PRIORAT: PRESTIGIOUS WINES AND RICH HISTORY WITH ON FOOT HOLIDAYS

NEW YORK, NY (03/14) As Christianity spread across Europe, so did monasteries, and with them came vineyards. On Foot Holidays, specialist in self-guided walking and hiking tours in seldom seen areas of Europe, offers a tour through hills and XII century monasteries in the region that is home to Spain’s most elite wines.

Priorat, Spain (Along monastery trails to the holy mountain) – With four and a half to six hours of walking per day, this route is considered of medium-hard difficulty. Through mountains and valleys from the historic center of Montblanc to the heart of Priorat, you will visit two important, beautifully-sited monasteries:  Poblet (a Cistercian monastery founded in 1151) and Escaladei, a Carthusian monastery, where for seven centuries the monks cultivated vineyards. Nights will be spent in charming, sleepy towns and villages at typical inns and houses, where you will get closer to the Catalan culture.

You will arrive at Poblet via the medieval town of Prades, and later climb Monsant– the “Holy Mountain” – from which you will descend to Escaladei. With remote bathing pools and Neolithic rock art along the route, this tour is rich in natural water features and ancient symbols. Wine lovers will be delighted, when reaching the final destination, to stroll through the major vineyards of Priorat.  Recognized among sommeliers, this hidden wine gem is the land of a perfect 100 wine score as rated by Robert Parker, renowned American wine critic. Priorat is also one of the only two regions in Spain to qualify as DOCa, which is the highest qualification level for a wine region.

Rates for seven nights per person sharing are from $1,120 and include accommodation, breakfast daily, five evening meals, two lunches, detailed itinerary and supporting material, and luggage transfers between hotels.

For more information and questions on dates available contact On Foot Holidays at (011)44 1722 322 652 or visit www.onfootholidays.co.uk

ON FOOT’S WALKING TOUR OF GERMANY’S BEGUILING RHINE GORGE: THE RIVER, THE ROMANCE, THE RIESLING

NEW YORK, NY (03/2014) Things are out; experiences are in, and there’s no better way to absorb a place than by hoofing it. On Foot Holidays, specialist in self-guided, designed walking and hiking tours through the hidden scenic byways of Europe, announces a walking tour of Germany’s Rhine Gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The journey from Bingen to Koblenz takes in the legendary Lorelei rock, famed for mythic maidens luring ships to their peril; 20 fanciful castles (some visit-able), as well as peregrinations through quaint, old German villages – Bacharach for its beauty; St. Goar to explore medieval Rheinfels Castle, Boppard, one-time Roman way-station, known for “4-Seen-Blick,” a vista where the Rhine appears to break into a quartet of lakes.

This is a spirited route, too, where each village boasts its own Riesling, and beer is always on tap.

Rates for On Foot Holidays’ Rhine Gorge tour start at US$900 and include eight bed and breakfasts, one evening meal, three picnics, and luggage transfers between hotels. Level: medium with three and a half to six hours of walking per day.

Magical castles! Historic towns! Terraced vineyards! The Rhine Gorge, that 40-mile-stretch of the Middle Rhine Valley, is so ridiculously romantic and picturesque, it has long bestirred painters, writers, and composers. UNESCO cited it as “an outstanding organic cultural landscape….that has remained largely untouched. As a result, many of the features and elements that lend the area its authenticity have been preserved.”

Foodies will find tasty fare in pubs, inns, cafes, beer gardens and weinstubes along the way: the famous Weinberg Schlösschen in Oberheimbach, the Hotel Deutsches Haus in Kaub or, if the Braubach option is taken, the fine old coaching inn of Zum Weissen Schwanen. The area boasts amazing vintages, too, especially those of Rüdesheim.

In describing its Rhine ramble,  On Foot Holiday’s Director Simon Scutt says, “It’s busy and exciting, too – the barges negotiating sharp bends and the toy trains (for that’s how they look from the footpaths high above), and the river towns and villages…make a pleasant variation from the rural walking.”

On Foot Holiday’s Rhine Gorge tour was designed by architect Peter Münch and local Beatrix Greiff. This trip can be extended to take advantage of all Koblenz has to offer – museums, castles (Fortress Ehrenbreitstein is now accessible by cable car across the Rhine) gardens and restaurants.

Contact: On Foot Holidays at (011)44 722 322 652 or visit www.onfootholidays.co.uk

KENYA’S NEWEST CONSERVANCY

MAASAI MARA (03/2014) – Kenya Gold Guide Calvin Cottar and his wife Louise Cottar, owners of Cottar’s 1920s Safari Camp, have worked for 10 years to establish Kenya’s newest conservancy: Olderikesi Wildlife Conservancy. They have met with the local Maasai and government to create a model which may be replicated across the country, aiming to unify the Maasai instead of segmenting the land. Their passion for Kenya, its tribes and the country’s living history is reflected in their efforts.

The Olderikesi Wildlife Conservancy is 6,000 acres on the border of the Maasai Mara National Reserve and the Serengeti National Park. “We feel that if visitors want to help wildlife survive in Africa today, they should stay in conservancies on the peripheries of parks and reserves. It’s a far more responsible choice as it helps finance the expansion of the ecosystem versus protecting wildlife within set borders,” says Calvin, explaining how easily this new conservancy model can be adopted. Kenya is changing, with some hoping to help direct that change in a positive way.

Power to the People:

The situation is ongoing local human-wildlife conflict and destruction of environment by domestic livestock. The conservancy’s solution is to lease the land from the Maasai with areas designated for wildlife only, and areas where domestic stock may be taken to graze. Instead of division by fences, there is division by shares within a community trust – and an added clause that the shares can never be sold to outsiders. Maasai land stays truly Maasai.

Calvin and Louise recognize that their property is built on Maasai land, and pay annual fees to the Maasai. Their recently opened Private House is their commitment to the Maasai that they are there to stay, to help them and the land. The Cottar’s are part of a five-generation family business, reminiscent of the colonial era when Charles Cottar moved from Iowa to Kenya with his family (seen in the white canvas tents with family antiques from the 1920s). There are ten en suite tents and a private house, which can accommodate up to 10 guests in five large en suite bedrooms.

For more information, visit www.cottars.com or email info@cottarsafaris.com.

WALK YOUR WAY TO HEALTH WITH ON FOOT HOLIDAYS

New York, NY (03/14) - We have good news about the bad news! The bad news is that obesity is expected to overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death in America, where one third of the adults are considered obese. The good news is that one of the best ways to get your heart pumping and body toned is walking.

Self-guided walking tours specialist, On Foot Holidays, offers over 20 different tours that unveil little-known and charming areas of Europe. With routes ranging from easy to hard, it is now possible to get fit while on vacation without having to miss out on any of the culinary specialties of each village.

Each tour is created by a ‘route designer’, a local of the area with a strong interest in its landscape and culture. It usually takes a lot of time to get a handle on a place and get to know its hidden gems; this is why On Foot Holidays arranges your stay in small inns, farms or pensions, which allows you to get closer to the hospitality and the traditions of each region.

Sample Walks:

Slovenia (The Karst- culture and landscape)-  Ideal for the casual walker, this eight-night tour explores the Slovenian Karst, one of Europe’s most diverse landscapes that ranges from sharp edges of limestone caves surrounded by the greenest pine trees to disappearing lakes and rivers. Explore the woodlands and meadows from Ljubljana to Trieste, and indulge in the villages’ wild beauty and culture. After all the walking you will be rewarded; staying at local farmhouses that produce their own wine, hams and honey, makes this tour a great fit for foodies. You will have the opportunity to taste the unique and local Teran wine, famous for its rich and robust character, that pairs perfectly with the local prosciutto (Prsut). Rates per person sharing start at $1,160 and include accommodation, breakfast daily, five evening meals, six picnics, luggage transfers between hotels and detailed “walkers’ pack”. Level: Easy (three to five hours of walking per day).

Sabine Hills (Italy) – This seven-night self-guided walk through  old woods, paths and tracks in the Sabine Hills is more challenging, but you will have lifts available to get over the steep sections. Starting in the historic medieval village of Contigliano, the route will pass through several delightful Italian villages where cuisine will be exceptional, and with all that walking you will not feel guilty about having a taste of everything. In Casperia you will even have the chance to sign up for cooking lessons and learn how to make fresh pasta from scratch. Accommodation is among the highlights of this route– from charming B&Bs and a small palace, to the house of a local artist and an organic working farm, you will experience Sabina at its fullest. The tour ends in the Eternal City, Rome, where you will stay at a wonderful B&B with an excellent location, close to Campo di Fiori and Vatican City. Rates per person sharing start at $1,136 and include accommodation, breakfast daily, four evening meals, two picnics, luggage transfers between hotels and detailed itinerary and supporting material for walkers to follow the routes. Level: Medium (three and a half to six hours of walking per day).

For more information contact On Foot Holidays at (011)44 1722 322 652 or visit www.onfootholidays.co.uk

STEPPES ANNOUNCES ONE-TIME-ONLY TOUR WITH HILARY BRADT TO PERU’S PRE-INCA RUINS AND THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL MOUNTAIN

NEW YORK, NY (03/14) Steppes Travel, the bespoke tour operator known for its pioneering adventures, has linked with Hilary Bradt, the travel authority (with her husband) behind the renowned Bradt Travel Guides, for a one-time-only tour entitled Peru Revisited, Bradt’s final return to the country she fell in love with 45 years ago, and which, she declares, changed her life. 

Steppes’ Peru Revisited tour encompasses the republic’s premier archaeological sites and the spectacular Cordillera Blanca mountain range. Not only is Peru’s highest mountain, Huáscarán (22,204 feet), located in this range, but so is Alpamayo (19,511 feet), proclaimed the "World's Most Beautiful Mountain" by an international survey led by the late, award-winning climber Toni Hiebeler.

The 14-day Peru Revisited tour, personally guided by Hilary Bradt, takes place July 8 to 21, 2014.  Rates start at US$4195 per person sharing (excluding international airfare) and include interior flights, accommodations, daily guided excursions and most meals.

Hilary Bradt was so smitten by Peru when she first visited South America in 1969, that she found the experience transformative. On the next trip, after walking the full length of the Inca Trail, Hilary and her husband wrote their first guide book. Hilary says, “Eight editions of that book followed, fuelled by my annual trips to South America as a trekking and tour leader.  I want to return one last time.  Not to Cusco and Machu Picchu, but to my favorite mountain range, the Cordillera Blanca, and to make my first visit to the ‘Machu Picchu of the north’ – Kuelap in the Chachapoyas region.”

Travelers will have the benefit of Steppes’ seamless travel arrangements as well as Hilary Bradt’s superlative insider knowledge of the fascinating culture of ancient Pre-Inca and Inca-dominated Peru. They will explore the Pre-Inca ruins around Chiclayo in Northern Peru; wander through the largest ancient stone structure in South America; take a lodge-based trek in the Cordillera Blanca and Negra mountains in Central Peru; and listen to Hilary Bradt’s anecdotes of her many explorations through territory that once was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the world’s oldest. Along the way, there will be visits to many historical and religious sites, the Royal Tombs Museum to see Moche artefacts, as well as the ruins of Tucume, the pre-Hispanic city of adobe pyramids.

For detailed itinerary and more information: Email enquiry@steppestravel.com or call Toll-free: 1-855-352-7606

THE ECHO OF CANYONS AND THE LAPPING OF WAVES: STEPPES TRAVEL GROUP DOES COPPER CANYON & BAJA CALIFORNIA

NEW YORK, NY (03/14) Steppes Travel Group, the bespoke tour operator known for its innovative itineraries, goes beyond the ordinary with an 11-day visit to Mexico’s travel treasures: Copper Canyon and Baja California. On a trip both rugged and refined, take this opportunity to explore one of the deepest and largest networks of canyons in the world, and enjoy the stark contrast of an off-the-radar beach hot spot.

Start off with a bang on board the Chihuahua al Pacifico, one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world: observe the sun-drenched shores of the Pacific coast turn into a mountainous and arid interior.

Ride the rail to treasure number one: the series of more than twenty spectacular canyons that is jaw-dropping Copper Canyon. Picture a region the size of Switzerland and four times the size of the Grand Canyon. Hidden within the canyon network are indigenous Tarahumara caves, the natural shelters of the country’s second largest native Indian group. A visit here gives insight to a culture largely uninterrupted by modern technologies.

Steppes Travel Group’s own managing director took on Copper Canyon’s best adrenaline rush: a mile long zip line. Justin Wateridge reflects, “Standing up to the first zip-line platform, hands sweaty and [body] constrained by a harness, I asked myself why I was doing this. Seconds later I was whizzing out over some of the most spectacular scenery in the world at seventy kilometers per hour.”

The opposite of a rugged interior is treasure number two: Baja California’s luxurious beaches, laidback towns and boutique hotels filled with local art. Your highlight is an excursion to the island of Espiritu Santo. The boat anchors near a Sea Lion colony and offers an awe-inspiring option to snorkel with these underwater acrobats. Perhaps extend your trip to an overnight cruise in the whale-rich Sea of Cortez, a UNESCO World Heritage wonder. 

Frequently looking for the unusual, Steppes Travel Group’s regional specialists piece together cultural and historical landmarks – which extends right down to the accommodation. Spend two nights at colonial mansion Posada del Hidalgo, which is believed to be the original home of “El Zorro,” the very Don Diego de la Vega. 

The rate starts at $2,918.40* per person, depending on pre- and post- extensions of an area you’ll find most compelling. This includes internal flights, accommodations, select meals and transfers. For more information, call toll free 1-855-252-7606 or visit www.steppestravel.com. Email is enquiry@steppestravel.com.

* Based on the exchange rate between USD and British Pound Sterling on 10/23/13