New tours: Off the grid
With ready-made itineraries and travel planning apps, it's a doddle to get away these days. But how easy is it to really escape?
Forgo itineraries and well-trodden routes — a new travel service by Black Tomato challenges the way we explore the world. Striving to distance travellers from quotidian routines, the Get Lost experience provides a unique opportunity for a bona fide adventure. You choose the environment, rather than the destination: polar, jungle, desert, coastal or mountain. After any necessary destination-specific training, you'll be transported to a start point, given instructions and — though you'll be watched from afar by a support team — you're on your own. The challenge is to get through the wilderness to the final destination — a rare feat in our hyper-connected world. Plot your path between checkpoints and lurch yourself out of your comfort zone by exploring the company's tailored selection of unfettered landscapes.
Beyond borders
Head to the Balkans for less-trodden, border-crossing trails that will take you to the once-disputed borderlands between Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania — now a designated Peace Park. A new six-day escapade by
KE Adventure Travel traces a 33-mile trail that weaves its way between the three countries.
Get lost in Mongolia...
Off road in the Altai, Mongolia's highest mountain range
Ride a Mongolian horse to the Potanin Glacier
Raft down the Altai's largest river
Hunt with a Kazakh eagle hunter
Top four: least stressful cities
01 Stuttgart, Germany
02 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
03 Hannover, Germany
04 Bern, Switzerland
Published in the December 2017 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)