2015

Some sayings and proverbs are wrong. Dust you are, and to dust you shall return. Wrong. We are water. Water is more abundant in our bodies than any other substance. And we need it. Water is life. Seas dominate the Earth’s surface, and life thrives along their shores. Then there are lakes and rivers, often the cradles of civilisations, or humanity’s first “highways”, connecting distant civilisations.

Travel across rivers, lakes and seas

In your next holidays We suggest a series of trips in which water is both our means of travel and the star attraction. By canoe, by kayak or sailing. In the south, close to the North Pole, on rivers or out at sea…

We know that one of the main reasons we travel the world is to immerse ourselves in nature. Of course, there are other motivations, such as culture, photography, history and archaeology. But today we are going to talk about trips where nature and landscapes take centre stage. Let's look at some of the most splendid natural environments we can travel to this summer.

Travel to 7 amazing natural landscapes

Viajes Tuareg has launched an initiative to recognise our most loyal and intrepid travellers. Quite a few have travelled with us not just once, twice or three times, but as many as seven times. We have counted from 2007, when our organised records begin, and many friends trust us to arrange their holidays almost every year. Some customers have been with us since the agency's earliest days and never tire of travelling with us. They are certainly part of the great Tuareg family.

The Antarctica remains a remote territory that is difficult for travellers to access, yet interest in discovering it has not diminished. A trip to Antarctica has enormous appeal and offers a truly exceptional journey. The most sensible alternative for travel to the Antarctic continent is still the ship, but cruises to the South Pole vary in the experiences they offer.

Our colleague Isi Juvé has cycled across several continents, swallowed dust on a thousand roads and kept pedalling through countless trips. On one of his adventures he spent more than two years away from home. Along the way he has gained the experience to offer us reliable advice. He is definitely our man in Viajes Tuareg for the Cycling trips.

In Viajes Tuareg take very seriously the our customers’ reviews. Your opinions. A lot.

Each time you complete one of our trips or routes, we send participants a satisfaction survey. We want to hear your honest opinions and greatly appreciate the time you spend filling in the form. Most of the forms we send out come back full of suggestions and comments, which we read carefully to assess how satisfied you are.

The city of Istanbul, halfway between Asia and Europe, is full of surprising corners, alleyways, mosques, monuments, markets, squares and bridges. Its major attractions include Hagia Sophia, the Sultan Ahmet or Blue Mosque, the Süleymaniye and Yeni mosques, Galata Tower, the Golden Horn at the entrance to the Bosphorus with its beautiful bridges, the Grand Bazaar and the Basilica Cistern. An eye used to looking through a camera lens finds thousands of evocative moments in the ancient city of Constantinople. Add its people to the scene, the busy citizens of Turkey’s former capital, and the photographic possibilities They seem to multiply endlessly, as quickly as the camera's memory cards fill up and its batteries run down.

The religious heritage of India It is one of the aspects that has always aroused great interest and curiosity in the West. Watching a funeral rite on the banks of the River Ganges while a pilgrim performs ablutions a few metres away, or so many other scenes typical of a trip to India that we could mention raise questions and a strong desire to understand, to find the reasons and an explanation, and ultimately to make logical sense of what we see.

The Halong Bay in Vietnam It is a place of such beauty that every traveller who visits is impressed. As you probably know, it lies in the north of the country, in Quang Ninh province, on the Gulf of Tonkin. A little further north lies China.

Crossing an unfamiliar country from top to bottom is a dream for any curious traveller: from one end to the other, from beginning to end, leaving nothing out. That is the idea behind our trip to Mozambique, a route offering an almost complete picture of the former Portuguese colony, although it is never truly possible to see an entire country.

Our proposed itinerary takes us through natural parks with magnificent scenery and abundant wildlife. Africa in all its splendour. Although we will start in the south, in the capital, vibrant Maputo, we will travel across the country, always heading north.

The combined Shelios – GLORIA – Slooh expedition has sent us the first images of totality that, despite everything, they managed to capture!

When someone mentions one of the Persian Gulf countries, the last word that comes to mind is probably fjord. This is exactly what happens when we mention Oman, a sultanate reputed to be one of the friendliest countries in the region, with the well-known Strait of Hormuz in its far north.

Our travel talks continue, and this time, Ana Isabel Alia Mopane Safaris tells us about their experiences in Botswana through photos and comments.

Next Thursday 12 March at our offices of Viajes Tuareg.
In the talk we will give you a notebook of safari with a short guide to Botswana that can be very useful for planning your trip.

Places are limited; please confirm your attendance in advance.
Tel.: 93 265 23 91
Our trips to BOTSWANA

A new edition of Viajes Tuareg photo and video competition. One hundred and seventy participants and a total of 790 photos presented.

After the 21 finalist photographs chosen by Viatges Tuareg’s staff, Gervasio Sanchez has chosen the winners of this year’s competition.

Once again, extraordinary images show us the world through travellers’ eyes, with an exceptional standard of quality for a competition of this kind.

Remember that this Wednesday at our offices in Viajes Tuareg, a polar explorer and an anthropologist specialising in the Inuit will share first-hand information and remarkable personal stories from their Greenland journeys.

Francesc Bailon and Gerard Van Der Berg will give this travel talk and lead an expedition to the Ammassalimmiut communities on Greenland's east coast, the last group to come into contact with the ‘white man’.

See article: East Greenland. Polar exploration and anthropology with the Inuit
See all of our Travel Talks

Places are limited; please confirm your attendance in advance.

For those of us who are near Barcelona, remember that this Friday we have Madagascar as a starting point for our‪ regular travel talks.

Don't miss it, Friday Feb 13 at 19:30 at our offices Viajes Tuareg with Sergi, our specialist guide in Madagascar.

If you travelled with us in 2014, you can take part in our ctravel photography course by sending your images to concurso@tuareg.com.

Images taken on a trip booked with Viajes Tuareg during 2014, submitted in digital format (not as prints or slides), with a minimum size of 15 × 20 cm and a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. A maximum of 5 works per participant, none previously published or awarded a prize.

The deadline for submitting photographs is next Sunday.
Here are some of the photos received:

Our dear and tireless friend and collaborator Isi Juvé sends us these photographs from Morocco.
Isi joined our Christmas groups and is now travelling around Morocco to improve our bike routes.

Who said the country of the million smiles was Cambodia? Come to Sri Lanka And you'll see!

This is what Isi Juve told us on a scouting trip by bicycle in Sri Lanka

Next Thursday 26 February our correspondent in Sri Lanka, Pilar Petit, will be at our Barcelona offices to answer our questions and share details of the trips to Sri Lanka for 2015.

Our routes for 2015.

• Sri Lanka. The great island of the Indian Ocean
• Esala Perahera special festival departure
• Individual departures and tailor-made trips, Sri Lanka
• Cycling in Sri Lanka

Capacity is limited; please confirm your attendance with Joan Bartomeu Torres
Tel: 93 265 23 91
jbartomeu@tuareg.com

We begin this year’s travel talks with a beautiful destination: Madagascar.

If you are thinking about your next holiday destination, the next Friday, 13 February our friend and collaborator in Madagascar, Indigo, will be at our offices in Viajes Tuareg to tell us details of the routes we operate.

Places are limited, so please confirm your attendance. Don't miss it!