March 2009

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From approximately AD 600 to 1200, step wells were built throughout India, especially in the drier western part of the subcontinent. A step well makes it easier for people to reach the water in a location as well as to maintain the well itself. Great spots to escape from the heat, step wells often became gathering places.

Travel can make you a poet. Travel can be spiritual. You meet people on the road you’d never meet otherwise. Traveling rearranges your cultural furniture, challenging truths you assumed were self-evident and God-given. By traveling, you learn not only about the people and places you visit, you learn about yourself.

22 days/18 nights, Aug. 14-Sept. 4, 2009. Highlights: At De Wildt Cheetah & Wildlife Trust, cheetahs, red and blue duikers, riverine rabbits/see the Big Five at Tembe park/Cape buffalos, giraffes, zebras at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve/200-year-old fisherman’s village of Kassiesbaai/ostriches at Oudtshoorn/Cango Caves/wine route and Stellenbosch/250 species of wildflowers at Ramskop Nature Reserve/in Cape Town, Table Mountain, Malay Quarter, Company Gardens, Boulder Beach penguins. From New York, $6,995; from Los Angeles, $7,395. Single supplement, $1,080.

17 days/15 nights. Highlights: In Mumbai, Gateway of India, Prince of Wales Museum, Dhobi Ghat/in Udaipur, Garden of Maidens and boat on Lake Pichola/in Jaipur, Jantar Mantar Observatory, Amber Fort, Palace of Winds/track tigers and bird-watch at Ranthambore National Park/Taj Mahal at Agra/sensuous sculptures on temples at Khajuraho/at Hindu pilgrimage city of Varanasi, boat on holy Ganges/Sarnath Museum/in Delhi, Red Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutub Minar. From $6,419 from New York. Single supplement, from $1,397.

8-day/7-night tour in ITALY. Highlights: From Sicily’s Milazzo harbor, hydrofoil to Lipari Island/black beaches and thermal springs on Vulcano Island/boat ride on Tyrrhenian Sea to Stromboli Island and hike Stromboli Volcano/walk Mt. Etna’s lava tunnels and 2002 lava flow. Land only, $1,349. (No single accommodations.)

G.A.P. Adventures (19 Charlotte St., Toronto, ON, Canada M5V 2H5; 800/708-7761, www.gap adventures.com).

13-day/11-night tour of SWITZERLAND, Sept. 21-Oct. 3, 2009. Highlights: Using transportation passes for guided sightseeing excursions to 11 mountains, including Schilthorn, Jungfraujoch, Mt. Rigi, Mt. Titlis, Mt. Pilatus/Swiss Folklore Show/Lake Lucerne. Land only, $2,975. Single supplement, $400. Nash Travel Tours, Inc. (Danielson, CT; 800/227-2577, e-mail bwnash@hotmail.com).

8-day/7-night cycling tour of IRELAND (“moderate” — four to six hours of cycling per day). Highlights: From Ennis, cycle to Spanish Point/Cliffs of Moher/stone crosses at Kilfenora/cycle coastline with views of Galway Bay and Aran Islands/5,000-year-old dolman at Poulnabroune on the limestone moonscape of the Burren/Burren Perfumery/Corafin, site of the battle of Dysert O’Dea. Land only, $1,395 (bike rental included). Single supplement, $400.

Active Journeys (4891 Dundas St. W #4, Toronto, ON, Canada M9A 1B2; 800/597-5594, www.activejourneys.com).

12 days/11 nights. Departures April 22, May 28, July 11 (includes Hampton Court Flower Show) & Aug. 17, 2009. Highlights: Manor house at Upton Grey/in Salisbury, Bowood House & Garden/in Cornwall, Endsleigh Garden, the Eden Project, Lost Gardens of Heligan, Glendurgen/Devon fishing villages/historic gardens at Forde Abbey/Cerne Abbas Giant. Land only, £2,030 ($2,951). Single supplement, £320 ($465). Midway Motor Travel (Southerwicks, Corsham, Wiltshire, England SN13 9NH; 800/214-8738, www.midwaymotor travel.com).

 The tiny alpine town of Serfaus, Austria, is home to the world’s smallest subway, the Dorfbahn. This 1,280-meter (about eight-tenths of a mile) underground funicular holds 270 people and is free to use. It was built in 1985 to transport skiers from a parking area at one end of the pedestrian-only village to the ski lifts at the other end.