Expert Insights

September 26, 2013 Lost City of Petra: Past and present

Read time – minutes 200 years must seem a mere blip in the lifespan of a building carved in the 6th Century BC. Yet for us, those 200 years remain something to celebrate. It’s now been 200 years since Petra was rediscovered. So this August, let us raise a glass in honour of Petra: the...

September 26, 2013 Polar Bear Necessities

Read time – 3 minutes Sometimes there comes a day which breaks so many wildlife records that it will be indelibly etched on memory rather than megapixels, one where so many contributory factors combine to produce animal alchemy, a grail from the very top drawer. Spitsbergen is not just about Polar bears but on July...

September 26, 2013 Desert, Dunes & 4W Drives

“We’re not going back to camp yet. Not in this light” our leader, Durr, announces in his thick Afrikaans accent. “We’re not going up there are we?” a member of the group questions. He turns his head to face us at the helm of his indestructible 4×4 and smiles. After a vertical climb we gingerly...

September 26, 2013 Snow Place Like Home: Snowshoeing in the Dolomites

Crystal blue skies, the wind whistling past my ears and the crunch of snow compacting beneath my snowshoes – the landscape absorbed me. I let my thoughts drift like the falling snowflakes, just for a moment, on the snowy escarpment. All around me, the dramatic crags of the Dolomites seemed to pierce the cold air...

September 26, 2013 Walking the Great Wall of China

Read time – 3 minutes The Great Wall of China can be seen from the International Space Station, (although the view was probably better before China’s industrial might took hold) and I dream of one day seeing it from space for myself – in fact I am saving as quickly as I can for this...

September 26, 2013 Walking in Andalucia – A Moorish Land

Read time – 1 minute Liquid gold light tumbles through the hot, dry air. Andalucia is a land drenched in tawny yellow hues, amber and ochre blurred in a haze of heat. This pastoral world follows the undulations of the seasons, and slopes are perfect for growing olives and lemons. They hang from bleached, pale...

September 26, 2013 A Walking Holiday in Greece

Read time -3 minutes I have been walking for the past 37 years (I think I was 13 months when I started) but never realised that walking could be such good fun. First, some facts about me: I smoke, drink a bit, have a few extra pounds around my waist, never exercise and prefer to drive...

September 26, 2013 One big climb success

Exodus’ Managing Director Peter Burrell reports on the recent charity climb by One I am really pleased to report that the team from Global Ethics made it to Kala Pattar and 5555m in November to complete their challenge. They raised well over £18,000 in the process. This means that at least another two communities in...

September 25, 2013 Men of the Mountains: Trekking in Morocco

We set wildlife and photography guide Paul Goldstein a challenge: go out of his comfort zone on a trekking trip to Mount Toubkal, Morocco, the highest point in North Africa. It’s Africa, but not as I’m used to it. The rolling acacia-dotted plains filled with bounteous wildlife is how I classify this vast continent. Souks,...

September 25, 2013 Reasons to go Picos de Europa Hiking

Read time – 3 minutes We asked our local operator, Jim Thomson, why you should pick the Picos… View of the Picos de Europa The Spanish Pyrenees and the Sierra Nevada may be well known as destinations for walkers and climbers, but best known does not necessarily mean they’re the best. Located just a few kilometres inland from...