Winter Trips For You

Petra and Wadi Rum, Jordan

Built by nomadic Nabataeans two millennia ago, rose-red Petra is a “lost” city well worth finding. The ancient commercial crossroads chiseled from bedrock cliffs is situated between the Red and Dead Seas, about a hundred miles north of King Hussein International Airport. Follow the 3,300-foot-long, serpentine entry path—the Siq—through towering sandstone walls to Al-Khazne (the Treasury).

Namibian Coast

Shifting dunes, eerie shipwrecks, and a diverse array of migratory and seabirds draw ornithologists and adventure seekers to Namibia’s rugged 976-mile South Atlantic coast. November to April is summer here, where the ancient Namib Desert meets the cool Benguela current. Days are cool, damp, and foggy, but mainly dry. From the seaside tourist hub Swakopmund, take a fly-in safari to view sand-encased shipwrecks and whale skeletons along remote Skeleton Coast National Park, or join a guided tour of Sandwich Harbour lagoon, an isolated marine sanctuary sheltered by towering sand dunes.

Fernie, British Columbia

Fernie Alpine Resort rises out of the Kootenay Rockies region at the epicenter of British Columbia’s “Powder Highway,” a 530-mile loop with over 50 ski and snowboard operators. A new Polar Peak Lift to the summit gives Fernie the biggest vertical in the Rockies at 3,550 vertical feet, the most marked ski runs at 140, and the most alpine bowl skiing at 2,550 acres over five bowls. The resort and adjacent historic mountain town are favorites with Hollywood producers, serving as backdrops for films ranging from Inception to Disney’s Santa Pups, scheduled for release in November 2012.








Source: National Geographic