National Geographic Traveller UK 09.2022_downmagaz.net_compressed

Best for aesthetes £ £ £ ROYAL M AN SOU R Intoxicatingly rich in aesthetic detail, Royal Mansour is one of the world’s most lavish hotels. Owned by the king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, this Moorish-style palace is a showcase for the country’s most dazzling craftsmanship: from the intricately carved cedarwood to the embroidered damask curtains, virtually every decorative detail was created by one of Morocco’s top artisans. The hotel seems to get everything else right. too: the spa is top-tier, and guests occupy standalone, three-storey riads, with rooftop plunge pool. Rates are hefty, but pampering treatments, dining reservations and pool passes are available to day guests (a day pass costs MAD1,250 [£105]), meaning Mansour’s magic remains somewhat accessible. In fact, at £38, afternoon tea here feels a relative steal. RO O M S : From €1,400 (£1,200), including airport transfers and fast-track immigration. royalmansour.com SEPTEMBER 2022 59

Best for privacy IMAGES: GEORGE APOSTOLIDIS; ALAN KEOHANE £ £ £ AMANJENA Opened in 2000, this was the first international five-star hotel to serve the Red City and set the standard for every rarefied resort that followed. The Ed Tuttle-designed property’s vast ponds, colonnaded walkways and immaculate grounds still impress, with a highlight being the Pavilion suite — a classic retreat with a domed roof and sliding cedar doors. Service can be slow, but still, guests seem to be in no hurry, and the small number of rooms and sprawling grounds mean Aman delivers on its promise of absolute privacy. RO O M S : From €822 (£695), including airport transfers. aman.com Best for next-level service £ £ £ THE OBEROI, MARRAKECH A decade in the making, The Oberoi made an immediate impact with its momentous scale when it opened in 2019. Its grounds sprawl endlessly, its staggering centrepiece a gleaming, gargantuan courtyard, ornately modelled on the 14th-century Ben Youssef Madrasa. But still it’s the service that’s most memorable: guests here can be heard sharing stories of how the team created truly thoughtful surprises, be it hosting impromptu concerts to installing in-room bespoke artworks. Forthcoming arrivals’ public social media profiles are often mined for inspiration (you might well find your headshot framed and waiting on your dining table) and staff go out of their way to make guests feel happy. RO O M S : From €625 (£528), room only. oberoihotels.com Best for homebirds £ £ £ M ANDARIN ORIENTAL , MARRAKECH Though there’s a smattering of suites on the upper level of this elegant resort’s main hub, the 54 standalone villas are the big draw. Discreetly embedded in rose-filled gardens, they’re so comprehensively equipped that many guests simply laze in situ all day. Inside, bathrooms feature huge marble tubs and hammam-style showers; the living area is decorated with handwoven Berber rugs and traditional ceramics. From the bedroom’s sliding doors, you can step directly into the plunge pool. The central outdoor area is shaded by apricot trees and has a proper swimming pool as its centrepiece, too. RO O M S : Suites from €1,100 (£945), villas from €1,600 (£1,375). mandarinoriental.com 60 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

SLEEP Villa bedroom at Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech Clockwise from left: Tagine at Amanjena; bassin and grounds at Amanjena; view outside, The Oberoi, Marrakech SEPTEMBER 202 2 61



SLEEP Best for traditionalists £ £ LE FARNATCHI Established by Yorkshireman James Wix in the heart of the Medina, this 10-bedroom boutique hideaway is spread across six renovated merchant houses and is exceedingly well-equipped considering its small inventory. There’s an emerald-tiled pool in one courtyard (and citrus trees in the other) and the pretty spa incorporates two marble hammams. The vibe is unpretentious and cosy, and the heaving breakfast spreads are served whenever and wherever you like — don’t miss the freshly pressed nectarine juice, when in season. Service, too, is familial and lovely, and many of the souks’ best stalls and sights are just a few minutes away. RO O M S : From €317 (£268), including airport transfers. lefarnatchi.com IMAGE: JALAL BOUHSAIN Best for discerning diners Best for bargain-hunters Best for shopaholics £ DAR SIMONS £ RIAD YA SMINE £ RIAD LE J Delicious though tagines are, frequent visitors to Eight-bedroom Riad Yasmine’s impeccable interior This boutique riad is so deeply ensconced in Marrakech may find many menus repetitive. There’s design makes it a favourite with the Instagram set, the Medina that you might find yourself on an no chance of that at Dar Simons, however: the labour but it’s even better in real life. Favourite hang-out unintentional tour of the surrounding stalls and of love of Belgian chef Carlo Simons, this petite guest spots for guests (and cats Bowie and Bebe) include sellers to find it. And with a background in furniture house at the edge of the souks is better understood and interior design, proprietor Antonio is also as a restaurant with rooms. Those diminutive rooms the jade-green courtyard pool, ringed by plump well-placed to recommend the locality’s best are restrained, tasteful and tranquil, though the loungers, and the expansive roof terrace, where the retailers. But set aside time to relax, too: handsome, real reason to bed down here is to secure a priority view extends to the jagged Atlas Mountains. It’s truly uncomplicated and with the intimate feel of a family reservation in the intimate 12-cover fine-dining home, the riad’s rooms are crowned with ceilings restaurant. Incorporating whatever is best that day, lovely, and accessible pricing means it’s regularly intricately finished with hand-painted decorations the minimalist menu might feature crisp sea bass booked in its entirety by friends or families (from and feature French-style flourishes and antique finds. soaked in honey and saffron, or homemade ice cream €1,300 [£1,099]). On those occasions, the team go all The team can happily arrange cookery courses and out: musicians might be arranged, or the roof terrace streaked with whisky, caramel and butter. can be transformed into an outdoor yoga studio or a on-site massages. RO O M S : From €90 (£77). darsimons.com RO O M S : From €85 (£73). riadlej.com striking setting for a cocktail party. RO O M S : From €130 (£112). riad-yasmine.com SEPTEMBER 2022 63

SLEEP Best for social butterflies Superior room at Berber Lodge IMAGES: CÉCILE TREAL; MITCHELL VAN VOORBERGEN; BERBER LODGE £ £ EL FENN From top: Extra large room at El Fenn; dinner at El Fenn, There’s a joyful boisterousness to El Fenn, including beetroot carpaccio which comprises a dozen interconnected riads. Enter its innocuous doorway and a and spiced cauliflower labyrinth unspools before you, revealing candlelit courtyards, a bijou, glossy-green spa, and a suntrap atrium garden. Beyond its three pools, the property’s heart is its rooftop bar and Moroccan-international restaurant — mellow by day, buzzing at night (light sleepers should bring ear plugs). There are 31 rooms, with 10 more debuting in another extension that’s set to open in October this year — expect high ceilings and technicolour tones of candy-floss pink and canary yellow. Given the property’s upbeat, social vibe, friends and family often book adjacent rooms to celebrate milestones en masse. RO O M S : From €270 (£230). el-fenn.com Best for nomads £ £ BERBER LODGE About half an hour’s drive — and a world away — from central Marrakech, this rural retreat is utterly serene. That might be due to the beautifully unfussy accommodation: the lodge’s nine standalone abodes were made using traditional Berber methods and feature palm-thatched roofs, simple woollen rugs and furniture made of wood and rattan. While rates have risen as the word has spread, the property still draws a relaxed, creative set who settle in for days, interspersing dips in the pool with gentle ambles in the nearby countryside or explorations of the Agafay Desert. RO O M S : From €230 (£200). berberlodge.net 6 4 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

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Italy COAST 66 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

IMAGE: AWL IMAGES TO COA S T From the terraces of Cinque Terre to the azure waters of Puglia, the Italian coast encapsulates the very best of the country: rich culinary traditions, dramatic landscapes fragrant with lemons and ancient sites that bear witness to millennia of history. Whether you embark on a beachside getaway or head out on a thrilling road trip, there’s a lifetime of experiences to be had on Italy’s glittering shores WORDS: JULIA BUCKLEY PHOTOGRAPHS: FRANCESCO LASTRUCCI

ITA LY Amalfi COAST OF MIRACLES Travellers the world over flock to the Amalfi Coast for glittering sea views and rainbow-coloured villages spilling down hillsides. But the real treasures of this well-trodden corner of the country only reveal themselves if you dig a little deeper — in some cases, literally It’s a summer Saturday on the Amalfi Coast, and it feels like centuries. Beneath us, under a glass floor, is a room Previous pages: IMAGE: SUSAN WRIGHT everyone has come to Positano. Only one street leads up frescoed in brilliant scarlets, jades, mustards and azures. Salerno, on the from the harbour through the village, and it’s packed — a It’s the first excavated part of the luxurious Roman villa Amalfi Coast long snake of people winding their way up, the swell of the that sprawled along the Positano shore before it was buried crowd moving as one. Initially, it’s hardly appealing, to be by ash and pumice (and, later, mudslides) in AD 79 — the Clockwise from top: honest — the reality of overtourism dampening the beauty same eruption that destroyed Pompeii, eight miles to Monica Aonzo of that brought us all to Positano’s colourful cliffside houses. the north. “We knew there was a villa somewhere — we the Hotel Poseidon, But there’s a different side to the Amalfi Coast, as I’m just didn’t know exactly where,” says Paola. Hidden for Positano; Santa discovering: a place of thriving culture, history and dolce centuries, it was discovered in 2003, and opened to the Croce beach, a stony vita beyond the Instagram shots. It’s just that, as in any public in 2018. Frolicking through the room are stucco strand accessible by place grappling with its honeypot status, you have to dig a seahorses, mermen and cherubs; elsewhere, scenes from boat only; fruit and little deeper to find it. classical mythology are ‘pinned’ on trompe l’oeil hanging vegetables for sale canvases. It’s as spectacular as Pompeii. in Vietri sul Mare; Literally, in the case of Positano. I’m in the crypt of traditional ceramic the church of Santa Maria Assunta, part of the Roman Afterwards, I slalom past the crowds back to my hotel, shop fronts in Vietri Archaeological Museum of Positano (MAR). But this is halfway up the cliffside. The street may be packed, but sul Mare; loungers on Italy, where history is layered like a lasagne, so as well as at Hotel Poseidon, run by the Aonzo family, I’m whisked the beach of Atrani Roman finds, there’s this medieval crypt, plus a 17th- back to the 1950s, when Positano went from simple fishing century cemetery. Opposite the church — where tourists village to the beating heart of la dolce vita. in shorts and T-shirts are piling in to watch an American couple get married — Paola, the MAR’s guide, leads me In 1955, nonna Liliana started renting out her spare down an underground staircase as we spin back the rooms to early tourists, then building extensions whenever centuries with every step. she could afford it, gradually creating the 48-room hotel. Little has changed since then — not least the spectacular Suddenly, we’re under the church in another, upper coastal views. The tiled floors, panoramic terrace and crypt, a kind of auditorium — dozens of seats, carved pool, her collection of glass penguins — it’s all been from the soft rock. In fact, says Paola, they’re colatoi lovingly preserved by her daughter Margherita and — niches where the bodies of abbots were positioned granddaughters, Monica and Liliana, who live on the top for a mummification process between the 17th and 19th floor and chat to guests as if it’s still a B&B. 68 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL



ITA LY Clockwise from right: Raffaella Di Martino (right) at Antica Latteria di Tramonti; a classic brodetto with prawns, mussels and squid; fruit on the tree at the Amalfi Lemon Experience There’s so much hidden in plain view along the Amalfi Coast, I discover. Above Ravello, I follow mountain roads to Tramonti. Swaddled in a valley, the Tyrrhenian Sea flashing blue in the distance, it’s a lost paradise, with centuries-old vines crisscrossing the landscape. At Antica Latteria di Tramonti, the village dairy, owner Raffaella Di Martino is so thrilled to see a tourist that she plies me with hunks of homemade cheese: ricotta, caciocavallo and provolone that she’s smoked over straw. Descending from mountain to sea, the vines give way to lemon terraces, stacked along the cliffsides, and in Amalfi itself, I get a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the area’s agrarian side. “This is another Amalfi,” says Salvatore Aceto, gesturing from the town below to his terraces — forests, really — of gigantic, knobbly, organic lemon trees. For seven generations, his family have grown the citrus fruits here. “We treat them like children,” he says, caressing one, encouraging me to smell it (although I’m not allowed to touch). Walking under the trees — the jasmine- like scent of the blossom, the calm buzz of the resident bees and of course the lemons themselves, each as individual as each of us — I can see why. Where Amalfi is known for lemons, the town of Vietri sul Mare produces the folksy ceramics you’ll see all along the coast. Among the artisans is Mirkò Guida, who uses the local red clay and traditional glazes to produce Picasso- like artworks painted on vases, lamps and tiles. “Most ceramicists here make crockery but I wanted to make art,” he says proudly. He’s succeeded; his works sell for thousands in the US, while Italy’s Foreign Ministry bought a piece earlier this year. But he credits the Amalfi Coast with his success. “You meet people here. If I was born in Molise, I wouldn’t have reached New York,” he says. “This is the coast of miracles.” I can’t disagree. More info: marpositano.it anticalatteriaditramonti.it amalfilemonexperience.it mirkoart.it How to do it: Fly to Naples and take the train or bus to Salerno. Salernorental has cars from €30 (£25) per day, including station pick-up. salernorental.it Hotel Poseidon has doubles from €300 (£255), B&B. hotelposeidonpositano.it B&B Vietri Centro has doubles from €70 (£60), B&B. bbvietricentro.it 70 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

Fano SOUP STORIES Flavio Cerioni runs Alla Lanterna restaurant in Fano, Marche, alongside his wife, Elide. He talks about the history of the town’s legendary soup — brodetto — and what makes it so special IMAGE: STOCKFOOD One dish we find in all Italian ports is fish soup, and on there’s a similar soup, cacciucco, but they use octopus as the Adriatic, we call it brodetto. There’s a friendly rivalry the base, which changes the taste. between Marche and Emilia-Romagna about where it started, and here in Marche, there are three main kinds, Here in Fano, we have brodetto alla fanese, passed from Fano, Porto Recanati and San Benedetto del Tronto. down from old fishermen cooks. Seven of us wrote down the official recipe and had it rubber-stamped by a notary. Brodetto has always been made from trawler fish. Fano We call ourselves the Brodetto Confraternity. Now we used to be the Adriatic’s second-biggest fishing port, and the have around 40 members, and every month we travel boats would go away for a week at a time. They’d throw down around the province, eating brodetto or having speakers the nets, drag them along the bottom and pull them up talk about the ingredients. every half hour to sort the fish. Brodetto was born onboard. To make it, you start with a soffritto of garlic and People say it used to be made with less highly prized onion. You need to add more garlic if you’re using more fish, but that’s not correct — for brodetto, they used the crustaceans, as they’re sweet; if you have a fish base, you fish that were spoiled in the net, which gave rise to the need more onion. Then you add the squid, followed by the saying, ‘The worse they were at fishing, the better they ate.’ tomato concentrate mixed with water and vinegar. Leave it They’d make it during the last few days of their trip, when to evaporate until the vinegar smell has gone, then add the their bread had hardened, so they’d throw that in the mix, fish, cook for 18 minutes and it’s ready. too. And, because they didn’t have fresh vegetables on board, they’d add tomato concentrate and wine. The San The method of cooking depends on who’s cooking it. Benedetto version is slightly different: their valley is full On the boats, they cooked in thin, high pots because of the of green tomatoes and peppers, so they’d preserve them in roll; in the confraternity, we use a 120cm-diameter pan, vinegar and take them onboard. and add up to 70kg of fish. We add fresh bread that we cook for two minutes as a reminder of the days-old bread they In almost all brodetto, you’ll find gurnard, redfish and used to eat. In the restaurant, we also do a more modern some kind of cephalopod — maybe a squid or a cuttlefish. version using a carpaccio of the fish. My mum was the first There are no clams or mussels as it’s only trawler fish. cook here — she’s 90, now, but still invites herself over for That’s how it is on the Adriatic; on the Tyrrhenian side lunch or dinner. allalanterna.com SEPTEMBER 2022 71



ITA LY Clockwise from top left: San Giuliano a Mare, famous for its Fellini -inspired graffiti; Roman-era Ponte di Tiberio; Rimini’s iconic beach; colourful houses in the fishing village of Borgo San Giuliano; ornate interiors of the Tempio Malatestiano Inside guide RIMINI Famous for its 10-mile stretch of sand, this is a city that’s home to Roman and Renaissance history as well as colourful streets that inspired legendary director Federico Fellini, whose cinematic legacy is celebrated with a striking new museum IMAGES: ALAMY; GETTY To many Italians, this is the ultimate seaside and carved elephants, as well as artworks holiday spot. To get a handle on it all, start, as by Giotto and Piero della Francesca. Fuel up most do, with the beach, which is divided into at O S T E R I A I O E S I M O N E ; set in a park a strips of private sand. At B AG N O T I K I 2 6 , short walk from the church, it serves Emilia- you’ll have to pay for a sun lounger but you’ll Romagnan classics like tagliatelle al ragù and get access to hot tubs, volleyball and yoga cappellacci with soft squacquerone cheese. classes on the sand, plus an excellent seafood facebook.com/osteriaIosimone restaurant and a tapas bar, where there’s a DJ in the evening. bagno26rimini.com Not even the best Renaissance architects, though, could trump the P O N T E D I T I B E R I O Head into town, and you’ll see a more — the mighty Roman bridge that connects historic Rimini: begin at the A RC H O F the city centre to B O RG O S A N G I U L I A N O, AU G U S T U S , a monumental gateway into the an ancient fishing village. Federico Fellini, ancient city of Ariminum, and the end point legendary film director and local lad, adored of the Via Flaminia (the original road from the area’s pastel-toned houses; today’s Rome), built of blazing-white Istrian stone. residents have repaid the favour with murals The ancient forum, meanwhile, is now T H E depicting scenes from his films, including P I A Z Z A T R E M A RT I R I , which sports elegant the famous La Dolce Vita kiss. Linger for an colonnades, a clocktower and a little chapel aperitivo at wine bars like B I B E R I U S , which marking the spot of a 13th-century ‘miracle’. specialises in local wines such as the fruity, Head to Piazza Ferrari, where you’ll find the heady Rebola. biberius.it D O M U S D E L C H I RU RG O (The Surgeon’s House) — a sprawling former Roman home, Last year saw the opening of the twin- carpeted with sumptuous mosaics, in which a centred F E L L I N I M U S E U M . The more huge collection of ancient surgical equipment academic half is round the back of the Cinema was found. Today, the scalpels, forceps and Fulgor, where Fellini got his first taste of bone saws are on display next door at the Hollywood. The main museum sits in the M U S E O D E L L A C I T TÀ . domusrimini.com 15th-century Castel Sismondo, where scenes museicomunalirimini.it from the director’s films play out alongside exhibits on his film scores, fixation with During the Renaissance, Rimini was ruled psychoanalysis and pioneering work that by the Malatesta clan; 15th-century ruler prefigured a number of social movements. Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta oversaw fellinimuseum.it the transformation of a gothic church into How to do it: Ryanair flies from Stansted to his grandstanding mausoleum. Today, still Rimini in summer; the rest of the year, fly to half-finished (Sigismondo died before its Bologna and take the fast train (one hour) to completion), the T E M P I O M A L AT E S T I A N O Rimini. ryanair.com trenitalia.com is one of Italy’s finest examples of architecture Hotel Card International has doubles from €50 within the humanist movement, which put (£42), B&B. hotelcard.it religion to one side and took its influence from Grand Hotel Rimini has doubles from €400 the classical world. Admire the zodiac signs (£341), B&B. grandhotelrimini.com SEPTEMBER 2022 73



THREE TO TRY ITA LY Beach towns SEPTEMBER 2022 75 OTRANTO, PUGLIA English writer Horace Walpole hadn’t been to Italy’s easternmost town when he wrote the world’s first gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, in 1764. There is indeed a castle in Otranto — a grand, 15th-century one built by the Aragonese — but it’s not even the town’s biggest draw. Vying for that position would be the Cathedral of Otranto, with its 12th- century mosaicked floor, as well as the whitewashed alleyways, pretty port and the Baia dei Turchi, one of Puglia’s best beaches, four miles to the north. TR A PA N I , S I C I LY Many people arrive in Trapani only to leave for the Egadi Islands, as well as for the island of Pantelleria. But Trapani has been central to Sicily’s history ever since the Aragonese landed here in 1282, and its port has long made it a key trading post. All that history means wealth, as evidenced in the grand palazzi of the old town, the florid churches, the palm-lined gardens of the Villa Margherita park and the mix of architecture, from gothic and Catalan to Renaissance and baroque. Don’t miss the cable-car up to the Greek-founded town of Erice, 2,460ft above Trapani, for stunning coastal views. PESARO, MARCHE Located on the Adriatic coast, Pesaro is better known for its beaches than its history, but that looks set to change in 2024, when it’ll be designated Italy’s Capital of Culture. Founded by the Romans, it’s an elegant Renaissance town and was the birthplace of composer Rossini, who’s celebrated with the Rossini Opera Festival each August. Many visitors are too smitten with the sea to head into the hills, but if you do, you’ll find epic views from the Monte San Bartolo Natural Park. Head to the town’s Renaissance-era summer residences, too, like the Villa Caprile, with its magnificent terraced gardens. From top: Swimmers take to the water beneath Otranto’s city walls; street life in Otranto; colourful ceramics for sale in the town

ITA LY Road trips COASTING ALONG Some of Italy’s shores are best explored by car, offering ample opportunity to uncover their many secrets, from historic thermal baths to an intriguing mining heritage COSTA VIOL A , CAL ABRIA WESTERN SARDINIA SALENTO, PUGLIA IMAGE: ALAMY On the toe of Italy’s boot, the Violet Coast The west coast of Italy’s second-largest island Wondering what the Amalfi Coast felt like takes its name from the colour it turns has it all: cliff-etched roads, gorgeous coastal several decades ago? Look no further than the during dramatic sunsets. It runs north villages and accessible beaches. Its mining Adriatic shores of Puglia’s Salento peninsula from Reggio Calabria — the very end of the history means the region missed the tourism — the stiletto tip of Italy’s heel. One of the main Italian mainland — up to the Capo Vaticano boom, and that’s a boon for today’s travellers. attractions on the most spectacular stretch from peninsula, passing dramatic cliffs shearing It’s an astonishingly varied place: start in Otranto south to Leuca is the Grotta Zinzulusa, down to sandy beaches, darling towns like Carbonia in the south, home to the Museo a cave filled with stalactites, stalagmites and Tropea, where the narrow streets finish del Carbone, where visitors are led through a whole lot of guano from the resident bats. abruptly at the cliff edge, and unspoiled underground mining tunnels. From there, Further south is turn-of-the-century spa town villages such as Pizzo, home of Italy’s double- head west up the vertiginous coastal road Santa Cesarea Terme, where you can still layered ice cream dessert, the tartufo. Along to Portixeddu. History buffs will love the take the waters and enjoy spa treatments on the Costa Viola itself, the road hugs the San Giovanni di Sinis peninsula halfway up, the rocks or go for a dip in the lido carved out cliffside, with the Aspromonte mountain range where the Roman city of Tharros overlooks a from the cliffside. Salento isn’t just about the in the distance. Not that you’ll be looking that sweeping sandy beach. At the top of the drive, coastline, however. This is a storied land where way — heading south, it’s eyes right, to see you’ll find the chocolate-box seaside town of prehistoric dolmens sit amid olive groves, and volcanic Stromboli, one of the Aeolian islands Alghero and the coastal wilderness of Porto masseria farmhouses have been transformed in the distance, gently puffing away. Conte Regional Natural Park. into upmarket accommodation. 76 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

Winemaking È Iss, the signature wine at Tenuta San Francesco, Tramonti DROP BY DROP From left: The Ciolo Bridge at Gagliano del Capo, south Across the country, vintners are reclaiming ancient of Otranto; gnarled, centuries- growing practices to produce ‘heroic’ wines old vines at Tenuta San Francesco, Tramonti In the Lattari Mountains, high above the Amalfi Coast, is an Alice in Wonderland landscape of what look like upended tree roots. These are vines, but here in Tramonti, they’re more like trees, with branches as thick as arms, entwined in centuries-old embraces. Key to their survival has been their location, helping them to escape a plague that wiped out most of Europe’s vines in the 1800s. “When the phylloxera arrived, it couldn’t kill Tramonti’s vines,” says Gaetano Bove, striding through his vineyard. Phylloxera is a microscopic pest from the US that attacks at the root. But here, it couldn’t get a hold. “Look at this one,” he says of a centuries-old vine striking a ballet-like pose. “It’s a work of art.” Today, Gaetano’s cooperative, Tenuta San Francesco, makes È Iss — a wine from Tintore grapes, indigenous to Tramonti. The reason those vines survived? The pumice-filled, volcanic soil — impenetrable to the phylloxera — spewed from Vesuvius, 13 miles north west. Italy’s dramatic coastlines aren’t the easiest places to plant vines, but that hasn’t stopped locals planting them for thousands of years, producing some of the most exciting wines around. Take Etna, for example. On its steep eastern slope, Seby Costanzo rakes his hand through the ash-rich soil. Etna wines are seeing a surge in popularity, and Seby’s seaside setting is doubtlessly a key reason — the sea breezes impart a unique taste to the unusually minerally red at Cantina di Nessuno, the vineyard he founded 10 years ago. Cliffside vineyards are often dubbed ‘heroic’ because of the effort it takes to work them. Up north in Liguria, the cliffs of the Cinque Terre were terraced with vineyards for centuries, but then came industrialisation; Ligurians turned away from the back-breaking vineyards. “It wasn’t worth doing all the work,” says Simone Bonanni. In 2015, Simone and his friend Luca Pagliari replanted two abandoned vineyards, growing the indigenous varietals Bosco and Albarola to make their Finis Terrae wine. The pair are part of a wine renaissance in the Cinque Terre, as locals realise the heritage they stand to lose, and start to cultivate vines once more. “Nobody’s doing it for the money — we’re doing it to respect our ancestors, who shaped the mountains for centuries,” says Simone. Four hundred miles south, Gaetano thinks along the same lines. “Tramonti is the Pompeii of wine,” he says. “This is a living museum — and we’re doing this [work] to preserve it.” vinitenutasanfrancesco.com cantinadinessuno.it instagram.com/finisterrae_riomaggiore SEPTEMBER 2022 77

ITA LY Abruzzo WA L K I N G O N WATER Perched on stilts, the over-water trabocchi are a hallmark of the eastern Abruzzo region, a steadfast tradition amid the changing landscapes of the Adriatic coast Every morning, Marino Verì walks onto the the nets pulled up that morning. Below, waves Clockwise from trabocco built by his family generations ago and froth and seagulls perch on the lashed-together top: Dinner at listens to the Adriatic Sea rumbling beneath acacia branches from which nets dangle. Trabocco Punta him. A lot has changed since the stilted wooden Tufano; oysters and structure was built: Marino’s family have gone It wasn’t always like this. Most trabocchi clams at Trabocco from fisherfolk to successful restaurateurs. Even were abandoned in the 1970s and ’80s, as fish Punta Punciosa; the landscape here, just south of Pescara, has populations declined and families couldn’t Rinaldo Verì (centre) transformed — an earthquake in 1627 destroyed afford the upkeep. “If you had a trabocco, entertains guests the original coastline. But one thing remains you were poor,” says Marino. Battered by the with stories at constant: the Adriatic. waves, some lost their catwalks and wooden Trabocco Punta arms. But in the early 2000s, a scheme funded Tufano; fish starters Further north, Italy’s Adriatic coast is one trabocco-rebuilding projects, enabling people at Trabocco seemingly endless beach, but here, between to reclaim their heritage. Most families took a Cungarelle Ortona and Vasto, it becomes a 24-mile bet on culinary tourism and turned them into crescent, where the crumbling cliffs splinter restaurants — a virtuous circle, helping the into rocks, the sea foaming around them. fishing community as much as the families Along this stretch are what look, from afar, like themselves. Marino’s mother and grandmother spiders spinning webs. In fact, they’re former also got involved. “Before, trabocchi were men- fishing platforms turned restaurants, jutting only. The walkway was dangerous, and people out over the deep water, attached to the land said women brought bad luck,” he shrugs. by rickety catwalks and with spindly wooden arms that drop nets into the deep. A five-minute walk from Marino’s restaurant is Trabocco Punta Tufano, where These trabocchi have been part of the Rinaldo Verì (no relation) shows visitors how to coastline since at least the 1700s, enabling sink nets into the water — two people guiding the locals to fish the deep waters around the a wooden lever in a circle, like donkeys round a rocks without their boats coming a cropper. millstone, gradually unwinding the ropes that As for their origin, one theory is that after the drop the nets. A mile south is the very different earthquake, the Verì and Annechini clans Trabocco Punta Torre. Here, custodian — thought to be Jews fleeing persecution in Claudio Ambrosini is keen to share the history Northern Europe — sought refuge on this of his 19th-century trabocco, which is open abandoned coast. Not being expert sailors, most weekends. “I want to keep the memory their only way of reaching the fish was via these of the trabocchi, to highlight the beauty of bridges in the air. the place,” he says, gazing out at the sea and its layers of colour: grey, eau de nil, jade, Today, Marino fishes part-time in winter, turquoise, royal blue. To do that, the former but during the summer, he can be found at his ExxonMobil salesman shows guests around, family’s trabocco, Sasso della Cajana. Today, reads poetry and offers lunch, which might like most other trabocchi along the coast, it’s a include local sourdough, tomatoes and olive restaurant. Tourists cross the fairy-lit walkway oil. “The sea helped me rediscover simplicity, to sit at tables gently rocked by the wind and manners and love,” he says. “I wouldn’t give the water beneath them to eat traditional food: this up for anything.” sassodellacajana.com octopus and potato salad, anchovies spiced with traboccopuntatufano.eu chilli flakes, and pasta heaped with whatever 78 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

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Pantelleria BEST OF BOTH WORLDS From its wine to its words, the tiny isle of Pantelleria owes much of its character to the Arabic influences of nearby North Africa. Similarly influential is the island’s rich, dramatic landscape — the origins of which are bubbling beneath the surface “My nonno told me he could see the camels in Tunisia when is a mix of Sicilian and Arabic. Village names — Khamma, he was younger,” says Salvatore Murana. I’ve come to meet Gadir, Bukkuram — have an Arabic twang, while the Pantelleria’s wine king up here on the Mueggen plateau, but traditional house is the square and squat dammuso with Salvatore doesn’t want to talk about maceration or varietals; a white-domed roof, brought over from North Africa. he wants to deliver a eulogy to his beloved island, which bobs in the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia. “Our terracing [of the cliffs] is from Arab culture,” says Salvatore. “The canalisation of water is Arabic. Our He claims this is the navel of the world, and while that language…” he looks around. “I live to breathe this land. I might not be scientifically verifiable, what’s certain is that love talking about it.” Even Salvatore’s vines are of Arabic Pantelleria is a place where Europe meets Africa. Closer origin. Pantelleria’s Zibibbo wine and caramelly Passito to Tunisia than Sicily — 37 miles and 62 respectively dessert wine are made from the Moscato d’Alessandria — this volcanic island, known as the ‘black pearl of grape, thought to have originated in Egypt or Tunisia. The the Mediterranean’ for its inky cliffs, has long been islanders have earned UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage multicultural thanks to its strategic location. Colonised by status for the way they plant them: low, in hollowed-out the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Byzantines, Arabs, earth, to protect them from the winds that whip the island. Normans and Spanish, before becoming part of Italy, Winemaking isn’t the only thing that’s done differently. Pantelleria’s culture is as stratified as its volcanic layers. Although this is officially Italy, you won’t find any The Arabs of North Africa, who ruled from the 8th to the Renaissance art galleries here; Pantelleria has a museum 12th century, left the biggest imprint. Even today, the dialect dedicated to the caper. And instead of the fabled beaches 8 0 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

elsewhere in the country, this is an island of further down, Peppe spies a rare orchid and ITA LY rocky coves that take a scramble to get to. grabs a pod of wild peas. THREE MORE “There’s no middle way with her,” says As well as its dramatic coastline, Pantelleria Peppe d’Aietti, an author and guide. “She’s is known for its thermal waters. Above the Island escapes wild, hard and made for only a few to love.” ancient settlement of Sibà, I walk along dry- Peppe is one of them. He once moved to Sicily stone terraces and past wildflower meadows ELBA, TUSCANY for work, but, he says, “the island was always to a cliff, where steam curls out of a slit in Napoleon couldn’t wait to get off in my head”. Now, he leads travellers on hiking the rock. It’s the Grotta di Benikulà, where Elba; he was exiled there in May 1814 tours away from the spectacular coastline vapours emerge from the mountain into the and escaped nine months later. You — one of sheer cliffs and jagged lava flows, small cave, creating something like a volcano- might wonder what his problem with knockout sea views — and into the heated hammam. I roast inside, emerging was — the island’s beaches, miles island’s surprisingly green interior. drenched in sweat to a view of wildflowers, the of hiking trails and thermal springs plains of the collapsed calderas beyond and beloved by the Romans would keep Pantelleria is a volcanic island, but it isn’t the blue Mediterranean in the distance. Again, most people happy for a lifetime. just one volcano, according to Peppe: there you can see North Africa if it’s clear, but I don’t If you’ve only a few days, don’t are scores of cones on land, with others need to — Pantelleria’s multicultural history is miss the crescent-shaped beach at underwater. What I thought were hills are, embedded in the rock. Marina di Campo; snorkelling in the in fact, volcanoes, and the plains where More info: vinimurana.it clear water at Capo Sant’Andrea; Pantelleria’s famously tasty vegetables grow How to do it: Peppe d’Aietti leads two- and the Medici Fortress at are collapsed calderas. hour hikes, from €15 (£14) per person. Portoferraio. As for Napoleon, he pantelleriaculturaenatura.it spent part of his exile at Villa San We head up to Montagna Grande, the Cognoscenti Travel offers bespoke trips to Martino, which is now a gallery, highest cone at 2,743ft. Peppe says that Pantelleria, including accommodation (B&B), home to Canova’s Galatea sculpture. on a clear day, you can see Tunisia, but car hire and flights from €800 (£682) per today, the clouds swirl below us around the person. cognoscentitravel.com PONZA, LAZIO neighbouring cone of Monte Gibele. Up here is Set in the Tyrrhenian Sea between an Eden of holm oaks and arbutus trees, while Rome and Naples, this is one chic escape, with candy-coloured houses along the shorefront that are the stuff of postcards. Equally photogenic are the flaming sunsets behind neighbouring island Palmarola, the seawater pools at Cala Feola — and Frontone disco beach, where a DJ plays after dark. The largest of the Pontine islands, Ponza serves up plenty of history, too, including the Roman necropolis etched into the white cliff above Bagno Vecchio beach and, nearby, the now-uninhabited island of Santo Stefano which used to house a prison — Italy’s answer to Alcatraz. TREMITI ISLANDS, PUGLIA There are five islands in the Tremiti archipelago, 14 miles above Puglia’s wild Gargano peninsula, the spur of the Italian boot. If you like history, head to San Nicola, with its 11th-century abbey of Santa Maria a Mare; while San Domino’s coastal caves are a paint chart of blue and green waters. Uninhabited Capraia is great for scuba diving (look out for the Roman wreck), while Cretaccio — a semi-eroded outcrop — is where afternoon swimmers pull up in little boats. But you’ll have to admire the isle of Pianosa from afar — it’s an off- limits nature reserve. From left: Volcanic landscapes in the Laghetto delle Ondine area; morning caper harvest on Monte Gibele with farmers from Emanuela Bonomo SEPTEMBER 2022 81

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ITA LY Beaches SECRET SHORES From wild, forest-backed sands to dazzling cobalt water, Italy’s coast is notched with blissful beaches. Here are 10 to inspire a coastal getaway BEST FOR VIEWS C A P O PE LO RO, S I C I LY Capo Peloro sits where the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas swirl into each other, at the north-eastern tip of Sicily. Spilling out in front of the village, the beach — a nature reserve — is a wide, flat expanse of sand, unfurling beneath a mammoth electricity pylon, which was once the tallest in the world. Dolphins frolic in the crystalline waters and swordfish pass through the strait in summer, while the Calabrian coast looms on the horizon. Where to stay: The slick, modern Capo Peloro Hotel is only 300ft from the sea. From €75 (£64), B&B. capopelorohotel.com BEST FOR NATURE MARINA DI ALBERESE, TUSCANY If you're after something wilder, head to the Maremma area, near the border with Lazio. Here, deep within the Maremma regional park, you can cycle through buffalo fields to find a pine forest abutting a four-mile stretch of sand. There are no sunbeds, but you could improvise a shade and a windbreak with only a towel and some driftwood. Look out for the semi-tame foxes that roam the forest and lope around the sands at sunset. Where to stay: Get a taste of laid-back Maremma life at L’Andana, a glorious country house hotel, a little further up the coast. From €440 (£376), B&B. andana.it BEST FOR SNORKELLING From left: Spiaggia dei Conigli, Lampedusa, BAIA DI RIACI, CALABRIA Sicily; a fox in Marina di The Capo Vaticano peninsula is home to some of Alberese, Tuscany Italy’s most spectacular beaches, with turquoise IMAGES: ALAMY; GETTY waters and sugary sands at the bottom of cliffs. Baia di Riaci, one of the best, is a crescent of sand belted in on either side by fossil-rich rocks. There’s even a tiny islet to climb if you fancy some offshore sunbathing. The area is known for its marine life, and the calm waters here are great for snorkelling. Clamber around the rocks to the right of the beach and you’ll find a quieter area, ripe for sunning yourself or, of course, more snorkelling. Where to stay: Go for old-school glamour at Villa Paola, a former convent in pretty Tropea converted into a lavish villa in the 1920s. It’s now a lush hotel. From €290 (£250), B&B. villapaolatropea.it SEPTEMBER 2022 83



ITA LY Cala Rossa, Favignana, one of Sicily’s Egadi Islands IMAGE: GETTY BEST FOR FAMILIES rearing up behind are evidence of its past as a with a handful of pretty crescents of sand right at limestone quarry. Today, though, people flock its heart, and a long strip of private beach clubs PESCOLUSE, PUGLIA to the beach via a 10-minute walk on a footpath within easy walking distance of the centre. Maybe it’s because of the crystalline water through the rocks, or — more easily — in hired Where to stay: In the hills above the coastline flashing between turquoise and jade, the fine boats that bob in the croissant-shaped bay. is the medieval commune of Castellabate, white sand, the little sandbars forming islets Legend has it that the water was once tinged where Residenza Tamara has sweeping offshore, or the lilies sprouting from the dunes red in a particularly bloody battle between the views down to the sea. From €65 (£56), B&B. behind, but this region has become known as Romans and Carthaginians (hence ‘rossa’), but residenzatamara.com the ‘Maldives of Italy’. Whatever the reason, see rest assured it’s now a vivid blue, shaded by it for yourself on the Salento peninsula — the meadows of seagrass and gleaming white sand. BEST FOR SECLUSION spiky bottom of Italy’s heel. The east side of this Where to stay: A 15-minute drive from the finger of land is an Amalfi-style rollercoaster beach takes you to the stylish I Pretti resort, SPIAGGIA DEI CONIGLI, LAMPEDUSA of corniches and coastal roads, while the west in Favignana port. From €130 (£111), B&B. For many, ‘Rabbit Beach’ — an almost circular has a crop of incredible beaches on the super- iprettiresort.it bay, with dunes, scrub and low cliffs giving still Ionian Sea. Pescoluse is arguably the most way to brilliant white sand and bright blue stunning and, with its slowly shelving waters, it’s B ES T FO R O LD -SCH O O L ITALY water — is Italy’s most beautiful. The only issue great for families, too. is that it takes a while to get there. The island Where to stay: King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon SANTA MARIA DI CASTELL ABATE , of Lampedusa is actually closer to Tunisia used to spend his summers at this 16th-century than it is to Sicily, let alone mainland Italy, so country estate in Salento, which has been CAMPANIA you’ll have to fly or take the ferry from Sicily. repurposed as an elegant hotel, the Masseria Santa Maria di Castellabate in Cilento, location The beach is so fragile that only 550 people Relais Casina dei Cari. From €80 (£68), B&B. of Campania’s loveliest coastline, is the kind of are allowed to access it at any one time. But casinadeicari.it place you might fear no longer exists — a tiny, that means it doesn’t feel crowded, even laid-back fishing village with great restaurants, in peak season. You can book a free slot at BEST FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS no nightlife to spoil your sleep and a lovely prenotazionespiaggiaconigli.it. little beach. Heading south towards here from Where to stay: Who needs a luxury hotel when CALA ROSSA, FAVIGNANA Salerno, time seems to unravel as you pass the you can stay right on the water? Do just that Off the coast of western Sicily, the Egadi Islands Greek temples of Paestum and the medieval at magical B&B Cala Pisana di Paolo e Melo, a offer one barnstorming beach after the next. hilltop town of Agropoli, and continue along 20-minute drive from Rabbit Beach. From €80 Cala Rossa, on the buzzy isle of Favignana, the pristine Cilento peninsula to reach your (£69), B&B. paolaemelo.it wasn’t always so lovely — those chunky cliffs destination. Santa Maria is a gorgeous little town, SEPTEMBER 2022 85

ITA LY BEST FOR HIKES IMAGES: GETTY; ALAMY Hiking path along Punta PUNTA ADERCI, ABRUZZO Aderci, Abruzzo Fields of swaying sunflowers point the way to Below: Statues on the shore one of Italy’s wildest beaches, set in the Punta in Viareggio, Tuscany Aderci nature reserve, outside the town of Vasto. The headland here might feel familiar 86 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL — there’s a hint of Cornwall or Pembrokeshire in the field-covered cliffs and the coastline unfurling beyond — but the sound of cicadas reminds you this is southern Europe. From the path down and then up again onto the billowing Punta Aderci itself, you’ll spy what’s below the crumbly headland: a beach of pebbles worn into perfect circles by the Adriatic. Huge driftwood tree trunks act as benches, while gargantuan lumps of fallen rock provide shade. Where to stay: Tra Gli Ulivi in Vasto is an upmarket three-room retreat in an olive grove, a few minutes from the sea. From €60 (£52), B&B. T: 00 39 339 308 6309. booking.com BEST FOR ARCHITECTURE VIAREGGIO, TUSCANY This is one of Italy’s all-time Tyrrhenian classics, with butter-coloured sand raked to perfection and dozens of beach clubs vying for your attention. It’s part of Versilia, Tuscany’s most famous coastline, but while Forte dei Marmi is more glam and Pietrasanta arty, what makes Viareggio special is its liberty-style architecture, Italy’s answer to art nouveau. Here, the seafront becomes an architectural catwalk of shell-shaped windows, striped facades and brightly tiled roof turrets. You can sunbathe at the wedding cake-like Bagno Martinelli beach club; or eat at Gran Caffé Margherita, with its stained glass and painted ceilings. Where to stay: Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte is a 1920s grande dame that’s been beautifully renovated for the 21st century. From €405 (£348), B&B. principedipiemonte.com BEST FOR SPA LOVERS MARONTI, ISCHIA Maronti found fame in the novels of Elena Ferrante, who set parts of her My Brilliant Friend series here. But those in the know have been coming to Maronti since Roman times, not only for its sandy beach, but for its thermal powers. On the western side of this actively volcanic island are steaming fumaroles shooting out of the ground, as well as an area of searingly hot sand, warmed by the thermal activity. Some areas (clearly marked) are no-go, but in other parts you can bask on volcano-warmed boulders or, outside of peak season, get a sabbiatura (sandblast), where you’re buried in hot sand, said to be excellent for the joints. Don’t miss lunch at Ristorante Emanuela, where chicken and octopus are cooked under the sand. In a gorge halfway up the beach are the thermal pools of Cavascura, popular since antiquity. Where to stay: Villa Egidio, overlooking Maronti in the tiny town of Sant’Angelo, has supremely comfy rooms and knockout views. From €80 (£69), B&B. T: 00 39 339 219 8470. booking.com

Feel free to imagine Take in the lines of the frescoes that decorate the vaulted ceilings and gaze out into the peace and quiet of the extensive centuries-old grounds. Villa Abbondanzi Resort will spoil you. villa-abbondanzi.com Hotels . SPA . Restaurants Faenza Italy

BBAEALUATNCYEITNHE An Eden for Africa’s most famous species, Botswana’s Okavango Delta offers unrivalled safari experiences, even in its dramatic rainy season. And with the ecosystem threatened by climate change, wildlife-monitoring projects are proving vital and offer travellers the chance to work alongside conservationists — all while camping under the stars WORDS: JOE SILLS 8 8 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

IMAGE: CHRISTIAAN WINTERBACH SEPTEMBER 2022 89

B O T S WA N A Bouncing with the updrafts in the back of a single-engine Cessna, I watch the slim shadow of our aeroplane dance across the marbled expanse of the Okavango Delta, some 500ft below. “If we go down out here,” shouts the pilot, for me and another incoming volunteer Previous pages: A herd IMAGES: JOE SILLS; MELANIE VAN ZYL mischief in his voice, “you’ll be near the bottom with a four-wheel-drive. We have a three of elephants playing of the food chain.” We swoop over swamplands hour, 50-mile trip from Maun into the bush in a shallow pan during and lagoons concealing half-submerged ahead of us. As a donkey-strewn tarmac road the Okavango Delta’s crocodiles and hippos, as the pilot whips the crumbles into a rutted, sandy track outside wet season plane into a series of ever-steeper banks and town, the welcome spiel quickly segues into turns. This makes the flight less like the scenic chatter about the stark realities of my visit. Clockwise from top: Guide aerial cruise advertised and more like riding a “The picture for Botswana is this: the mean Keitopetse Petros Kagande crop duster through a storm, which, in many temperature is going to rise by 1.5-2C over navigates a mopane grove ways, proves a fitting introduction to my the next 40 to 50 years,” warns Christiaan on the outer Okavango fortnight in northern Botswana. Winterbach, an often-shoeless wildlife Delta, while voluntourists researcher who has been working in the look out for wildlife; a ‘spoor Revived by recent rain showers, the Okavango Delta since the 1990s. chart’ allows for quick Kalahari Desert’s shallow clay pools and identification of animal braided waterways reflect the passing clouds Though Christiaan specialises in lions, he’s tracks; one of the canvas as keenly as quicksilver; the palms and plains participated in projects that have painted a tents for volunteers at the are electric-green. It’s a version of the Delta climate map of the area dating back more than research camp at Mankwe that few travellers see, as most safari guests 1,000 years. By studying core samples taken choose the country’s arid months over this, the from ancient baobab trees and combining tail-end of the long rainy season. We fly lower. the information with his decades of expertise Beneath one wing of the bobbing aircraft, a about the region’s apex predators, Christiaan herd of giraffe ambles towards a vast watering has been able to connect the dots between hole; beneath the other, wildebeest sprint water and wildlife. “Rainfall in the Angolan across emerald brushland. Feeding this oasis Highlands is predicted to be about 40% of is the Okavango River, slicing southwards from its current level in the next three decades,” Angola, quenching these thirsty lands with he explains, painting a future where wild myriad tributaries destined to finally peter out animals, livestock and humans will compete and soak away into the sandy earth. En route, for water resources. Conservation data the water serves as lifeblood for a menagerie collected in the field will play a critical role in of African species that have earned this region striking a new balance. a reputation as one of the richest wildlife enclaves left on Earth. Time to get to work Despite the hypnotising tranquillity of Four canvas tents. Two porcelain toilets. One the landscape from on high, the reality for makeshift stove powered by propane. We’ve conservationists at ground level is more arrived at our home for the next two weeks. fraught. All this beauty balances on a “That’s a Mozambique spitting cobra,” booms knife edge. Rising global temperatures are the voice of our guide, Keitopetse Petros threatening the stability of both natural Kagande, by way of a greeting as we pile out of ecosystems and community life in the the four-wheel-drive. He’s pointing to a patch Okavango. Researchers in Botswana need to of grass through which thin, jet-black coils know which animals live where, how those are rippling. “We almost never see snakes out populations interact with people, and where in the open like this. This is very lucky,” he potential pressure points are going to appear. insists sincerely as we walk the short distance And with state-sponsored conservation to my bunk. funding in short supply across the region, they’re increasingly relying on paying Our research base sits on the grounds of voluntourists to help with the manpower Mankwe, a luxury safari lodge on the eastern needed for data collection. fringe of the Delta that’s partnered with ACE to provide a base camp for voluntourists Back on the ground at Maun International working with Christiaan. Although guests at Airport (a generous label applied to a large Mankwe have access to typical luxury resort collection of sun-soaked, single-engine air amenities, our camp is more spartan. We cook safari planes and a handful of regional jets), our own food. We take cold showers. We bake a team from voluntourism outfit African our own bread in a fireside hole dug into the Conservation Experience (ACE) are waiting soil. 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B O T S WA N A lodge, our outpost has no wildlife fence — and The arrival of the annual flood in definitely no swimming pool. Keitopetse takes the Okavango Delta causes river great pride in telling me we’re the only people channels to burst their banks, camping in an area of 1,300 square miles. saturating floodplains and creating deposits of white sand The 42-year-old professional guide grew up in this area, but took a serpentine route to end up in Christiaan’s research team. When a schoolyard bully forced him out of the educational system, Keitopetse was sent to work on a cattle post. Unable to benefit from a traditional education, he learned English in order to translate his bush knowledge, passed down from his parents and grandparents, to Western tourists on safari. The combined skills were enough to enable him to put more food on the table for his family and get his foot in the door with research projects. Keitopetse is the leader of our seven- person crew: there’s me, Christiaan, two British voluntourists, a Latvian documentary filmmaker and Tembos Seyamba, a Botswanan tracker who’s Keitopetse’s right-hand man. Our mission is to travel along the rugged roads of the outer Okavango Delta, inching across the terrain while recording animal sightings and predator tracks. Typically, this is done with Keitopetse shouting at us through the open back window of a Toyota Land Cruiser as Tembos keeps a keen eye on the landscape. It only takes a few days to settle into the routine. At dawn, we fill a lunchbox with apples to snack on and drive to a designated section of dirt road where our data collection begins. With the two Botswanans on point, the rest of the team ride in the back of the truck, learning how to use a rangefinder, identify prints and log data. Key to the mission is a tablet equipped with GPS and logging software that connects our findings with those of the rest of Christiaan’s team. As we drive, the GPS tracks our location. We manually input the species or predator tracks we see. I have a gift for spotting guinea fowl, it transpires, but little else. Today starts out like any other. While driving along a grass-lined fire road, we spot a secretary bird eating a puff adder, giraffe heads popping up over vegetation, tracks from a long-gone leopard and a wildebeest careening through a shallow pan of glassy water. All animals are logged and will be built into population-map models that help conservationists inform their research. At each sighting, we learn more about the 92 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

IMAGE: JAMES GIFFORD SEPTEMBER 2022 93

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B O T S WA N A IMAGES: JOE SILLS; MARGARITA SAMSONOVA Clockwise from top left: animals and plants that make this part of the we have to get close to the ground for Keitopetse A yellow-billed hornbill Okavango Delta unique. We eat native plants. to teach us how to identify prints. I snatch searches the sands of We learn the logic behind the behaviour of up the tablet to log the place where lion paws the research camp for every animal, and we start to understand how recently lingered. GPS coordinates, estimated cicadas and invertebrates; ‘transecting’ — making observations along a age and gender, and time of the sighting are all tracker Tembos Seyamba predetermined, straight route — is different swiftly uploaded via satellite. (foreground) and from your average safari, which has no Keitopetse Petros Kagande scientific control applied to its movements. As the rest of the team trace the lions’ teach the team how to log activity into the tree line, I’m left alone to a fresh set of leopard prints; Although animal encounters are plentiful, marvel at the scale of prints — each as large a herd of impala, among Keitopetse refuses to promise us glimpses of as my own hand. This is the pay-off for hard- the many animals logged Africa’s Big Five — the combination of lion, working voluntourists; the fruits of a slow when spotted on transect; leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino that safari, where science takes the front seat. volunteers learn how to use many travellers look to tick off. At high-end binoculars and rangefinders safari lodges, teams of guides work together, “At any sighting on a traditional safari, it’s to identity individual using radios to swiftly ferry tourists between highly likely that you’re going to have another species and their genders major sightings, but our group works alone truck there, if not another four or five,” says in the bush. And, unlike a conventional fellow voluntourist Julie Reynolds, a veteran safari trip, our guides are not tasked with of luxury safari experiences in Kenya and manufacturing wildlife encounters for us. The South Africa. “Here, we’re getting moments research comes first, and what we don’t see is like this to ourselves. We can also move as important for the data as what we do see. around to get whatever angle we want. We can take as long as we want to really watch and As we crunch through another box of absorb the animals.” breakfast apples, Keitopetse slows the Land Cruiser to a halt on a sandy stretch of road Keitopetse and Tembos deduce that the lined by low mopane trees. “Here,” he says, group of lions here were fully grown and pointing. “Lion tracks.” For days, we’d scoured rested in the road for a while before massive swathes of brushland in search of making their way into the mopane groves. signs like this. “They’re fresh.” We track the pride’s trajectory for a few miles in the Land Cruiser before finding The sight of recent prints is enough to send ourselves completely surrounded by our crew into an uproar. The voluntourists dozens of excited, grazing elephants bound out from the back of the Land Cruiser; gorging themselves on the trees. SEPTEMBER 2022 95

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B O T S WA N A IMAGE: MARGARITA SAMSONOVA Above: Wildlife researcher An encounter with a herd this size is entirely between farmers and wildlife,” he tells me, Christiaan Winterbach new for me and, going by Keitopetse’s glee, a as the African sunset begins to burn orange illustrates the size of a rare occurrence. It’s a 360-degree panorama over our canvas kitchen tent. As usual, our lion print to voluntourists of running, trumpeting pachyderms. While conversation has turned to the issues facing onboard the Land Cruiser. I scramble to retrieve the tablet, the herd the Delta. “Farmers sometimes kill lions Sand roads like this make rumbles past, shaking the earth and the trees. that break into corrals and eat their cattle. ideal locations to spot and Thankfully, our presence is inconsequential to Elephants destroy fields planted for food. log predator tracks in the them, a small detail that helps steel mine and When they do, children have to come home Kalahari Desert Julie’s nerves as we quell our adrenaline and from school to help fix things and they miss document each elephant. out on learning in class.” Today’s observations will have significant The expert guide is not only a spearhead of scientific value for Christiaan. When building Christiaan’s wildlife monitoring effort, he’s also population maps, it’s important not only a rancher with his own contingent of cattle and to note the location and time of a sighting, goats. When water shortages affect the region, but also animal behaviour. Are the animals he’ll be one of the first to feel the impact. And wary of vehicles? Are they aggressive or he knows all too well the ways wildlife can ambivalent? Do they react to human presence? impact local livelihoods: although a fence Our impressions will, hopefully, inform the separates the wild Okavango from the nearby routes that safari lodges are encouraged or farming plots, Keitopetse recently lost most discouraged from driving in the future. They of his livestock to a clan of hyenas. In a rapidly may also help the government decide where modernising nation with a growing population livestock grazing areas are allocated. like Botswana, it’s easy to see how some would regard wildlife as an obstacle to enterprise. My memories of this day will occupy my daydreams for years to come; they’ll take pride Christiaan whips out a laptop to elaborate of place among my dinner party anecdotes on the issue. Lions, he explains, are in the and flash upon my inner eye during dreary crosshairs: 90% of human conflict with lions commutes. But of far greater and more lasting occurs within 10 miles of conservation areas, value is the simple information we collected, where the big cats roam beyond fences to find data that could have implications for the cattle. Few get further before they’re killed. survival of generations of animals to come. “In Botswana, two of the main ways of Conflict and confluence making a living are through livestock and tourism linked to wildlife,” he says, kicking Back at camp, Keitopetse pokes at a dubious off his sandals and inviting the group to stir-fry thrown together by myself and another gather around a PowerPoint presentation on member of the team. “Yes, there’s conflict his screen. “For rural people, livestock and SEPTEMBER 2022 97

B O T S WA N A A herd of zebras graze in the Okavango 50 Miles Okavango Delta. During the wet Okavango MANKWE season, animal sightings like this typically occur through Delta Maun dense, verdant brush B OT S WA N A BOTSWANA climate change are going to create competition radiant beast only by the open side of a pickup GETTING THERE & AROUND IMAGE: MARGARITA SAMSONOVA. ILLUSTRATION: JOHN PLUMER for water, but if we can start planning now, we truck, our team calmly gather the tablets and British Airways and Virgin Atlantic can alleviate some of that problem.” do what we have been trained to do. We log offer direct flights from Heathrow to its location, we measure its distance from the Johannesburg, from where Airlink Christiaan’s data seeks to provide the road. We send the information to researchers. offers daily flights onwards to people of Botswana with a roadmap to Then, star-struck, we move on. Maun International Airport. ba.com economic solutions before conflict arises. As virginatlantic.com flyairlink.com he clicks through slides, years of research Weeks pass and I’m driven back to Maun. Average flight time: 14h. unfold before us. Botswana, I learn, is home In the hundreds of miles I’ve travelled Airlines including Kenya Airways, to two of the 10 remaining mega populations during my stay with ACE, we managed to KLM, Emirates and Ethiopian Airlines of African lion. And lions, it so happens, are add an incredible array of wildlife to the offer indirect routes to Johannesburg a key indicator of the health of the entire log. We never did find any more lions, but via their respective hubs. ecosystem. “If there’s a disruption in the we did see honey badgers, caracals, leopard kenya-airways.com klm.com food chain, lions are one place where you can tortoises and wild cats. By putting ourselves emirates.com ethiopianairlines.com pick up the response very quickly,” explains to work for the wildlife, we were able to get Self-driving tours of the Okavango Christiaan, his voice weighted by the gravity boots on the ground in a way that drenched are permitted, with vehicle hire and of work ahead to save the species. “As lions go, these encounters in meaning for me — more guides available in Maun from outfits so goes the ecosystem.” so, I believe, than any curated sighting would including Travel Adventures Botswana. have done. traveladventuresbotswana.com A night plagued by dreams of barren grasslands and embattled big cats gives way At Maun’s Dusty Donkey Cafe, a smattering WHEN TO GO to a glorious dawn. While we’re out driving of researchers, property developers and June to August is peak season for in the relative cool of morning, a glimmer of miners are dining nearby, all percolating tourism, when the weather is dry, gold catches my eye in the rain-soaked grass with ambitions of saving wildlife, building average highs are around 25-30C and as we bump over a verge. “Lion!” I stutter wealth or expanding their portfolios in this animals are easier to spot as they flock through the open back window, slapping my far-flung corner of Botswana. A few hundred to dwindling watering holes. The early hand on the roof of the Land Cruiser. “Right yards away, the single-engine Cessna that months of the year, however, hold a there, 11 o’clock!” As Keitopetse pumps the introduced me to the Okavango awaits another special beauty — average highs exceed brakes, I realise I’ve finally spotted something cluster of tourists searching for a private 30C and there are some downpours, that isn’t a guinea fowl. It’s our team’s first glimpse of the Delta from the sky. but crowds are sparse, pans are full and lion, a large adult male — the first lion I’ve wildflowers are in bloom. ever seen in the wild. My understanding of this paradise has evolved over the weeks spent working PLACES MENTIONED The cat glows. Its presence triggers a alongside ardent conservationists and wildlife Mankwe Bush Lodge. primal reaction in my bones, a feeling of trackers. What I discovered was a slice of mankwe-bush-lodge.com both awe and fear. In this moment, I begin to wilderness in desperate need of a helping Dusty Donkey Cafe. understand what Christiaan feels is at stake hand — one that anyone who has the time and facebook.com/dustydonkeycafe in the Okavango Delta. Separated from this determination can provide. WHERE TO STAY Maun Lodge. From £60. maunlodge.com The Old Bridge Backpackers. From £10. maun-backpackers.com HOW TO DO IT African Conservation Experience arranges voluntourism ventures to northern Botswana as part of the Okavango Wilderness Project, in connection with Christiaan Winterbach and Mankwe, for £2,685 for 14 days, excluding flights. conservationafrica.net 98 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

| PAID CONTENT FOR VISIT ZAGREB FOUR TO ATTEND SEPTEMBER ARTUPUNCTURE Zagreb events Artupuncture promotes Zagreb’s art scene by envisioning the capital as a The Croatian capital is hard at work to grow into a year-round living organism, with a flow of energy platform for creativity. We take a look at some of its top events that accumulates in certain locations. Inspired by acupuncture, the annual taking place in autumn and winter. Words: Jane Foster event figuratively taps into these hotspots with installations by contemporary IMAGES: JULIEN DUVAL; MARIJA GAŠPAROVIĆ artists, hosted in various galleries around the city. The aim? Placing autumn in Zagreb firmly on the cultural calendar. artupunktura.hr OCTOBER ZAGREB FILM FESTIVAL This is one of the country’s largest film festivals, with showings at cult venues including Cinema Europa (Croatia’s oldest active cinema), Cinema Tuškanac and the striking Museum of Contemporary Art. It promotes independent filmmakers, both from Croatia and abroad, and serves as a stepping stone for many art house film directors. A popular side programme is The Big 5, which focuses on outstanding alternative films from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK. zff.hr NOVEMBER ZAGREB JAZZ FESTIVAL This tribute to jazz music is hosted at Lisinski Concert Hall, the capital’s top music venue. Previous performers have included US trumpeter and composer Ornette Coleman and singer Dee Dee Bridgewater. It’s so popular that it’s grown, with pop up concerts around the capital, plus additional summer events in Pula and Rovinj. zgjazzfestival.com DECEMBER ADVENT ZAGREB This city-wide, month-long event is a three-time winner of European Best Destinations’ ‘Best Christmas Market’ award — the maximum number of times a single place can receive the title. More than 25 individual markets liven up the capital’s main squares and promenades: try Christmas specialities such as štrukli (dumplings) and sarma (cabbage rolls filled with meat and rice), and keep an eye out for hand-carved wooden toys from the Hrvatsko Zagorje region — a craft listed on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List. adventzagreb.hr For more information, visit infozagreb.hr SEE MORE ONLINE AT NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL

THE SPR AWLING, HUMID PANTANAL WETL AND SUPPORTS ONE OF THE HIGHEST IMAGES: AWL IMAGES; ALAMY CONCENTR ATION S OF WILDLIFE IN SOUTH A MERICA AND THE WORLD’S GRE ATE ST DEN SIT Y OF JAGUARS . AIDED BY CON SERVATION PROJECTS , THE BIG CAT’S NUMBERS ARE INCRE ASING, M AKING SAFARI EXPERIENCES IN THI S WILD, WESTERN CORNER OF BR A ZIL EVEN MORE REWARDING WORDS: SARAH MARSHALL 10 0 NATIONALGEOGR APHIC .CO.UK/ TR AVEL