Much like Kashmir or Iran, the Golan Heights have the dubious honor of appearing more often on newspapers’ front pages than in their travel sections. Since Israel captured the Golan during the Six Day War in 1967, this region, which stretches from the Sea of Galilee in the south to Mount Hermon in the north, has been one of the world’s most contested pieces of political real estate.

It’s also one of the Earth’s hidden gems. The Golan’s 1,200 square kilometers harbor a treasure trove of lush farmland and sky-scraping volcanic terrain, the fate of which forms the crux of one of the world’s most notorious geopolitical disputes. A visit to the Golan Heights grants travelers access to the natural and human worlds behind the headlines, challenging minds with a ground-level perspective of the machinery of conflict and resolution. (more…)

Tags: access, Annan, Anti, array, Avital, background, basalt, Beginners, Bental, bit, border, bottom, buildup, bunker, Cabernet, cabernet sauvignons, Café, capital, center, challenge, challenging minds, cities of refuge, coffee, collection, conflict, conflict and resolution, Council, country, crux, Day, Defense, difficulty, disposal, distraction, dormant volcanoes, dozen, dubious honor, Earth, equipment, estate, extreme, farm, farmland, fate, fertile farmland, firing, flock, frigid, Galilee, gamut, Gilabun River, Golan Heights, greenery, grip, guest, gun, heat, Hermon, hidden gems, hike, history, honor, hotspot, IDF, intersection, Iran, Israel, Israeli, Jordan River, Kashmir, land, Lebanon, level perspective, limestone, line, lookout, lug, lush farmland, luxury, machinery, Merlots, Middle East, Minefields, Mount Hermon, mountainside, mountaintop, name, nature, New England, newspapers front pages, north, northern extreme, northern Golan, notoriety, number, option, park, peace, peak, perspective, planet, plateau, pool, range, ravine, reconnaissance, recreation, refuge, region, Regional, Reserve, resolution, resort, rhythm, safety, Sauvignons, school, sea, sea of galilee, seasonal stream, side, signpost, Six, ski, skiing, south, spot, square kilometers, Stream, swimming, Syria, terrain, Today, Tours, Trails, Travel, travel sections, treasure, treasure trove, trek, trove, turn, UN-administered, underbrush, versatile, view, visit, visitor, volcanic highlands, volcanic terrain, War, warning, water, waterfall, way, wind, wine, winter, world, zone

Have you got six months off? Do you fancy a long walk? If so, World Expeditions may have just the holiday for you. They have become the only trekking outfit to offer a guided trip along the first completed section of the Great Himalayan Trail (GHT).

Stretching for 1,700km along the length of Nepal, the GHT will take you a mere 157 days to complete. You’ll see eight of the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000m, including Everest, and cross passes reaching up to 6,000m, climbing a total of 150,000m. That’s a Snowdon every day for half a year. Oh, and it will set you back £20,500. (more…)

Tags: account, Adrian, adventure, agency, aid, animist, Annapurna, annapurna regions, arc, asian countries, Barwa, Bhutan, Canada, Centre, challenge, China, completion, completion date, Continental, continental divide trail, country, cross, date, Day, Development, difference, district, elevation, Everest, Expeditions, focus, Food, footpath, GHT, government, GPS, Great, ground, guidebook, helicopter, Himalaya, Himalayan Trail, holiday, idea, India, Integrated, International, Kathmandu, leisure, length, lot, man, map, money spinner, mountain, Mugu, Namche, Nanga, Nepal, Nicholas Crane, outfit, outlier, Pakistan, Parbat, peak, Pennine Way, presenter, price, Programme, project, region, research, Richard, Robin Boustead, route, section, Snowdon, SNV, source, steroidal, television, thing, Tibet, Tibetan, time, total, tourism, trail, Trans, trans canada, trek, trekker, treks, trip, undertaking, US, version, walk, War, water, week, western Nepal, westernmost, work, world, world expeditions, world food, year

Switzerland is a country of picturesque mountain ranges and quaint little alpine villages. I had always wanted to visit this beautiful country and now I was finally getting my chance. However, having spent the whole day on a train, I was starting to wear down and my excitement was dwindling to say the least.

A bus ride was in order before we would arrive at our final destination, but as the bus approached, I fel sense of dread boiling up within. It was getting late in the evening and I hadn’t booked accommodations, so we would have to search in the rain for a bed. (more…)

Tags: adventure, age, air, alpine, alpine lake, alpine villages, Alps, architecture, assortment, backyard, base, basement, beautiful country, bed, biking, book, Brienz, brighten, bungee, bus, bus ride, cabin, cake, calm, calm waters, center, central Switzerland, chance, city, cliff, climbing mountain, couldn, country, couple, Day, delay, destination, distance, door, doorbell, dread, due, eagerness, edge, energy, evening, Everyone, excitement, exhaustion, extreme sports, exuberance, eye, fact, fel, final destination, floor, forefront, front, Gimmelwald, glacier, gondola, guide, hadn, halt, help, hiking, hill, home, homemade, hop, house, ice, Interlaken, Jungfrau, jungfrau region, Lake, landscape, Lauterbrunnen, lawn, life, location, look, lunch, man, medium, mist, months of the year, mountain, mountain ranges, multiple companies, name, nature, night, office, order, outcrop, panorama, pasture, path, picturesque, picturesque mountain, plenty, porch, railing, rain, rainbow, region, ride, river, river rafting, roadway, rock, room, sce, scene, scenery, school, sense, shop, shopping, simplicity, skiing, sky, sky diving, snow, Snow-capped, snowy, spot, stage, state, station, stomach, stone, stop, store, street, summer, sun, Swiss, swiss alps, Switzerland, Thun, time, tourist, town, trail, train, trip, valley, variety, view, village, wall, wasn, water, way, window, world, year

St. Valentine’s Day is noted for roses, but the holiday always reminds me that my wife’s favorite flower is actually the tulip, something that can be hard to come by in a snowy February in Vermont. Planted before the first frost of autumn, they’re quickly forgotten about until they emerge unexpectedly in the sunny warmth of spring. The red, yellow, purple, pink and white heads on single smooth green stalks begin to frame gardens and walkways around the country, reflecting our fascination with this simple and elegant flower from Holland. As a belated gift last spring, I took my wife to one of my favorite Canadian cities, Ottawa, which just happens to host an annual Tulip festival that showcases both the city and this wonderful flower. (more…)

Tags: Alexandra Bridge, annual tulip festival, anything, appreciation, architecture, area, Arts, attention, autumn, average temperature, Azteca, backdrop, Bagel, ball, bank, Beeblebrox, beer, beginning, bisque, bloom, border, ByWard, Café, Calendario, Canadian, canadian cities, canadian tulip festival, capital, capital cities, Centre, Centretown, challenge, cheese, city, Civilization, club, cob, cobblestone, coldest, Commissioner, companion, Continental, contrast, corn, country, crepe, cuisine, Day, display, doesn, Douglas Adams, Dow, downtown, eighteen, elegant flower, end, English, event, extravaganza, Fahrenheit, family, fascination, favorite flower, Feather, February, festival, first frost, flower, Fox, frost, fun, Gallery, gift, Hill Park, hip, holiday, Holland, horticulturist, Huitlacoche, Hull, ice, IMAX, Italia, Italy, journey, juliana of the netherlands, Lake, Leffe, Little, lot, Major, majority, Market, May, meal, melon, Memorial, menu, Mexico, midway, minority, Mint, Montreal, Museum, mushroom, music, National, nightlife, number, official, Ontario, Ottawa, Ottawa River, outdoor markets, pass, picturesque, Planted, pot, Princess Juliana, princess juliana of the netherlands, Pub, Punctuated, Quebec, Québécois, rest, restaurant, risk, river, scenic river, scope, shuttle, side, snack, snowy, something, speaking, specialty, spring, spring and summer, st valentine, street, stunning architecture, style, suburb, summer, sunny warmth, taking, temperature, the Netherlands, Toronto, transportation, Trattoria, tulip, tulip bulbs, Tulip Festival, Valentine, valentine s day, variety, vegetarian, Vermont, walk, War, warmth, water, way, weather, wife, winter, world, world war ii, Zaphod