Expert Insights

September 27, 2013 A Tribute to Mount Everest

Read time – 3 minutes Sixty years since it was first summited, Exodus pays tribute to Mount Everest and its Himalayan home, and we wonder why of a world so wide, rich and varied as our own, these mountains remain the pinnacle of trekking nirvana. Prayer flags Everest holds a unique place in the...

September 27, 2013 How to Train for a Serious Cycling Challenge

Read time – 3 minutes At Exodus, the man behind the wheel (or should we say on top of two wheels?!) is cycling programme manager Andy Ross. As you would expect, he is a keen cyclist and done more than his fair share of serious cycling challenges – perfectly placed to give you some top-notch tips...

September 26, 2013 A Passage to India

Read time – 2 minutes This is quite a long hill. We started just above the great Sutlej River this morning and we’re on a steady climb towards Narkanda up National Highway 22, the old Hindustan-Tibet Highway. It’s still quite a few miles to the top, but it’s a beautiful clear sunny morning, the Himalayas...

September 26, 2013 Timkat Festival in Ethiopia

Read time – 2 minutes Throngs of white-clad festival-goers sleepily make their way to the holy baptismal pool. As the early morning sun starts to warm the crowds, the feeling of anticipation is palpable. Children climb trees to get good views and adults jostle for space. The priests and deacons arrive, their blue velvet robes...

September 26, 2013 Ladakh and The Indian Himalaya

Read time – 2 minutes Sandwiched between the vast ranges of the Karakorum and the Himalaya in the far north of India is the highest, least populated, most remote and most beautiful region in the whole country. Lying in the rain shadow of the Himalaya, Ladakh is an ideal summer destination that enjoys plenty of sunshine. To...

September 26, 2013 Lost City of Petra: Past and present

Read time – minutes 200 years must seem a mere blip in the lifespan of a building carved in the 6th Century BC. Yet for us, those 200 years remain something to celebrate. It’s now been 200 years since Petra was rediscovered. So this August, let us raise a glass in honour of Petra: the...

September 26, 2013 Polar Bear Necessities

Read time – 3 minutes Sometimes there comes a day which breaks so many wildlife records that it will be indelibly etched on memory rather than megapixels, one where so many contributory factors combine to produce animal alchemy, a grail from the very top drawer. Spitsbergen is not just about Polar bears but on July...

September 26, 2013 Snow Place Like Home: Snowshoeing in the Dolomites

Crystal blue skies, the wind whistling past my ears and the crunch of snow compacting beneath my snowshoes – the landscape absorbed me. I let my thoughts drift like the falling snowflakes, just for a moment, on the snowy escarpment. All around me, the dramatic crags of the Dolomites seemed to pierce the cold air...

September 26, 2013 Walking the Great Wall of China

Read time – 3 minutes The Great Wall of China can be seen from the International Space Station, (although the view was probably better before China’s industrial might took hold) and I dream of one day seeing it from space for myself – in fact I am saving as quickly as I can for this...

September 26, 2013 Walking in Andalucia – A Moorish Land

Read time – 1 minute Liquid gold light tumbles through the hot, dry air. Andalucia is a land drenched in tawny yellow hues, amber and ochre blurred in a haze of heat. This pastoral world follows the undulations of the seasons, and slopes are perfect for growing olives and lemons. They hang from bleached, pale...