50 best new trips for 2012
New frontiers, original itineraries and once-in-a-lifetime events – read on for our pick of the very best trips for the year ahead
Festivals and events
1. Papua New Guinea: Get down with the locals
1. Papua New Guinea: Get down with the locals Rarely featured by UK-based tour operators, Papua New Guinea remains a thrillingly raw and colourful destination. Now you can be among the handful who have visited its remote villages, fascinating festivals and spectacular volcanoes on Explore’s brand new Papua New Guinea Revealed trip. Paddle dug-out canoes along the Sepik River, hike around the steaming craters of Rabaul and cruise into Simpson Harbour, before heading up to the highlands to take a ringside seat at the Mt Hagen Show, an annual riot of colour, courtship ceremonies, exuberant dancing and tribal traditions.
Who: Explore
When: 29 Jul 2012
How long: 14 days
How much: £3,325 (excl flights)
2. India: Party in the desert
Camel racing, fire dancing, folk music and even a moustache contest: all come to the fairytale desert city of Jaisalmer in Rajasthan every February – and they form the centrepiece of On the Go Tours’ Jaisalmer’s Desert Festival trip. But that’s just day nine: either side, you’ll enjoy the full north Indian experience: the bustle of Delhi, the monumental Taj Mahal, the transcendent cities of Jaipur and Udaipur, and the towns of the semi-desert Shekhawati region.
