Your head in the clouds at Mount Kenya Safari Club
When you stay at one of Kenya’s most exclusive hotels, you can’t fail to absorb some of its rarefied and charismatic past. Set upon a high point facing the long-extinct Mount Kenya volcano, this exclusive hotel has as diverse an history as the eclectic owners who have shaped its evolution . Set in 100acres of its own grounds, the property was originally a private residence built by pilot, Gabriel Prud’homme and American, Rhoda...
Colour on the wing in Sri Lanka
No matter how indifferent you might be to ‘Twitchers’ it’s almost impossible not to become mesmerised by the spectrum of colour and form in Sri Lanka’s birdlife. If you’re already a dedicated birder, then Sri Lanka offers you the ability to pursue your desires whilst the rest of the family (if you’ve brought them) can enjoy the culture, history and beaches of the country – such is the geographic and cultural variety within easy reach...
The time capsule that’s Fatehpur Sikri
Often missed but very much a part of the ‘Golden Triangle’ in the Agra District of Uttar Pradesh, India; this abandoned city encapsulates Murghal life in a way that the tourist-smothered monuments of Agra fall short. Fatehpur Sikri is only an hour’s drive – 40kms – west from Agra but is often by-passed in favour of heading in all haste to Rajasthan. Don’t be tempted to give it a wide berth. For us, this ancient capital, which...
Jehan Numa – Gateway to the ‘Tiger State’
We’ve long been fortunate enough to know the Rashid family, owners of the Jehan Numa collection of lodges and hotels – from the days when theirs was our only haven of respite from the jungles we lived in within India. In those days they were in the formative years of turning their ancestral home – formerly the palace of the Begum of Bhopal (the first female ruler of a principality) – into a charming and impressive heritage...
Samode Safari Lodge – a fine heritage
If ever there is an argument for visiting a wildlife park and never leaving your hotel then Samode Safari Lodge has to be it! It’s not often that we’re taken aback on entering an hotel room but at Samode Safari Lodge on the edge of Bandhavgarh National Park in India we experience a definite double-take! We should have expected a treat as Samode’s other hotels (beautiful heritage properties in Rajasthan) had, on previously visits to...
