Travel
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I'd like to attend an outdoor camp this summer. Where can I find one that offers a unique adventure? Melissa C. Spokane, WA
In the June 2007 feature story "The Boomtown, the Gringo, the Girl, and Her Murder" Tony D'Souza reports on the trial of American Eric Volz in Nicaragua. Listen to D'Souza discuss the investigation in our podcast interview, see more of Jason Florio's photos of San Juan del Sur, and, coming soon, read a transcript of his two-hour prison talk
Are you in love with your home? We’re scouring the country to find the best places to live, work, and play for our annual Best Towns issue, and we want you to contribute. Tell us why we should pack up and move to your place by emailing us at…
When a local beauty turned up dead in Nicaragua's San Juan del Sur, the dream of paradise became a nightmare for one expat American surfer. He got 30 years and, predictably, a media melee ensued. But Tony D'Souza was on the scene from day one. This is the story you haven't heard.
In the unlikeliest of places, in the waters off JFK airport in New York, IAN FRAZIER lands a few big fish with Captain Frank, a guide who matches his passion striper for striper and knows why fishing is connected to everything
In one of the cruelest marches in World War II, a battalion of American soldiers trekked through nearly impassable jungle in Papua New Guinea to battle the Japanese. Six decades later, JAMES CAMPBELL attempts to repeat the journey, and discovers a deadly trail, ravenous leeches, and a rare look into one of the last remote places on earth.
An amateur archaeologist's discovery of ancient pyramids under the hills of Bosnia and Herzegovina has kicked off an exuberant national celebration and a massive dig that's drawing tourists by the thousands. There's just one problem: There aren't any pyramids. But why let that stop the party?
Where is the best place in the United States for a family or husband/wife "team" to learn to scuba dive? Michelle Delphos, KS
Helicopter rescues on the summit of Everest may soon be reality. And the pilot won't be anywhere in sight.
Theres something sublime about a dip in a natural swimming hole, be it a lazy oxbow in a cool river, a hillside nook fed by a subterranean hot-spring, or a limestone bowl bored out by a 40-foot waterfall. The swimming hole is the perfect outdoor experience,” says Pancho Doll, author…
In the May 2007 Outside feature story "Chasing Ghosts," writer James Campbell follows in the footsteps of American soldiers who trekked 130 miles through Papua New Guinea during World War II. Here, watch a trailer for the film, The Ghost Mountain Boys and see Philipp Engelhorn's photo outtakes from the trip.
Where can I go in Mexico or Cuba to learn kite surfing? I prefer the western coast, or the Yucatan in Mexico. Oh, and I’m a total newbie. Craig Mexico
It’s not like we needed another reason to love Moab. But we’ve got one: Utah’s red-rock mecca for adventure sports is pursuing one of the most ambitious green-energy policies of any town in the West. The movement is led by mayor and 35-year resident Dave Sakrison, 61, who was elected…
I moving from New England to Salisbury, Maryland, for work. The problem is, Salisbury and the surrounding area are dead flat. I rock climb, mountain climb, mountain bike, etc. and these sports appear to be hopeless in this area. Any suggestions on how I can continue these sports or what adventures are available in Maryland? Mike Salisbury, Maryland
Alan Dershowitz, meet Steven Donziger. On behalf of 30,000 inhabitants of Ecuador's remote Oriente region, this New York lawyer is putting it to Big Oil. But will his multi-billion-dollar lawsuit establish a global precedent—or is he just looking for a scapegoat for one of the nastiest messes on earth?
We’ve been tracking the adventure travel world for more than three decades. Our latest discovery? The planet is more wide open for exploration than ever. Whether you want to raft an unknown Himalayan river or link a few Colorado peaks in your own backyard, we have…
Where's the best place for spring skiing on the East coast? Brett W. Reston, Va
I'm new to the alpine scene and want to get my bearings. Where's the best place in the Rockies to learn how to ski? Brett W. Reston, Va
Our reconnaissance of French Polynesia turns up the South Pacific's freshest adventures
After landing at Bangkok’s glass-plated Suvarnabhumi Airport, which opened in September, you’ll be forgiven for thinking the entire country’s been upgraded. The new facility is equipped to land Airbus’s 555-passenger A380 and then speed visitors downtown via light railcurrently under constructionin just 15 minutes. (Anyone who’s ever braved a cab…
With a muscular combination of new technologies, capitalist smarts, and old-school stewardship, the tiny Danish island of Samsø has become the greenest, cleanest, most energy-independent place on earth. Can a revolution this sweet be exported to a big, messy world?
Welcome to the tropical Philippine island of Jolo, where life is like a Corona ad—coconut trees, white-sand beaches, bathtub-warm seas. Except those guys in the water are U.S. Green Berets, and those kids on dirt bikes are jihadists known for kidnapping Western tourists. Even stranger? On this front, at least, America seems to be winning.
Listen to an interview with John Falk, author of February’s “This is the War on Terror. Wish You Were Here!” and see Antonin Kratochvil's photo outtakes from the story here.
Get ready for the new age of adventure on the world's wildest continent. Whether it's the Ugandan National Kayak Team leading raft trips on the raging White Nile or entrepreneurial young guides building stylish bush camps with an eye toward helping local communities, a fresh generation is redefining travel in…
Four years ago, the president of Gabon announced the creation of an unprecedented 13 new national parks. Ready for a visit? On a grueling first descent down the Djidji River, ROB BUCHANAN checks in on the world's most ambitious conservation plan and discovers a pristine wilderness unmatched in its magic—and a country not quite ready fo
Forget après ski. Three January film festivals are redefining post-powder entertainment. Head to Park City, Utah, or Nevada City, California, for the winter’s coolest mountain town film festivals, where you can play outside by day and catch top film premieres by night.
The land-speed record for motorcycles has stood untouched for 16 years, at 322 miles per hour. But last summer, California velocity freak Mike "Ack Attack" Akatiff surveyed the competition, ran the numbers, and announced that, um, the other guys were doing it wrong. Them's fightin' words on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Can he back it up?
When freeskier Kit DesLauriers dropped in at 29,035 feet on Mount Everest in October, she became the first person to ski off the Seven Summits. Kit, her husband, Rob, and photographer Jimmy Chin also became the first Americans to ski from the top of the world's tallest mountain.
I'm traveling to Torino, Italy, over the holidays and would like to go snowboarding. Where should I go? Also, is it possible to take a train from Torino to the location since I've heard the hotels in the ski towns have minimum-night requirements during the holidays. Alex Santa Fe, NM
If the new hotel Remota, in the Patagonian fishing village of Puerto Natales, looks slightly less beautiful than the surrounding vistas, that’s exactly how Chile’s green-architecture luminary Germán del Sol planned it. “A good hotel is not itself the object of desire but the instrument,” says del Sol. Now open…
It's fourth and long with no time on the clock for the endangered Devils Hole pupfish. Fortunately, one Las Vegas mega-casino likes the odds.
NEWPORT, MAINE, Lobsterman Buster Moniz attempts to rescue his boat. Where were you? Send your photos of misadventure to sothereiwas@outsidemag.com…
That's what many Africans are calling Thomas Cholmondeley, the scion of Kenya's most famous white family who killed two black men on his vast Rift Valley ranch in the space of a year. But was it stone-cold murder or self-defense? Against a backdrop of rising racial tensions and brutal violence, JOSHUA HAMMER reports on the trial that could shatter the
My wife and I would like to take a long weekend during the winter. Where can we find a bed and breakfast that's near a ski resort in a rustic environment? Bill M. Kansas City
November 15, 2006 In Outside‘s December issue, Joshua Hammer reports on the murder trial of Kenyan aristocrat Thomas Cholmondeley (“The Kenyan Cowboy,” page 158), who has been accused of killing Robert Njoya, a black poacher found trespassing on his 50,000-acre Soysambu Ranch in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley on May…
Who can resist a good mystery, the kind that leaves you both rattled and baffled? Certainly not us. So it's with sinister pleasure that we bring you 13 tales of unrighteous deeds, inexplicable vanishings, supernatural weirdness, and the stuff that nightmares are made of.
When he landed a rare permit to hunt bison deep in the Alaskan wilderness, our fearless forager thought he'd be living out a childhood dream. Wild buffalo, hungry grizzlies, nearly fatal hypothermia—what more could a grown man ask for?
A fateful trek into nature's tangled labyrinth
A California forest ranger meets his fate in the forest.
The Bermuda Triangle isn't the only place you might witness the unexplained.
There's only one best ski town for nighttime fun, and it's Aspen
My husband and I would like to bike around the vineyards in Sonoma Valley this fall. Would it be easier to rent bikes and follow a map, or would it be worth it to pay extra for a tour package? Becky K. Bozeman, Montana
When ultracyclist Bob Breedlove fatally collided with a pickup truck during the 2005 Race Across America, law-enforcement officials in Trinidad, Colorado, called it a tragic accident—and nothing more. But friends and family have been investigating his death ever since, and they're making some disturbing allegations. Can they prove their case, or are th
Where are the best, most scenic areas to hike in the Phoenix area? Bethany Detroit, MI
Rethinking the classic game expedition on a winged voyage over Namibia, where wildlife is only part of the landscape of vast deserts and empty coastlines
Prepare for sensory overload—regal palaces, wireless tech, urbanized elephants, Bollywood style, and more than a billion coexisting citizens—in the giant, baffling spectacle of modern India
Put a new twist on the dine-and-dash experience with inspired cuisine, grandiose settings, and your own personal pilot
The heart-pumping, cliff-jumping, sun-baked, waterlogged guide to warm-weather diversions. From midnight picnics to placid lake getaways, 50 things you must accomplish before Labor Day.
Unique, irreplaceable, and still largely unknown—our must-see-now list of the UN's latest World Heritage picks
There's a lot to love about the Arkansas Ozarks: fresh trout, sick singletrack, and the onset of rural chic
Red-hot lava, scary pelagics, and heavenly creatures all come out after dark on Hawaii's Big Island
Chasing tall legends for his new book, Blood and Thunder, Hampton Sides takes a wild ride deep into one of the most sacred spots on earth—Arizona's Canyon de Chelly
Thanks to 35 years of development, Mexico's Yucatán coast has been dubbed Gringolandia, a crowded stomping ground of all-inclusive big-box hotels for hordes of sun-scorched spring-breakers. So what happened to the region's frontier atmosphere and white-sand beaches? They're still there, finds Bruce Barcott. You just have to know whe
I'm interested in visiting New England to see the fall leaves at their most splendid. Any suggestions on where we should go or what we should do? Chris Larie, WY
Scientists proclaim Indonesia's Bird's Head Seascape the most biodiverse marine area in the world.
Getting There: Canyon de Chelly is located in Chinle, Arizona, a four drive from Albuquerque or six hours from Phoenix. Canyon de Chelly National Monument is open year-round, though the winters are cold and tours run less often. Where to Stay: Campsites within the monument are free and…
Outside editor at large Hampton Sides has a gift for homing in on some of the most intense and violent moments in history. Winner of the 2002 PEN USA Award for non-fiction, he wrote about Bataan Death March survivors in his first book, the bestselling Ghost Soldiers (adapted into the…
From Pablo Escobar's abandoned villa to the sun-bleached sands of the Riviera Maya, an assignment doesn't get much better than this.
I would like to arrange for a two- or three-day rafting trip in Ecuador for myself, my husband, and our sons (ages 12 and 14). We've all done a fair amount of rafting and love it. We want to make sure we find a reputable outfitter to take us on this trip. Do you have any suggestions for rivers or outfitters? Laura New York, New York
A tourism industry hobbled by years of civil war and political instability looks to rebound as Nepal makes moves toward a lasting peace. Is it finally safe to go back?
Who says you need fossil fuels? Four adventurers—including Laird Hamilton, who paddled the English Channel—circle the globe under their own steam.
Ten go-now getaways that are short on hassle but long on adventure—no passport required
From beach to back-a-bush, the other Caribbean's best adventure base camps
Prepare to be converted by this tiny Central American nation of raw, dark jungle, teeming reefs, and a very original cast of locals. (They all speak English!)
Luang Prabang, the cultural capital of Laos, is famed for its immaculate temples, French colonial architecture, and distinctive cuisine. Now, as the country emerges from decades of isolation, the town is transforming into a base camp for adventuring wanderers.
From sailing the Society Islands and surfing killer Fijian waves to going native on the Marquesas, we've navigated the South Seas' biggest adventures for you in our far-flung, sun-soaked, beyond-belief guide to the Pacific's boundless blue
David Sharp's lonely death on Mount Everest revived the old, raging debates about personal ethics and the wisdom of commercially guided climbing. But whatever went right and wrong in 2006, the bottom line remains: You challenge this peak at your own risk, because its punishments are swift, terrible, and blind.