Notes from the Field: Track Giant Pandas in China's Sichuan Province
In April and October of next year, U.S.-and Beijing-based tour operator WildChina is offering two new weeklong itineraries to showcase the key panda-conservation area in southwestern China's mountainous Sichuan province. Starting out from the provincial capital of Chengdu, the group tours will delve into the bamboo and rhododendron thickets of Sichuan's Wanglang Nature Reserve, home to over two dozen Giant pandas. With a diverse array of habitat rising from between 7,500 and 15,000 feet in elevation, Wanglang is also home to numerous other wildlife species including Golden Snub-nosed monkeys, leopard cats, and some 165 kinds of birds.
Tour participants will follow "panda patrol" paths through the reserve in the company of local wildlife experts, learning how to spot panda tracks and helping to locate infrared cameras for recording panda behavior. Wanglang is home to a small but growing population of the world's estimated 1,600 wild pandas, all of which inhabit about 20 enclaves of isolated mountain forest in China's Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. WildChina's 2010 itinerary will also take in the alpine landscapes of Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, a UNESCO World heritage site. Not only notable for its acclaim in high-end publications like Travel+Leisure and National Geographic Traveler, WildChina is a partner with the World Wildlife Fund to implement sustainable, environmentally-friendly tourism practices on the ground. Land-based costs for this trip start at $2,600 per person, with additional costs for domestic air transfers and optional trip extensions.
Photo credit: courtesy, WildChina
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November 05, 2009
Notes from the Field: Top Trips from Around the World
This month we're debuting Notes from the Field, a new column profiling the world's best adventures and outfitted tours. Sometimes we just need a little inspiration—not to mention, professional expertise—to get us on the road, so we've pinged our extensive network of operators, outfitters, guides, and writers out in the field to get their take on the best new trips, experiences, and up-and-coming destinations. First up, a video profile of a new 2010 bicycling itinerary along Croatia's Dalmatian Coast from DuVine Adventures. DuVine was recently nominated by National Geographic Adventure as one of the Best Outfitters on Earth for 2009.
Got an amazing trip you want to share? Contact us via the Email Us link above!
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October 30, 2009
Adventures of a Lifetime: Sky2Sea International
We're excited to welcome Sky2Sea International (S2Si) as the newest provider on GORPtravel.com, an Away.com sister site that provides comprehensive listings for the world's best active vacations and adventure-travel trips. With over two decades of bespoke expedition-planning experience, S2Si runs wilderness trips through landscapes as diverse as the pristine rainforest in Guyana to an amazing one-week multisport expedition through Chilean Patagonia. Check out the video below for a glimpse of what to expect! This film shows the first 24-hour crossing of Patagonia by river, which was completed by a team of paddlers including S2Si guide Jon Clark.
Visit GORPtravel.com to discover thousands more adventures of a lifetime, from rafting the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River to hut-to-hut trekking in the Alps.
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October 08, 2009
Taking It (Real) Slow at Caffè Al Bicerin in Turin, Italy
Taking it slow at Al Bicerin, Turin (courtesy, Città di Torino)
The historic Caffè Al Bicerin in Turin, Italy, is the purveyor of the city's signature Bicerin, a smooth blend of coffee, chocolate, and cream. Small and intimate, Al Bicerin is to be found in Turin's atmospheric quadrilatero Romano. Opened in 1763, this coffeehouse has served brain food to Nietzsche, Puccini, and Dumas. Duck in there after a day of sightseeing that should include a trip up the city's landmark 548-foot-tall Mole Antonelliana (also home to the Museo Nazionale del Cinema), where you'll get good views of this interesting industrial city and the surrounding Italian Alps. Recommendations for evening fare include the multi-course Slow Food masterpiece that is the rustic Osteria del Paluch in the Baldissero Torinese, the hills that slope up from the eastern bank of Turin's Po River. Stay at the urban-chic Le Méridien Art+Tech in Il Lingotto, a former Fiat manufacturing plant that was awakened by the genius of Italian architect Renzo Piano prior to the 2006 Winter Olympics, hosted by Turin. Now filled with the sound of flirting mallrats, high-tech conference facilities, a classy rooftop restaurant, and a museum housing priceless works of art by the likes of Matisse and Modigliani, the butter-colored Lingotto is a glossy symbol of Turin's urban renewal.
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September 22, 2009
Ideas for Fall Travel
Fall foliage on a country road (courtesy, West Virginia Tourism)
Happy first day of fall! Here at Away.com we lament the fact that summer often gets all the attention, what with its abundance of festivals, concerts, fairs, summer holidays and vacations—and that little thing called warm weather. But fall has its own seasonal perks. Along with the spectacular reds, yellows, and oranges that color the landscape each fall, you can look forward to apple picking, pumpkin festivals, Oktoberfest homages to beer, and even hot-air balloon festivals. Cooler temps also provide a respite from the heat in areas of the South and Southwest, as well as a break from the crowds that flock to popular vacation spots during the summer months. So throw on a jacket and head for trails, forests, farms, and small towns to enjoy the best the season has to offer. To get you inspired, check out some of Away.com's resources for autumn travel.
- Fall Foliage Guide: Find tons of fall travel ideas by region, and a state-by-state guide for prime leaf-peeping times.
- Top Ten Rail-Trails for Fall Foliage: We teamed up with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to pinpoint ten perfect rail-trails for experiencing fall’s changing colors.
- Top Ten Autumn Escapes: Fall's Best Forests: Where better to absorb the stunning beauty of fall's foliage than in our national forests?
- Top Fall Hikes: Hiking Expert Karen Berger shares her picks for the best fall hikes in the country.
- Scenic Drives Guide: Scope the autumn scene from the comfort of your car. Get the best roadside views on these itineraries for drives around the country and all over the world.
- Fall Foliage Photo Gallery and Screensaver: Discover some extra motivation to get out and witness the colors of the season.
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September 21, 2009
Nagasaki Insider's Guide: The Perfect Bowl of Noodles
A bowl of champon noodles, a Nagasaki specialty (courtesy, Wikimedia Commons)
The city of Nagasaki in southwestern Japan is one of the country's most, well, un-Japanese cities. Given its proximity to the facing shores of both China and the Korean peninsula, many elements of its history, architecture, cuisine, and culture can be traced back to regional trade connections with the Asian mainland. More recently, relatively speaking, the arrival of Portuguese missionaries and Dutch traders during the 16th and 17th centuries exposed this corner of Japan to western-influenced religion, fads, and goods while the rest of the country was essentially in a 200-year cultural lockdown under the Tokugawa shogunate's strict policy of isolation.
When I lived in Japan, I would ride a ferry and bus for over two hours just to get a taste of one of Nagasaki's distinctly cosmopolitan flavorings, champon, a ramen-noodle broth that originated in China and which is made by frying pork, seafood, and vegetables with lard. In the local dialect, champon literally means "hodgepodge," so the dish can take many forms. You can order a bowl of this delicious local staple at any number of izakayas (bars) and noodle stands. Other must-do ideas for Nagasaki include a visit to the quirky Dutch trading enclave of Dejima, tours of Glover Garden (home of the European trader behind Kirin lager!), and the Nagasaki heiwa koen ("peace park"), epicenter of the devastating August 1945 atomic bomb blast that brought World War II to its tragic end.
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September 18, 2009
Phu Quoc: Vietnam's Best Beaches
Sunset in Phu Quoc (Mike Sieburg)
Introduction
For a country with a mainland that stretches for nearly 4,000 kilometers along the South China Sea, I find Vietnam’s most beautiful beaches to actually be on the island of Phu Quoc. Set in the Gulf of Thailand just west of the Mekong Delta and less than 20 kilometers south of Cambodia, Phu Quoc is home to vast, lovely stretches of sandy unspoiled beaches, and dotted with towering palm trees overlooking turquoise waters. Dense forests and pepper plants line the slopes of the island’s mountainous interior, while a rugged dirt road hugs the coast. With most of Vietnam’s coast facing east, the island of Phu Quoc is one of the country’s few beaches that offers views of the sunset.
Activities
The seas surrounding Phu Quoc offer excellent diving and snorkeling, especially in the quieter waters of the dry season. Most hotels arrange boat trips out to popular snorkeling and dive sites. The interior of the island has trails, allowing for jungle hikes through dense foliage to waterfalls and mountaintops with views that stretch to the Cambodian mainland on clear days. For those wanting to explore the outer reaches of the island, it is possible to rent a motorbike for the day. The island’s main road follows the coast, making for stunning views throughout any drive.
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September 10, 2009
Are You Ready for Some Football?
The Patriots get ready to play at Gillette Stadium (Elsa-Getty/courtesy, Patriots.com)
Today marks the official start of the National Football League's season, and if you're like most red-blooded Americans, it is a day you've looked forward to since the final second of the Super Bowl ticked away last season. Sports events can make great reasons to hit the road and travel, too—especially when your destination is a raucous tailgate or a huge stadium packed with 70,000 ever-loyal fans gathered in a sea of your team's colors. And there's plenty to see and do beyond the football game, as many stadiums are located in big cities where you can satisfy culinary cravings, explore cultural and historic sites, or act on your sense of adventure, as well as feed your sports frenzy. To help you decide which stadiums to visit, here is our list of the Top Ten Football Stadiums in the country. Don't see your home stadium on the list, but think it should be? Make your case for it in the comments below!
10. The Superdome, New Orleans Saints
9. Monster Park, San Francisco 49ers
8. Reliant Stadium, Houston Texans
7. Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia Eagles
6. Gillette Stadium, New England Patriots
5. Cleveland Browns Stadium, Cleveland Browns
4. Ford Field, Detroit Lions
3. Raymond James Stadium, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
2. Qwest Field, Seattle Seahawks
1. Lambeau Field, Green Bay Packers
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September 04, 2009
Find Peace in the Crowded Smoky Mountains
A bridge over part of Cosby Creek on the Low Gap Trail to Mount Cammerer (Kate Chandler)
Boasting more than 800 miles of trails and straddling parts of Tennessee and North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a hiker's paradise. But somehow many people find themselves on crowded trails each summer and fall. The park, after all, does get nine-million-plus visitors each year, making it the most visited national park in the United States.
Here's our little beat-the-crowds secret for you: Cosby Campground. This pristine campground, and the surrounding trails, in the northeast corner of the park (in Tennessee), sees a mere fraction of the traffic that more well-known parts of the park get. Consider this: All of the park's four campgrounds that are available to book online offer roughly the same number of campsites. But, as of July 2009, the National Park Service reports that Smokemont Campground has had 25,983 visitors; Cades Cove Campground has had 42,195 visitors; and Elkmont has had a whopping 67,226 visitors. Cosby Campground, on the other hand, has hosted just 3,458 people.
There must be something wrong with it, you might say. To the contrary, the campground is beautiful, with large, terraced campsites that are shaded and private. And there are tons of great hiking trails branching out from all parts of the campground. Here are just a few to try.
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September 02, 2009
Beach Bytes: The Outer Banks Marathon
Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills (courtesy, North Carolina Tourism)
The Outer Banks Marathon is a great event during Veteran’s Day weekend that's not just for runners. The weather and scenery in these North Carolina barrier islands is beautiful in November, and the weekend promises fun for the whole family, even if you plan to do more cheering than running. The marathon itself traces a circuit through some of the area's main attractions: The course begins in Kitty Hawk, providing views of Albemarle Sound; passes through the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, the Nags Head Woods Maritime Forest, and some of the tallest sand dunes on the East Coast in Jockey’s Ridge State Park; crosses the scenic Washington-Baum Bridge; and ends on Roanoke Island, near where the first English colonists landed in 1587. Other races during this weekend include a half marathon, an 8K, and a leisurely Fun Run for kids and families. If you like art, you'll want to check out the Outer Banks Marathon Race EXPO, which will showcase work from local artists, along with music, games, and other entertainment. Whether you are running or not, you can join in the tradition of loading up on carbs at the Pasta Party the night before the big race. And be sure to check out the festivities at Marathon Village in Manteo, where the Pirate Jamboree will get started at 8 a.m. on race day. Enjoy food and beer for purchase (free for runners), and live music and games.
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