As far as having fun in the dark goes, it doesn’t get much crazier than this. Pull on a wetsuit and for the next three hours climb, clamber and coast through Ruakuri Cave on the North Island. For part of the journey with the Legendary Black Water Rafting Co you’ll be taking the plunge over underground waterfalls, but there’s also the chance to kick back on your inner tube and float through limestone galleries lit by glow-worms. Each tour, with a maximum of 12 adventurers, is led by a guide who’ll make sure you emerge safe and sound into the sunlight.
Get off ground level and head to the roof at Loof. A long-time favourite for both Singaporeans and visitors, the sleek outdoor space focuses on everything around it for inspiration: beers are of the Asian variety, cocktails feature local ingredients (its Singapore Sour, made with vodka, sour plum and kalamansi juice, is a spin on the island’s most famous drink, the Singapore Sling) and the kitchen takes classics and makes them new again.
Chilli crab cheese fries and hoisin duck spring rolls, anyone? It’s a great spot to chill early on, with excellent views of Downtown, but things certainly ratchet up a notch as the night ages and the beer pong table goes off. Local DJs play at popular nights like Pops of the Top and Flidays at Loof. Love it sick? You can pick up a cute souvenir – an old-school game or anodised tea flask, for example – from the Mamashop.
Bring out your inner Viking with an adventure deep in a Swedish spruce forest. Twelve tiny charcoal huts, covered with earth to protect them from the elements, each house two single beds covered with animal skins, an open fireplace and candles for light (there’s no electricity or running water). Spartan? Yes. But that’s part of the joy. The rest is found in the activities: wilderness hikes, a moose safari, swims in the lake followed by time in the floating sauna, trout fishing and snowshoeing in the winter. You chop your own wood and cook your own meals, so it’s pretty much the perfect destination for anyone wanting to get back to basics. You still can, of course, bring chocolate and wine.
Spectre, the latest instalment in the James Bond franchise, offered Daniel Craig a license to chill. Sky-high restaurant ice Q has some of the best views ever seen from an architecturally inspired glass box, but for the Sam Mendes-directed movie it transformed from haute cuisine hot spot into the mountaintop lair of Christoph Waltz’s villain Blofeld. Situated more than 3000 metres up on the summit of Gaislachkogl in the Austrian resort town of Sölden, the neighbouring snow-covered peaks and glacial tunnel also played host to one of the film’s main action scenes – no spoilers intended. But now that Hollywood has packed up and gone home, hitting the slopes on skis or a board, followed by drinks overlooking Ötztal Alps, is definitely not to be missed.
Strip everything away and the mind begins to clear. That’s the thinking behind Sri Lanka’s first wellness retreat, where the doors opened in 2016. Located in the countryside about an hour from overlooks lush hills and terraced tea plantations.
The design is minimalist in the extreme, although the concrete bunker styling of the saltwater soaking room and sleek lines of the infinity pool will dazzle lovers of architectural form.
There’s no wi-fi or televisions, encouraging guests to reconnect with their sense of self and the world around them. Days are filled with hikes, yoga, swimming in the river, mountain biking and indulging in massages, reiki and Ayurvedic treatments.
If you’re suffering from asthma, consider joining the thousands of pilgrims who gather every year at Hyderabad in India to take part in a mass fish-guzzling ceremony. The Bathini Mrugasira Fish are stuffed with a special secret medicinal paste, apparently given to a local family by a holy man more than 150 years ago. The family continues to administer the herbal cure to patients for free, claiming their asthma will be cured after just three years’ of treatment.
Want to escape the city’s hustle and bustle and commune with nature, but can’t be bothered with tent pegs and sleeping bags? Otro Mundo is your answer. Located in the hills of the Sierra del Segura in Spain’s south, these two eco-friendly pods – one for a couple, the other for a family of up to five – look a little like igloos with hip retro-inspired interiors.
Around the camp, there’s a natural swimming pool overlooked by hammocks, fruit trees where you can pick a snack and loads of hiking trails. Take to two wheels to make the most of the 2000 kilometres of mountain bike trails or wander to isolated waterfalls. Experience this wild part of Spain for yourself because, after all, there’s no place like dome.
Explore one of the most unique archipelagos in the world on a sailing tour through the Ecuadorian Galapagos. Board your vessel in Baltra and begin by learning about evolutionary discoveries on Santa Cruz Island, home to the Charles Darwin Research Centre. Wander flora-filled trails on Santa Fe Island, then cruise to North Seymour Island to see one of the largest sea lion colonies.
On Bartomelé Island, watch lava spew from Pinnacle Rock and ooze into Sullivan Bay, before jumping in for a snorkel with reef sharks and colourful fish. Glimpse pink flamingos, pin-tailed ducks and the endemic Floreana mockingbird while walking the emerald sands of Cormorant Point on Floreana Island, then ascend a four-million-year-old volcano to glimpse a 30,000-strong colony of albatross on Española Island. Finish your epic journey in San Cristobal, Darwin’s landing point in 1835.
Ever wondered how an Indian family spends Holi, the Hindu festival that welcomes spring with a splash – OK, many splashes – of colour? Find out on an exclusive trip that begins in Delhi before heading to Jaipur.
First, you’ll visit the stunning pink Palace of the Winds, Amber Fort, the Royal City Palace and the city’s astronomical observatory. The next day the preparations begin. You’ll shop for water pistols, glitter, dry colours and water balloons at the market, take in a Bollywood movie then go to Holika Dahan, the bonfire that kicks off the celebrations the night before. Then it’s time for dinner with a local family and an early night because the next day you’ll need all your energy for the pelting of water and colour that symbolises this amazing festival. The tour finishes with a day in the rural village of Karauli and a visit to the famous Taj Mahal.
Listen carefully when you’ve settled on the deck outside your domed suite. What you hear is the sound of nature. That’s the attraction of Naries Namakwa, located on 600 hectares almost 30 kilometres outside the town of Springbok. When you’ve toured Cape Town and safari’d to your heart’s content, it’s the perfect spot to reconnect with yourself and the wilderness.
There’s a restored farmhouse and cottages, as well as three mountain suites created from rock and thatch and wedged between boulders. You can go hiking, loll about the pool or head out to explore the area. Namaqualand is a barren landscape on South Africa’s west coast, best known for copper mining and the spectacular profusion of wildflowers that blankets the red earth after the winter rains between August and October. It’s a sight you’ll never forget.
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