Cape Verde
African Islands of Cape Verde are getting more and more popular among European vacationers as an alternative to the famous Canary Islands. The air tickets can be bought for an amazingly cheap price and the weather is warmer in the winter months.
The most popular island for beach holidays is Sal. Nevertheless, it was my least favorite. The golden beaches are nice, but it's yet another enclave of hotels and the tourists are separated from the reality, just like in other closed resorts of this sort.
The adventure starts when you visit other islands which, although so close to Sal, are authentic, totally off the beaten path and without tourists. Also, the nature is truly diverse, from volcanic peaks to lush green hills and spectacular cliffs. The little colonial towns are also extremely cozy and beautiful.
Have a look at the articles below to find out what more to see, beyond the beaches, in Cape Verde:
Despite of the increasing popularity of the Sal island among European tourists, the other islands of the Cape Verde archipelago are pretty much unknown to an ordinary traveler. Although Sal is packed with resorts as well as fancy hotels and resembles a typical, ordinary beach destination, Fogo remains quiet, idyllic and perfect for those who love different, off the beaten path places. Not to mention its moon-like landscapes formed by the very recent eruption in 2014 of the volcanic peak overlooking the island. Fogo was by far my favorite island of Cape Verde.
Sal is one of the "islands of the sun" within the archipelago of Cape Verde, located off the Senegalese coast. It is the most touristic island where nearly 50 % of winter sun seekers who come from Europe to Cape Verde stay on vacation. Most probably, it is Sal that will be your first contact with this tiny African Country. The island boasts various types of white, sandy beaches suitable for swimming as well as surfing, kitesurfing and diving. Tourist infrastructure is very well developed with multiple hotels and resorts along the coast. If you love lazy beach holidays, you'll find it perfect. However, if you wish to experience some authentic African culture or local life, you won't get it in Sal. The whole island is solely dedicated to tourism and besides the western-style resorts, there's nothing much original there.
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Many of the visitors coming to southern Poland and Krakow region end up in Zakopane - the little town located at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. Some hike (or take a horse cart ride) up the easy and quite boring trail to the most famous landmark in Polish mountains - Morskie Oko lake which is undoubtedly picturesque and beautiful, but so overcrowded that it can get really irritating.
In this post, I'll try to encourage you to leave Morskie Oko behind and venture into the real, wild beauty of the area. As usual, the most attractive and stunning views are awaiting those who are brave enough to take a risk and explore something beyond the beaten path. I've already described the trek to Dolina Pieciu Stawow which is way nicer than the one to Morskie Oko and now it's time to write about my favorite trail in the Tatras - to Swinica peak via the less known Dolina Gasienicowa (Gasienicowa Valley) and Zawrat saddle. This trail features not one but several crystal clear lakes of different shapes and colors, spectacular views - incomparable with those on the way to Morskie Oko and it's perfect for those who love adventure and adrenaline rush!
On the second day of the extraordinarily beautiful trek to Poon Hill, we left the cozy village of Ulleri at sunrise and headed uphill towards another village - Ghorepani. Ghorepani is located at the elevation of 2750 meters and it differs from other towns with the distinctive blue roofs and houses. It is also a gateway to the most important point of the trek - Poon Hill (around 3200 meters above sea level) which offers a spectacular, 360 degree view of the Annapurna range in the Himalayas. Especially stunning in March/April when all the wild rhododendrons blossom and cover the mountainous valleys in bright red colors.
Lake Kaindy in southern Kazakhstan is one of the newest and most unique natural wonders on our planet. Although literally unknown in the West, if it was located in any European country, it would be its best tourist attraction. Especially beautiful in the fall (autumn), Lake Kaindy boasts not only exceptionally attractive blue color of water and snowy rocky mountains surrounding it but also the unique, silver trunks of dead spruce sticking out of the lake's surface. The "flooded forest" is indeed one of the natural landmarks of Kazakhstan. It all creates a fairy-tale like scenery, not seen anywhere else.
You might have seen photos of the gargantuan hole in the middle of the desert spewing out flames and a beam of light out of its core high up into the night sky while watching National Geographic or some documentary on the weirdest places on Earth. Although the Darvaza Crater has got quite large exposure in the media, it still remains very rarely visited by ordinary tourists. Central Asia is an extremely interesting place both naturally and historically. However, travelers almost always skip it choosing the popular beaches in Southeast Asia. Come to Darvaza and you'll feel as if you were teleported to Mars - it's a unique, outlandish and eerie experience that cannot be compared to anything else you've seen before.
While watching one of the Hollywood apocalyptic films or playing computer games - have you ever thought that a real ghost town is closer than you think? It is actually located in the center of Europe - in Ukraine. 110 kilometers (70 miles) from the country's capital - Kiev, very close to the border with Belarus. A visit to Pripyat is an extraordinary experience - something you most probably have never seen and will never see. It is completely different from the usual sight seeing tours. In this post I am presenting a gallery of photos of this ghost town literally abandoned overnight thirty years ago.
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2015 was a year full of adventure, surprises and amazing opportunities to discover even more of great and off the beaten path places. Just like a year ago, based on my own experience (I've been to all the countries described below), I'd like to present my list of destinations to visit in 2016 (click here to see the post from 2015). As usual, it will be different than most of such lists released by meainstream travel magazines. Instead of repeating all the well known places, I'd like you to get inspired and explore new adventurous and exciting spots. It has probably never even come to your mind that you could visit some of them and you'll surely get shocked when you learn where those amazing wonders actually are located!
I spent only one full day in Bangkok. I managed to see a lot, but to visit everything properly, at a slow pace, you'll definitely need more time. Although it was only one day, it was still very busy, hectic and stressful (not to say unpleasant). It turned out, that after having visited nearly 50 countries before arriving to Bangkok and comparing Bangkok with all those places - I came to the conclusion that indeed, it is totally overrated. To the point that I was happy to leave the next day which virtually never happens to me as I love to travel and explore. It still amazes me why crowds of Westerners fly to Bangkok, usually just because Thailand is "trendy" right now and never think of visiting such amazing and authentic cities as Tbilisi, Yerevan, Kathmandu or Mandalay.
The Shipwreck Beach (also called Navagio) on the Greek island - Zakynthos is the most beautiful beach I have seen. It's claimed to be the most beautiful - and I agree. After visiting numerous beaches in other, also way more exotic destinations (like Brazil, Thailand, Italy, Mauritius, Georgia, India, Croatia, Albania, Spain, Portugal), I have yet to discover a place that would enchant me as much as Navagio Beach. But there is a flaw in this perfection. The beach is indeed the most beautiful in the world, granted that it's viewed from the edge of the cliff that surrounds it. Looked at from the sea level, it looses its charm. However, most of the tour agencies offering a trip to the beach arrive there by boat and in this case you will not see it as it is on the postcards or leaflets - from above. It's also impossible to climb the steep rocky cliff from the beach. So what's the solution if you want to admire the famous view from the top?
One of the most important religious sites in Myanmar, seemingly defying the law of gravity - Golden Rock Temple (Kyaiktio or Kyaikhteeyoe Pagoda), although quite famous, is surprisingly not as touristy as the other destinations in the country - Bagan, Mandalay or Yangon. There are good and bad sides to it. The good thing is that the authenticity of the place is still preserved (unlike the temples in Thailand) and you'll see many more locals than foreigners around. The bad thing - to get there without an expensive, privately run tour or a taxi is pretty complicated, the bus schedules are not clear and the level of English among the Burmese is very low. And... to be honest, the site is one of those that look absolutely spectacular in the photos, a bit less so in real life. Having said that, the whole journey was a great adventure, definitely worth the effort and it left some priceless memories in my mind.
It might be a bit strange to see a post about a spa on a blog that describes mainly an active way of traveling and discovering some forgotten and unknown places where few even think of visiting. But Blue Lagoon in Iceland is different. It's an amazing proof how human engineering and nature can cooperate perfectly. It's not an ordinary, boring spa with swimming pools and massages. The Blue Lagoon is one of those experiences that, I think, everyone should try at least once in life. Especially after exploring some of the marvelous sites of Iceland - an outlandish island on the periphery of Europe.
Brava is the greenest, coolest and one of the smallest islands of the archipelago Cape Verde. It has its own micro-climate which makes it so unique. Most of the tourists tend to flock to the dry, sandy islands such as Sal or Boa Vista, but in my opinion the less known ones are way more interesting. And Brava was the one we liked the most. Contrary to Sal, in Brava, you won't see any crowds of tourists.
It's located right beside another pretty unique island with the infamous volcano in its center - Fogo (take a look at my post about Fogo to see the entire old village engulfed by lava and a new village with typical round houses made of volcanic rock built by the locals on top of the destroyed town). When you're in Fogo, don't miss Brava - it's so close and it feels like a completely different world! Brava does not have typical sandy beaches but it does have amazing cliffs, coastline, nature and pretty much the most picturesque towns in Cape Verde.