Indonesia
Seram Island
Maluku's mother island rises roadless from the coast, walked only with its hosts.
Beyond the shore the road simply ends, and Seram's interior takes over: ridge above forested ridge to Binaia's three-thousand-metre summit. In Maluku's own account this is Nusa Ina, the mother island, where the ancestors began.
Seram is Maluku's largest island and its mythological heartland, Nusa Ina, the mother island of the Ambonese peoples. Manusela National Park protects the mountainous, roadless interior, walked on supported expeditions that supply guides, porters, transfers and village lodging over several forest days, with park rules and local hosts setting the route. Salmon-crested cockatoos and Seram's other endemics live in the canopy on their own terms, and the coast repays the journey too, with the reefs of Sawai on the north shore.
Solo
A complete guided package turns one walker's wild idea into a working route.
Friends
Demanding approaches and simple village nights suit companions who like it honest.
- Maluku tradition names Seram the mother island, where its peoples began.
- The interior is roadless mountain forest, crossed only on foot with hosts.
- Supported expeditions handle guides, porters and village lodging over several days.
- Salmon-crested cockatoos live in Manusela's canopy, endemic and loud.
Kohu-kohu, smoked skipjack with young coconut and basil, is Maluku's fresh plate.
On the island itself, expeditions and guesthouses carry and cook the full board.
Djara Cave
Egypt
Stalactites hanging in a desert cave where someone painted giraffes when the Sahara was green.
Tan-Tan
Morocco
Tbourida thunders past white tents as Hassaniya poetry gathers more than thirty desert tribes.
Cobá
Mexico
Raised white roads link Maya groups through forest beside the lakes of Cobá.
Parque Nacional Calilegua
Argentina
Cloud forest draped in moss where jaguars still prowl a jungle climbing from the Chaco.
Alor Archipelago
Indonesia
Cold upwellings funnel hammerheads and threshers through Alor's volcanic straits.
Morotai
Indonesia
Wartime aircraft rest on Morotai's reefs, coral colonising the cockpits.
Ijen Crater
Indonesia
Sulphur miners and blue fire share Ijen's crater with a kilometre-wide acid lake.