Historical safaris

Most people don’t appreciate that Peru really is ‘the Egypt of South America’. The breadth and quantity of ancient sites here is truly mind-numbing.

The vast majority of first-time visitors include a visit to the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu. As romantic and exciting as that can be, it is ironic that the ruins are only around five hundred years old. Down on the coast, there are ancient cities thousands of years older.

Most people have heard of the famous Nazca Lines, giant pictorial geoglyphs that are best appreciated from the air. In the same area there was also an impressive tradition of mummification, famously with mis-shapen ‘alien’ skulls. Vast ancient cities lie buried in the shifting sand dunes.

So few people want to explore these coastal areas, so these exciting adventures tend to take on an expeditionary nature, due to the lack of accommodation options. Possible any time of year.

civilisations that preceded the Inca by millennia

The history of India is so ancient and so many-layered, that it would be futile to even start to describe it here.

The majority of first time visitors to India tend to explore Rajasthan, where they are able to stay in a range of maharajas palaces, visiting all manner of forts and temples (including the Taj Mahal) and explore the colourful markets in the various towns and cities.

Our favourite places tend to be the lesser-known and more rural. We love a small palace guesthouse, where you are hosted by the lovely family themselves. We love a rural temple, where the local people are approachable and have time for you. We adore some of the remote castles, endless rambling places, lost in time.

More than anything, it is the overall atmosphere that all these layers and all this diversity produces, that is the magic of India. It calls you back.

Good trips tend to be 14-21 nights, more if you want to add a location in the Himalayas, notably the magical Buddhist enclaves of Ladakh or Bhutan. The best time of year is the Nov-Mar cool dry season, more towards the end of that period if you want to optimise for tiger sightings.

an almost overwhelming cornucopia of diverse cultures

Almost all trips to Bhutan are designed to explore the remarkable Buddhist history and culture.

The temples and historic buildings of the three-most-visited valleys (Paro, Thimphu and Punakha) are undeniably impressive, but it is when you get beyond those areas that the experience becomes more intimate and rewarding.

At the monasteries in places like Gangtey, visitors are often invited to join the monks in morning prayers, which can be utterly magical. Stay at an historic homestead in an even more remote valley and you are really starting to get below the surface.

We also like to plan trips around various festivals, preferably in the Bumthang Valley, or one of the more remote villages.

If you are inclined, it can also be fun to visit places where traditional crafts are made, local markets and farmsteads. For good measure, we always make sure there is a bow and arrows in your vehicle, since archery is to Bhutan what soccer is to Africa, the ultimate ice-breaker.

Trips are usually in the range 10-14 nights and the best time to visit is Sep-May.

a magical Buddhist kingdom tucked away in the Himalayas

Although there is some interesting colonial history in the cities of Valparaiso and Santiago in particular, when we view Chile from a global perspective the stand-out feature is Easter Island.

Set 3500 km (2000 miles) offshore, this speck of land is renowned for the hundreds of giant moai statues that guard the shoreline and litter the hinterland.

The civilization that created these works of art is long gone. There’s various theories about how they met their demise, including deforestation and plague, but no one really knows.

Although Easter Island is a part of Chile, it perhaps combines in trips with the equally fascinating ancient history of coastal Peru.

the remote and mysterious Easter Island

Sub-Saharan Africa is famously devoid of ancient history, mainly due to the lack of stonemasonry and written records.

The East Coast is somewhat different, since it has been settled by Arabs and Persians for almost 1000 years, with major coastal trading entrepots such as Mombasa, Zanzibar and Sofala.

This Swahili history becomes even better documented from the arrival of Europeans, especially into the 1800s. The exploits of explorers and missionaries like Speke, Livingstone and Stanley have been written large in popular culture.

An interest in history will inevitably lead you off-the-beaten-track, making for a particularly colourful and rewarding trip. There are some glorious forgotten backwaters to explore along the coast of Tanzania, infamous trading outposts deep inland on Lake Tanganyika and historic battlefields inside the wildlife reserves of the south. These are some of our favourite places to explore.

Trips of an historic nature can easily be combined with wildlife and beaches. They are usually of 14-21 nights and are perhaps best done May-Feb.

the historic trade in slaves and ivory