Created in the 17th century, Japan’s Fujiko faith fuses Shinto and esoteric Buddhism in its reverence for Mount Fuji, the country’s highest peak. The faith still has some adherents, and visitors can join their pilgrimages, says Kate Crockett in Condé Nast Traveller, hiking 2,300 metres up the mountain’s lower slopes to the point, accessible by road, from which most climbers head out for the 3,776m summit. It’s a “soothing” one-day walk through ancient forests, which offers “tantalising” views of Fuji’s “snow-capped” peak, and stops at shrines along the way. You can do part of the route on horseback, and it’s worth staying longer, to visit other holy sites and sample the region’s “elegant” old pilgrims’ lodges – and perhaps the new luxury retreat Gora Kadan Fuji, with its “restorative” outdoor bath.
A four-day trip costs from £2,950pp, half-board (kammui.com)
The charm of Croatia’s “little Tuscany”
Most visitors to Croatia head for the “scrubby” and “sun-bleached” mountains and islands of Dalmatia. Set far inland, the rolling Samobor Hills are a different world entirely, said Mary Novakovich in The Guardian. Here, you’ll find a lush, “harmonious” landscape that could “out-Tuscany Tuscany”. The area is criss-crossed by forested trails, particularly in the Žumberak Nature Park, where residents of nearby Zagreb come to hike and bike at weekends. But the hills also offer less strenuous pleasures, including wineries known for their “elegant” sparkling wines. More than three dozen of these lie along the circular Plešivica Wine Road, including the “bucolic” 18th-century Griffin, and the “serene” Korak, which has a refreshingly unpretentious Michelin-starred restaurant. Also unmissable is the town of Samobor itself – the prettiest place in Zagreb county, full of “graceful” Habsburg-era houses in shades of “buttery yellow, apricot and pistachio”.
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A week at Nadal’s school of padel
Often described as a cross between tennis and squash, padel is booming, with an estimated one million players in the UK. Being “utterly hooked”, I signed up for a week-long training camp at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, said Jemima Kelly in the Financial Times – an “exhausting” experience, but “fun and exhilarating” too. Located in Manacor, the academy not only delivers world-class coaching in both tennis and padel, it has “top-notch” accommodation too, making a stay here feel like a proper holiday. Training days run from 8.30am to 6pm, but include a 3.5-hour break for long lunches and trips to the beach. I was impressed by the attentiveness of our coach, Rodri Ovide, and loved the resort’s spa.
The week costs from €3,984, full board (rafanadalacademy.com)
