Sometimes, all it takes is one photo to persuade me to visit a certain place – and that’s exactly what happened when we were in Gansu. I discovered a little village surrounded by jagged peaks and it wasn’t too far away from us. Buses didn’t travel the final 30km, so we hopped in a taxi…
Tag: hiking
Hiking Above Huanglong’s Terraced Pools|China
The terraced travertine pools of Huanglong are just a couple of hours away from popular Jiuzhaigou, yet it sees a fraction of the visitors. In comparison, it’s a much smaller and quicker park to explore, with most visitors opting to take the cable car to the top, where they have only a short stroll to…
The Bluest Water In China | Jiuzhaigou Valley
The natural sights in China will probably surprise many people. From red rock deserts and snow-capped mountains, to crystal clear lakes and the rocky towers that inspired the Avatar movie – China has it all, and today we’re exploring the blue lakes of Jiuzhaigou National Park. The park suffered from overtourism in previous years, with…
A Miao Village Nestled In A Dramatic Gorge
The little, wooden village of Dehang sits in a dramatic gorge, and it’s home to the Miao ethnic minority group. The area offers some fabulous hiking routes, so it was an easy add-on to our itinerary. Our hotel in the nearby town gave us a complimentary shuttle service to the scenic area, and it turned…
Admiring The Granite Spires At Sanqinshan | China
We keep returning to China because we love the dramatic landscapes and the fascinating culture. After starting our trip in a city, we couldn’t wait to escape the chaos and head to a scenic area – and the one we picked was Sanqinshan. It’s a mountainous area filled with spiky granite peaks where hiking paths…
Witnessing China’s Matcha Lake
Hangzhou was never on my list of places to visit on this trip – we actually explored the city and its famous West Lake over ten years ago. The reason we returned was to explore another lake, 50km west of the city. It’s become famous for a wetland area where trees rise from the water…
Mountains Hikes And Sketchy Cable Cars | Madeira
We had a typical four-season kind of day as we set off for a morning hike in the high mountains. While our windscreen wipers swiped the rain away, we admired a vibrant rainbow arching into the valley. The trailhead just had a couple of cars parked up which meant it was going to be a…
Fanal Forest And The Wild North Coast Of Madeira
Cloud inversions are one of my favourite natural wonders, so whenever the conditions were right we’d head up to Madeira’s highest points to try and capture the sun rising above a sea of clouds. The day before was a complete flop, as we stood on a windy ledge engulfed by fog. But today was a…
Exploring Cliffs and Peninsular’s in Northern Madeira
The northern coast of Madeira is home to some spectacular scenery, so we set off early to start exploring the area – starting with a cliff-top walk. I was doing a great job navigating us to the trailhead parking area, until I accidentally took a right too early which led us onto what might’ve been…
Gushing Waterfalls and Abandoned Fishing Villages | Southern Maderia
Day three in Madeira began with a beautiful hike on the southern side of the island along a fun Levada route that wasn’t an official PR trail. It was a great choice as it avoided the crowds and offered a tranquil walk along the steep, forested walls of a valley. It was also a nice…
NON STOP TRAVELLING 