The emperors at Snow Hill
An ice-strengthened ship pushes into the Weddell Sea, and a helicopter sets you down on the sea ice near an emperor penguin colony. Some years the ice refuses, which is why it is worth the wait.
Places we know
Journeys worth the planning.
Twelve places we know well, and a long way from all of them. They are examples, not packages: every journey we plan begins with a blank page. Some take a year of preparation and a little luck with the weather. We will always tell you plainly when a place is not right for you, or not ready yet.
Icebergs at midnight, Ilulissat
In summer the sun barely sets over the Ilulissat Icefjord. After dinner, a small boat slips out among icebergs the size of city blocks.
The desert, by private aircraft
A small plane links the red dunes of Sossusvlei to the fog-bound Skeleton Coast, where elephants have learned to live in the desert.
A yacht of your own
A small yacht with its own naturalist, moving between islands by night. Sea lions on the landing steps, and turtles that have never learned to be afraid.
With the eagle hunters of the Altai
Kazakh families in Bayan-Ölgii have hunted with golden eagles for generations. Arrive for the Golden Eagle Festival, then stay on in a ger in the mountains.
Torres del Paine, on foot
Granite towers rise straight out of the steppe. Walk to the lake at their base, and return each evening to a lodge where the only sound is the weather.
An hour with the mountain gorillas
Trackers lead a small group through the Bwindi forest to a habituated gorilla family. You are allowed one hour, and it stays with you for life.
The kingdom at its own pace
The path to the Tiger’s Nest climbs through pine forest to a monastery on a cliff. Beyond it lie fortress monasteries, village archery and, in winter, black-necked cranes.
Kyoto, behind the curtain
Tea with a master in an old wooden townhouse, a temple garden at a quiet hour, dinner in many small courses at a ryokan. Come in November, when the maples turn.
The Nile, by dahabiya
A traditional sailing boat between Luxor and Aswan, with an Egyptologist who stays all week. Begin at the Grand Egyptian Museum, where Tutankhamun’s treasures are shown together for the first time.
Under the northern lights
Above the Arctic Circle, winter nights are dark enough for the aurora to put on a proper show. Dog sleds by day; reindeer skins and a moving sky by night.
A mansion, all to yourselves
Merchant palaces of Burmese teak, Italian marble and hand-made Athangudi tiles. We take one over completely: the courtyards, the kitchen and every room.
Somewhere else in mind? That is usually where the best journeys begin.
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