Told by the people who came

"We were on the lake at 5am with fog on the water and nobody else around. Our host's mother taught me to make kahwa. It stopped feeling like a tour on day one."

"Six days, four of them bluebird, and untracked lines every single morning. The guides read that mountain like a book and never once oversold the conditions."

"Ten days, five valleys, one driver who became a friend. Everything from the houseboat to the glacier camp was handled before we even thought to ask."

"The Great Lakes route is hard and they were honest about it. Hot soup at every camp, a cook who remembered I don't eat meat, and skies I still dream about."

"I've been to Kashmir four times and still saw things I'd never seen — a grading house, a Kani loom mid-shawl, a purple field at first light."

"Travelling solo, I felt looked after the whole way without ever feeling managed. The riverside camp at Aru was the best night of my year."