First of two parts
By Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times
ELSEWHERE called. It misses you. In fact, it wants you to hit the road soon. Here are 16 destinations (alphabetically arranged) that look especially pleasing in 2016.
BOTSWANA
It’s a smallish country, about the size of France, with not quite 2 million people. But Botswana, in southern Africa, has the Okavango Delta and the vast Central Kalahari Game Reserve. In fact, 38 percent of the country’s territory is set aside for national parks, reserves and wildlife-management areas. And as of 2016, it also has 50 years of independence. Before 1966 it was a British protectorate known as Bechuanaland.
Now, as a democracy with a reputation as the least corrupt country in Africa, Botswana is an increasingly popular destination for safari-seekers. In the delta, you can canoe past hippos. In Moremi Game Reserve, you see lions on the prowl. In Chobe National Park—well, you’ll find about 50,000 elephants for starters. Among tour operators offering safaris here are Abercrombie & Kent, Micato Safaris and Wilderness Safaris.
Info: www.botswanatourism.co.bw
BOZEMAN, MONTANA
Bozeman in Montana in the US makes a great gateway to Yellowstone National Park 80 miles south, in part because of Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport. Day by day, this college town (population: about 42,000) seems to sprout more reasons for a visitor to linger, especially if it’s summer. The Lark Hotel, opened early 2015, has transformed an old motor lodge into a snappy, stylish stop. In its parking lot is the gleaming silver trailer of Victory Taco, a casual food stand that’s also a popular summertime ice-cream stop for families strolling Main Street. For more grown-up pleasures, there’s Montana Ale Works, which serves hearty meals and about 40 draft microbrews in a big, old railroad freight building. Locals line up for breakfast at the Nova Café and Main Street Overeasy. But do remember to get to the national park. It was America’s first, after all.
Info: www.downtownbozeman.org
ARTAGENA, COLOMBIA
This Caribbean-facing coastal colonial city is far safer than it was in the dark days of Colombia’s internal strife at the turn of the 21st century. The colonial city center is rich with boutique hotels and restaurants made from old homes.
La Vitrola is a longstanding see-and-be-seen restaurant; gourmets head for Carmen Cartagena (seven-course tasting menu, $78, plus wine). Instead of arriving by way of Bogota or Medellin, many US travelers now fly straight to Cartagena from New York’s JFK (JetBlue), Fort Lauderdale (JetBlue) or Atlanta (Delta). Intercontinental, Radisson and the W brand opened hotels here in 2014.
A stylish Delano Cartagena is due in 2016. The previously gritty Getsemani neighbor is especially trendy, with night spots and the upscale 10-room Casa Lola hotel (which occupies one building from the 17th century and one from the 19th). For information on crime and safety, see the US State Department’s June 5 warning on Colombia.
Info: www.ticartagena.com/en; https://1.usa.gov/1MfDuaS
DUBLIN, IRELAND
A hundred years ago, Dublin’s Easter Rising launched Ireland on a path to independence from British rule. The armed insurrection brought bloody results, including the execution of 16 leaders, but in 1922 the Irish Free State was established. In months ahead, dozens of centennial events are planned in Dublin, including an exhibition at the National Library of Ireland, lectures at Trinity College and various historical reenactments. On January 1 the Cross Border Orchestra—whose young players are gathered from Ireland and Northern Ireland—delivered a Peace Proms performance in the Convention Center. The National Museum of Ireland will unveil “Proclaiming a Republic: the 1916 Rising” on March 3. On Easter Sunday, March 27, at 1:15 p.m., wreath-laying ceremonies are planned at spots throughout the city.
Info: www.ireland.ie; www.museum.ie
HARLEM, NEW YORK
For too long, Manhattan above 110th Street was terra incognita among tourists. But that’s been changing as the area gains prosperity. Harlem Heritage Tours offers half a dozen itineraries, as does Big Apple Jazz Tours. On lively 125th Street, there’s the Apollo Theater, opened in 1934 and busy with music and comedy acts, as well as Wednesday-night amateur acts. Nearby stands the Studio Museum in Harlem. Sylvia’s may be the neighborhood’s best-known restaurant (especially its Sunday gospel breakfast). But there’s plenty more well-loved soul food at Amy Ruth’s Restaurant and Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too. The Abyssinian Baptist Church gets so many Sunday morning tourists that it urges visitors to attend 11 am services, leaving the 9 am service to members.
Info: www.Harlemheritage.com; www.bigapplejazz.com
IRAN
Many Americans are eager to visit Iran, and several tour operators are helping them. (In terms of US government red tape, it’s easier than going to Cuba.) Iran is full of historic towers, mosques and squares, especially in the ancient city of Esfahan (where the atmospheric Abbasi Hotel is a favorite of western visitors). Persepolis, not far from the city of Shiraz, holds some of the most striking pre-Christian ruins outside of Egypt and Peru.
Both destinations are well removed from the Iraq and Afghanistan border zones, which the US State Department urges travelers to avoid. Tehran, more modern, includes many museums. To get there, Americans often fly to Istanbul, then continue on to Tehran or Esfahan.
Info: www.distant-horizons.com
MYANMAR
The allure of its culture and scenery has never been in doubt. And now, after decades as an outcast nation controlled by the military, it’s edging toward the mainstream. Myanmar’s largest city, Yangon, is full of faded grandeur that will remind some people of an Asian Havana.
The Shwedagon Pagoda is a 335-foot golden spire (crowned with diamonds, rubies and sapphires), the nation’s most revered Buddhist site. The plains of Bagan, along the Irrawaddy River, are dotted with hundreds of 11th to 13th-century temples (and popular with balloonists). Irrawaddy cruises between Mandalay and Bagan are offered by Avalon Waterways, Belmond, Viking River Cruises and others. Lodging can be buggy and rustic, and infrastructure is shaky, but change is coming: Hilton opened hotels at Nay Pyi Taw, the capital, and Ngapali in 2014, with others to follow at Bagan, Inle Lake and Mandalay in 2017.
Info: www.myanmartourism.org; www.lat.ms/1QNND4W
The rest of 2016’s must-see destinations will be revealed next week.