Travel

From the magazine

This week’s dream: Finding comfort in the Amazon jungle

Adventurous day-trippers used to struggle for a brief glimpse of the Brazilian Amazon, said Larry Rohter in The New York Times. Typically, visitors would fly into Manaus, check in to a hotel, venture to the very edge of the jungle until nightfall, and then return to their home base and a warm bed. But in the past few years a “boom in ecological and adventure tourism” has given rise to a new breed of luxury lodge. Travelers who yearn to experience the exotic and unpredictable can book a room in the heart of the Amazon that offers a reasonable degree of comfort and even luxury

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Most of these new hotels are located on the Rio Negro, north and west of Manaus. Malaria and dengue fever are not a threat here, since the river’s high concentration of tannic acid prevents mosquitoes from breeding. “The newest and perhaps the most chic example of the lodge phenomenon,” the

Anavilhanas Jungle Lodge, is set on a bluff that overlooks “the world’s largest riverine archipelago.” The Anavilhanas Nature Reserve consists of more than 400 islands and hundreds of lakes and igapós—an indigenous word that translates as “flood forests.” Renowned for its astonishing abundance of plant and animal life, this unspoiled nature reserve has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. A morning nature walk, before the midday sun becomes oppressive, often leads past monkeys, macaws, toucans, sloths, and anteaters, and the intrepid can even fish for piranhas.

The Pousada Uacari, which lies 350 miles west of Manuas in the Mamiraúa Nature Reserve, consists of five wood cabins that sit not on dry land but on “floating rafts at a bend in the river.” Water for showers and sinks comes directly from the river. At night, caimans grunt and bang their snouts against the dock. Among the most extraordinary lodges in Brazil is the Ariaú Amazon Towers. This 269-room lodge, literally built in the treetops, perches 60 feet above the river; aerial walkways connect the rooms to the dining hall and common areas. Bill Gates and the king and queen of Spain are among the guests who have stayed here.

Contact:V-brazil.com/tourism

Hotel of the week

The Greenbrier

White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.

The Mobil Travel Guide stripped this stately resort of its coveted five-star rating in 2000, said Vicki Smith in the San Jose Mercury News. To regain its fifth star, the hotel embarked on a $50 million renovation. Only a four-hour drive from Washington, D.C., this Allegheny resort town has “hosted presidents, royalty, and the well heeled for nearly 150 years.” The Greenbrier itself was founded in 1910, and contains three championship-level golf courses, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, and a 40,000-square-foot spa. All 721 rooms have been upgraded, with wireless Internet access and three phones per guest room. The new Hemisphere restaurant offers a gourmet tasting menu.

Contact: Greenbrier.com

Getting the flavor of . . .

A star party in Joshua Tree

American star parties date back to 1920, said Hugo Martín in the Los Angeles Times. That’s when amateur telescope makers gathered in Springfield, Vt., to watch the heavens as a group. Today Springfield is the site of Stellafane, the nation’s biggest star party. But Southern California is home to more than 20 astronomy clubs, and many “host monthly star parties throughout the year.” The Joshua Tree National Park, just east of Los Angeles, is one of the best places to observe the stars. The night sky here is virtually free of pollution. Stargazers call it “dark sky country.” Once darkness blankets the desert, the “glowing rings of Saturn” become visible “through a 13-inch Dobsonian, pointing up like a huge cannon.” Also clearly visible is M13, a star cluster that resembles a “sprinkling of diamond dust on black velvet.” In the campgrounds, even the naked eye can identify the awesome spectacle of the Milky Way.

Contact: Nps.gov/jotr

Alaska’s northernmost road

If you’re desperate to get away from it all, said James Dannenberg in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Alaska’s Dalton Highway is “the road to take.” On maps, state Route 11 is a lonely line extending more than 400 miles, from Fairbanks in the north-central part of the state to Deadhorse and the Beaufort Sea in the far north. The Dalton is the only thing that breaks into this vast emptiness “for hundreds of miles in any direction.” The first 100 miles pass through birch forests and spectacular vistas of lavender-hued fireweed, with not a mailbox in sight. The 2,229-foot-long Yukon River Bridge, at Mile 56, separates tourists from adventurers. Coldfoot Camp, a “trucker’s oasis” well within the Arctic Circle, is little more than a saloon and a motel. But press on, and when you finally reach the Beaufort Sea, you’ll have the satisfaction of reaching the end of “the most northerly highway in North America.”

Contact: Travelalaska.com

Historic Maryland Getaways

Fort McHenry National

Monument and Historic Shrine

During the War of 1812, the British navy attacked the star-shaped Fort McHenry, in the important port of Baltimore, on Sept. 13, 1814. Witnessing the 25-hour bombardment was Francis Scott Key, a Washington lawyer who was inspired to write “The Star-Spangled Banner,” later to become the national anthem.

Contact: Nps.gov/fomc

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal

National Historic Park

President John Quincy Adams called this canal America’s “third great step” forward after the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The canal, which ranges from Cumberland, Md., to Washington, D.C., has 185 miles of towpath and includes 1,300 historical structures.

Contact: Nps.gov/choh