Romania's Danube Delta; family interrailing; riverside stays in Europe
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”It’s very simple,” says Bruce Poon Tip, founder of travel company G Adventures. “If travellers go far, on long-haul journeys, they should go for longer.”

Poon Tip is talking to writer Kevin Rushby in Peru at the start of his 3,000-mile journey down the Amazon. Rushby is on a mission to see “how - or if - tourism can help with the huge challenges of social inequality and the climate crisis”.

Exploring less-known sites and communities - as well as staying longer - is part of the plan, and Rushby decides to trek to Choquequirao, an abandoned Inca site that gets the same number of visitors in a year that touristed Machu Picchu gets in a day.

Though the four-day hike is tough - harder than the well-trodden Inca Trail - Rushby finds that “the advantages of this smaller-scale trek are quickly apparent: local communities get direct financial benefit and the visitors are absorbed into their world, which remains essentially unchanged.”

Despite worrying that the experience would not be as powerful as its better-known alternative, he finds the opposite is true. “I sit on the steps, alone in the 'lost city',” he writes. “There are no voices, no selfies, no one telling me to move along. I lie back and watch a condor soar overhead.” A win-win for the traveller and the Indigenous people he visits.

Andy Pietrasik
Head of Travel

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Story of the week

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The alternative Machu Picchu: a hike to find the ‘real’ lost world of the Incas Read more

 

Our travel picks of the week

1

‘This is the Amazon of Europe’ | A wildlife trip on Romania’s Danube delta Read more

2

Paris can wait | How we dodged the summer crowds by Interrailing to Europe’s smaller towns Read more  

3

Take a kayak to your cabin | 10 of the best riverside stays in Europe Read more  

 

Featured trip

The Blue Danube

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This quintessential river cruise explores the historic towns and cities of the mighty Danube with guided tours of Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and more…

 

In other news

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‘A world in itself’: how I fell for the peculiar magic of Lundy

Read more

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This week's favourite trips

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Essential Peru
This small group adventure combines highlights such as Machu Picchu and the Nazca Lines with cultural encounters including a homestay.

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Hidden Portugal
Discover a different side of Portugal from the Costa Verde, exploring Porto, the Vino Verde vineyards and the beautiful Douro Valley.

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Lake Maggiore, Orta and the Matterhorn
Explore both Italy and Switzerland from your base on Lake Maggiore, with visits to Lake Como, Locarno and dramatic Zermatt.

 

Readers' tips

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‘We drifted downriver and camped where we liked’: readers’ favourite lake and river breaks in Europe

Read more

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Deal of the week

Jersey - the sun-kissed Channel Island - save up to 15%

Soak up the sights of Jersey on a guided tour of the island and a delightful boat trip, plus enjoy plenty of time to relax and explore charming St Helier.

Book by 31 July 2024 to save up to 15%. Prices shown include the discount.

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Image of the week

Wild west: a walk on Brittany’s rugged Crozon peninsula

 
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