Global Travel Guide 2009: Cultural Tours

Ghana, Togo, Benin
West African Education

This overland journey puts you in touch with the vibrant and musical culture of three of West Africa’s tiny gems. You’ll begin in Ghana, named for an ancient, gold-rich state, and home to the Ashanti kingdom and its present-day monarch. In addition to learning its royal history, you’ll visit a stone fortress on the Cape Coast to learn about the history of the slave trade that once blighted these lands. Over the border, the tiny geographical sliver of Togo will welcome you to its coastal fishing villages and coffee and cacao growing highlands. Finally, in Benin, you’ll tour vibrant markets and learn about the ancient Dahomey kingdom. You’ll also visit Ouidah, the voodoo centre of Benin, from where this distinctive African religion spread outward to the New World.

Journeys International
Phone: 800-255-8735
Length/Departs: 15 days/year-round
Accommodation: Hotels
Price: $4,895 US(land only)
Difficulty: Easy

France
Provence in Van Gogh’s Steps

You’ll begin your trip within the great stone walls of Avignon, once the seat of Papal power, and hike the stony hills of the Alpilles, with views across the lavender-clad fields of the Rhône valley, the dark grey smudge of the Luberon in the distance. You’ll be walking the same ground as the notorious Marquis de Sade, but your true inspiration will be van Gogh. From the Saint-Paul de Mausole monastery, where he painted more than 150 oeuvres, to Baux de Provence over-looking the vast salt marshes of the Camargue, the vibrant colours of the land will give you an immediate sense of the incredible creativity it sparked in the great painter. You’ll finish your trip in Arles, next to the Roman amphitheatre and the café that van Gogh painted to such universal acclaim.

Breakaway Adventures
Phone: 800-567-6286
Length/Departs: 7 days/Mar.-Jun. and Sept.-Nov.
Accommodation: Local inns
Price: $2,178 US(land only)
Difficulty: Moderate

Armenia
Mountains and Monasteries
Culture mavens will be astounded by a journey to one of the forgotten cradles of Western civilization. Its setting alone—a 1,800-metre plateau of mountain highlands— is enough to stop your heart. The region was the site of early advances in Christianity, as early as AD 300, and is scattered with stone monasteries and churches decorated with dramatic frescoes from a lost time of expanding faith. Armenia’s towns are also of interest: filled with welcoming people, lazy sidewalk cafés, locally grown fruits and cheeses and delicate wines. Armenian brandy was also a favourite of Winston Churchill, a great excuse to give it a try. Whatever your interests, this culture-steeped land of scarcely believable vistas is sure to leave its mark.

Wilderness Travel
Phone: 800-368-2794
Length/Departs: 14 days/May-Sept.
Accommodation: Hotels
Price: $4,495 US(land only)
Difficulty: Easy

India
Kumaon Village Trek
This trip will take you beyond the familiar to touch the hidden soul of India, one that exists in wonderful diversity at the level of regional villages. On this journey, you’ll trek through the foothills of the Himalayas in the shadow of Nanda Devi. You’ll walk village trails past nameless waterfalls, terraced fields and temples that date back a thousand years. And you’ll stay in villages that remain intimately connected to the customs of the past, where you’ll soon be accepted as part of an extended family.

Myths and Mountains
Phone: 775-832-5454
Length/Departs: 12 days/Mar. and Sept.
Accommodation: Hotels
Price: $4,065 US(land only)
Difficulty: Easy to moderate

USA
San Francisco to the Wine Country
Terroir, the special quality that local geography bestows on the vine, is the key to producing vintages of distinction. This trekking vacation will immerse you in the terroir of the world-renowned Sonoma Valley by bringing you into intimate contact with the land itself. You’ll trek from inn to inn, from San Francisco bay through the Muir Woods National Monument, winding up in the Sonoma Valley for a day of exclusive tastings at private wineries.

Wine Country Trekking
Phone: 707-935-4497
Length/Departs: 10 days/year-round
Accommodation: Premier hotels and inns
Price: $2,850 US (land only)
Difficulty: Easy

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Explorer
This comprehensive trip, with private guide and driver, is designed for those who want to take a little more time to discover the wonders of this tiny island nation. Cultural highlights include the city of Anuradhapura, the grandest of ancient Sri Lanka, and Mihintale, where Buddhism was introduced to the country. You’ll explore the ruins of Sigiriya and its citadel atop the famous Lion Rock, visit a spice garden in Matale, and pause for rest in the relaxed ‘capital’ of hill country, the city of Kandy. The region is also home to an elephant orphanage, which you’ll be able to visit. Another highlight is a visit to a tea plantation, an industry that made the island famous in colonial times under its former name of Ceylon.

Absolute Travel
Phone: 800-736-8187
Length/Departs: 10 days/available year-round
Accommodations: Hotels
Price: $3,720 US (land only)
Difficulty: Easy

Ethiopia
Ethiopia Historic Route
This Comprehensive journey illustrates why Ethiopia is one of Africa’s most fascinating destinations. you’ll begin by visiting the Blue Nile Falls (one of the sources of the world’s longest river) and Lake Tana before continuing on to the medieval city of Gondar for a taste of the country’s imperial history. You’ll travel to the Simein Mountains National Park, home of the endemic Gelada baboon, and drive through the stunning scenery of Tekezze Gorge, home to the Tigre people. You’ll touch history at Axum, the first place in Ethiopia to adopt Christianity, and you’ll visit the incredible rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, one of the world’s most astounding sacred sites. You’ll also visit that once-forbidden city of Harare, home to the Omo tribe, and much more.

Adventures Incorporated
Phone: 800-387-8850
Length/Departs: 12 days/year-round
Accommodations: Hotels
Price: $2,680 CDN (land only)
Difficulty: Moderate

Russian, Mongolia
Ancient Songs& Stories

This journey plunges deep into obscure regions in the remotest corners of Asia, placing travellers amidst cultures that exist on the fringes of the modern world. You’ll travel from Moscow to Abakan and the village of Shushenskoye, where Lenin passed three years in exile, before crossing the foothills of the Kayan Mountains and dropping off the map into the Russian region of Tuva. As the otherworldly sounds of Tuvan throat singing vibrate through the still air, you’ll study traditional rituals and medicines with a Tuvan shaman. You’ll then move on to Siberia and the forested shores of Lake Baikal, before concluding your journey in the rolling hills of Mongolia.

MIR Corporation
Phone: 800-424-7289
Length/Departs: 16 days/Aug.
Accommodation: Hotels
Price: $7,995 US(includes internal flights)
Difficulty: Easy

Jordan, Syria
Caravan Cities of the Ancient Near East
Travellers with an interest in archaeology are sure to enjoy the ‘trip with a purpose.’ In a region so rich in history, a focus is necessary. Yours will be the great caravan trading networks that spanned the Middle East, and the civilizations they spawned. That history will come to life as you pick your way carefully through the ruins of abandoned cities, such as the Nabatean centre of Petra (Jordan) and the magnificent town of Palmyra (Syria). You’ll also visit sites that have continued to thrive in modern times, places such as Damascus, once the centre of the Umayad caliphate, and Aleppo, said to be the most picturesque of Arab cities. With the dust on your skin and the smells of incense and old stones in your nose, you’ll only have to close your eyes to journey back into the past.

Martin Randall Travel
Phone: 44-208-742-3355
Length/Departs: 16 days/Oct.
Accommodation: Hotels
Price: £3,090 (land only)
Difficulty: Easy

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010 at 1:17 pm and is filed under web archives. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site. Add to del.icio.us.