In June and July 2022, I spent five weeks riding and exploring Armeniaâs backcountry and trails, entering from Georgia in the north-east, heading south down the eastern side of the country to the Iranian border, before making my way back up to Yerevan on the western side.
In this guide, Iâve tidied up and summarised the routes I took into 8 sections for anyone who is considering a trip there. By and large these routes are good for mid-weight and lightweight dual-sport bikes with decent 50/50 tyres and similarly equipped 4x4s, though the latter should proceed with more caution than the former.
From the muddy mountains of the countryâs north-eastern Tavush and Lori regions to the searing heat along the border with Iran, Armenia is an explorerâs delight. The country is slightly sleepier but no less beautiful and the people no less welcoming then its slightly more brash, northern neighbour, Georgia.
Ben Carlin and Half Safe arrive in Copenhagen (Source » Wikimedia / Public Domain)
Ben Carlin traveled over 17,780 kilometres (11,050 mi) by sea and 62,744 kilometres (38,987 mi) by land during the ten-year journey. Arriving in Montreal on May 1958, he had passed through 38 countries and two oceans, with the entire trip costing him around $35,000.
Born in Western Australia, he got the idea for his adventure during his time in the Madras sappers of the Indian Army engineers during World War II, but it began in America.
So far, the coalition has identified over half the route â roughly 850km. Itâs hard to say how long the final trail will be.
Knowing that, in America, a problem with creating long-distance trails often springs from securing rights across privately-held land, I asked Baaker if heâd run into the issue.
âActually, [the real problem] is the complexity of the terrain,â he said.
It seems a few spots in Tajikistan are so rugged that nobody has made trails there yet. Thatâs saying something for a country thatâs been inhabited more or less constantly since the Bronze Age. Puzzling out how to get through certain passes, or around certain landslide-prone areas, is the primary problem Baaker and his team faces.
Every year, Post Office Travel Money compares the costs of short breaks in cities across Europe for UK holidaymakers â overall and for specific items like accommodation, meals and cultural attractions.
Our annual City Costs Barometer helps you see upfront which destinations are the best value or most expensive before planning your trip, including how prices have changed in the past year.
Best-value cities
1. Lisbon ÂŁ224.76
2. Vilnius ÂŁ225.01
3. Krakow ÂŁ250.91
4. Athens ÂŁ262.22
5. Riga ÂŁ284.99
6. Porto ÂŁ325.30
7. Zagreb ÂŁ329.72
8. Budapest ÂŁ330.53
9. Warsaw ÂŁ330.95
10. Lille ÂŁ332.11
Explore Worldwide, an “adventure travel” agency, has put together a list of 35 of the best hikes in the world that almost anyone can do, from short jaunts you can do in less than an hour to longer, multi-day itineraries »
Perito Moreno Glacier Trail, El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina
Beckoning the thrill-seekers and intrepid adventurers, Iceland offers some of the most beautiful trekking environments in the world. Unrivaled in its natural beauty, visitors can indulge in geysers, waterfalls, fjords, glaciers, lava fields, black sand deserts, rhyolite mountains, natural hot springs, and more.
This incredible destination floating in the North Atlantic Ocean boasts the perfect opportunity for outdoor pursuits, presenting three national parks, numerous nature reserves, and an uninhabited district. One of the greatest ways to explore the moonscape is by trekkingâthus, we curated a list for you. Keep reading the discover the best long-haul hikes in Iceland and begin planning your next big adventure!
On April 28, Samuel Lalande-Markon and Simon-Pierre Goneau reached Cape Anaulirvik (Wolstenholme) after a demanding three-month journey over 3,000 kilometers in difficult weather conditions.
âFor me, it was something very emotionally charged,â comments Simon-Pierre Goneau. It’s a project that I had in mind for five years, so it was the realization of a dream. »
For his part, Samuel Lalande-Markon let himself be captivated by the landscape.
âIt was really the most beautiful of our entire crossing.
For Simon-Pierre Goneau, this is his first major expedition, which he concocted after discovering that the southernmost point of Quebec was on private land near marker 720, at the border Canadian-American. With the permission of the owner, he undertook his crossing in 2020 by bicycle. Unfortunately, bad weather conditions and the pandemic forced him to abandon the project in Chisasibi, on James Bay.
He decided to resume this year, starting from Chisasibi. Samuel Lalande-Markon joined him there, leaving a fortnight earlier from the famous terminal 720 solo.
Read the rest of the article and see more photos of their adventure at La Press (in French)
âWe see that happening very soon because we see people flying from abroad to Europe usually spending their time in several countries rather than in one country. We really saw the value this can bring not to each country but all of us,â Al Sairafi said during a panel discussion on âThe Future of Travel for the GCCâ, held at the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai.
According to the Timeout web site, some of the worldâs most popular tourist destinations are increasing tourist taxes or otherwise restricting the number of visitors allowed in an effort to reduce over tourism.
“We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more.”