Treks and walks are possible for residents and visitors alike. Certainly the coast offers beauty beyond description but the forests and mountains, together with the villages and settlements contained within their folds, provide an experience that, unchanged by tourism, contrasts sharply with the local resorts.

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Dar Tassa is a simply wonderful place in the Atlas Mountains near Marrakech.
A lovely place amongst beautiful surroundings, let alone the delicious food and drink!

With highly friendly, knowledgeable and English speaking hosts aiding the organisation of our trek, our trip was definitely one to remember.

We visited on reading about this wonderful place in the RyanAir magazine where Dar Tassa was voted in their Top 10 most Eco-Friendly places to visit that won't harm the planet, or your pocket.

With great value for money we will be returning to Dar Tassa for sure.

www.dartassa.com/index.htm

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When travelling or trekking in sensitive places use a solar powered battery charger for cameras/ipods/gps to avoid battery waste – some treks in Nepal are littered with old AAs, and there’s no need nowadays. Solio sell a really neat foldaway one for about £50.

www.solio.com

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I was recently in Chiang Mai for a friend's wedding and we, as a private group, organised a day tour and elephant ride. We decided not to visit the normal elephant camps but a more remote camp that is south of Chiang Mai. It was just the wedding party along for a day of fun. We experienced an elephant ride through the real jungle trails - not the fixed circuit like at other places I have heard of while in Chiang Mai.

Then we arrived at the river where we had a blast poling down the river on pieces of bamboo strapped together. Some of the party ended up in the river while having water fights but the water is warm.

We then did the mandatory tourist thing and visited the hill tribes that were a fair hike to get to and the local people seemed happy to see us - not just the small vendors selling their handicrafts! We wondered around the village and surrounding rice paddies and saw the real tribal life. I am sure they seem hundreds of westerners a week but somehow they where still friendly and seemed to enjoy watching and trying to communicate with us as much as we did them.

I am so glad I did it - to think I thought it was too touristy to do, and almost didn't!

All I know is the area was called "Jomtong" and is about 50km from Chiang mai

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Just completed a nine day trek to the top of Kilimanjaro. Cannot speak too highly of the Marangu Hotel through whom we booked. They have been organising treks up Kilimanjaro for a long time, have their own guides, porters etc and know how to look after you. They look after their staff well. We saw how some other trekkers were being treated and could see what a good deal we got. Many climb Kilimanjaro nowadays - ours was a bit unusual in that we camped in the crater overnight.

www.maranguhotel.com
Tel: +255 27 275 6594/6361

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Lots of nice mountain huts and chalets open to the end of Sept. Many marked trails next to glaciers, open alpine pasture and forest.

Lots of train connections to Interlaken from Geneva, Basal etc. Take a local train to Wilderswill, Gridevald etc.

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Hostal Llullu Llama in Isinlivi in the Cotopaxi province is a great place to stay. There are many day hikes to do, the atmosphere is very relaxing and the food delicious! Hosts are very helpful and I could have stayed for weeks!

Isinlivi, Cotopaxi, Ecuador.
Take bus from Latacunga, daily.
www.llullullama.com
Tel: 00593 3 281 4790

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Dar Itrane is an ecolodge that gives the opportunity to experience the Berber Culture of the Moroccan High Atlas, only 4 hours away from Marrakech.
Built in adobe, wood and natural materials according to traditional building techniques, it’s a small environment-friendly structure set in the wonderful area of the M’Goun Range, the villages of the Bougmez Valley, and offers a high level of comfort, which is awesome in such an area.

After a long walk, it’s really pleasant to relax in the traditionnal taddelakt hammam. And from the roof terraces at night, you can see thousands of stars… Dar Itrane also has a wide library focusing on the Berber Culture.

It’s a good base to go and explore the close traditional villages of the valley, meet the locals or go trekking to the Azourki or the M’Goun Summit, for example.

The team at Dar Itrane is really friendly; they always cook delicious Moroccan dishes and are happy to introduce you to their way of living in the High Atlas.

www.daritrane.com
booking: sejour@origins-lodge.com
phone number : +212 23 459 312

You can reach the Bougmez Valley using local transportation (collective taxis) from Bad Doukkala in Marrakech. Take a taxi to Azilal first, and then change to Tabant/Bougmez Valley.

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The 10km stretch of the Great Wall from Jinshanling to Sumatai makes for an unforgettable hike. Wake early for the three-hour bus or taxi ride to the start and expect to return to Beijing in the early evening. The steep and crumbling steps are manageable. The only real hazard are the hawkers, whose stamina is pursuing tourists with bags full of bottled water and canned beer is as infuriating as it is impressive.

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