Walk, don’t run: There are still loads of roads less traveled out there, it turns out. An array of new coastal walks, trail openings, rethought cycle routes, trailblazing desert hikes and save-the-date urban treks offers plenty of fresh air and fresh perspective, with nary a misstep in sight.
The Journey to Bhutanese Solitude
The Walk: The Kingdom of Bhutan reopened its majestic gates in September with changes to its quality-over-quantity tourism policy: A mandatory “sustainable development fee” for visitors has jumped from $65 to $200 per day, and the Trans Bhutan Trail, 250 miles of serene ancient pathways winding through the Haa Valley to Trashigang in the east, reopened after three years. Expect renovated suspension bridges, re-cobbled stone stairs and trimmed monastary gardens in this refreshed, awe-inspiring hiking nirvana.
The Stay: Another highly-anticipated opening in the region is andBeyond Punakha River Lodge, a “cocoon of solitude” comprised of tented suites and villas nestled between the forest-laden hills of Punakha Valley and verdant banks of the Mo Chhu River.
A New Life for Egypt's Ancient Bedouin Paths
The Walk: Forget the Pyramids. Egypt’s most extraordinary tourist draws are the country’s long-distance hiking trails. Managed by Bedouins, whose nomadic ancestors forged the ancient pathways on foot and camelback, the routes are an on-the-ground view of the region's austere granite canyons and vibrant green oases. Two new routes are helping “preserve long-overlooked natural wonders and a vanishing way of life,” the New York Times reports.
The Sinai Trail, the country’s first long-distance hiking path, is an ever-expanding, 350-mile hiking tour of the Sinai Peninsula. In total, the hike takes a whopping 54 days to complete and involves eight tribes. Thankfully, shorter, curated treks available via caravans of camels wind through windswept deserts plains, rugged wadis and Sinai peaks.
A new sister hike, the Red Sea Mountain Trail, has the distinction of being the first long-distance path on Egypt’s mainland. Led by Bedouin guides of the Maaza tribe, the route covers crumbling Roman towns, prehistoric rock art and chapels belonging to Egypt's "Desert Fathers." Both trails offer entry into one of the most untrodden parts of the Middle East, perhaps even the world.
The Stay: The newly-openend Chedi El Gouna.
A Meeting of First Nation Minds in Tasmania
The Walk: It is one thing to see the untouched coastlines of Tasmania, Australia’s smallest and most southern island state. It is quite another to know such wilderness deep within you. That's the thoughtful mindset guiding the indigenous-led walking tours of wukalina Walk, which are a first for the region. The premise: Local Aboriginal palawa guides invite visitors to takara waranta, a phrase that translates to “walk with us,” on four-day, three-night treks spanning beachside bush tucka dinners (Tasmanian oysters, wallaby carpaccio and bush bread accented with Tasmanian pepperberry) and insider tours of the migratory-bird archipelagos of Cape Barren Island. More than anything, the intimate (and frankly unprecedented) experience is an opportunity to walk through complex questions surrounding Australia’s early colonial history and view the singular island landscapes through the eyes of the Down Under's original stewards.
