Four great camping adventures | financial times

Receive free travel updates

we will send you a myFT Daily Recap email rounding up the latest Travel news every morning.

The Himalayas made with heart in Bhutan

Bhutan is a kingdom of towering mountains and breathtaking altitudes; but Punakha, a small town in the center-west, located at about 1,250m above sea level, compared to Gangtey’s 3,000m, is unexpectedly lush, green with banana groves and rice terraces (and with a dzong that is one of the most beautiful monasteries in the whole Himalayas). It is here that AndBeyond, the leader in adventure safaris once famous as Conservation Corporation Africa, and has brought those values ​​to its current operations in 13 countries on three continents, will open its first wholly owned lodge next month in Asia. .

Punakha River Lodge’s six tents overlook the rapids of the Mo Chhu River and, in all directions, the valley-hugging foothills of the Himalayas. (There is also a two-bedroom family villa, with a small pool). A footbridge provides unique access to the Khamsum Yulley Namgyal Chorten, the gilded and ornate stupa commissioned by the late Queen Mother to protect the valley from evil spirits. The design detail across its four floors is exquisite, and the surrounding trail system is ideal for morning walks, picnic lunches in the rice paddies, and visits to community farming projects. andbeyond.comfrom $1,130

---

Off-grid glamping on bush beach in Western Australia

I’m not sure it qualifies, in terms of remoteness, as one of the more remote places I’ve been; but the stunning Ningaloo Reef, in Western Australia, definitely felt like one of them. “Where the mountain meets the beach” is how this coast is advertised: a landscape, I once wrote, that looks like Venus colliding with Mars. In one of its emptier sections is Sal Salis, which is part of the Luxury Lodges of Australia alliance.

However, this tented camp takes a very liberal (in a good way) take on luxury: the tents themselves are understated, privileging the important things: big comfortable beds, breezy semi-outdoor bathrooms, a hammock hanging on the wooden terrace. front (the thumping sound you might hear early in the morning is the kangaroos coming up the boardwalks that lead across the sand to each tent – they like to seek some shade or take a curious peek inside) .

He food it is honest and excellent, served at a large communal table in a communal tent with premium Margaret River and Barossa Valley wines. Early risers can accompany a guide to the canyons that mark the cliffs miles inland; At Mandu Mandu Gorge, you might spot a tiny, shy, and endangered black-footed rock kangaroo. Intrepid swimmers can get in the water with whale sharks, when the season is right. But throughout the year it is the place itself that amazes. The setting is pure Crusoe, the only sounds are those of the wind, the birds and the waves kissing the coral sands. salsalis.comfrom AUD 2,050 (about £1,056) per store

---

Escape to the jungle on the Pacific coast of Mexico

In the 2000s, Four Seasons pioneered glamping bets: The global giant’s tented camp in Chiang Rai, in Thailand’s Golden Triangle, set a precedent for luxury camping in the deepest wilderness. Now comes Naviva, on the edge of the Punta Mita peninsula in Mexico, which opened last December as a complement to the Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita. Naviva’s 15 elevated tents (space-age domes with separate seating areas and expansive wooden decks) loom over or above the canopy of nearly 50 acres of private jungle overlooking the Pacific, which empties picturesquely into a small private sandy beach in a quiet cove. , for bathers and bathers.

What seems to set Naviva apart from the conventional Four Seasons beach destination is the breadth and depth of the experiences: artist studio tours; private temazcal (sweat lodge) ceremonies; night “forest bath” with an astronomer to analyze the skies; and a one-day free diving class for PADI certificates. All this interspersed with rotating schedules of tastings (free), performances, movement classes and walks, and evening “rituals”, under the heading “Daily Naviva”. fourseasons.comfrom $3,950 full board

---

Glamping expert Okavango-Delta, on a private island

The entire island sleeps eight guests, in three huge tent-like suites; is located deep in the Okavango Delta, where bird watching is as rewarding as hippo, crocodile and elephant spotting, not to mention the rare waterbuck of which Sitatunga Private Island, Great Plains Conservation’s new Botswana camp, take his name. Founder Dereck Joubert, who with his wife Beverley is an award-winning National Geographic Society filmmaker, photographer, conservationist and explorer-in-residence, knows the Delta as intimately as anyone.

He claims to have found a truly exceptional and exceptionally unspoiled corner here. The camp he has created reflects his conviction, with tents raised in the shade of ebony trees, canvas roofs protected by thatched roofs, and zippered walls that allow air to circulate. Each has its own living room, several terraces, open-air bathrooms, and a small pool overlooking the canal in front of the camp. As always with Great Plains’ Reserve properties, there are cameras and professional lens sets in the tents for guests to use during their stay. greatplainsconservation.comfrom $1,550