Sometimes you just have to get out there into the big wide world and feel the earth beneath your feet. An escape into the wild refreshes the spirit and let’s you breathe, think and feel more clearly. All too often though, the process of heading off into some remote area which will give you that sense of freedom, also means that you have to stay somewhere less than salubrious!
I’d like to recommend two very different walking holidays which I feel very much fit the bill for an ‘out there’ experience, but which also offer a rather good bed, meal and glass of wine at the end of the day.
Walking wild
My first suggestion is a walk in the wilderness in Zambia. Afficionados of walking safaris will know that there are only few ‘names’ with real kudos in the world of walking safaris in Africa. One of these names is Robin Pope. Their 8-day walking mobile safaris, which run from June to October each year, always book up well in advance. If you love being outdoors, love the African wilderness and love wildlife, get yourself onto one of these trips. With a maximum of 6 guests per week, this is a personal and exciting experience.
Yes, you do have to camp, but this is luxury camping (albeit necessarily rustic out here). You will have an en suite walk-in tent with a proper bed and good linen. And just because your chef is cooking over an open fire, don’t assume you’ll get basic meals – the cuisine on these safaris is superb and plentiful, as is the wine and G&Ts, which are of course an important part of a safari experience!
Walking high
If you’re looking for more of a physical challenge and love big dramatic mountain scenery, the Andean mountains of Peru is where I would recommend. Forget the Inca Trail however. You will certainly end at the jaw-dropping Inca site of Machu Picchu, but you’ll get there via a different 6-day award-winning trek through the Andes. The ‘Luxury Lodge Trek to Machu Picchu’ ranges in altitude from about 200m to 4,600m, this is no stroll in the park. Your reward, however, comes in the form of seeing stunning mountain, rich cloudforest habitat, valleys and glacial lakes, plus Inca ruins of course.
You’d imagine that up here in the remote mountains you’d have to camp. Not a bit of it! Each night you end at a warm and cosy lodge. The rooms are en suite and you can even have a sauna. There are Jacuzzis in 3 of the 4 lodges and if you’re in need of a massage this can be arranged for you. Meals are great quality, so at the end of the day you can retire to bed well-fed, relaxed and ready for another stride out in the mountains the next day.
