. India
could possibly become one of the powerhouse centres for
research and innovations. That is the vision, and that’s where
we’re headed.”
After driving to the estates of new age farmers, Suhas
relishes a cup of Naga coffee harvested at the height of
6,500 feet. Overlooking vast expanses of cliff-ridden forests,
Suhas recollects the seamless drive with the TUCSON across
Nagaland’s rugged terrains. Beyond the major features of the
car, like the High Beam Assist and the Collision Avoidance
Assist that accompanied a safe journey, simple boosts like
constant seat cooling and auto glass wipers offered a huge
relief across the long topsy turvs in the Himalayas. His drive
to the top, smoothened by the fine engineering of Hyundai
TUCSON, was a reminder of the coffee in his hand—a simple
pour-over finessed by roasters and brewers whose craft is like
that of alchemists in a lab or witches with a cauldron—always a
perfect concoction.
Travel To Table France
of french fInesse
Quenelle De Brochet is a reGiOnal leGacy dish hailinG frOm lyOn.
the Oval, POached PiKe dUmPlinGs are Believed tO have Been invented
By a Pastry chef tO reGUlate fish OverPOPUlatiOn by PoojA NAIk
d umplings have long been affiliated
with Asian cooking, but the French
menu tells a different tale. Beyond
escargot and coq au vin, lies the
delicate legacy of quenelle de brochet—a
fluffy, oval pike cake drenched in an
aromatic cream sauce. Perfecting this
regional delicacy could spell career
advancements for chefs attempting
to make it big in the culinary world.
roUTe To ITS rooTS
In the 1830s, the Saône river, which
snakes through Lyon, posed a
unique conundrum: its waters were
overpopulated with pike (called
26 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
Quenelle de brochet is
a textural tour de force.
Its name is influenced
by the German
dumpling Knödel.
brochet in French). To combat further
troubles, local authorities encouraged
intensive fishing to regulate the
species. “A pastry chef proposed
the idea of cooking it differently by
mixing it with choux pastry,” says head
chef Joseph Viola of the Lyon-based
Daniel & Denise group of restaurants.
“Thus, the quenelle was born.”
As far as the creation story of
the cream sauce is concerned, its
origins can be traced back to the
town of Nantua, Ain in eastern
France’s Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
region. The territory’s tangential excess
of crayfish led to the invention of
“Nantua sauce” that was harmoniously
married to the quenelles. “Today,
it’s an emblematic dish that is part
of Lyonnais heritage,” agrees Viola,
before adding that the recipe is a rare
find outside its birth city. In the early
19th century, the dish was relished by
all, owing to profusion of the produce.
In time, brochet and crayfish began
to enjoy a rather noble status.
INGreDIeNT ImmerSIoN
The classic recipe uses brochet, and
panade (bread pudding) seasoned
with salt, pepper and nutmeg, which
is poached with a spoon in hot water.
The Nantua sauce is made from
the base of fresh crayfish, white
wine, cream, cognac and tomato
concentrate, herbs (thyme and bay
leaf), salt, pepper, and vegetables
such as carrot, onion, and shallot.
It is believed that at the dish’s
inception, beef fat was used in lieu
of butter. “Every chef puts their own
spin on the dish,” Viola reveals. “I
offer a quenelle that has a lot more
brochet than what is considered
standard. This enhances the flavour.”
The 57-year-old remains tight-
lipped about his secret Nantua sauce
recipe, albeit he mentions that it
isn’t unwonted to find poultry-based
quenelles paired with mushroom or
tomato sauce on certain menus.
TAbLe mANNerS
The dish can be devoured with an
accompaniment of potatoes cooked in
goose fat or plain rice as a main course.
PhOtO cOUrtesy: © nicOlas villiOn
beST beT 
Daniel & Denise restaurant,
Café Comptoir Abel, Bouchon La
Meunière, and the two Michelin
Star La Mère Brazier in Lyon
are trusted for their take on the
classic quenelle de brochet. ❚
Travel To Table France

QuEnELLE DE BROchET butter, add the flour all at once, stir

wITh nAnTuA sAucE vigorously with a spatula and cook this
mixture over low heat for six to seven
recipe by chef Joseph viola minutes, similar to a choux pastry.
allow it to set in the refrigerator.
IngREDIEnTs:
Panade Quenelle preparation
l milk: ¼ ltr Blitz the frozen pike pieces. this step
l Butter: 70g must be carried out very quickly in
l flour: 160g order to obtain a fine mince of pike
l nutmeg: 1, grated sawdust. incorporate the panade
and mix evenly before adding the
egg whites and then the whole
Quenelle eggs, one by one. season with
l skinless pike fillets: 500g, cut salt, pepper, nutmeg, and toss the
them into 2-cm cubes and freeze butter to obtain a homogeneous
mixture. transfer it to a bowl and
l egg whites: 3
leave it in the fridge for six hours
l whole eggs: 5 l tomato paste: 2 tablespoons
after having filmed it beforehand.
l Butter: 125g (in ointment) l cognac: 50ml in order to poach the quenelles,
l salt: 10g l dry white wine: 150ml heat a pan filled with salted water at
l liquid fresh cream: 1 ltr
70°c. mould the mixture into oval
l Ground white pepper: 2g shapes using a spoon and immerse
l nutmeg: 1 grated l thyme: 1 sprig them in salt water for 20 minutes.
l laurel: 1 leaf turn them over and cook for another
l salt: 10g 20 minutes. at the end of this
nantua sauce
l Ground white pepper: 2g second cooking, immerse them in
l live crayfish: 40 ice water and put them in the fridge
l carrot (cut into small cubes): 100g METhOD (preparation the day before).
l Onions (chopped): 60g serves: 8
nantua sauce
l shallots (chopped): 60g Panade (made the day before) in a cast iron casserole dish, add
l Olive oil: 100ml Boil the milk with nutmeg and olive oil, brown the crayfish over high
heat, add carrot, onions, and shallots
until they sweat. mix everything with
tomato puree, flambé with cognac,
deglaze with white wine, and reduce.
then, add fresh cream, thyme and
bay leaf. Boil for two minutes before
removing the crayfish. shell them,
add the heads to the sauce, and
bake for 20 minutes. at the end of

PhOtO cOUrtesy: © thOmas BehUret (chef), vwalaKte/istOcK (city)

the cooking, pass through a sieve
strainer while pressing the crayfish
heads to extract all the concentrate
(the sauce must be smooth).

cOOkIng ThE QuEnELLEs

steam quenelles for 20 minutes
until they double in size.

DREssIng
Place a quenelle at the bottom
of each soup plate, add the
chef Joseph viola (top) poaches a quenelle at his restaurant; The basilica of notre-dame crayfish tails and generously pour
de fourvière offers a bird’s-eye view of lyon (bottom). nantua sauce. serve hot.

28 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

The InsIder canada
only in oTTAWA
active adventUres, BUzzy Breweries and neiGhBOUrhOOds thrivinG with Bars and BOUtiqUes—
canada’s BiJOU caPital has Plenty tO discOver BeyOnd the halls Of Parliament
It may be Canada’s political
powerhouse, but under the surface
Ottawa is simmering with vibrancy
and adventure. Strike beyond the
typical tourist route surrounding
Parliament Hill and you’ll find verdant
scenery, quirky museums, Indigenous
experiences and a burgeoning food and
drink scene. Come clock-off time, this is
a city that knows how to have fun.
No trip to Ottawa is complete without
a visit to the National Gallery of Canada,
with its roll call of great paintings by the
likes of Matisse, Van Gogh, Mondrian
and Klimt. Don’t miss ornate Rideau
Street Chapel: originally part of the
Convent of Our Lady of the Sacred
Heart, it was painstakingly relocated,
piece by piece, to the National Gallery,
where it can be explored to the
accompaniment of haunting music.
Also worth checking out is the nearby
Ottawa Art Gallery—free to enter, it’s
chock-full of contemporary Canadian
art. (gallery.ca)
ByWard Market, the historic area
east of the Parliament Buildings, is
packed with bars and restaurants,
including the legendary BeaverTails
kiosk (the ‘beaver tails’ in question
aren’t the real thing, thankfully, but
fried pastries dusted in sugar). For real
local flavour, however, you need to
strike out to Ottawa’s neighbourhoods.
Start south, in upmarket The Glebe,
where Victorian-era townhouses meet
the sports fields of Lansdowne Park
and the curve of the Rideau Canal.
Dive into a maple and bacon oatmeal
bowl at Oat Couture Oatmeal Cafe,
then thumb through old tomes over
a coffee at Black Squirrel Books &
Espresso Bar. Alternatively, join the
queue at Kettlemans Bagel, which
has been keeping the locals well-fed
with freshly baked bagels for nearly
three decades. (oatcouturecafe.
com; blacksquirrelbooks.ca;
kettlemansbagels.ca)
30 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
Head west of Downtown, and you’ll
find the lively neighbourhoods of
Westboro and Hintonburg. Don’t miss
popular SuzyQ Donuts for flavours
including Black Forest or cinnamon
toast crunch before hitting the shops.
Browse relaxed, ‘luxe-boheme’ women’s
LIke A LocAL
Stefanie Siska’s top
three food spots
stefanie is co-owner of c’est
Bon cooking, which offers food
tours and cookery classes based
around canadian produce.
(cestboncooking.ca)
CorAzón de MAíz
this husband-and-wife team from
mexico city make Ottawa’s best tacos
in a corner of Byward market. marianna
is a trained chef and the incredible garlic
jalapeño salsa is her grandmother’s
recipe. (55 ByWard, Market Square)
coPPer SPIrITS AND SIGhTS
this is where locals go for drinks with
a view: the tallest rooftop bar in the
city (atop the andaz Ottawa Byward
market), offering 360-degree views
spanning downtown, the river and
neighbouring Gatineau. (hyatt.com)
TAverN AT The GALLery
this new al fresco restaurant can be
found at the national Gallery of canada
but it’s hidden away. it’s a great spot for
lunches, with salads and pizza. there’s
another location, tavern on the hill, by
the rideau falls. (tavernatthegallery.ca)
clothing at boutiques such as Tallow,
or take home a Canadian-made gift
from Maker House. The area is home
to a thriving brewery scene, too: start
at Tooth And Nail Brewing Company
with an icy, unfiltered pilsner, then
wander further east to Spark Beer
for a Pinot Noir-infused sour. If that
piques your interest, there are well
over a dozen other breweries to check
out around the city, and Brew Donkey
runs tasting tours of the best. (suzyq.
ca; shoptallow.com; makerhouse.com;
toothandnailbeer.com; spark.beer;
brewdonkey.ca)
Looking for somewhere memorable
for dinner? Seek out Riviera Ottawa, set
in a former bank on historic, cobbled
Sparks Street for negronis and first-
rate seafood from Chef Jordan Holley,
from tuna crudo with puffed quinoa to
lobster spaghetti. (dineriviera.com)
Summer here revolves around
exploring the great outdoors — whether
that’s kayaking on the Rideau Canal
or hiking through forest in Gatineau
Park. But if you fancy thrills without
too much thigh-burn, then try Interzip,
the city zip-line, which soars over the
Ottawa River at speeds of up to 25mph.
(interzip.ca)
Alternatively, get back to the area’s
roots. Opened in 2021, Mādahòkì Farm
is an Indigenous-owned space where
First Nations communities share their
BytOwn mUseUm/david BaKer, interziP, dUOtanG, zacKery liBerty
connection to the land with visitors.
Here, you can learn about Canada’s
reconciliation movement, shop at a
craft marketplace and attend seasonal
festivals involving dancing and
storytelling. You can also admire the
resident Ojibwe spirit horses, a breed
developed by the Indigenous Ojibwe
people. The horses are considered spirit
animals within Ojibwe culture; there
are only 200 of the equines globally,
and six live right here. (indigenous-
experiences.ca) ❚
ALIcIA mILLer
 clockwise from bottom left: a band
performs at byWard Market; locals relax
alongside ottawa locks on the rideau
canal; a rider prepares atop the Interzip
launch tower; a pastry from the beaverTails
kiosk at byWard Market.
THE

IT
IN
ER 38

ARY 34 UNder the emirati SUN, abU dhabi

38 48 hoUrS iN Seattle, U.S.a.
42 biG biNGe, dUbai
The ITInerary U.A.E.

CULtUrE COOL
UndEr thE EmIratI SUn
Home to one of the world’s grandest mosques, an exciting emerging arts district on Saadiyat Island and an
entertainment hub promising genuine thrills, Abu Dhabi has arrived in the league of extraordinary family
destinations By Prannay Pathak

PhOtO cOUrtesy: visit aBU dhaBi

34 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia


S omething stops me in the
tracks as I behold the young
Egyptian man with round,
obsidian eyes. They seem unable
to decide between contempt
and concern for the way I tiptoe
towards the portrait of the faiyum
with a strange two-eyed portal
in my hand. I bluff on, unruffled,
and complete the perfect vertical
dolly shot for the ’Gram—the
ideal heist for this day and age.
If you’re familiar with Maurice
LeBlanc, you’d say I’m at the
Louvre. You would be right and
you would be wrong, for I’m not
in Paris but I am at a Louvre.
The glass pyramid that makes
the French palace, probably,
the world’s most recognisable
museum, has made way for a
dome here—a complex, curving
metallic roof composed of
innumerable parts and weighing
7,500 tonnes. In many ways,
this shimmering cupola made
Prannay PathaK
of 7,850 stars, intended by
architect Jean Nouvel to shower
the museum’s innards with a
daylong dance of light, has come
to symbolise the contemporary
cultural face of Abu Dhabi.
Situated at the confluence of
the sands of Saadiyat Island
and the Arabian Gulf, Louvre
Abu Dhabi, dubbed an ‘island
on an island’, came to exist as
the result of a collaboration
between France and the U.A.E.
in 2007. The institution’s
Temporary Gallery holds works
of art loaned from two other
Paris biggies—the Centre
Pompidou and Musee d’Orsay,
with a permanent collection
that is quite well-endowed too.
I’ll spare you the uninspired
comparison with Dubai, but
only when you set foot in the
elegant capital, do you realise
what understated really means
in this country. As you creep
through mosaic-wall tunnels and
cruise along flyovers baking in
the afternoon sun with Maseratis
and Maybachs for company, a
OnLy whEn yOU SEt FOOt In
quietly-busy capital that has built
itself up as the mantle around the
riches of energy and construction
thE ELEgant CaPItaL, dO yOU conglomerates materialises
rEaLISE what UndErStatEd around you. Over coffee one
morning, a fellow traveller
rEaLLy mEanS In thIS COUntry casually quips that hedges
outside buildings here never miss
a day of pruning, lest they lose
the symmetrical harmony of the
form they’ve been destined for.
formula rossa
(right), the
world’s fastest
rollercoaster at
ferrari World,
is a 55-second
ride that hits
240 kilometres
per hour in
five seconds; a
shopkeeper sells
dates at the Mina
Market (top).
facing page: The
sheikh Zayed
Grand Mosque at
golden hour is a
sight to behold.
November-december 2022 35
YAs, Of cOuRsE
Abu Dhabi knows how to play
as an all-rounder. Exhibit
number one is the 22nd edition
of the International Indian
Film Academy (IIFA) Awards,
held at Yas Island’s gargantuan
Etihad Arena on the Yas
Bay waterfront. The arena
happens to be the Middle East’s
biggest indoor entertainment
venue, its skyline-headlining
superstructure rivalled only by
the steel-and-glass grid shell of
the W Hotel. With an impressive
seating capacity and top-notch
facilities for big-ticket events,
the arena is the quintessential
modern-era colosseum. I am
not surprised that the 23rd
edition of the awards is being
held at the same venue.
The venue, to be precise, is
Yas Island—the U.A.E.’s gift
to that part of the population
that doesn’t want one dull
moment on a holiday. And
36 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
Yas gets even the staunchest
champions of the slow life to
just cut it and hop on to the
rollercoaster like the rest: When
the opportunity to ride the
world’s fastest rollercoaster at
Ferrari World presents itself, I
too fall in line. Moments before
boarding the Formula Rossa
carriage, Wagner’s Ride of the
Valkyries plays ominously in
my head and Robert Duvall in
cheap Aviators grins hellishly
PhOtO cOUrtesy: visit aBU dhaBi (tOP), Prannay PathaK (BOttOm)
in my face. The eyeglasses are
strapped, the restraint bars are
pulled and the train jerks to life,
hitting 240 kilometres per hour
in under five seconds. I cap it off
with a spin around a diorama-
esque Italy in a ride called the
Bell’Italia. Sitting in a child-
size Ferrari 250 California
and smiling sagely at Amalfi
and Portofino like a real-world
The unbelievably opulent emirates Palace (top), stretching for James Bond—the kind who does
a kilometre from wing to wing, enjoys a scenic seaside location; know how to retire for good—
an installation at the national aquarium (bottom). you learn to ignore the sniggers.
 ABu DhABI: ThE nEw
AnD ThE OLD
At the spotless Sheikh Zayed
Grand Mosque, Swarovski
chandeliers and gold-leaf-
calligraphed walls vie for
attention with columns studded
with amethyst and jasper, not
to mention the world’s largest
hand-woven carpet in its main
prayer room. We visit just in
time to catch the pristine onion
domes and glittering Moorish
hallways in the departing golden
light of the copious Emirati
sun. The closing flourish to
the legend of this talismanic
structure is its status as the final
resting place of the country’s
founding father, Sheikh Zayed
bin Sultan Al Nahyan, whose
demise 18 years ago memorably
visit aBU dhaBi
plunged the nation into large-
scale mourning. About 18 days
ago, his son Sheikh Khalifa,
the country’s second president,
died of prolonged illness.
Despite a similar state mourning
announced this time, the
Bollywood awards haven’t had to
wait too long, and Abu Dhabi has
preserved a modicum of cheer.
I overhear Fast and Furious
and Sex and the City (which
was actually shot in Morocco)
in the bus approaching the
Corniche Area one evening.
I’m at Emirates Palace, the
opulent government-owned
hotel that has seen a number of
international screen projects
filmed here and hosted a slew of
pop stars and influential world
leaders. The hotel’s distinctly
Arab splendour and regional
visitors kayak at architectural themes belie its
the louvre abu
relatively recent provenance.
dhabi, which
is often called The roughly one thousand
an ‘island on an chandeliers are all encrusted
island’. with Swarovski diamonds and
the gold-leaf ceilings, which
reportedly undergo a $1,30,000
upkeep every year, will have
you looking up until you reach
Mezlai, a luxurious restaurant
taking its inspiration from
Bedouin tents and promising a
sumptuous ambience. The hotel
shows off stunning arabesques,
stretching for nearly a kilometre
from wing to wing—an
unending sea of indulgence that
Abu Dhabi has used effectively
to epitomise its own status as
one of the wealthiest cities
in the world. Perhaps there is
no better way to understand
it than by taking some of the
palace’s gold back with you. Just
order the Palace Cappuccino, a
foamy cuppa that comes topped
with 23 karat gold flakes, at
Le Café, on your way back.
For a taste of the old times in
a fast modernising metropolis,
I drive towards the historic
Hamdan Street, home not
just to souks but some of the
oldest malls and residential
skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi. The
destination, however, is the
Mina Markets at Zayed Port, a
hive of seaside activity where
residents often make their way
for their supply of seafood and
fresh produce, and tourists,
for sundry varieties of dates.
As I enter a date shop owned
by a Malayali, I briefly gain
admittance to a fragment of the
collective memory of the South
Asian experience and its close
ties with the Middle East. The
old-world awnings and cut-to-
the-chase shop displays are
surviving ciphers to a time of
unheeded cultural exchange,
when traders and travellers in
search of a living would leave
familiar shores to start a life in
the region. Or maybe, unlike
some of its peers around the
world that go back centuries,
this is a fairly young city that
has managed to preserve a
modicum of the past. ❚
November-december 2022 37
The ITInerary U.S.A.

48 hOUrS
SEattLE LEadS thE way
The jewel of the Pacific Northwest is one of America’s greenest and grooviest culture capitals
By Alicia Erickson

38 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

The Museum of Pop culture
(bottom) is a hallowed hall
that celebrates modern music
and film’s influential icons and
movements; Make time for a
day-trip to Washington Park
arboretum (right), awash in
enchanting floral hues.
D renched in a mesmerising
spectrum of greens, Seattle
has rightfully earned its title
as the Emerald City. Thickets
of trees hug azure lakes and
the aquatic sprawl of the Puget
Sound. On clear days, the
majestic snow-dusted Mount
Rainier glimmers against pale
blue skies. Seattle, which thrives
as much on the outdoors as it
does on innovation, presents
an intriguing blend of nature,
music, art, grunge, technology,
and a groovy gastronomic scene
influenced by both the flavours of
the sea and the land’s bounties.
The city was built on territory
that belongs to the Duwamish
tribe and was named after
Chief Siah’l, a Suquamish and
Duwamish leader of the 19th
century. As the late 20th and
early 21st centuries rolled in,
Scandinavian immigrants
became Seattle’s primary
settlers. While evidence of
this Scandinavian heritage is
sprinkled across the city, they are
most prominent in the maritime
neighbourhood of Ballard, in
Scandinavian bakeries and in
the National Nordic Museum
(nordicmuseum.org). ❚
seattle’s six Best hikes
DIScovery PArk
discovery Park unfolds over 500 acres of lush property in
the centre of seattle. meandering trails take you through
grassy fields and forest groves, atop the magnolia Bluff
overlooking the cascade and Olympic mountain ranges,
and across beaches of sand dunes, driftwood, and waves
lapping at your feet.
WAShINGToN ArboreTUm
an extension of the University of washington, the arboretum,
or Botanical Gardens, is an urban oasis on the shores of lake
washington. trails wind through 230 acres of flowers, trees,
and greenery from ecosystems around the world.
bUrke GILmAN TrAIL
extending for 32 kilometres from Golden Gardens Park in
Ballard to the city of Bothell, the Burke Gilman is a multi-
purpose recreational urban trail. hop on it for a bike ride or a
walk as you cross the city.
SNoW LAke
snow lake encompasses some of the very best of the Pacific
northwest in less than an hour’s drive from seattle. this
11.26-kilometre roundtrip trail winds its way through shady
forests, overlooks sloped valleys, and descends down to the
sapphire lake tucked into trees—the favourite of washington’s
alpine wilderness lakes.
brIDAL veIL FALLS AND LAke SereNe
in about an hour and 15 minutes from seattle, reach the
trailhead for both Bridal veil falls and lake serene, a
13-kilometre roundtrip hike. cascading waterfalls, alpine
lakes, and snow-covered vistas reward hikers along the way.
WALLAce FALLS
within just under an hour of leaving the city, you’ll land at the
trail for the moderate, 8.8-kilometre wallace falls. amble
through dense forest of moss-covered trees, en route to a
spectacular three-tiered waterfall.
November-december 2022 39
The ITInerary U.S.A.
five finest in
gastronomy
UrbAN WINe TASTING
the best of washington wine
country can be sampled at tasting
rooms across the city. fill your day
with tasting vintages from some
of washington’s best wineries
at tasting rooms in sodo Urban
works. footprint, however, is the
city’s only wine on tap bar that
reduces waste by storing wine in
kegs (footprintwine.com). choose
from washington and Oregon
wineries specialisng in organic and
biodynamic wines.
SheLLFISh hArveSTING
AT beAcheS
Get a little sandy as you dig up
oysters, clams, and mussels at one
of the many beaches near seattle.
all you need to do is register for
a permit and grab a bucket to dig
for your dinner. if you’d rather get
straight to the dining part, sample
the best washington seafood
dumped right onto your table at
seafood establishments like the
crab Pot (thecrabpotseattle.com).
Theo’S chocoLATe TASTING
Got a sweet tooth? Book
a chocolate tour at theo’s
chocolate, a local company
crafting mouthwatering chocolate
from sustainable cacao. On
the tour, you’ll not only learn
about the company’s unique
relationships with local farmers but
get to sample tasty confections
(theochocolate.com).
SeATTLe roASTery
seattle’s shrine to coffee (and
the original starbucks roastery)
combines innovation, design,
and artistic coffee creations in an
immersive space where you can
sample some unique blends that
will keep you buzzing for the rest
of the day.
ArchIPeLAGo
in an intimate 10-person space,
archipelago takes diners on
a culinary journey through a
fusion of the flavours from
the Pacific northwest and the
Philippines over 9-12 courses.
a storytelling experience
as much as a culinary one,
archipelago is for the curious,
conscious, and adventurous eater
(archipelagoseattle.com).
40 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
for an authentic
seafood outing, there is
no better spot than Pike
Place, one of the city’s
most historic markets.
DAy 1 Coffee AND CulTure
morNING
start your day with breakfast
at café flora (cafeflora.com)
enveloped by nature and morning
light streaming through the
atrium. here, a rotating vegetarian
menu showcases freshly baked
delicacies and seasonal bounties
of the Pacific northwest. after
filling up on breakfast, take a
stroll to volunteer Park through
the streets of north capitol hill
lined with elegant turn-of-the-
century homes. in the park, walk
among flowering dahlia bushes,
explore tropical plant life in the
conservatory, and take a rest
beneath billowing trees.
from volunteer Park, slowly
walk to downtown seattle through
the heart of capitol hill, a vibrant
neighbourhood known for its
thriving lGBtq culture and
alternative art and music scene,
expressed in its many concept
shops, eclectic eateries, and
buildings decorated with colourful
graffiti. this is the home of
starbucks but opt for one of the
dozens of boutique coffee shops
instead like the wunderground
café (wundergroundcoffee.com),
where a hot cuppa can, if you
like, be blended with medicinal
mushrooms, the perfect ode to
seattle’s quirky consciousness.
AfTernoon
walk down to Pike Place
(pikeplacechowder.com), seattle’s
infamous fish market that
opened in 1907. street musicians
outside the gate will keep you
entertained while salmon fly
through the air. weave your way
around fresh flower stands and
seasonal produce, gigantic King
crab legs, salmon, and oysters
piled high on ice, chocolate
covered cherries, artisanal oils
and pasta, local handicrafts,
and antiques tucked into back
corners of this maze. take lunch
to go—choosing from an eclectic
selection of ethnic tastes and
Pacific northwest favourites such
as seafood chowder and mac and
cheese from Beecher’s cheese
(beechershandmadecheese.com)—
and enjoy your lunch outside the
market overlooking elliot Bay.
as you look out over the Puget
sound, ferries pass you by. hop
on one from downtown seattle to
west seattle, a ride abundant in
sea spray and views, which drops
you off on alki Beach.
after lunch, walk through
downtown and head to the queen
anne neighbourhood, home to
the iconic space needle. admire
the towering metallic structure but
skip a ride to the top in favour of
exploring the other offerings of
seattle center. wander through
a garden of eclectic glass flowers,
the works of world-renowned
artist dave chihuly who hails
from tacoma, a town not far from
seattle (chihulygardenandglass.
com). Pay a visit to the museum of
Pop culture (moPOP)—a head-
turning deconstructionist building
that fuses metal in vivid colours
and is intended to represent the
energy of music (mopop.org).
inside the museum, get lost in
exhibits dedicated to Jimi hendrix
and nirvana, among other seattle
music icons. if you’re feeling
inspired, create your own music in
the individual recording studios in
the museum.
eveNING
Golden hour is a spectacular
time in seattle. take a stroll to
Kerry Park atop queen anne
hill where you can watch the sun
set over the city skyline and then
as nightfall sets in, admire the
lights dazzle against the water,
illuminating ferries passing by.
for dinner, head back to capitol
hill to indulge in food and drinks
at stateside—a creative fusion of
vietnamese and seafood in an
atmospheric setting of sea foam
shades (statesideseattle.com).
afterwards, pop into foreign
national (foreignnationalbar.com),
right next door, to sample cocktails
in a dimly lit bar with a disco ball.
alicia ericKsOn
if you’re more of a wine drinker,
stop by la dive, a funky bar
featuring mostly natural wines,
just down the street.
 DAy 2 NATure AND NIgHTlIfe
morNING
rain or shine, seattle mornings
are best started with a cup of
coffee. Begin in Ballard, a charming
maritime neighbourhood in north
seattle with nordic roots. Grab
coffee and a melt-in-your-mouth
flaky pastry from Besalu (cafebesalu.
com). walk along Ballard ave and
window shop in the historic, brick
buildings housing art galleries and
boutiques with vintage finds.
eventually make your way down
to the marina lined with sailboats
and yachts. at shilshole Bay, choose
between conquering the Puget
sound by kayak or a stand-up
paddle board with Ballard Kayak
and Paddle Board (ballardkayak.
com). experience seattle from the
water as you row (or paddle) on the
open, glimmering blue waves of the
sound and keep watch for seals, sea
lions, herons, and if you’re lucky,
orca whales.
AfTernoon
after an active morning on the
water, grab a sandwich from Un Bien
in shilshole (unbienseattle.com), a
caribbean sandwich joint started
by the original owners of the well-
loved Paseo’s. with lunch in hand,
head to the sandy shores of Golden
Gardens, where you can enjoy views
alicia ericKsOn (BOat)
In seattle, you can spend all day on water, either hanging by its marinas (bottom), kayaking along fremont bridge or
take a quick drive to the picturesque snoqualmie falls (top right).
over the Puget sound while you sink
your teeth into your sandwich, feet
in sand. if you’re brave enough, take
a refreshing dip in the water, which is
chilly regardless of the season.
from Ballard, head a couple of
miles south to the eclectic fremont
neighbourhood, commonly
associated with the imposing
concrete giant that lives beneath the
bridge. fremont is also an enclave
for creativity and art and is home
to cool markets and a naked bike
ride during the summer solstice.
sunny afternoons in seattle are best
enjoyed outside with a craft beer
in hand and this city has more craft
breweries than one can count—with
a particular focus on hop-forward
iPas. start at fremont Brewing
(fremontbrewing.com), a favourite
watering hole. the brewery offers a
long list of hoppy ales, milky stouts,
seasonal brews, and sour beers for
the more adventurous palate. after
quenching your thirst with a beer
or two, wander through fremont’s
colourful streets that pay homage to
its counterculture roots, as you take
in sights like the fremont troll, the
canal, and a vladimir lenin statue.
eveNING
stroll on to the grassy hills of Gas
works Park, which is set against the
backdrop of the former seattle Gas
light company and is surrounded
by views over lake Union and the
city skyline. walk by picnickers, dog
walkers, and flying kites as you find
a spot on the grass to enjoy
the sunset.
for dinner, you’re spoilt for choice
at the crossroads of wallingford,
Ballard, and fremont. you
can’t go wrong at Kamonegi—a
soba joint in wallingford that
specialises in handmade noodles
(kamonegiseattle.com). Just down
the road is another neighbourhood
favourite. the whale wins is a
european-style eatery decked
out in shades of aqua and white
featuring wood-fired dishes from
the seas, gardens, and farms of the
Pacific northwest (thewhalewins.
com). Or, if you feel like taking your
chance, go back up north to Ballard
and try your luck at finding a table
at the walrus and the carpenter,
an understated space that oozes
seattle cool serving oysters
among other seafood dishes
(walrusbar.com).
end your evening with a drink
and live music at the tractor tavern,
a Ballard favourite featuring local
musicians and beyond, a perfect
ode to the musical roots that define
this electrifying city.
unmissable
Day-Trips
SNoqUALmIe FALLS
Just a half-hour drive from
seattle, snoqualmie falls
are the most powerful
and frequented falls in
washington state. walk
along forested paths to
different viewpoints of these
mighty cascades, learning
about the flora, fauna,
and indigenous history
of snoqualmie falls—and
savour the refreshing spray
rising from the falls.
mT rAINIer
NATIoNAL PArk
two to three hours’ drive
from seattle, depending on
which entrance of the park
you choose, mt rainier’s
iconic peak can be seen from
across seattle and western
washington. spend a day
exploring the park as you
hike through forests full of
evergreens and old growth
trees, relax in meadows filled
with colourful wildflowers and
berries, swim in alpine lakes,
and admire the glacial falls of
mt rainier national Park.
WhIDbey ISLAND
an hour’s drive and a short
ferry ride from the city,
whidbey island extends for
a fair distance into the Puget
sound. from the tidal pools,
forested trails, and cliff views
of deception’s Pass state
Park to historic towns, local
wineries, and farm-to-table
fare, whidbey whisks away
visitors for a day filled with
adventure.
November-december 2022 41
ThE ITInERARY U.a.e.

bIg bIngE
dUbaI FOr thE JEt-SEttIng gOUrmand
Delightful degustation menus, french brasseries with art-inspired menus and Japanese diners excelling at
nostalgia—the Dubai food festival 2022 justified the city’s status as one of the world’s premier food capitals 
By Prannay Pathak

42 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia


LEVAnTInE DAZZLEMEnT
flavours lebanese
feel luxurious middle-eastern
Sitting on the lower ground level
of the Jumeirah Al Qasr hotel, Al
nafoorah is a fetching Lebanese
restaurant with a terrace that has
a direct view of the Burj Al Arab,
and is designed in the fashion
of the restaurants lining the
Berdawni Riviera in Lebanon. I’m
here for their Dubai Restaurant
Week Menu, which includes a
succulent hot mezze with picks
such as moajanat moshakala and
lamb makanek. The cold mezze is
equally breathtaking, the star of
which is the enlivening fattoush.
The restaurant also offers set
menus themed around four cities
in Lebanon—Beirut, Byblos,
Tripoli and Sidon—one of which
I would want to try on my next
visit, along with Chef Fouad Ali’s
Teta’s tabbouleh.
DAncE, DRAMA, DEsERT
flavours mediterranean
Prannay PathaK
feel desert camp
Sonara Desert camp enjoys a
dramatic setting in the heart of
the burnished desert landscape
in the Dubai Conservation
Reserve. Speckling the expanse
are private sit-outs for groups
and hammocks, and fairy
lights ready to twinkle as the
sun drops below the dunes in
distance. The restaurant, with a
performance arena and al fresco
seating stretching in the centre
of a barebones setup, specialises
in Mediterranean cuisine
(think lamb chops marinated
in kaffir lime, Nile perch served
in a banana leaf and chicken
shawarma in a cone), and live
entertainment. I’m not a huge
fan of fireworks, which captivate
here, but the clutch of attractions
leading up to supper lend it the
winning edge.
BREAkfAsT Of BAROns
flavours continental
feel Plush seafront
Groggy and dressed in my funny
yoga PJs, I find myself gawking
at the fantastical splendour
of Atlantis, The Palm the next
morning. We’re here for breakfast
at the Imperial club lounge.
Al Nafoorah // A
fetching Lebanese
restaurant overlooking
the Burj Al Arab,
designed to resemble
the Berdawni Riviera
in Lebanon
But before that, off we go for
some flexing. No, really, for
we have an underwater yoga
class at the hotel’s spectacular
Lost Chambers Aquarium. As I
embark on this strangely calming
series of embarrassments, our
marine friends look upon our
shenanigans with what I suppose
is vague amusement. However
that may be, nothing beats the
satisfaction of having earned
your breakfast, for to be at the
Imperial Club, you really do have
to earn it. An exclusive space
with panoramic views of the
Arabian Gulf and an impressive
Continental breakfast spread,
this place is peak Dubai.
DRInkIng hEnRI MATIssE
AnD VIncEnT VAn gOgh
The hot and cold flavours french-mediterranean
mezzes (top) at
al nafoorah are
feel chic Brasserie
a class apart. We’re at Chef Michael Mina’s
facing page: uber-stylish Mina Brasserie. A
ain dubai, on renowned international culinary
bluewaters innovator, Mina has cooked
Island, is the
world's highest
for three American presidents
observation and been a business associate
wheel. of Andre Agassi. I give into our
November-december 2022 43
The ITInerary U.A.E.
server Dmitri’s exhortations and
get myself the excellent Wagyu
beef burger. It holds and gives
when it’s supposed to, and is
made even more pliant by the
ogleshield cheese. When The
Lemon—a delicately-done cake
sculpted into a lemon, with a
generous topping of polenta
streusel—arrives, I make sure to
grab a bigger slice than usual. But
the real star of this lunch for me
is the Art Menu. Sauvignon Blanc
and Chambord come together in
an eminently drinkable version
of Henri Matisse’s “Woman with
a Hat,” with the Fauvist smudge
artfully achieved with refraction
via Collins ice; and Van Gogh’s
“The Starry Night” is adapted
as a swirling, cerulean blend of
Prosecco, Silvermoon tea and
lemongrass.
ThE MAgnIfIcEnT
sEVEnTEEn
flavours contemporary indian
feel studio-style
44 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
Time Out Market // An
açai bowl, a shawarma wrap,
ramen, pho and an infused
nitro cold brew for breakfast,
all at the same place
At the intimate TresInd Studio in
Nakheel Mall, everything—from
the crackerjack service and the
understated ambience to the
superlative dégustation menu—
suggests what the millennial
prefers to dub badass. The 17
courses play out like a symphony
as the ensemble of servers starts
appearing, disappearing and
reappearing with outrageously
good takes on recipes (kebab
scarpetta), techniques (curry
leaf tempura) and ingredients
Prannay PathaK (BUrJ Khalifa, fOOd, frUits), ParOs dUBai (cOcKtail)
(artichokes for cafreal, and
buttermilk for ice cream). They
instruct us like calm assassins in
a hypothetical Tarantino musical
on how many seconds to wait
before gobbling the Nasturtium
Dolma down, or how many bites
the roomali Roti Tartlet in front
of us should take. The zaniness of
this hypnotic experience is down
to Chef Himanshu Saini. What
Imperial club lounge (bottom) and souk al bahar (top)
might seem like a long list of over- abound in breakfast options; facing page (clockwise):
the-top gimmicks on the menu is Paros is perfect for sundowners, but before that, grab lunch
actually an out-and-out triumph. at Mina brasserie and work it off at the ripe Market.
 ALL fOR OnE AnD OnE
fOR ALL
flavours Global
feel sprawling food court
My favourite breakfast all week
has to be an açai bowl from
a Portuguese restaurant, a
shawarma wrap from a Lebanese
street food place and an infused
nitro cold brew made with the
finest-quality Ethiopian beans,
to wash them both down. I even
consider getting both a bowl
of ramen and pho. All this is
possible sitting at the same table
at the Timeout market in Souk
Al-Bahar, Downtown Dubai.
This is a snazzy food court with
outdoor seating that has a direct
balkan delights view of the Burj Khalifa and
(left) from some of Dubai’s highest-rated
21Grams, the local restaurants, including
award-winning
bistro, are
21Grams (Balkan flavours), Lana
available at Lusa (a Portuguese restaurant
Timeout that started in the Jumeirah
Market; area), reif (for Dubai’s best
Japanese diner, ramen), Vietnamese foodies (for
Mimi Kakushi
(right), is named
those craving fresh, heartland
after a popular Vietnamese) and The Lighthouse
'20s hairstyle. (for creamy cheesecake).
46 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
AEgEAn REDuX
flavours southern european
feel laidback rooftop
There’s a place for every occasion
at Taj Jumeirah Lakes Towers,
the stunning hotel I’m staying
at in Dubai. Catch up with
friends over drinks and eclectic
Singaporean cuisine at nonya,
grab breakfast over country
music or geek out over three
legendary Brian Lara bats at Tj’s.
But at Paros, an interpretation
of the Greek island of Paros, the
vibe at the poolside-rooftop bar
on the 46th floor is something
else: 360-degree views of the
Marina, Mediterranean grub
to die for, and a selfie swing for
those who swing that way. Here,
the only worry in the world is for
your tall glass toppling over on
days the wind is really strong.
TIME TRAVEL TO JAPAn
flavours Japanese
feel retro Glamour
In a flashy finale, I find myself
transported back a century to a
modish diner in Osaka. Drum
chandeliers, beaded curtains and
stained glass-panelled windows
invoke just the kind of backdrop
that Scorsese would direct a
yakuza movie set during Japan’s
Jazz Age in. Only, he cannot
cast Sessue Hayakawa, the
Asian country's first Hollywood
superstar, who is said to have
inspired the retro glamour of this
place. mimi kakushi, Dubai’s
hottest, Japanese fine-dining
restaurant, is named after a
distinctive bob worn by the
fashionable young women of
said era. The twists Chefs Gilles
Bosquet and Vladimir Kim put
on Japanese classics are electric;
the duo has also revived omakase
at the restaurant. After a round of
hot and cold starters— including
black cod and prawn gyoza, and
21Grams (fOOd), mimi KaKUshi (POrtrait)
a selection of sushi and maki
rolls—we jump to desserts;
around the table hands with
phones in them scramble to get
a reel-worthy grab of the three-
foot-long grazing platter, overrun
with yuzu cheesecake, mochi
and fresh fruits. ❚
The Cover

S
t
o 48 theJacK/istOcK

ry
48 beSt of the World
Our year-ender issue packs a forward-looking list of global
destinations framed by five categories: community, nature,
culture, family, and adventure. the places, irrespective of their
geographical positioning on the world map, make a compelling
case for a visit in 2023. Go birdwatching on a family holiday in
colombia, hike a network of the austrian alps’ most charming
villages, or ride the K-pop wave through Busan in south Korea—
the world awaits for those curious to explore.
BEST OF THE
The Cover STory
WORLD Greatest Hiking Trails

Travel inspiration is everywhere. The question

is where to go next. here’s our annual list of
enlightened destinations for the year ahead—
places filled with wonder, rewarding to
travellers of all ages, and supportive of local
communities and ecosystems. framed by five
categories (community, nature, culture,
family, adventure), these destinations are
under the radar, ahead of the curve, and ready
for you to start exploring.

views from scenic

river road, or farm
to Market road
(fM) 170, include
the twists and turns
of the rio Grande.

48 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

WORLD2023
written By
ANDreW NeLSoN

with additiOnal rePOrtinG By

kAreN cArmIchAeL

rOBert draPer
 dodecanese
COMMUNITY

islands
greece
I A
EUROPE
A
S
DODECANESE
ISLANDS

AFRICA

this archipelago
balances tradition
and tourism.

will more visitors spoil the dodecanese?

Off the turkish coast, these Greek islands
cast an alluring spell stemming from
their rocky beauty and feisty history. a
cast of conquerors—romans, Ottomans,
and italians—left their fingerprints on
everything from the architecture to the
food. today’s invaders come not for
fortune but for selfies, at such better
known dodecanese islands as leros,
Patmos, or Kos.
But now less trafficked parts of the
archipelago like Karpathos, located
halfway between crete and rhodes, must
balance the economic need for tourism
and the environmental stresses caused by
it. in this arid, hilly land of milk and honey,
many families keep bees and make their
own butter and cheese. Karpathos’s lonely
white churches, timeworn towns, and
ancient traditions may draw adventurous
visitors fleeing the more crowded cycladic
islands of mykonos and santorini, but the
island’s water scarcity and lack of recycling
capacity pose challenges.
an important aspect of sustainable
tourism, says evangelia agapiou, founder
of ecotourism Karpathos, is to involve
as many locals as possible, whether it’s
through demonstrations of traditional
winemaking or through night fishing
excursions with resident fishermen.
“in english, the definition of ‘eco’ is
more ‘ecological,’” agapiou says. “‘ecos’
in the Greek language means the home,
the land, the community. so, this is
ecotourism—to bring people together.”

50 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 a church overlooks
an endless expanse of
sea from the remote
isle of Karpathos,
a 28-hour ferry trip
from athens.

ciril JazBec
 austrian To save a mountain range, it sometimes takes a village. Since
ADVENTURE

2008 an association of high-altitude hamlets located in Central

Europe’s Eastern Alps have banded together to promote their small

alps
communities to the world’s adventure travellers interested in
mountain hiking, biking, and climbing, as well as winter sports like
cross-country skiing and ice climbing.
Called the Bergsteigerdörfer, or the “Mountaineering Villages,”
the network is concentrated primarily in Austria’s western states,
I A

EUROPE
A
S

AUSTRIAN including Tyrol and Carinthia, with additional member towns in

ALPS

AFRICA
Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Slovenia. The Bergsteigerdörfer
works to protect villages’ culture and traditions while preserving
mountain landscapes from overdevelopment. Rejecting large-scale
hike a network
tourist projects like sprawling ski lodges and peak-scaling cable
of the alps’ most
charming villages. cars, the Bergsteigerdörfer villages, now numbering 36, put greater
emphasis on green or sustainable mountain tourism.
“We’re not big and bigger or tall and taller. We appeal to people
wanting a more authentic alpine experience,” says Barbara Reitler
of the Austrian Alpine Association. The Bergsteigerdorfer website
highlights a changing assortment of towns where, for example, hikers
can stay in a farmer’s house or try traditional foods like sterz, a hearty
The village of dish that’s immensely satisfying after a long day in the mountains.
oberstaller alm, Reitler’s favourite village is Johnsbach in Gesäuse National Park,
located in east Tyrol,
clicKalPs, awl

austria, comprises
with its dramatic views. “When you come through the Enns Valley
just 18 alpine cabins along the river and suddenly see the peaks of the Gesäuse Mountains,
and a chapel. you have emerged into a different world.”
 botswana
NATURE Botswana continues to confront a series of threats to its expansive,
wildlife-rich national parks and game reserves, ranging from
poaching to overtourism. But new anti-poaching efforts,
voluntourism, and community-based outreach are helping alleviate
some of the pressure.
In the Tuli Block, a wilderness on Botswana’s eastern border that
EUROPE
IA
A S holds leopards, brown and spotted hyenas, and a large elephant
AFRICA population, rangers are installing advanced technology in the
BOTSWANA
270-square-mile Central Tuli Game Reserve. A Dutch organisation
called Smart Parks developed low-power sensors that transmit radio
data back to a central station, alerting rangers to poachers and their
a new kind of safari vehicles or even tracking the movements of animals themselves.
offers deeper cultural Botswana is also responding to a new generation of visitors. “Since
connections. COVID our millennial travellers have become more interested in
meaningful human connection,” says National Geographic Explorer
Koketso “Koki” Mookodi. “Expect to see more craft-based tours and
village homestays being planned.”
Mookodi, the managing director of the Wild Bird Trust in
Botswana, is establishing an education program in 10 remote
villages in the Okavango Delta’s eastern section. Called Educator
Expeditions, her programme takes village teachers on safaris into
the delta and shows them how to weave the environment and local
culture into their lessons. “This is an opportunity to use nature as a
blackboard,” Mookodi says. Travellers can sign up for short courses
at the African Guide Academy’s Kwapa Camp, a bush headquarters
meerkats and other and guide training school. Options range from weeklong classes on
wildlife, and local animal print tracking and bush survival skills to a 28-day nature
culture, draw visitors to
the vast wilderness of guide course that provides students with in-depth knowledge of the
botswana. African wilderness.
niels van GiJn, awl

November-december 2022 53
NATURE
big bend
national park
texas, u.s.a.
NORTH
AMERICA
BIG BEND N.P.,
TEXAS

visit a texas
alternative to
overtouristed
yellowstone.

it’s located in the lone star state of englishman’s bay, a

legend, yet only 4,00,000 people tranquil cove on the
visited Big Bend national Park pre- island of Tobago,
pandemic—nearly ten times fewer offers sunbathing
and possible sea
visitors than yellowstone received,
turtle sightings.

trinidad and
reports robert draper, a national
FAMILY

Geographic contributing writer.

this remote and arid part of west TRINIDAD

tobago
AND TOBAGO

texas nurtures more cactus species SOUTH

than any other national park, as
well as birds such as roadrunners
and bright yellow scott’s orioles,
and mammals such as javelina.
But encounters with wildlife seem
different in the desert. “they
remind you that life is at the same
time precious and where you least
expect to find it,” draper writes.
“above all, life in the chihuahuan
desert that comprises Big Bend’s
1,252-square-mile expanse is
stubborn and easily misunderstood
but also impossible to forget.”
there’s more to Big Bend than
nature. the rio Grande river forms
a 118-mile border between Big Bend
and mexico, and various cultures
span the riverine divide. small
towns outside the park form an
archipelago of differing tastes and
outlooks, from the mexican border
community of Ojinaga to alpine’s
AMERICA
help nurture
a top haven
for sea turtle
conservation.
Consider that sea turtles survived the dinosaurs, but might not survive this
century. Kids eager to help save the turtles—and encounter hundreds of
them as well—can head to Trinidad and Tobago. With loggerheads, greens,
leatherbacks, hawksbills, and olive ridleys—five of the seven species of sea
turtles—swimming off its shores, this Caribbean nation is a mecca for turtle
tourism.
Nesting sites are found on both islands, with leatherbacks the most
numerous—during the nesting season between March to August, an
estimated 6,000 to 10,000 turtles mass on the nation’s shores. Trinidad’s
Grande Riviere beach, on the island’s north coast, is the densest leatherback
nesting ground in the world. “After 32 years, I’m still in awe of this gentle,
magnificent creature,” says Suzan Lakhan-Baptiste, managing director
of Nature Seekers, a community-based organisation that is dedicated to
leatherback conservation and leads turtle-watching tours.
Turtle-watching programs led by approved guides generate revenue to
help save these creatures, which are under assault from climate change,
alan cOPsOn, awl

dusty cowboys to edgy painters habitat loss, and plastic pollution. Travellers can even volunteer to perform
living in marfa. these diverse field work such as keeping nesting areas clear of debris, scanning and
inhabitants share one thing: the tagging nesting turtles, and tracking the size and numbers of turtles and
vast, far-flung vistas they call home. their nests.

54 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 egypt
CULTURE The debut of King Tut’s magnificent new home on the 100th
anniversary of his discovery—and a string of recent archaeological
findings—is reigniting global interest in Egypt. Dramatic and
modern, Cairo’s Grand Egyptian Museum is located in Giza at
EUROPE the edge of the Pyramids, “the perfect museum in the perfect
IA
EGYPT
A S setting,” says Fredrik Hiebert, the National Geographic Society’s
AFRICA Archaeologist-in-Residence. Hiebert started his career in Egypt and
is currently supervising National Geographic’s virtual, multimedia
exhibition “Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience.”
“It’s like the Egyptians built another pyramid to
King tut display all the golden treasures of Tutankhamun, many
celebrates a of which were hidden in the basement of the [old] Cairo
milestone in Museum,” he says. “It’s going to become a destination
his new home. museum and will change the way people visit Egypt.”
Along with the more than 5,000 treasures belonging to the
Boy King, the nearly 5.3 million-square-foot complex shelters
the nation’s astounding collections of ancient artifacts—an
estimated 100,000 pieces in all. But space could soon grow
tight. Recent excavations uncovered 250 mummies in Saqqara
and a “golden city’’ near Luxor built more than 3,000 years ago
during the reign of Tut’s grandfather, Amenhotep III. Finds
included objects used by average Egyptians in their daily lives.
These discoveries and the recent restoration of Luxor’s statue-
lined Avenue of the Sphinxes means there’s much to celebrate—yet
visitors studying
Egypt’s archaeological sites remain endangered. Case in point:
King Tut’s mask,
housed in cairo’s Abydos, the royal burial ground for the first pharaohs, is threatened
egyptian Museum, by urban and agricultural encroachment, rising water tables,
back in 2016. and illegal dumping, according to the World Monuments Fund.

November-december 2022 55
ADVENTURE
choquequirao
peru
CHOQUEQUIRAO

SOUTH
AMERICA

trek to the less

visited sister city of
machu Picchu.

One of the most remote inca sites in the Peruvian

andes, the ruins of choquequirao are reserved for
the hardy few who put in the effort to reach it. those
who make the trek to the sprawling complex can do
so only on foot, zigzagging up and down steep paths
for 29 kilometres to reach its 10,000-foot elevation,
suspended between the high andes and the jungles
below.
“many myths exist around choquequirao,” says
Gori-tumi echevarría, an archaeologist who first
worked at the ruins in 2005. its many temples,
terraces, and plazas are yet to be fully excavated.
among the ancient city’s most intriguing features:
the llama terraces, named for the two dozen nearly
life-size llama images that cascade down the face
of a series of steep terraces. the llamas are formed
from quartzite white rocks that vividly stand out
against the dark schist background—unique stone
artwork found at no other inca site. “there is nothing
else like this in the andes. it was graphic innovation
that occurred prior to the 16th century and was
not repeated,” says echevarría, who specialises in
prehistoric rock art.
But change is coming to rock the “cradle of gold,”
the meaning of choquequirao in the quechua
language. new infrastructure plans are expected to
boost visitation to machu Picchu’s sister city.
Pre-pandemic, machu Picchu had more
than 1.5 million visitors annually, according to
Peruvian tourism officials. choquequirao counted
less than 9,500. to increase accessibility, the
Peruvian government has committed to spending
$260 million to build a cable car spanning five
kilometres between the town of Kiuñalla and the
archaeological site. development may create more
economic opportunity for locals at the expense of
choquequirao’s serenity. for now, however, the site
feels like a sanctuary sheltered from the 21st century,
and one that still calls out to any adventure traveller’s
imagination.
 hidden in the
Peruvian andes,
the Inca ruins of
choquequirao are
victOr zea

reachable only on
foot—for now.

November-december 2022 57
 laos
COMMUNITY The COVID-19 pandemic closed the borders of many tourism-
dependent countries, such as Laos. But the Southeast Asian country
known for its emerald-green vistas of the Upper Mekong River got
a boost in domestic travel with the December 2021 inauguration of
A S I A a Chinese-financed and -constructed bullet train christened the
LAOS Lane Xang, Laos’s ancient name meaning Kingdom of a Million
Elephants. The train’s route features a 260-mile segment within
Laos, starting at the border town of Boten and running through 75
tunnels and across 167 bridges, before terminating in the capital,
a new high- Vientiane.
speed train The train’s promise: expanding tourism among the Lao
makes more of
themselves, who can now more easily explore their country’s
laos accessible.
multifaceted heritage, including the old imperial capital, Luang
Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage site. “Since COVID, Luang
Prabang depends on tourists from all over Laos, especially from
Vientiane and southern Laos,” says Veomanee Douangdala,
managing director and cofounder of Ock Pop Tok Cultural Center,
The nom ou river a weaving collective focused on traditional Lao textiles.
flows past the village Previously Laotian travelers endured a five-to-six-hour car trip
of nong Khiaow,
from Vientiane to reach Luang Prabang. Zipping along at a hundred
northeast of the
ancient capital, luang and sixty kilometres an hour, the rail journey takes just under two
Prabang. hours. “The train is faster,” says Douangdala, “with good scenery.”

sOUthern liGhtscaPes-aUstralia, Getty

 The tourism draw
of football in
Manchester faces
competition in the
city’s burgeoning
cultural scene.

manchester
FAMILY

Britain’s second city puts its own fizz in pop culture with sports and

united kingdom
music brands known by families the world over. In 2023, Manchester,
home to the renowned Manchester United Football Club, launches a
number of attractions abetting its post-pandemic revival. The year’s
centerpiece is the spring opening of the Factory, a new $225 million
downtown cultural space designed by Rem Koolhaas’s architectural
firm. Named partly after the local record label that made hometown
MANCHESTER
EUROPE bands Joy Division and New Order globally famous, the Factory will
AFRICA become the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival.
The city’s biannual, cutting-edge arts jam showcases the best in
theater, opera, and music for all ages.
a football pil- The year also marks the reopening of the reimagined Manchester
grimage site kicks Museum, which features new galleries focused on Chinese, South
off an arts revival. Asian, and British Asian culture and a specially designed inclusive,
family-focused “Belonging Gallery” that showcases how humans,
plants, and animals thrive together. Also coming into its own: the
National Trust’s new “sky park” on the Castlefield Viaduct, a walkable
Victorian-era railroad bridge.
And while it can be difficult to secure tickets for a United match in
marK syKes, awl

Old Trafford, the team’s legendary stadium, fans can visit the nearby
Manchester United Museum, which displays memorabilia and includes
a tour of the stadium itself.

November-december 2022 59
 visitors provide scale for
the buddhist carvings,
caves, and niches
that make up china’s
longmen Grottoes.

longmen grottoes Can ancient artistry from the Tang Dynasty thrive in the 21st-
CULTURE

century metaverse? The Longmen Grottoes in China’s Henan

henan province, Province offer a clue. More than 1,00,000 figures devoted to
the Buddhist religion, primarily sculpted between the fifth

china and eighth centuries A.D., are tucked inside countless caves
within limestone cliffs rising above the Yi River. In 2021
Henan TV showrunners used the UNESCO World Heritage
A S I A
LONGMEN site as a backdrop for their acrobatic dance program Longmen
iconic ancient GROTTOES
King Kong (the title refers to a Buddhist champion, not a large
statuary gets a gorilla). The show’s whizbang special effects combined with
taste of modern the spectacular statues became a countrywide sensation.
tech.
But the use of high tech at the grottoes isn’t just for
entertainment. Archaeologists are using 3D printing to
christian KOBer, awl

reconstruct damaged statuary, and scientists participating

in a joint program of Xi’an Jiaotong University and the
University of Chicago are applying digital scanning to create
a 3D map of the site.
 colombia

FAMILY
COLOMBIA

SOUTH
AMERICA

Be enchanted
by this birding
paradise in south
america.

Colombia’s boisterous birdlife is as

colourful and tuneful as Encanto, the hit
Disney animated film set in this biodiverse
South American country. More than 1,900
different birds (almost 20 percent of the
world’s avian species) live here, making
Colombia the richest roost for birdlife on
the planet.
Where can families flock with them?
The Northern Colombia Birding Trail, for
birders both extreme and more casual,
explores the country’s range of habitats.
Tours with the National Audubon Society
use 4X4 vehicles to visit the Sierra Nevada
de Santa Marta, the planet’s highest
coastal mountain range; the lesser known
Perijá Mountains; and beach-blessed
Tayrona National Park on the Caribbean
coast. Visitors can spot species like the
crested quetzal, Santa Marta parakeet, and
the sickle-winged guan. Colombians and
Wayuu Indigenous peoples work along the
route as bird guides.
“Birdwatching, wildlife watching, and
nature tourism in general can play a big
role in conserving Colombia’s biodiversity
and also in supporting the communities
who live nearby,” says biologist and
National Geographic Explorer Federico
Pardo. “Wildlife tourism not only brings
dollars to the economy, it also increases the
appreciation for our plants, animals, and
ecosystems.”
KarOl KOzlOwsKi, awl

Stunning views of
colombia’s lush
landscapes await those
brave enough to climb
to the top of the rock
of Guatapé.

November-december 2022 61
 The iconic milwaukee
Art Museum seems
poised to set sail from
the city’s lakefront.

milwaukee
COMMUNITY

Wisconsin’s biggest and liveliest city combines a blue-collar,

wisconsin, u.s.a.
back-thumping energy with a close-knit creative community
that’s turning heads beyond the Great Lakes. (Having a
winning NBA team, the Bucks, doesn’t hurt either.)
Like the 450 motorcycles displayed inside its Harley-Davidson
Museum, Milwaukee is revving its engines in 2023. Riverside
MILWAUKEE promenades are being built along its three waterways (the Milwaukee,
NORTH
AMERICA Kinnickinnic, and Menomonee Rivers), and the buzzy Deer District
rises from a former field of vacant lots, with hotels, concert venues,
and the Bucks arena. Meanwhile traditional neighborhoods are
a Great lakes getting fresh development projects, such as the planned arts and
city revamps cultural center in Bronzeville focused on African American art.
its neglected Follow the locals and kayak down one of the rivers before
spaces. disembarking to explore the Historic Third Ward, a former industrial
neighborhood laced with bike lanes. At the Milwaukee Public Market,
you can score a bag of kid-pleasing cheese curds, as beloved as the local
bratwursts; then follow the shore of Lake Michigan to the Milwaukee
Art Museum’s sculptural pavilion designed by Santiago Calatrava.
raymOnd BOyd, Getty

Beer was the drink that made Milwaukee famous. Hit up a

brewery—the city has dozens—to see how they’ve evolved.
The stylish taprooms pouring crafted IPAs and porters are
light-years removed from the clinky-clanky bottling plants
where TV characters Laverne and Shirley toiled.
 NATURE

azores A land born of fire but now engulfed in green,

the Azores is working to secure its future. This
volcanic island chain in the middle of the Atlantic
is an autonomous region of Portugal, located

portugal
about 1,600 kilometres off its coast. “The Azores
are nine islands with different habits and accents
that change from island to island,” says National
Geographic Explorer Miriam Cuesta Garcia, a
marine biologist studying the nocturnal behavior

I A
A of seabird hatchlings on Pico Island. “But the

S
EUROPE

AZORES Azores have a unified vision for sustainability.

AFRICA
They know they need to [protect] their unique
this remote environment, to remain the same even when
archipelago changes occur.”
is an oasis for With four of its nine islands UNESCO biosphere
whales and reserves—and recognised by the World Wildlife
dolphins. Fund as an oasis for 28 whale and dolphin
species—the Azores take sustainable tourism
seriously. It became the world’s first archipelago
to be certified by EarthCheck, an Australia-
based international advisory board and green
tourism leader that conferred the award in 2019.
The Portuguese territory is now focusing on
conservation and biodiversity protection, air and
water quality, and preservation of Indigenous
heritage. For example, authorities are limiting
To help protect Mount the number of hikers per day to Mount Pico,
Pico, authorities limit
the number of hikers the highest peak in Portugal, to ensure visitors
scaling the highest for years to come enjoy Pico Island’s dramatic
peak in the Azores. volcanic landscape.
marcO BOttiGelli, awl
 switzerland
FAMILY

I A
EUROPE A

S
SWITZERLAND

AFRICA

hop aboard a rail

network serving
fun for families.

On any given day, Switzerland’s transit

network carries 6.6 million riders in
a country of only 8.7 million people,
tempting vacationing families with some
unique trips on its famously punctual
trains featuring spectacular mountains,
classic cookies, and even a Wonka-esque
chocolate tour.
The Gotthard Panorama Express
begins on a Lucerne steamboat crossing
the city’s famous lake before boarding a
train in Flüelen for a trip to Switzerland’s
Italian-influenced south. Multilingual
guides point out landmarks like the 18th-
century Wassen church, seen from three
angles due to the route’s spiraling loops
to gain altitude. A special coach with
open windows allows photographers to
capture wide-angle views of landscapes
like the Reuss Valley. A cookie train from
Berne to Lucerne stops for a nibble at the
Kambly bakery where kids can bake their
own cookies and design a biscuit tin to
take home. A chocolate train departing
from Montreux starts with chocolate
croissants and hot chocolate served
onboard, and winds up in Broc for a tour
of the Maison Cailler chocolate factory.
Making it all sweeter is the Swiss
Family Card, a rail pass that allows
anyone under the age of 16 to ride either
free or at a 50 percent discount. “The
pass is convenient and it allows for
exploration on a whim,” says National
Geographic family travel expert Heather
Greenwood Davis. Come winter the Swiss
transit network delivers visitors to ski
resorts like sustainability-minded Laax,
. where families can take snowboarding
lessons together.
.
.
 families riding
christian KOBer, awl

switzerland’s robust
rail network can hit
the slopes in the
country’s popular ski
spots, like verbier.

November-december 2022 65
CULTURE
charleston
south carolina,
u.s.a.
NORTH
AMERICA
CHARLESTON
an american
city examines its
harrowing past.
a new year shines a light on an old
wrong in charleston. Known for its low
country cuisine, walkable urbanism,
south carolina’s largest city addresses a
grimmer aspect of its history when the
NATURE
international african american museum
opens on January 21. the building
is located on Gadsden’s wharf and
faces charleston harbor, where ships
brought 1,00,000 enslaved africans
in chains to north america in the
18th and 19th centuries. nine galleries
tell harrowing tales of the middle
Passage and the horrors of plantation
life. But they also uncover stories
of the triumph of the enslaved and
their enduring cultural contributions,
including a section devoted to the
Gullah Geechee people who live along
the atlantic coast from the carolinas
to florida and continue some of the
african traditions of their ancestors.
importantly, the museum offers
other ways for Black americans to
connect with their roots. historians
believe nearly 90 per cent of Black
americans can trace an ancestor back
to charleston’s slave markets. to
help visitors fill in their family trees,
the museum’s center for family
history will link up to millions of
genealogical records and archivists
who can help access them.
66 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
Slovenia’s Green
Gourmet route, geared
to cyclists, serves both
natural beauty and
slovenia
culinary delights.
I A
EUROPE
A
S
SLOVENIA
take a scenic AFRICA
ride along
a gourmet
cycling route.
Widely recognised for being a leader in sustainable tourism, Slovenia has
already cooked up a number of eco-friendly tours under its seven-year-old,
countrywide Green Scheme. Now it’s added a new item to the menu: the
Slovenia Green Gourmet Route. This 11-day, 10-destination food trail is
intended specifically for bicyclists.
“Bikers can reach a lot of remote [countryside] to discover that each [cow]
pasture will produce a unique cheese,” says Jan Klovara, one of the trail’s
developers. The route spans the country, from the capital, Ljubljana, through
the Soča Valley, with its Alpine views, to the cave-studded Karst Plateau, and
along the Drava and Sava Rivers.
Cyclists use the Slovenian train system to go point to point and their own
pedal power to navigate bike-safe rural roads, before sitting down to dinner
at a Michelin-starred restaurant in cities like Maribor, celebrated for its
local and Serbian cuisine. They can sample pršut (prosciutto) in Štanjel, or
sip vintages at a wine cellar in Brda, the grape-growing agricultural region
sarO17, Getty
known as the Slovene Tuscany. Visitors can follow the route or customize it
to fit their own interests and appetites. Says Gourmet Route colleague Jana
Apih, “It’s a tour designed for sustainability.”
 alberta

COMMUNITY
canada
ALBERTA

NORTH
AMERICA

follow the
leader in
indigenous
tourism.

alberta is celebrated for its natural

wonders like the athabasca Glacier and
Banff national Park, both high in the
rocky mountains; its wide-open prairie
vistas; and the glass-and-steel modernity
of cities like calgary and edmonton.
But there are different perspectives to
consider in this canadian province, part
of a rethinking about how indigenous
stories are told across all of north
america.
“[travellers] who seek us out want to
reconnect and refocus,” says Brenda
holder, a cree/iroquois guide who leads
visitors on walks and workshops in the
woods near sundre, alberta, to examine
the medicinal plants her people rely upon.
alberta’s aboriginal sites offer
touchstones into the province’s pre-
european past. visitors to elk island
national Park, located just east of
edmonton, encounter cultural history
dating back 8,000 years through guided
hikes, hands-on interpretive programs
featuring prehistoric stone tools, and
cree crafting workshops. Or they can
admire the visions and myths found on
the rock carvings and paintings left on the
sandstone formations and rock spires of
writing-on-stone/Áísínai’pi, a UnescO
world heritage site in the high grassland
prairies of milk river valley.
imaGineGOlf, Getty

Visitors to the
Canadian province
of Alberta can
connect with the
region’s Indigenous
past and present.

November-december 2022 67
ADVENTURE
new The country that brought you bungee jumping
is bouncing back from the pandemic. On
New Zealand’s South Island, a re-energised

zealand
Queenstown is again welcoming adventure
P A C I F I C
travellers from all over the world. They come
O C E A N to this lakeside town of some 15,000 for skiing,
AUS.
NEW ZEALAND as well as year-round hiking in the deservedly
named Remarkables range. But bicycles should
be generating the most excitement. By 2025,
the Queenstown Trails Trust aims to complete
a network of recreational and commuting bike
a thrill-seekers’ lanes and paths that will link up workplaces,
wonderland schools, and other urban spaces. The network’s
is bouncing shining star: a 130-kilometre biking route called
back to life. the Queenstown Trail, one of New Zealand’s Great
Rides. Starting on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, the
Ride pedals east from Queenstown to Gibbston.
For the more adventurous, the 31-mile
Coronet Loop Trail takes cyclists deep into
the surrounding backcountry. The singletrack
circumnavigates 5,410-foot-tall Coronet Peak
Adrenaline seekers and rambles past waterfalls, river gorges, beech
can bungee jump 43 forests, and the historic remnants of a 19th-
meters from karawau
bridge on the scenic
century Chinese gold miner settlement along the
South Island. Arrow River.

danita delimOnt stOcK, awl

68 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 san francisco’s
crosstown Trail cuts
diagonally through
the city, offering
sweeping vistas of
the Pacific coast.

san francisco
FAMILY

In San Francisco, city kids can learn that becoming a trail hiker
doesn’t necessarily mean a trip into the wild. The recently completed

california, u.s.a. Crosstown Trail meanders across the city diagonally, from its
southeastern corner at Candlestick Point to its northwestern tip at
Lands End, winding through gardens and up hills and across urban
streets for nearly 27 kilometres. The path is “the fruit of volunteers’
labor—ordinary San Franciscans coming together to define its route
NORTH
AMERICA
and, in some places, physically clearing paths in order to connect
SAN
FRANCISCO segments of existing trails,” writes Chaney Kwak, who has walked the
entire length of the Crosstown Trail. “You might run into neighbors
traverse the city by
bragging about their fruit trees, and plucking pink apples to share.”
foot on a trail with
epic views. Along the way, the trail skirts the Presidio. This 1,491-acre military
post turned popular national park offers stunning Golden Gate Bridge
views and in July celebrated the opening of the 14-acre Presidio
Tunnel Tops. Designed by the same firm behind Manhattan’s High
Line, the new site is set atop concrete freeway tunnels and buzzes with
alessandra sanGUinetti

a plastic-free nature play space, food trucks, and campfire talks. At the
Field Station, youth adventure guides lead hands-on nature activities,
including identifying local plants, learning about the urban coyote
population, and sampling water from San Francisco’s last year-round
free-flowing creek.

November-december 2022 69
CULTURE
appian
way
italy EUROPE S
I A
A
APPIAN
WAY
AFRICA

walk through
history along
ancient
rome’s “su-
perhighway.”

if all roads lead to rome, this ancient

highway built 2,300 years ago was
the mother of them all. stretching
for 580 kilometres from the heart of
italy’s capital to the port of Brindisi
on the adriatic, the via appia
(nicknamed regina viarum—the
queen of roads) was trod by
ordinary citizens, marching soldiers,
and glitterati from the latin poet
horace to the gladiator-tussling
emperor commodus.
neglected after rome’s fall
but never forgotten, the road is
undergoing a renaissance as the
italian government seeks to retrace,
uncover, and restore the ancient
cobblestones—transforming the
appia into a walkable route for
modern travellers. the goal is a
pilgrimage through history, with stops
at scenic villages and archaeological
sites as well as planned overnight
accommodations at the end of each
day’s journey.
in the meantime, roadies should
take full advantage of modern italian
cuisine, says national Geographic
writer nina strochlic, who recently
traveled the appia. One tip: “in the
southern region of Puglia, head to the
nearest bakery for the flaky, creamy
rustico—a buttery pastry stuffed with
béchamel, mozzarella, and tomato.”
 james bond fans will
recognize the Ponte
dell’Acquedotto in
Puglia from the 2021
film no Time to Die.

andrea frazzetta

November-december 2022 71
 The Three Patriarchs
in the zion Canyon of
Zion National Park.

utah u.s.a.
ADVENTURE

With five national parks and eight national monuments, Utah is an

adventurer’s ultimate playground. But outdoor lovers tend to visit
only a small and iconic group of destinations, such as Zion National
Park. Now the Utah Office of Outdoor Recreation has created an
innovative grant program to help fund new outdoor recreation
NORTH
projects throughout the state, including the Zion National Park
AMERICA
UTAH
Forever Project.
In Zion, known for its dramatic narrow canyons and towering
MEXICO
sandstone cliffs, work begins in 2023 on a new visitor center on
the park’s east side. The hope: to draw some of Zion’s annual five
help sustain an million visitors away from the crowded main south entrance and
ultimate adven-
popular trails like Angels Landing. In addition to the sustainable
ture playground.
visitor center, plans include 110-plus kilometres of new mountain
biking and hiking trails outside the east entrance.
Other recent projects awarded grants include helping to complete
a biking path in the heart of the Provo River gorge; an observation
tower at the Tracy Aviary’s Jordan River Nature Center, a birding
site on the west side of Salt Lake City; and riparian restoration
along Utah’s Helper River.
“Outdoor recreation is a cash cow for Utah,” says Stephanie
Pearson, author of National Geographic’s 100 Great American
Parks. These efforts will keep Utah’s outdoor industry booming,
while protecting fragile ecosystems.
 busan

CULTURE
south korea
IA
AS
BUSAN

ride the K-pop

wave through
south Korea’s
second city.

Cinema is a communal experience

in Busan, Korea’s second largest
city, which has hosted one of Asia’s
most prestigious annual film
festivals for nearly three decades.
In 2022 the Busan International
Film Festival held screenings in 17
neighborhood venues across this
seaport of 3.4 million people.
Before performances, movie
lovers can grab a craft beer or
coffee—Busan is celebrated for its
artisan brewers of both beans and
hops—or stroll through Citizens
Park, a redeveloped U.S. military
base. (The city played a strategic
role in the Korean War.) Opened in
2014, the park is a 133-acre retreat
in the middle of downtown, planted
with more than one million trees
and shrubs, comprising 97 species
in all. Famed both for its mountains
and beaches, Busan is also home to
the Nakdong River Estuary. South
Korea’s longest river runs through the
city and shelters the whooper swan
and other endangered waterfowl.
danita delimOnt stOcK, awl

Visitors to Busan will

find traditional food
markets as well as
hip craft breweries
and coffee roasters.

November-december 2022 73
 colorful, geometric
patterns are hallmarks
of Ghanaian fashion,
from small villages to
the capital, Accra.

ghana
With COVID restrictions relaxed, many travellers are once again
COMMUNITY

taking up an invitation that Ghanaian president Nana Akufo-Addo

had extended pre-pandemic to people with African heritage: to
return to this West African country, explore their African roots, and
connect with its citizens. The journeys, popularized by celebrity
EUROPE travellers such as Danny Glover and Chance the Rapper, were often
IA
A S
emotional ones as visitors confronted the physical remnants of the
GHANA
AFRICA
slave trade along Ghana’s coast.
find deep roots “More than a return, it’s a remembering,” says National
of Black Geographic photo editor Melissa Bunni Elian, who journeyed to
heritage in Ghana last spring. Elian notes that Ghana has a “strong pan-African
danita delimOnt stOcK, awl

west africa. spirit. You’ll hear afrobeats everywhere, from the taxis to the
grocery store, but also reggae, Haitian zouk, American hip-hop.”
For those interested in design, the capital of Accra is “the center
of fashion for Ghana,” she says. “There’s always something bright
or loud or colourful. [Ghanians] have very distinct ways of putting
things together.”
 revillagigedo
ADVENTURE Some 480 kilometres off the southern tip of the Baja California
Peninsula lies a national park steeped in superlatives.
Revillagigedo National Park, a 57,000-square-mile Mexican

national park
marine reserve, is North America’s largest fully protected
underwater park. It offers sanctuary to the continent’s
greatest concentration of tropical marine megafauna,
from hammerhead sharks to humpback whales, earning it

mexico
the nickname “the Galápagos of Mexico.” And the waters
surrounding its four main islands are fast becoming a mecca
for scuba divers.
“The park is one of the few places, if not the only place
NORTH on the planet, that you can have intimate interaction with
AMERICA
giant oceanic mantas,” says marine biologist and underwater
REVILLAGIGEDO
N.P. filmmaker Erick Higuera. He says the mantas, which can
weigh up to 3,600 pounds and attain a wingspan of 27 feet,
witness conserva- seem to like the feel of the divers’ air bubbles on their bellies.
tion success in the The bottlenose dolphins that inhabit the park’s waters
Galápagos also show curiosity toward humans and will often swim up
of mexico. to and investigate divers. “The proximity you have with wild
bottlenose dolphins is insane,” Higuera says. “As species, we’re
Whitetip reef sharks both curious about each other.”
and other marine To minimize disruptions to the animals, the park strictly
fauna abound limits the number of boats and divers allowed daily. It is not
in the protected
revillagigedo uncommon to reserve space on a Revillagigedo diving boat up
National Park. to two years in advance.
enric sala

November-december 2022 75
 scottish
NATURE

highlands
NORTH ARCTIC

A
AMERICA OCEAN
S I
A
SCOTTISH
EUROPE HIGHLANDS

AF RIC A

rewilding gains
momentum in this
northern expanse.

the windswept scottish highlands are

celebrated for their austere beauty, but
the sheep-scoured landscapes are in
fact the result of human interference.
in ancient times, scotland’s glens
and hills were covered by the great
caledonian forest. Pine, rowan, and
oak trees sheltered all kinds of now
vanished wildlife, including wolves,
bears, and aurochs, a wild ox. But
centuries of logging and overgrazing
devastated the ecosystem. now a
move to return the highlands to its
original woodlands, by reintroducing
former flora and fauna in a process
called “rewilding,” is gathering steam—
with major strides to come in 2023.
the nonprofit organisation trees for
life is opening a center in dundreggan
to educate the public on the concept of
rewilding. above inverness, the 23,000-
acre alladale wilderness reserve has
already planted nearly a million trees,
runs a breeding program to reintroduce
the native scottish wildcat, and has a
longer-term plan to bring back wolves.
and most ambitiously, the affric
highlands project will start restoring
500,000 acres stretching from loch
ness to the west coast in a 30-year
initiative that could make scotland
the planet’s first rewilded nation. ❚
 overgrazing
chips away at the
local ecosystem,
endangering the
unique animals
inhabiting
Scotland’s hills.
Subscriptions start from `449
THE

a
d
dr 96 PhOtO cOUrtesy: fernhills rOyal Palace, OOty

ess
80 property revieW: poStcard deWa,
bhUtaN
86 property revieW: SkyvieW by
empyreaN, JammU
90 property revieW: the GlaSS villa, Goa
92 property revieW: aNaNda iN the
himalayaS, UttarakhaNd
96 beSt StayS: tamil NadU’S heritaGe hall
of famerS
ThE ADDREss BhUtan

eNTer The PIcTUre

PoSTcArD

80 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 There's no dearth of good times and
great views at The Postcard dewa,
including from the pool.

A stylish luxury hotel in Thimphu’s northern outskirts is where illustrious

PhOtO cOUrtesy: the POstcard dewa

Bhutanese and travellers alike are finding their happy place

B y P r A N N Ay PAt h A k

November-december 2022 81
The ADDReSS BHUTAN
nO matter where
yOU are in bhUTAN,
there’s almOst
always a fine place to stay not very far away. Several
outposts of international hospitality chains have
flourished in its valleys and unassuming cities,
promising inordinate luxury for the well-heeled,
with exceedingly well-appointed rooms with
panoramic views, hot-stone baths and a headlong
immersion into Himalayan zen.
Not that it eschews any of these indulgences, but
compared to all those illustrious cribs, The Postcard
Dewa also feels like a really comfortable home with
every possible convenience. Informed by aesthetics
at the intersection of distinctly Indian and eastern
Himalayan sensibilities, it interrupts the monotony
of the quintessential Bhutanese luxury hotel. I know
it from the moment my car begins snaking along
the forest road hugging the hill, the hotel’s evasive
visage giving itself away bit by bit at the persistent
craning of my neck. Once there, I am welcomed with
smiles, with endless kuzuzampolas and with warm
herbal tea as I stare wide-eyed at the enormous
reception desk—an ornately carved wooden counter
salvaged from the Talo Monastery in Punakha—and
right behind, an embroidered kira belonging to the
family of the second Bhutanese king.
In the week that just went by, I’ve hiked more
than I have in my entire life. My clothes demand
reparations of me, and my body has forgotten both
fight and flight. The former are taken in kindly by
the laundry, and the latter I cede to my sanctuary
for the next few days: the Premier Suite. Numbered
Tourist guide
Kencho at the
201, it is as close as a real-world manifestation can
handicrafts come to the open-plan apartment of my dreams.
Market, It’s big (2,000 square feet) but with clearly defined
Thimphu. The spaces that blend into each other. It’s chic but with
city centre just the right number of traditional accents. It’s
is around a
20-minute drive
modern but bursting with hygge, thanks to the
away from the plush living area with no want of couches, rugs and
hotel. floor cushions. I have made many friends in Bhutan,
82 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
and I guess there is enough space to accommodate
all of them over an intimate gathering and a
backyard barbecue on the terrace. I step into the
latter, taking in all of Khasadrapchu village and the
turquoise belly of the river Wang Chhu. This is a
view, I surmise, that might have made three of the
most important people in Bhutan proud—its king,
queen and Prime Minister.
No, that’s not me flattering myself. Suraj Chettri,
the Food & Beverage Manager, tells me the hotel
stayed functional throughout the duration of the
pandemic, hosting groups on business who would
utilise the meeting hall that doubles up as a yoga
room. Hosting domestic guests for Sunday brunches
and PM Lotay Tshering for two quarantines after he
returned to the country from trips abroad, Postcard
Dewa also had the king Jigme Khesar Namgyel
Wangchuck and the queen Jetsun Pema over for an
extended stay at the property. I imagine it was the
location that did it: a scenic perch high up in a forest
just 20 minutes away from Thimphu city centre and
under an hour away from Paro airport. But I will
soon learn there’s more to it.
Our conversation about the hotel’s illustrious
guests in recent history inevitably spills over into
the evening cocktails, where I try out a peach wine-
based sour and an uplifting cosmopolitan with sea
buckthorn. I earlier learned how the coronation of
the current king provided occasion for the creation
of K5, the spirit that’s on everybody’s lips, locals
and otherwise. I can only imagine how much
fun this potent unofficial national whisky, when
muddled with mint and lime and served over ice,
must get as a cocktail known as the K5 Smash, at
the Postcard Dewa bar. I hop on to the barstool like
a Joe Pesci understudy before Suraj, who calmly
lays out his arsenal out on the counter—wheat
beer, red rice lager and dark ale from the much-
Prannay PathaK
The ADDReSS BHUTAN

raved-about Namgay Artisanal Brewery from

Paro, not to mention amber ale from Hongtsho,
and the unmistakable Druk 11000. In the display
behind, I can spot Raven Vodka and Bhutan Grain
Whisky rubbing shoulders with the Scottish
Drambuie. Meanwhile, Aaron from the F&B team,
a contemplative young man who shares my love for
Nietzschean philosophy and pop music, fills me in
on the joys of the arrah, the local moonshine that
locals often savour with egg. The blend can surprise
even the most seasoned of us, the duo tells me.
The year 2022 marks exactly four centuries of
the completion of the fascinating Chari Monastery,
situated a 45-minute drive away from the hotel.
Constructed by Bhutan’s founding father, the
fabled Tibetan lama Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel,
the 8,500-foot-high monastery is accessible via a
45-minute hike uphill. I have visited enough dzongs clockwise from top left:
and monasteries to know the etiquette: hands off fragrant biryani at the
your cameras and mobile phones, and shoes off riverside after a hike to
chari Monastery; The
your feet. My guide Kencho takes us through the
hotel's lobby shows off
premise—dank prayer halls redolent with the scent relics repurposed as decor
of butter and painted in Buddhist frescoes and and furniture; situated in
mandalas, and shrines festooned with tormas (ritual a forest and overlooking
cakes) done in the brightest colours, and glaring Khasadrapchu village in
northern Thimphu, The
guardian-keepers. Another five-minute climb later,
Postcard dewa offers all
we discover Zhabdrung’s lair, where the revered creature comforts; The
lama is said to have meditated as a 26-year-old— setting for a picnic lunch;
the Tango monastery, which affords an even more The game of khuru.
spectacular view from above.
For this excursion to the two monasteries, I am
joined by Aditya Chandra, Postcard’s Head of
Operations in Goa. Along with Kencho, we hurry
down the trail to the lunch venue—where the team
has set up camp at the bank of the fast-flowing
stream in the middle of the forest. Picnics are a
beloved tradition in Bhutan, a fact that children and
youngsters passing by on their bicycles or settling
at a distance with a picnic mat keep confirming.
Serendipitously, the weather, which has now taken
a chilly turn after a dry spell all of last week, finds a
capable foil in a confident menu—fragrant mutton
biryani out of a tiffin, with a playful tomato salan,
and gulab jamun for dessert. I remember having told
Suraj about my constant search for good pan-Indian
flavours abroad and turning down steak for dinner
later tonight. I realise that this lunch in many ways
symbolises what I will return to Postcard Dewa for:
the will to be no-frills, the will to be local without
being too overbearingly so, and the will to listen.
Later, when we’re back within the warm innards of
the hotel, as if having read my mind, he makes me
the generous offer of masala chai—delivered to my
room after I’m done with my evening soak.
Dinner is out at the restaurant terrace. I’m not big
on steak, as I said, so the kitchen brings out the next

84 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 best thing: a superlative barbecue spread for me to
chow down with some splendid wine. Over my three
days at the property, the capabilities of the Postcard
Dewa kitchen come to the fore, from a smashing
Bhutanese spread for breakfast, the star of which
is a red rice porridge soaking in hearty local butter
that nearly makes me sob like Anton Ego eating
ratatouille, to an Indian lunch so good that you’ll
almost excuse yourself for committing the grave sin
of not eating local. My final dinner at the restaurant
is an pan-Asian spread that kicks off with an odd
bunch of starters—dates with an ema datshi stuffing
and pita and hummus on the side. Needless to say, it
all works.
That most things Suraj and the staff aim for at
Postcard Dewa hit the bull’s eye isn’t random. The
national sport of Bhutan is archery. It’s probably
the only acceptable initiation into manhood for
most of its gho-wearing population. The first song
Ken plays in the car after my request for music, and
then many times over, is an evocative strain about
archery. One sunny morning, I march out into the
grassy lawn to see Aaron plonking a rudimentary
target some distance away. Once done, he sprints
towards a throwing crease, handing me a set of
traditional darts to try and aim about 20 yards away
at the target. This, I am told, is khuru, second-in-
command to archery, and quite an engaging sport,
even for the athletically disinclined. I show promise
but fail to convert the start and at the end of it, I go
down 2-0 in a somewhat closely fought contest.
Water babies mustn’t miss the temperature-
controlled pool, which affords equally calming
views. It’s on the way to the spa and sauna rooms,
where I receive the Head, Neck and Shoulder
Massage with a foot rub thrown in, followed
by a sauna. Despite what wellness experts and
authorities on spa etiquette might say, dozing off
and experiencing sensory loss of time and space is a
good enough indication of how good a massage was.
I have an early start and a long day of travel ahead of
me the following day, but that cannot stop me from
answering the door for a special request. It’s Aaron,
and he has my arrah. ❚

Essentials
Overlooking Khasadrapchu village in the
northern outskirts of thimphu, Postcard dewa
has 15 rooms (including two suites) with private
sitouts, a spa offering signature massages along
Prannay PathaK

with hot stone baths, pool and gymnasium.

www.postcardresorts.com/book

November-december 2022 85
The ADDReSS Jammu & Kashmir

A HoMe
IN The
hILLS

Skyview by

Empyrean is a one-

stop destination

for adventure and

leisure in Jammu

By PoojA NAik

86 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

November-december 2022
87
PhOtO cOUrtesy: sKyview By emPyrean
The ADDReSS Jammu & Kashmir
T
he scent of pine trees mingle with
fresh soil and the plummeting
temperature is directly proportional
to the fading sun. I’m in the Skyview
Gondola—supposedly India’s highest at 65 metres
of ground clearance—from where I watch tops
of fir trees, people the size of sparrows, corn and
barley fields, narrow hiking trails, village homes,
and school grounds flicker past over a distance
of 2.8 kilometres in the next 10 minutes. Thick
forests surround formidable mountains straight
ahead, while a glance at Patnitop—the cable car’s
destination terminal at an altitude of 1,343 metres
in the opposite direction—reveals a cluster of
hillside boutique properties. It is easy to mistake the
landscape for a European countryside if not for the
looming Himalayas in the distance.
A two-hour drive from Jammu Airport
brings me to Skyview by Empyrean—a leisure
accommodation-cum-adventure station in Jammu’s
Sanget Valley. It is my maiden encounter with
India’s northernmost Union Territory. What started
out as a recreational initiative in 2019, eventually
expanded to include 10 rooms over the years,
drawing pilgrims attending the Vaishno Devi yatra
from Katra, and locals on day-trips from nearby
towns and even Delhi. The project, spread across
88 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
22 acres, had officially been granted permission to
fell 25 trees, but the management prides itself on
having executed the task without incurring any
damage to nature, a company official informs me.
Sustainability has always been at the core of their
planning and the gondola cuts down road journey
by 45-60 minutes, thereby encouraging green
mobility in the region.
***
An arduous first day ends with a sumptuous feast
at Banana Leaf, the property’s main restaurant
that serves Indian, Chinese, and Continental fare
alongside valley views. I spend hours drawing up
a list of local grub that I wish to devour during my
visit, and nadru yakhni—a Kashmiri lotus stem
preparation—features right on top. But I learn that
the two regions of Jammu and Kashmir do not
necessarily follow similar diets. Lotus stems aren’t
skyview by
PhOtO cOUrtesy: sKyview By emPyrean
widely consumed in the area and so, aren’t always
empyrean,
spread across
readily available in the town’s market. Instead,
22 acres, boasts I turn my attention to the most succulent rogan
comfortable josh that more than makes up for the absence of
accommodations the vegetarian dish. While a barbecue dinner at
(previous spread) the al fresco Skyview Cafe is every bit inviting,
alongside natural
landscapes (top)
the relentless September heat coupled with a local
and adventure preparation of the ghee-bathed rajmash chawal at
activities. a roadside dhaba costs me my appetite. Needless to
 It IS EaSy tO mIStakE thE LandSCaPE FOr a
EUrOPEan COUntrySIdE IF nOt FOr
thE LOOmIng hImaLayaS In thE dIStanCE
say, a hot bowl of tomato soup becomes my
trusted choice of order for the remainder of
anantaGarwal/istOcK ( fOOd), BOnchanistOcK (hill)
the trip. I waste no time in retreating to my
accommodation—a humble mountain-facing
room—and retire for the night.
***
I give the cycling trail and the tubing sledge a
miss the following morning and instead try my
hand at the on-site zipline that stretches 580
metres in length over nine levels across a neatly
manicured slope. I’m warned that once I embark
on the excursion, my only way out is zipping
to the end, unless I wished to risk a mid-task
rescue. It takes a few rounds of training sessions,
some concentration, and impeccable hand-eye
coordination to nail the feat for which I’m assigned
a completion certificate at the finish line.
The rest of the day is relatively laidback and
involves long hours on winding roads that
overlook deep gorges and tiny village settlements.
In the neighbouring Kud, I meet the fourth-
generation owner of the family-run Prem Sweets,
a 1925-established shop, and sample the decadent
patisa—a flaky sweet doused in ghee that is a
distant cousin of the soan papdi. In Nathatop, 14
kilometres from Patnitop, I set out on a short hike to
the summit, which showcases a blanket of deodar
trees below and vanilla-scooped clouds above.
Unfortunately, the site is marred by the troubles of
overtourism. So, I soak in the vistas and move on to
the hill station of Sanasar, named after twin lakes
called Sana and Sar, where I snap up a seat by the
lake front and gaze at the lone shikara doing the
rounds from one end to another, before shifting
my focus to the tulip field that is being readied for
harvest on the other side. Come winter, I’m told that
the waterbody is tucked under a veil of snow.
My lunch venue is a meadow-side treat. The
staff sets up a tent in the middle of a breezy open
field, a little further from the lakes. Boxes of kathi
rolls, masala-fried idli and chutneys, salad, and
fresh fruits are carefully arranged on our makeshift
table and I’m instantly nostalgic for childhood
picnics. A sip of warm kahwa hits me like epiphany:
life’s greatest gratifications often stem from the
The property is simplest moments. ❚
easily accessible
from scenic
locales such as
nathatop (left);
a succulent
Essentials
preparation empyrean by skyview offers two types of
of rogan josh rooms—mountain-facing and gondola-facing—
(right) must of varying categories. doubles from `9,400
not be missed
at banana leaf,
inclusive of breakfast and a gondola ticket.
the main on-site skyviewbyempyrean.com
restaurant.
November-december 2022 89
The ADDReSS Goa
G oA ,T h r o U G h
A LookING
GLASS
The Glass Villa in Aldona, designed by
Tarun Tahiliani and Sameep Padora,
marries modernist creature comforts
with the welcoming languor of Goan
village life
text & PhotogrAPhs By
sA m A r PA N B h ow m i k
I
mages of broken light which dance before me
like a million eyes...” the immortal lyrics of
“Across the Universe” waft across the pool as
I stare at the horizon past the backwaters of
Nachinola. The river Moira snakes past a temple in
the distance, a small but vibrant structure against
the treeline. The sun has just dipped below and
the sky is a melange of unbelievable hues. I turn
back at the villa, and discover an incredible view
in the gorgeous scenery reflected on its walls, the
very walls that give it the name, Glass Villa.
For most mainstream travellers, the experience
of inland Goa has been limited to disembarking
at the state’s railway stations and then haggling
with cabbies until they’re whisked away to the
popular but narrow and rather crowded stretches
on the coast. Lately though, there has been
more interest in quick, local getaways, offering
immersion rather than a fly-by. Consequently, the
options in Goa, today, have expanded significantly,
as I found out on a three-day visit to Aldona,
a village in northern Goa’s Bardez taluka.
With names such as fashion designer Tarun
Tahiliani and architect Sameep Padora behind its
conception, the Glass Villa is a unique exercise in
aesthetics. Its new proprietor, Aditya Gupta, whose
company The Rug Republic acquired the property
in 2021, is heavily invested in ensuring every little
bit of the villa reflects the rich history and culture
of the place. It’s evident when we take a detour,
on our way to a morning cruise near the Aldona
mangroves, so Aditya can have a chat with his
furniture supplier. We land up at a veritable treasure
trove of old furniture, all locally sourced and some
of it dating back decades. Aditya insists on recycling
furniture that has been used locally. “As important
as aesthetics are in interiors, true immersion comes
from authenticity that is sustainable,” he says.
For those seeking immersive experiences, The
Glass Villa will point visitors to various adventures
nearby that not only provide an invaluable
glimpse into Goan culture and life but also the
amazing natural resources in these parts. Cycling
tours of surrounding villages, kayaking in the
backwaters near the Chapora mangroves, you can
choose to do any or all of these activities to truly
live the Goan way. All activities are undertaken
sustainably, using zero-emission vehicles and local
talent. Local produce is also in focus, whether it’s
a hole-in-the-wall or boutique restaurants that
feature in the recommendations. 500 Degrees,
a local pizzeria owned and operated by Bruce
Mascarenhas and his wife Scovia, is run out
of a Portuguese-style heritage bungalow and
delivers fresh wood-fired pizza to surrounding
neighbourhoods. What truly sets it apart is the
dining experience at the couple’s backyard.
There’s only one table, and pizzas are baked by
Bruce as you sit there, indulging in conversation,
retro music and the peaceful village backdrop.
And while there are many such eclectic
experiences for those looking for local immersion
and interaction, for those who want nothing but
days suspended in delicious laziness, the Glass
Villa has plenty to offer. While away hours or even
days at the infinity pool, the sunken lounging
area, the cosy reading room, the patio, all with a
Wherever you gorgeous view of the backwaters. The attentive staff
choose to lounge will rustle up the cuisine of your choice (within
at in the Glass
villa (facing
reasonable limits) and ensure you have naught
page and top to do but lift a finger to get most things done. ❚
left), views of the
Moira river are a
constant; or go
for a cycling tour
Essentials
of the nearby
Only the entire property, with four bedrooms, is
wetlands (top available for booking, glassvillagoa.com
right).
November-december 2022 91
The ADDReSS UTTARAKHAND

hITTING
reSeT
IN The
hIGhLANDS

There are wellness

retreats and

then there’s

Ananda In The

Himalayas, where

the approach to

A
health and healing s the car climbs up the winding road
from Rishikesh, the clouds descend
low, obliterating the verdant mountain
approaches a views. A set of imposing gates comes
into focus, opening onto the palace estate of the
former Maharaja of Tehri Garhwal set amidst the
perfectionist zeal Himalayan foothills in Uttarakhand. More than
20 years ago, Ananda In The Himalayas opened
on this sprawling 100-acre estate, surrounded by
By PrAchi joshi graceful Sal forests and overlooking the Ganga

92 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 River valley. With 70 elegant rooms, five spacious
PhOtO cOUrtesy: ananda in the himalayas
suites, and three private villas (with attached
pools), Ananda is a much-awarded luxury wellness
retreat—and my home for the next five days.
dEEP dIVE
Even before I arrive, I receive an extensive
wellness questionnaire by email about my
lifestyle, medical history, et cetera, as well as
diet guidelines to be (ideally) followed for a
week before arrival. Immediately after check-
in, I meet an Ayurveda consultant who has
worked out a therapy programme based on my
responses to the questionnaire. I am informed
about my dosha (Ayurveda-based assessment
of my constitutional type), the areas that
The resort need attention, and the prescribed therapies
was once the
residence of the
and activities for my stay (the foundation
former king of programmes start from five nights going up to
Tehri Garhwal. 21 nights for the more comprehensive ones). 
November-december 2022 93
ThE ADDREss UttaraKhand

I also go for a physiotherapy consultation to

assess my musculo-skeletal health, a process I
find illuminating and helpful. Physiotherapy
is one of the areas where Ananda has recently
expanded its capacities and I am impressed with
the state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic
tools like posture analysis, joint alignment
adjusting tools, and more, not to mention the
knowledgeable doctors in attendance. While
Ayurveda has always been a foundational pillar
at Ananda, it is complemented by international
therapies, newly-introduced Oriental therapies
such as acupuncture, cupping, moxibustion,
and energy work like reiki. Emotional healing is
another recent focus area, with techniques such as
hypnosis, regression, and inner child healing used
to heal stress and release emotional blockages.

a day at ananda
My day begins with a warm wake-up herbal tea
in my suite, a massive two-bay space with a well-
appointed (if understated) bedroom, large living
room, and two bathrooms, all overlooking tranquil
garden views. Later, armed with my prescribed
programme sheet, I jump headlong into the Ananda
experience. Every day involves at least two visits
to the 24,000-square-feet spa for a variety of
treatments ranging from Abhyanga (traditional four-
handed massage) and Choornaswedana (bundle
massage with warmed herbal poultices) to Swedish
and aromatherapy massages. My favourite is the
signature Ananda Fusion treatment that combines
ayurvedic and international massage techniques,
using hot poultices with ginger, cardamom, and
black pepper oil. Apart from the therapy rooms, the
spa has a Finnish sauna with forest views, a Turkish
steam bath, a chilled plunge pool, a gym, and more. 
Interspersed with the spa treatments is a host
of activities that are optional for the guests, from
morning mantra chanting and group hatha yoga
to evening gym and meditation sessions. I am
particularly keen to try meditation techniques
since the practice has always eluded me. The
many-pillared Hawa Mahal pavilion with its breezy
setting amidst the trees is an instantly calming
space, the silence broken only by the chirping of
birds. Even that fades away as the instructor guides
PhOtO cOUrtesy: ananda in the himalayas

me through Chidakasha Dharana, an advanced

meditation technique of inner visualisation.
Another activity that I enjoy is the Vedanta talk
conducted twice a day by a senior disciple of
Swami Parthasarthy, an internationally-acclaimed
Vedanta exponent. I saunter into the first one out
of curiosity and keep going back—it helps that they
are less religious and more intellectual discussions,
focussed on logic rather than the esoteric. 
 FOOd FOr thOUght
No wellness journey is complete without a focus on
food, and Ananda’s spa cuisine provides just the
right balance between health and taste through
a mix of gourmet and dosha-specific fare. While
all dishes are portion-controlled and calorie-
counted, they are certainly not bland or boring.
For instance, my pitta-centric breakfast options
range from brown rice and multigrain porridge
to poha with omega seeds. Lunch and dinner
are three-course affairs that leave you sated but
not stuffed. One of my favourite meals included
Vietnamese rice rolls, a flavourful vegetable
laksa, and sugar-free vegan lemon cheesecake—
the last has prune compote in place of a biscuit
base, which I thought was a clever touch.  reconnect with guests three months later to
If you’re not on a wellness diet, the à la carte
menu offers Indian and international fare as
well as some Garhwali specialties. Surprisingly,
the menu is not “pure veg”; there’s fish and
chicken—even on the wellness menus where it
is often served as a starter rather than a main
course. Evidently, while Ayurveda tends towards
plant-based cuisine, it does allow small quantities
PhOtO cOUrtesy: ananda in the himalayas
of meat depending on individual constitution.
Most of the produce at Ananda is sourced from
the region, either from organic greenhouses in
Dehradun or from local farmers, while many
herbs come from their own kitchen garden.  the calming
bEyOnd ananda
Not all activities and experiences are confined
to the resort premises. You can choose from
a range of outdoor options such as trekking,
nature walks, white water rafting, and safari
drives in the Rajaji National Park. For the
spiritually inclined, there’s a tour of the
ancient temples and monasteries surrounding
Rishikesh and the daily Ganga Aarti ceremony
at Parmarth Niketan ashram on the riverbank.
After five blissful days of yoga, meditation,
massages, and healthy food—all in clean, green
environs—I feel relaxed and rejuvenated. On the
day of my departure, I meet both the Ayurvedic
and physio consultants for a debrief and they
give me more lifestyle suggestions and exercises
to continue with the benefits of the programme.
What sets Ananda apart is that the consultants
gauge progress and course-correct, if necessary.
As for me, the retreat serves as a much-needed
pause and reset, guiding me along a sustainable
clockwise from path towards wellness. Now, if only I could
bottom left:
Treatments
transpose those Himalayan views to Mumbai. ❚
are based on
a detailed
assessment of
Essentials
your constitution;
yoga and
meditation
ananda in the himalayas (anandaspa.com)
lessons are is a 25-km/50-minute drive from Jolly Grant
prescribed but international airport, dehradun; doubles
per night from `50,000 for a foundation
views are a programme, which includes consultations,
bonus; rooms
here emphasise
wellness meals, one wellness therapy per person
comfort over per day, and more.
opulence.
November-december 2022 95

h e r I TAG e
hALL oF
FAmerS
Across Tamil Nadu, stately
residences have blossomed
into classic hotels, preserving
fascinating time capsules of opulent
architecture and aesthetics
By s u d r i s h A g o s wA m i
96 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
ooty’s fernhills royal Palace (pictured)
was the one-time refuge of summer-weary
british officers. facing page: Wallwood
Garden’s vibe combines scottish rusticity
(top) with flourishes of Indian art on its walls;
chidambara villas (bottom) preserves the
golden era of chettiar life in Tamil nadu.
F
rom the iron-fisted Chola dynasty to the days of the
British empire, each chapter of Tamil Nadu’s history
has dotted the state with souvenirs to remember.
In an attempt to keep traditions and cultures from
former epochs alive, many residences across the state have
been revamped into hotels and lodges to pave a passage into
the past. Here are the seven best heritage hotels in Tamil Nadu
that will steer you back in time.
The bANGALA, kArAIkUDI
Globetrotting Chettiars were exemplary for their hospitality,
exuberant mansions and love for eating and feeding others.
The Bangala, in the leafy outskirts of Karaikudi, is an
amalgamation of all that with an edge of modern amenities.
The property has been in the Chettiar family for a century
and is run by Meenakshi Meyyappan, who envisioned her
in-laws’ club as a boutique hotel. Dishing out traditional eats
infused with Tamil and Southeast Asian flavours on banana
leaves, The Bangala also invites visitors to the family kitchen
to unfurl secrets to Chettinad cooking through masterclasses
and workshops. Combining rattan furnishings and antique
PhOtO cOUrtesy: fernhills rOyal Palace, OOty
decor with a gym and swimming pool tied together by
a glorious garden, The Bangala offers a one-of-its-kind
introduction to the Chettiar community. (thebangala.com)
WALLWooD GArDeN, cooNoor
Built by a Scottish Major General belonging to the Blair Atholl
village in Scotland, the bungalow inherited an eponymous
name from the Scottish village during its inception. Post-
World War I, Wallwood was sold to a British couple who
maintained the property as a boarding house. Pearl-white
 walls of the Scottish-styled heritage dwelling pose as a blank
canvas for murals and eclectic artworks ranging from charcoal
illustrations, embossed silverwork and framed Devanagari
scripts. Wooden doors and furnishings, tall windows as well
as red oxide floors preserve the rustic flair of the manor. Set
amidst verdant lawns, the bungalow houses an award-winning
garden while also being in close proximity to Sim’s Park, home
to a myriad of flora. (neemranahotels.com/wallwood-garden-
coonoor)

TAj SAvoy hoTeL, ooTy

Perched in the blue rolling hills of Ooty, the Taj Savoy Hotel
rests embraced by towering pines and a bouquet of more than
150 varieties of flowers. The main building of the heritage
hotel we know today initially functioned as a school for
European children in 1829. Over a decade later, H. Royal
Dawson bought the property from Christian missionaries
and established the Dawson’s Hotel in 1841. The hotel was
renamed to ‘Sylk’s Hotel’ in 1968 before ‘Savoy’ and became
a Taj enterprise in 1984. Legends have it that its unmissable
window beams were carved out of teakwood dragged on
elephant backs from Tipu Sultan’s Seringapatam palace. As
such, every nook and cranny of the vintage property offers
tales to serenade history buffs. The hotel also hosted the Raja
of Pudukkottai and the British filmmaker, David Lean, during
the shooting of his version of E.M Foster’s A Passage to India.
(seleqtionshotels.com/en-in/savoy)

rAjAkkAD eSTATe, mADUrAI

The Pallam Palace, an 18th-century abode of the Maharajas of
Travancore, is an intimate seven-bedroom lodge. With wooden
exteriors that camouflage with the forested slopes of the Palini
hills, its inception comes as a surprise to most. The retreat
was transported from its Kerala roots in 26,000 pieces and
jig-sawed together by Jeremy Fry of the Fry chocolate family.
Sixty acres of vast land sandwiched between emerald forests;
PhOtO cOUrtesy: wallwOOd Garden, cOOnOr; PhOtO cOUrtesy: chidamBara villas, KadiaPati
Palace lounges over 50 acres of greenery, murmuring an old-
world English charm. Built in 1844 by Captain F. Cotton, it was
once the summer quarters of the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore
and also served as one of the oldest club hotels of the British,
who came here to escape South India’s sweltering heat. Rows
of artefacts and detailed paintings of former rulers beautify

it is an unmissable visit for those in the look-out for outdoorsy
experiences. (rajakkadestate.com)
herITAGe mADUrAI, mADUrAI
Established as the Madurai Club in 1974, the architectural
finesse of the five-star resort is credited to Geoffrey Bawa, a Sri
Lankan architect noted for decolonising the island nation’s
architecture. Bawa pioneered tropical modernism, a style
that moulds functionality and minimalism from modernist
architecture with cultural nuances and climatic needs of the
tropics. Featuring wide open spaces, deep verandas, cross
ventilation, expansive outdoors, and use of indigenous labour
and materials incorporated in the skeleton of a typical British
bungalow, the Heritage Madurai is exemplary of Bawa’s
design philosophy. The property was later modified by Bawa’s
student, Vinod Jayasinghe, to transfigure the dwelling into a
luxuriant stay. (heritagemadurai.com)
FerNhILLS royAL PALAce, ooTy
Nestled in the picturesque Queen of Hills, Fernhills Royal
the central lobby of the palace while the ballroom flaunts
fantastic Burmese teak and ornately carved roofs. The heritage
stay is also stocked with a library for those in pursuit of quieter
pleasures while sipping views of the serene Nilgiri hills.
(welcomheritagehotels.in/hotel-details/fernhills-palace-ooty)
chIDAmbArA vILLAS, kADIAPATTI
The Chidambara Villas double as a time portal to 19th-Century
Chettinad. Its heritage dates back to 1884, when an acre of land
was gifted to the Maharaja of Pudukkottai. Furnished with
imported Burmese wood, crystal-like Italian tiles and brilliant
chandeliers from Daman and Diu, the marvel was built over
a period of seven years between 1900 and 1907. Scenes from
Hindu epics ornament the entrance to the stay, leading to the
reception known as ‘muggappu,’ where an accountant’s desk
guarded by granite and wood pillars recollect the merchant
family’s financial operations. Intoxicating mercantile luxury
lingers more than a century after its establishment, carefully
preserved during the refurbishing project undertaken by the
Sangam Group. chidambaravilas.com ❚

November-december 2022 97
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The buckeT

L
i
s 108 PhOtO cOUrtesy: Ken sPence

t 100 chaSiNG moUNtaiNS aNd miSt iN darJeeliNG

108 traverSiNG the traNS bhUtaN trail
the bucket list West Bengal

The monsoon months

aren’t the best time to visit
darjeeling for those who
want uninterrupted views
of the majestic himalayas.
The mist enveloped
mountains though, hold
their own charm for those
interested in a closer look.

CHASinG MiST
AnD MoUnTAinS
100 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
I n T h e l o W e r h I M a l aya s , d a r J e e l I n G , a M e lT I n G P o T
of PeoPles and PolITIcs, Is PerhaPs one of The
M os T P o P u l a r d e s T I n aT I o n s I n e a s T e r n I n d I a . b u T
e v e n I n T h e M o s T o v e r -T o u r I s T e d o f d e s T I n aT I o n s ,
sloWInG doWn can reveal reMarKable sTorIes,
u s u a l ly M I s s e d b y T h o s e s I M P ly Pa s s I n G T h r o u G h

TexT & PhoToGr APhS by SAmArPAN bhoWmIk

the bucket list West Bengal
Dense clouds of
mist roll over the
side of the hill.
From the trees lining the street to the
quaint little cottages next to it, everything
seems to take on an ethereal hue, is
enveloped in the silvery magic. My time
in Darjeeling has been characterised by
fog and mist. While most other visitors to
this popular hill station seem crestfallen at
having incredible views of the Himalayas
obscured, what the fog has done for me is
provide an opportunity to focus on what’s
happening in my immediate vicinity. And
there’s a lot.
I carry on down the misty mountain road,
making discoveries about the hill town
that Anirban, founder of Darjeeling Walks,
points out from time to time. His anecdotes
range from facts about local flora and fauna
to the history of Darjeeling, once a British
summer capital and home to a wide cross-
section of people.
“Darjeeling has been part of Nepal,
Sikkim and then, British India. Given
these influences and migration patterns,
the cross-section of society in the town is
immensely varied; from Tibetans who were
granted refuge to communities such as
Gorkhas from Nepal, Sikkimese people and
of course, Bengalis,” says Anirban.
Today though, we’re starting with a
glimpse at Darjeeling’s Colonial heritage.
We arrive at the famous Darjeeling
Himalayan Railway station where ancient
steam-powered locomotives puff away
during their morning maintenance run.
Crowds of tourists are queued up for a
joyride on the affectionately named ‘toy
train’ from Darjeeling to Ghum, a short
ride that traverses the Batasia Loop, one of
the many engineering feats that allow the
trains to negotiate the steep climb up the
mountain. However, given the heavy load of
passengers this little circuit sees these days,
thanks to over-tourism, it’s recommended
102 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
to alight from further down the mountain,
at Sukna near the foothills, if you want to
avoid crowds.
The station has undergone several
renovations although there are still hints
of Art Deco architecture, especially evident
when you get a bird’s-eye view of the
building from an adjoining hill. The hill is
also the site for the Saint Columba’s Church,
which was established in 1870 by Scottish
missionaries. Apart from the church, there
are a number of educational institutions
that were started by the missionaries, some
of which remain functional to this day.
Done delving into the town’s Colonial
past, we turn our attention to other places
of note. Such as the Tibetan Refugee Self
Help Centre that was set up in 1959. The
site of the centre in Lebong is of particular
importance to Tibetans as the 13th Dalai
Lama, during his exile, had spent time
here for a couple of years. Today, over 100
Tibetan families call these premises home,
and aside from a crèche, primary school
and temple, there’s also a shop where
handicrafts created by local artisans are
on sale. The centre also undertakes the
training of many such artisans.
The next stop is the estate of the erstwhile
Raja of Burdwan, a princely mansion
perched on a cliff’s edge towards the
lower parts of town. We walk through the
century-old halls, stare up at paintings and
weaponry hanging on the walls, and marvel
at the priceless volumes of rare texts in
the study. Perhaps the biggest indicator of
how unique Darjeeling Walks’ tours are, is
the marked absence of tourists, otherwise
found by the dozen in every nook and Bhatmas Sadeko is a soy bean snack
that goes as well with your morning
cranny of the town. “The main house is let
cuppa as it does with an evening
out for shoots but aside from that, there are peg. facing page: a steam-powered
very few like us who come by. The biggest locomotive undergoes its morning
reason is that most people have no clue that maintenance routine.
the bucket list West Bengal
this place exists,” says Anirban.
And indeed, over the course of the rest
of the day, as we make several more stops
at historic places such as Roy Villa (the
founding place of the Darjeeling chapter
of the Indian Women’s Congress by Sister
Nivedita and Sarojini Naidu, among
others), the 115-year-old Anjuman-e-
Islamia mosque, the Brahmo Samaj Temple
(established in 1912), the Union Church and
the Tamang Buddhist Monastery, there are
hardly any other visitors who aren’t local.
Most travellers to Darjeeling instead mill
about Mall Road and spend most of their
time trapped in cars stuck in kilometres-
long traffic snarls, something our walking
tours completely skip.
***
“Mutton pachauni (intestine) curry, chicken
liver curry, sel roti,” rattles off Anirban, as
the server pauses for a brief few seconds at
our table. I try to avoid looking at the next
table but the smells are quite irresistible.
Fortunately, the wait for our food isn’t too
long and soon, I’m digging into bowls of
piping hot Nepali fare and local bread.
We’re at Thulu Gurung Ni Restaurant, in
the lower bazaar. The humble eating joint
is immensely popular with locals, although
Kalika restaurant right across the tiny lane
has about as long a queue. The demand for
affordable Nepali food came from scores
of working-class Nepalis who have called
the town home for decades. These small
establishments, literal holes-in-the-wall,
have been operating for nearly as long.
And while the cramped interiors where
you share tables with other hungry patrons
might not be to everyone’s taste, the food is
absolutely delicious and it’s a fantastic way
to interact with locals who are as warm as
the food.
As we walk uphill, towards the upper
reaches of the bazaar, closer to Mall Road,
we visit more upmarket establishments
serving similar food. At Jibro, the buffalo
jhol momo and bhatmas sadeko have
inspired patrons to write up little notes
of appreciation, which the restaurant has
put on a wall as part of a collage. “Reminds
me of Kathmandu” is the most common
declaration, and a clear indicator of
Jibro’s success.
After Nepali food, it’s time to try out
another local cuisine—Tibetan. At Amdo
Tibetan Restaurant, a small corner shop on
the first floor of a shopping complex, I get
my first taste of yellow dry laphing (made
from potato or wheat starch that is cooked
overnight). While the Nepali dishes had
some familiarity to them, this Tibetan dish
is quite a discovery for my taste buds. Next
is beef dry shapta with tingmo (Tibetan
bread) at Choks.
As stuffed as I am, a food walk in
Darjeeling would be remiss without a
visit to the legendary Glenary’s Bakery
on Mall Road. This over a century-old
establishment, though, is crawling with
travellers and getting a table on any given
day entails a fair bit of waiting. I decide
instead to pick up a bacon pie to go. It’s the
perfect accompaniment with an espresso
from the nearby Himalayan Coffee.
I arrive back at the homestay to discover
that the eating is far from over. For dinner,
my host Ramila has graciously prepared a
traditional meal, one that her community,
the Nepali Newaris, relish on festive
occasions. Clearly an accomplished chef,
Ramila has prepared the entire bhoj (feast)
by herself, across the entire day, all while
somehow finding time to come out and chat
with guests. Even after stuffing my face all
day, I find myself salivating as course after
course arrives at the table. Aloo bodi (potato
with dried lentil dumpling), chhoila (ground
and spiced meat), bhatmas (soybean curry),
khayala (chicken curry), saag (local leafy
greens), bada (lentil pancake) topped with
fried egg, and chiura (flattened rice). The
fresh produce and the spices tie in together
to create flavours that are somewhat
familiar and yet new; it’s a feast that I take
my time with. Newari meals usually end
with yoghurt, something I’m thankful for,
given how much I have eaten across the
course of the food trail. Although I suspect
I’d need a litre or two to make up for my
gluttony.
***
The dense canopy blocks out most of the
sunlight. The little bit of sunshine that
does get through, is muddled by the mist.
The meadow is blissfully quiet, and the
wind blowing through the trees sings a
haunting tune. I stand transfixed in what is
truly the lap of nature. My trance is broken
by the snapping of a twig, and I look in
the direction of the sound to see Anirban
motioning at his watch. It’s time to continue
on our journey.
 We’re walking to the village of Paschim
Perment, a little over 20 kilometres from
Darjeeling. The name comes from the
permanent licence sherpas were granted by
the British to cultivate the land in the area.
A thin ribbon of tarmac winds up from the
main road with the DHR track near Ghum
and passes through small woods, and tiny
villages, tucked away around corners. Furry
little mountain dogs size us up as we pass
through the settlements, while some of the
locals we come across smile with a warmth
that’s all too familiar pretty much across all
Himalayan communities.
As we reach Pashchim Perment, Anirban’s
local liaison greets us with a couple of
mugs of apong (local alcohol made from
fermented grain). We nurse our drinks and
survey the surroundings from our perch;
rolling hills, little villages, little strips of
road criss-crossing across the landscape,
all obscured in parts by clouds floating in.
By the time we’re done with a couple of
refills of apong, it starts to drizzle. As we
rush inside to get out of the rain, I realise I
shouldn’t have been as eager with the apong
as I had been with the tea during our visit to
the Ging Tea Estate the previous day.
About half an hour’s drive (the only
occasion when we don’t walk) from the
main town of Darjeeling lies Ging Tea
House. An expansive garden, which also
hosts guests in the estate bungalow, it is
open to visitors for a tea tour as well. The
tour took us from the bungalow to the
processing factory, a little further down the
hill, our path tumbling through the middle
of the plantation. Leaf-pluckers went about
their business through the steady drizzle,
some with colourful umbrellas fixed to their
baskets to keep their hands free. From time
to time, we would come upon little concrete
structures built on the slopes, a school,
a clinic, rain shelters, a basket weighing
station. At the processing centre, after
having been taken through the entire life
cycle of the tea leaf, from basket to shipping
containers, we stumbled upon a tasting
session. The estate manager sniffed, sipped,
swirled and spat out cup after cup, giving
notes between each to the attendants. Once

Whether it’s a tiny local eatery (top) in the bylanes

of the main market or grand, century-old tea estate
bungalows (bottom) on the outskirts of town, food
destinations in darjeeling are as varied as they are
abundant.

November-december 2022 105

 he’s done giving his verdict, we step up to
get a taste ourselves. Except, most of our
‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ are met with nothing more
than an indulgent smile.
***
“I abhor the concept of zoos,” I tell my
host. “Wild animals belong in their natural
habitat and don’t deserve to be confined
in cages just so humans can gawk and gape
at them, and even bother and provoke them
in many instances. It’s bad enough we are
destroying wildlife habitats at an alarming
rate.”
Shiromani smiles at me calmly and nods.
I am a little taken aback at how unperturbed
he seems, given that he is a high-ranking
official at the Darjeeling Zoological Park.
He explains, “I agree with you. Several zoos
Tea estates (top) these days are callous about their animals
are a major industry and visitors are horribly behaved. But the
and employer in the concept of a zoo, in how it has developed
lower himalayas; The
darjeeling himalayan
in today’s day and age, has changed. The
railways (facing page, Zoological Park for instance, is a pioneering
top) are one of three institution in conservation. And that should
mountain railways in be the core objective behind any zoo—
India; a local Tibetan conservation.”
woman (facing page,
bottom) weaves a
He proceeds to explain how from red
carpet at a handicraft pandas to leopards, the Padmaja Naidu
workshop. Zoological Park has been working to breed
these endangered species and reintroduce
them in the wild. “What you see at the
front, in the zoo, is to spread awareness
among people primarily. We want future
generations to come and see these majestic
animals, and understand the threat to their
existence. We want them to understand
what goes into conservation and how
important it is. And the zoo is how we draw
them into the discussion.”
My discussion with Shiromani serves to
remind me of one of the most important
lessons that one can learn from travel.
Understanding different perspectives and
educating yourself, letting go of prejudices
and preconceived notions. In essence, it
is a perfect representation of my time in
Darjeeling. I arrived anticipating a cesspool
of over-tourism, not expecting to find any
new experiences in a place that sees over
six lakh visitors annually. However, the
walking tours revealed to me the many
different dimensions to the hill town.
From its many communities, historic
influences, cuisines to its heritage buildings
and natural landscapes. There are stories
in every nook and cranny, waiting to be
uncovered. All you have to do is slow down
and take your time. ❚
November-december 2022 107
ThE BuckET LIsT BhUtan

IT TAkES

108 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

 A cOunTRY

the newly laUnched trans BhUtan trail isn’t anOther

fancy recreatiOnal OfferinG, BUt an aGeless witness tO the
PhOtO cOUrtesy: Ken sPence

cOUntry’s heritaGe cOnnectinG the east with the west,

that the BhUtanese will share with thOse whO wish tO walK
it JUst liKe their ancestOrs did
by P r A N N Ay PAT h A k

November-december 2022 109

the bucket list BHUTAN
“okay, let me tell you a story. a man was travelling from
one corner of the country to the other on foot, along an
ancient path running through the forest. It was a long
journey and soon a young girl joined him.
‘Can I walk with you?’ she asked him.
‘Yes, child,’ he said to her.
“So, they walked on together. Soon, night
fell and as was the custom in these parts,
the travellers sought refuge in a cave for the
night. A fire was built as the two travellers
sat facing each other to pass the night. But
soon, the man realised his companion was
a malevolent spirit who went on consuming
the fire in front of them. Its mouth grew
ever larger, like a fiend, and soon it became
apparent that the moment the wood ran
out, it would consume the man too.”
***
At the time Tshering Dolkar tells me
this tale—among the many that form
the wellspring of the legend of the Trans
Bhutan Trail—Bhutan’s ancient zhung lam,
I have been plodding through the forest
for two hours. Tshering insists she’s not
too much better than me at this but I keep
accusing her of being too polite. Which
she is. How else do you explain floating
with otherworldly ease on a trail wearing
a traditional silk skirt no less, where my
city-bred and desk-fed soul has surrendered
every last dreg of grace? We have ascended
tricky inclines fraught with mossy rocks,
manoeuvred unusually long drops, crept
on all fours hugging jagged rock faces
and dropped breathless at the faintest
suggestion of lunch.
Tshering fashions a walking stick from a
stray branch for me to use, and tells me to
just put “one foot in front of the other.” I go
over all the friendly suggestions once again
that everyone overtaking me has sounded
smugly. My feet feel better on this stretch of
the trail, the extensive forest canopy lulling
them into autopilot and the gurgling river
singing its sweetest songs to my sore back.
I go over the story of the man and the girl
once again, soaking in a fresh sense of thrill
that it’s this sublime beauty of the forest
that gave rise to a rich mine of legends
associated with the trail.
Like a grateful student eager to impress
the teacher that didn’t give up on him, I
skip three of my scheduled breaks and
110 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
scamper on, careening gaily around a
bend to find myself approaching a Queen
of the Jungle. She teams her kira with a
cream windbreaker, speaks fluent English,
and while no one was looking, assumed
her natural garb—a victory wreath made
of leaves that look like Kush. Fortunately
enough, we are acquainted; her name is
Chimmi Dema. Witty, charismatic and
inspiring, Chimmi is one of the best tour
guides in the country and is currently on
duty leading a group of journalists and
travel industry professionals hoping to
cover a few sections of a new adventure
route through Bhutan.
hoW The eAST WAS WoN
In January 2022, when Bhutan’s latest
big adventure offering to the world was
announced, everyone wondered about
how it would look and feel, and if it would
be a memorable thru-hike in the mould
of the quintessential long-distance foot
trail. Sam Blyth, Founder and Chairman of
the Bhutan-Canada Foundation that was
instrumental in its conception and launch,
asserts that it is not a tourist trail, but a
route revived “by hand by thousands of
Bhutanese, for the Bhutanese people” that
they will share with those who want to
walk it.
Those who take them up on their offer
have the chance to discover the less-
explored eastern flank of the country,
notably Trongsa, Bumthang and
Trashigang, among others. In these parts in
particular, the recovery of the trail has been
an arduous task, and oral recollections of
its existence and form have come in handy.
The 403-kilometre route is the grand
sum of many smaller local trails—each a
complete circuit in itself—that many local
Bhutanese recall as part of their collective
PhOtO cOUrtesy: Ken sPence
consciousness. The previous generations
walked it before it fell into disuse with
the coming of a modern road network.
The current king, Jigme Khesar Namgyel
Wangchuck, walks it even now on his trips
to the remotest corners of the country.
 The first-ever batch of hikers cover
on the modern Trans bhutan Trail, a
long-distance path that stretches 403
kilometres east to west.
Previous spread: novice monks
peer out of a window at the nalanda
shedra in western Punakha (left);
The Trans bhutan Trail is expected
to bring newer avenues for education
and employment to the country’s
population (right) without having to
undertake rapid concretisation.

November-december 2022 111

the bucket list BHUTAN

The trail winds its way through some of bhutan’s most iconic towns, monasteries and fortresses, affording visuals like these: (clockwise
from top left) lopin Tendup poses at the nalanda buddhist Institute; a mural at the Punakha dzong; Prime Minister lotay Tshering led
the charge with a 45-kilometre hike on the day of the historic trail’s launch; dakini statues encircle the 170-foot-high buddha dordenma
in Thimphu; a giant prayer wheel in Punakha; Monks train at the chimi lhakhang, the temple of fertility.

112 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

Prannay PathaK; PhOtO cOUrtesy: Ken sPence (Prime minister)
a dining tent at the camp
in Thinleygang (in picture);
volunteers known as desuups
are responsible for much of
the trail’s maintenance (left);
Tshering village homestay, a
sprawling farmstay in Paro (top).
 Running from Haa, the westernmost point,
to Trashigang, the easternmost, the trail in
its new form takes about five weeks, give or
take, to complete.
Today, it’s Bhutan’s Prime Minister’s turn.
Lotay Tshering has led the charge with a
large group of international journalists,
dignitaries and stakeholders in tow, as we
began our march from the country’s oldest
dzong (circa 1629) in Simtokha, to Dochula
and further to Punakha. Mr Tshering,
a surgeon in his early fifties, will go on
to complete today’s route—a total of 45
kilometres for the day—even as most of us
settle for the 12 kilometres until Dochula. “I
have walked this trail as a teenager with my
grandmother. She was in her sixties then,
and I accompanied her, carrying her bags,
and food and water for the journey. Once
I complete my tenure, I plan to complete
the four hundred kilometres, even if in
bits and pieces,” Mr Tshering tells us on
a chilly afternoon at the 108 Chortens
Memorial at Dochula. Earlier this morning,
the Trans Bhutan Trail was launched
amid much fanfare at the beautiful dzong,
with elaborate religious ceremonies
and addresses by Prince Jigyel Ugyen
Wangchuck and Blyth, all while we helped
ourselves to some divine saffron rice and
butter tea.
The NeoN beAcoNS oF The TbT
The trail is unofficially the pivot of the
country’s new tourism campaign, Bhutan
Believe, which seeks to define its ever bolder
zeal to strengthen its high-value, low-
volume tourism philosophy. It’s a call for
action sounded by the country’s rulers and
government, and everyone is heeding it,
especially a tribe of neon beacons we often
see patrolling the forests. Dressed in bright
orange overalls and jap caps, these are the
desuups—an army of volunteers that the
current king installed under the Desuung
Training Programme in 2011 to aid in relief
work. The past three years have seen them
contribute heavily to the maintenance and
blazing of the trail.
“In America, the colour orange is for
prisoners. Here, it signifies volunteers,”
our guide Thukten Wangchuk joked with
an American tour operator in our bus
Prannay PathaK
as we drove past a group of them on our
way to the hotel on the first day. On the
second, as we walked from Dochula Pass to
Thinleygang, a pretty village in Punakha,
a group of young men in the same uniform
handed us freshly-whittled walking canes,
while the others in the party cleared the
trail. In addition to furloughed workers,
scouts and locals, the desuups have been
instrumental in sprucing up this trail
for use.
I remember clambering up a steep incline
where a bunch of fellow hikers had huddled
around Thinley Dema, a young desuup,
who, as someone pointed out, had come to
work in the forest with makeup on. Thinley
shared that she gave up her previous job to
enlist in the force—this exclusive national
volunteer programme that seems to be
coveted greatly by the country’s younger
population. It’s an almost essential
decoration for the younger civilians of the
country: Thukten, 22, who was involved
in the refurbishment of the Paro Taktsang
trail during the pandemic, can barely hide
the sense of glory that comes with it. I ask
Tshering if she ever enlisted, and she tells
me that for one reason or the other, she
has always failed to make the cut. But the
marketing manager for the Trans Bhutan
Trail adds that she’s not done trying.
Without these young shoulders and
willing legs, it’s hard to see a trail of this
nature materialise in the duration that
it has. Tourism is one of Bhutan’s major
industries, and (tourist) guiding remains a
lucrative vocation for many young people.
In light of the rising youth unemployment
rate affecting even those who have studied
abroad (many of them in India), and the
country’s brain drain to Australia—the
steady exodus of its younger population to
its diplomatic ally, depicted superbly in the
recent international film-festival favourite
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom—nation-
building and serving the hallowed trinity of
tsa-wa-sum have found ways to thrive.
The superb work executed by the desuups
and other locals to revive the trail doesn’t
interfere with its core purpose—to provide
a truly untamed experience. Many trail-
hardened trekkers will disagree with a lot of
desk-bound writers as regards the difficulty
of the trail, but even the beginner sections
will need some conditioning, and footwear
that’s properly broken-in. Naturally, some
take a while to get going while others take to
it like toads to a swamp. I, however, am left
completely flummoxed by the constantly
November-december 2022 115
The dzong in Punakha is one of bhutan’s
most famous dzongs, traditional fortresses
that the trail served to connect in the past.
shifting gradients and the seasonal
slipperiness of a few sections, and end up
tumbling and soiling my clothes
on a few occasions. What’s more—the
usually lighthearted Chimmi has
cautioned us with grim eyes against
grabbing or leaning on trees to negotiate
the aforementioned obstructions. It’s a
retreating monsoon in Bhutan, which is
essentially leech season, so balance and
muscle tone are of the essence.
ForeST comeS FIrST
What makes all the hard work worthwhile
is the communion with the dense forest
and the immense verdure—the kind that
frankly doesn’t deserve to exist in the
21st century. The Bhutanese Constitution
mandates that 60 per cent of the landmass
be under forest cover at all times, and
the country has managed to exceed that
expectation by a whopping 10 per cent.
It is these lush blankets of pine and oak
forests on slopes all around that have
contributed towards Bhutan’s carbon-
116 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
negative status. My first brush with it was
I wILL tImE and
the breathtaking landing into Paro, as
the flight swooped in and screeched onto
agaIn wItnESS
the strip, allowing passengers a ringside
view of the forests thriving all over the thE UnFLInChIng
surrounding mountains. It’s a rare lushness
that has hardly survived at similar altitudes rEVErEnCE wIth
elsewhere in the Himalayas.
On the way to the hotel, as I flipped over whICh bhUtan
the front page of Kuensel, the national
newspaper of Bhutan—I stopped to read rEgardS natUrE,
an op-ed written by a reader concerned
about the housing crisis in the country. whICh FOLLOwS
The average monthly wage in Bhutan is
equal to the average house rent. Be that dIrECtLy FrOm
as it may, the average Bhutanese citizen’s
commitment to the preservation of their thE COmmUnIty’S
landscape and natural environment is
unquestionable. The fact that its population StaUnChLy
growth rate has stayed under control
despite its tiny population of 7.7 lakh,
bUddhISt StanCE
probably helps reconcile the forest cover
Prannay PathaK
mandate and the resistance for rapid urban
infrastructure development.
With awe and admiration for the last
stand the country has put up before the
oncoming wave of climate catastrophes
and environmental disasters, the last of us
lumber on, crossing aquamarine streams on
quaint curved bridges reconstructed during
the pandemic, marvelling at cute tsa-tsas
(tiny votive offerings shaped like cupcakes)
and cairns where there are no trail blazes
on the way, and enjoying apples fallen on
sections adjacent to orchards. If this isn’t
shinrin-yoku, I don’t know what is. Bhutan’s
forests are also home to a rich biodiversity
of flora and fauna, with as many avian
species as in Canada, Mexico and the U.S.A.
Blood pheasants, monals and laughing
thrushes abound in the forests, forming the
ambient background score for the walk.
chANGING my reLIGIoN
“Are you religious, Prannay?” asks
Tshering, who has probably caught me
wincing at the heavens on a particularly
testing section of the hike.
Normally, I would answer that question
in the negative, and pretty quickly. In the
present instance, however, overpowered
by and frequently at the mercy of nature, I
find myself challenging the slow, sideways
shaking of my head with a sheepish smile.
During my time here, I will time and again
witness the unflinching reverence with
which its citizens regard nature, which
follows directly from the community’s
staunchly Buddhist stance. We landed in
the country on the morrow of a beloved
observance known as the Blessed Rainy
Day (Thrue Bab), and the buzz around this
occurrence makes sense when you put
into perspective Bhutan’s reliance on its
water resources. The public holiday, on this
occasion, also happened to be the day the
first batch of tourists entered its borders
after the long pandemic hiatus—September
23. The national animal is the takin, a rare
bovid resident of the Eastern Himalayas, in
local legend believed to have been created
when the enfant terrible of Bhutanese
religious history, Drukpa Kuenley (the
Divine Madman) fused together the head of
a goat and the body of a cow.
The country’s single biggest icon, the a monk rushes off
for prayers at the
Paro Taktsang (poorly translated as Tiger’s
Punakha dzong (left);
Nest), is believed to have been the place visitors descend
where Guru Padmasambhava flew to on a the dizzyingly high
tigress’s back, to tame another demon of wooden staircase
these parts. In only the first week after a at the fortress
(right), whose high
precarious reopening, the popular haunt,
perch offered an
which is not on the trail, is fairly overrun advantageous
with both Indian and western tourists, position to look out
which is actually surprising given the for advancing armies.
clockwise from top left: a common hoopoe, among the great number of avian species bhutan is home to; old bridges over gurgling streams is a common
sight on the trail; young monks pose at the Thinleygang lhakhang; Tsa tsas on the way to Paro Taktsang.

Prannay PathaK, PhOtOs cOUrtesy: Ken sPence (flOwers and Bird)

clockwise from top left: Tour guide chimmi dema poses on the Trans bhutan Trail; The trail passport, where one can get their completed sections
stamped; an animal skull on a section of the trail; Wildflowers on the way to Thinleygang.
reasonably difficult access to its dizzying
perch. With its new, tripled Sustainable
Development Fee ($200), Bhutan aims to
retain its carbon negativity. It’s true that it
is blessed with spectacular natural beauty
and cultural relics that have held an exotic
charm for outsiders, but the refusal to
enter into any sort of a Faustian pact with
western tourism infrastructure-building
seems to stem from the very insistence
upon religious practice.
The steep trudge up to Bhutan’s fridge-
magnet mascot takes three hours on
average, with the final section—a few
hundred steps down and then precipitously
up—leaving one breathless and needing
an extended breather to continue visiting
the warren of shrines at the monastery.
On the way back, I again fall behind, but
then I finally put to use Tshering’s walking
cane that she left in the van and set about
achieving the unachievable: getting to the
base before everyone else. The descent is
a breeze, as I remember the mantra: “one
foot in front of the other.” I meet every tsa
tsa and every chorten on the way with a
bow and a heart full of gratitude. Darting
down log steps and sprinting on paths with
gentler gradients, I do make it to the lunch
spot in under an hour. If the earth and
its million manifestations are God, I’m
surely religious.
***
For a few years at least, the bulk of those
hitting the Trans Bhutan Trail will be
120 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
travellers from the West, a well-heeled
group that has come to expect being
cosseted at the constantly rising number
of luxury hotels here. It’s reassuring to
know that a healthy network of homestays
exists, of course apart from the camping
options available with the trail authorities.
The homestays are basic, wifi-less shelters
where a break from die-cut cocoonery is
possible. I spend my final night on the trail
at Tshering Village Homestay, a sprawling
farmstay in suburban Paro. My room is a
veritable cubbyhole done up in traditional
motifs, right next to a spacious living area
and altar room decked with scowling masks
and ritual brooms. The musty indoors and
creaky floorboards recall, albeit with some
inevitable sophistication, an impression of
life in Bhutan at a time when the ancient
path was still thriving and witness to the
comings and goings of travellers. Keeping 70 per cent of its
I freshen up and step on to the terrace land forested (top) has helped
that overlooks the ripe rice fields and the bhutan stay carbon-negative;
mountains beyond, carrying a bowl of locals dry chillies at a village
in Paro (bottom).
crunchy zow and greasy butter tea. One
by one, the homestay owner’s children,
gambolling in the lawn, flutter up the
wooden staircase to marvel at my presence.
All at once, they set about asking questions
of the interesting visitor from their huge
neighbouring country. “How many people
does India have? Are there more cars or
Prannay PathaK
people? Why do you eat aloo ka paratha?”
I ask them to settle down, and then say,
“Okay, let me tell you a story.” ❚
THE

M
E
M 122 sOnia nazareth

OIR 122 Bikaner’s Memory Palaces

ThE MEMOIR raJasthan

bIkanEr’S mEmOry
PaLaCES

Junagarh fort is
the centrepiece of
bikaner's grandeur.
Champagne-soaked Christmas dinners and the
bonhomie of zenana parties: a writer rewinds back
to the former princely kingdom’s glamour and glory
through her grandmother’s eyes

by SOnIa nazarEth

sOnia nazareth
ThE MEMOIR raJasthan
my grandmOthEr’S LEathEr-bOUnd
aUtOgraPh bOOk IS LIkE a rESPLEndEnt
JEwEL bOx FOr mE. LOrd waVELL,
E.M. Forster, Sarojini Naidu, Herman Ould, Maha-
raja Sadul Singh of Bikaner, are some of the names
that feature on these pages. With each entry I read
out, Ursula D’Souza DaCosta, my powerhouse
grandmother, whisked me off the straight and nar-
row, towards an exceptional time in history, with
each of her memorable tales.
Ursula’s father, Frank D’Souza, was the first In-
dian to be appointed Member of the Indian Railway
board. His was a meteoric rise from railway guard
to the man who eventually set up the Pakistan
Western Railway in 1947. In 1942, however, Frank
was stationed in Bikaner, as General Manager of the
state railway there.
Ursula, his youngest child was 18, impetuous and
reveling in the magic of being in Bikaner. Lallgarh
Palace, Samuel Swinton Jacob’s feast of Indo-Sara-
cenic architecture, was a frequent backdrop to her
tales. It was to this remarkable turn-of-the-century
building, that she would accompany her parents in
their Black Vauxhall, in response to frequent invita-
tions from the palace.
In celebratory times, she would slip into racon-
teur mode, “Christmas morning implied gifts from
the reigning monarch (then Ganga Singh), adorn-
ing our breakfast table. At 4 p.m. we’d sally forth to
Lallgarh. Creating what felt like an imaginary land
from a children’s book were camel rides, a lavish
tea spread, a Christmas tree in size XXL and Santa
Claus arriving on elephant back.”
“Shaking us out of this idyll, was the remind-
er that we needed to head home, to dress for the
Christmas banquet. At 8 p.m. we were ushered into
the drawing room that combined traditional Rajput
and European Renaissance features.”
“Champagne glasses were held aloft, in readiness
to toast the Queen of England whose speech played
out on the radio. Jars of flowers flown in from Ud-
hagamandalam winked at me. Upon Damask ta-
blecloths, sat a glass-and-gold dinner set. Dishes
arrived in rapid succession. Soup, salmon, later the
sumptuous Bikaner thali with its assorted dals and
124 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia
mawa kachoris.”
“Rajputs, British officers, and civilians mingled
freely, but at table the hierarchical order of the time
was evident. The wives of the kings and nobles be-
ing in purdah, implied that my mother was often
promoted to the head of the table. Seated next to
Lord Wavell, my mother over dinner narrated my
father’s swift rise on the railways. ‘The romance of
the railways,’ Lord Wavell exclaimed. ‘Not at all,’ re-
torted my mother, ‘Sheer hard work.’”
“After dinner, all permutations of wonderland
unfurled. Bridge players moved purposefully to
their tables. The billiard aficionados to the billiard
room. The dancers strolled into the Durbar Hall
where a five-man live orchestra would play. The dis-
tributed dance cards wearing the Maharaja’s crest
were designed for you to book a partner for each
dance. Everyone lingered until the wee hours of the
morning.”
“As K. M. Panikkar, the divan of the state, fre-
quently observed, Maharaja Ganga Singh knew the
difference between the necessary pomp in the life
of a ruler, and the ostentatious display of wealth.”
“I contemplate the fact that although various rul-
ers contributed in different ways to Bikaner, it was
Maharaja Ganga Singh, a true connoisseur of the
fine, and an industrious leader, who stands out as
exceptional. It was he who gave Bikaner the Lall-
garh Palace in which I now reclined. He who gave it
the railway network. He who like a prophet, brought
meinzahn/istOcK (cityscaPe), sOnia nazareth (Billiards)
water to the desert through the Gang Canal.”
“He made a fine art of hospitality and diplomacy.
The day after Christmas, on Boxing Day, we’d be
driven 30 kilometres away to the Lake Palace at
Gajner. Ganga Singh developed this resplendent
palace into one of the most coveted recreational re-
treats in princely India. Every winter, thousands of
imperial sandgrouse flocked to the lake. Other stars
of the landscape were wild duck, black buck, and
demoiselle crane.”
“At surface reading, the Maharaja was here enter-
taining dignitaries from home and aboard, offering
sunset over bikaner (top), casting a glorious sheen over its vintage charm. The billiards room in laxmi niwas Palace (bottom) where
invitees, from diplomats and princes to heads of states, often retired for post-dinner chatter and games.

November-december 2022 125

ThE MEMOIR raJasthan

Junagarh fort's
interiors are a gorgeous
tapestry of fine Italian
tiles, intricate lattice
windows and gold leaf
paintings.
 them a chance to hunt, then a royal sport par excel-
lence. The weekends were used as much to shoot,
as to gain approval for ambitious projects, as he set
about developing his remote desert kingdom.”
“It’s odd”, Gran reflected, “the details that come
back to you, 70 years later. The resplendent terrace
overlooking the artificial lake. The clock on the
mantelpiece in every room. A man employed solely
to wind the clocks. Rajput cuisine relied heavily on
deer, wild boar, partridge, quail–and the ubiquitous
gram-based curries and dried vegetables. The feel-
ing of queasy distress when a sandgrouse was shot.”
But to talk of Bikaner and neglect a mention of
the Junagarh fort, is like talking about Rome and
bypassing the Vatican. Over the years and with
each ruling dynasty, unique structures were devel-
oped within its battlements. Here stone elephants
flanked the fort gates. There, the Badal Mahal
painted with blue cloud motifs. Everywhere, were
carved balcony windows and latticed screens. The
Anup Mahal with walls lacquered in red and gold
are mute but expressive sentinels, of the small-
scale arts and crafts that flourished under royal
patronage. Maharaja Ganga Singh, the last of the
royals to inhabit Junagarh, gave it its resplendent
Durbar Hall.
Cordoned off from the public buildings where
men carried out their official responsibilities, were
the quarters of the royal ladies. Resembling exqui-
site enamel caskets, their living quarters were bar-
nacled with frescoes in gold leaf of religious and po-
etic themes. Named as lyrically, Phool Mahal–the
palace of the flowers and Chand Mahal, the palace
of the moon, were oases of art in the desert. Living
lives in purdah however, implied all too often that
the only clouds the ladies were allowed to venture
under were the painted ones on the ceiling.
Even when the royal ladies moved to the Lall-
garh Palace, they continued to witness the events of
state from the remoteness of carved sandstone win-
dows. Gran befriended several of them at zenana
parties, to which she would frequently be invited.
Kumari Manher Singh Rathore, with whom Gran
stayed friends through her life, gave me her version
of a zenana party, “The zenana baug was like a film
set—a trinity of lyrical garden, fountains, small cot-
crshelare/istOcK
tages. Snacks flowed – wada, bhujia, malpua, mawa
kachori. These gatherings were defined by the ab-
sence of men and the sparkle of jewellery,” she’d say
with a wink.
But for Gran, a life of small joys and freedom was
all she craved. “Key to my bliss was being able to
attend state functions in the company of men, go
skating with the Maharaja’s sons, dance the night
away at palace gatherings with the aide de camps.
Being able to admire havelis—the residents of
merchants, visit temples ornamented with marble
work, frescoes, and gold leaf paintings, and walk
around the market freely—in pursuit of what for me
were competing imperatives, bhujia and bangles,
all without a flurry of retinue accompanying me—
was my idea of a royal life.”
The Maharajas may no longer be ruling, but the
shadow they cast is a long one. Lallgarh Palace, Lax-
mi Niwas Palace and the lake palace at Gajner, now
heritage hotels, are exotic blends of commerce and
pleasure. Several museums walk me successfully
through the royal past with the embarrassment of
riches they have on display. In the museum at Ju-
nagarh fort, a silver throne, a golden swing, palan-
quins and a Haviland plane stand out. The Prachina
Museum showcases a range of ritual crafts, textiles
and period furniture. Ganga Golden Jubilee Mu-
seum has amid its collection, weapons, and min-
iature paintings. The Sadul Singh Museum houses
artefacts and photographs from Lallgarh Palace.
The common denominator uniting these spaces is
that they seek through the objects and memorabil-
ia, to re-tell the past and position history.
But the greatest contributions, came from the
more enlightened rulers. Gran smiles deeply, in
memory of her close friend Maharaja Karni Singh,
grandson of Maharaja Ganga Singh, who visited
her every time he passed through Mumbai. Always
re-inventing himself, he entered active politics and
ran for parliament in the first Indian general elec-
tion. An avid wildlife conservationist, he turned
the royal hunting grounds into a noted wildlife pre-
serve. Also, a superlative shooter, he represented
India at several Olympic Games.
On his visits to our home in Mumbai, he fre-
quently narrated the story of his grandfather
Ganga Singh, who would stop playing with his
grandchildren, to set about official duties, saying
“I have to get to work now, earn my salary.” Like
his grandfather, every time he bid us goodbye, first
filling my little fists with marzipan fruit before he
made off on his way, this remarkable soul, elected
to office five consecutive times, would set off to
“earn his salary.” ❚
November-december 2022 127
POsTcARD U.s.a.

It’S aLwayS SUnny In San FranCISCO

The picnic-perfect setting of Washington Square comes alive on the weekends as locals make their way to the
19th-century park, nestled in San Francisco’s North beach district. Artist Somali roy arrived early on a warm day
to sketch the scene: dogs chasing frisbees and people laying out colourful picnic blankets while relishing coffee
and freshly-baked pizzas from nearby cafés.

ILLUStratIOn by SOmaLI rOy

128 NatioNal GeoGraphic traveller iNdia

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