Lonely Planet’s destination experts have a host of suggestions to satisfy your wanderlust this month, from scoffing delicacies at a Kiwi food festival to fiery spectacles in Japan and following the floats at Spain’s Santa Semana.
The southern Cape region of South Africa, which includes Cape Town and the Garden Route, has a climate pattern that is very different from anywhere else on the continent. As a result it has given birth to some of the most unique flora on the planet – Table Mountain hosts over 2000 native species of plants, more than are found in the entire United Kingdom. In March, when the rains are coming down elsewhere in southern Africa, the Cape’s air is hot and the skies are a beautiful shade of blue.
March is also one of the busiest months on Cape Town’s cultural and sporting calendar, with several great events. The first week of the month features various cycling races, culminating on Sunday 6 March with the Cape Town Cycle Tour, the world’s largest timed cycling event . Hokitika, on the South Island’s dramatic West Coast, is full to bursting on the second Saturday in March. Note: attendance is capped at 10,000 after peaking at over 20,000 a few years ago. The festival kicked off a quarter of a century ago when a local decided to hold a celebration of local food after fending off multiple requests to try her home-brewed gorse flower wine. These days you can also try deep-fried beetles or colostrum cheesecake takes place 2-7 March. It’s the oldest cinema event in Latin America, and throughout the festival, films from around the world will be screened not only in theatres, but also schools, jails, hospitals, churches, libraries and retirement homes in order to create the unique experience of bringing film industry workers closer to their audiences.
MaSovaida Morgan – Destination Editor for South America. Follow her on Twitter @MaSovaida.
This March, Nuuk will play host to the Arctic Winter Games 2016 , the largest event of its kind ever to be held in Greenland. The six-day extravaganza will see athletes from Arctic regions such as Sápmi (commonly known as Lapland), Yukon and Alaska compete across 15 sporting disciplines, from badminton to biathlon skiing, as well as the more unusual Dene games, in which competitors go head to head in events steeped in tradition, such as pole pushing and finger pulling.
Given that Nuuk's population is just 16,000, the city is likely to be rather more crowded than usual, but if you can bag yourself a bed between 6-11 March, not only could you witness the sporting prowess of Arctic athletes, you'll be able to partake in some unique experiences yourself. And what better way to discover Greenland's natural beauty than to glide alongside sea mammals on a whale-watching tour, or to kayak through the icy waters of Nuuk Fjord, the second largest fjord system in the world after Scoresby Sund.
Gemma Graham – Destination Editor for Northern Europe. Follow her on Twitter at @gglpde.
Every Easter, Spain is shrouded in a solemn atmosphere in commemoration of the country’s most important festival: Holy Week or Semana Santa. Although the festival is revered countrywide, the biggest celebrations are found mainly in Andalusia, specifically Seville.
In the week preceding Easter Sunday (which falls on 20-27 March), Seville’s old town is flooded with processions of 17th-century floats bearing figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary. Members of the brotherhoods or cofradias carry the weight of these massive floats on their backs, while nazareno penitents dressed in tunic robes and conical hoods trail behind bearing candles.
The mood is gloomy and the sorrowful flamenco hymns and cries of the pilgrims can be heard from miles away. Sharing in the deeply rooted Christian traditions on this special week is a highlight for many.
Nellie Huang – blogger at wildjunket.com and Lonely Planet Pathfinder. Follow her on Twitter @wildjunket.
