In an age when almost every destination and experience can be reached by a plane ride or two, the truly daring traveler among the hordes of pampered tourists continues to search for the unforgettable, inimitable things to do. They call it “adventure travel,” and the stakes are raised every year as more people go to more places, doing more things.
There has thus emerged literature to support this movement, and that is represented well by the book “The World’s 100 Best Adventure Trips.”
Written by Italian professional traveler/writer Jasmina Trifoni and published by Italian publisher White Star, “100” is Trifoni’s effort to curate the available adventure travel destinations.
A gorgeous, glossy, oversized, full-color softcover, “100” has several different ways of classifying the trips, but the major classification is the method of travel: On Foot, On the Road, By Sea, On 2 Wheels and 4 Paws, Fresh Water Journey, and Adrenaline.
Each place gets detailed instructions and big photographs. It offers helpful things: When to Go, Not to Miss, and even A Classic Book for Every Journey.
“Although it is true that, today, the era of great adventures and discoveries is irremediably over… the sense of liberty that only traveling gives us is still the same for everyone,” Trifoni writes in her introduction. “Awaking the adventurer’s spirit in us all.”
“100” treks across the broad range of experiences, literally from hiking on the Mont Blanc tour in Europe to swimming with the sharks in Isla del Coco, Costa Rica.
Trifoni takes readers to a walk near the lava of the Hawaiian volcano Kilauea, meeting the orangutans of Kalimantan in Indonesia, following the John Muir trail in the US and discovering the “human museum” in the Lower Omo Valley in Africa.
The title says “world,” the book really means “world”—seriously.
“100” is not a book for the timid tourist as the chronicled destinations are for those seeking the cutting edge of travel. These places define “off the beaten path.”
Thus “100” does not dwell on things like luxury and pampering, but on the spectacular, sometimes risky, but always unique experiences. Even if you never actually travel to these places, the prose and photographs are enough to make you live the adventure vicariously.
The instructions and recommendations are all there. You’re in good hands. See the world through Trifoni’s eyes. Just follow the icons.
The Philippines is, of course, represented in the Adrenaline chapter—exploring the Underground River of Puetro Princesa (page 278). The book recommends traveling to the country from January to May and asks that aspiring visitors read Jessica Hagedorn’s novel “Dream Jungle.”
Available in softcover at National Book Store.