21 of the world's top winter experiences
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Loading... - Walker Hughes
- 13 Jan 2022
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1. Go winter birding in Japan
February on Hokkaido means a chance to spy the courtship dances of the tancho (red-crowned crane). These elegant birds perform a slow-boil ballet of Edwardian bows, gushing leaps and dandyish flourishes set against the frozen marshlands of Kushiro. It’s a thrilling sight. Early-morning stakeouts in the forests around Tsurui can yield glimpses in the wild, but an easier way is to visit the Akan International Crane Centre at feeding time. Afterwards, head north to Shiretoko for cruises (Jan-Mar) among the drift ice and up-close views of white-tailed and Steller’s sea eagles hunting among the broken floes.
What about… Japan’s snow monkeys? These hot-tubbing macaques can be seen year-round in Jigokudani, near Nagano City, but in winter the snow-backed onsen prove more tempting to these chilly monkeys.
2. Join an orca cruise in Iceland
To find a predator, first look for its prey. In winter, huge shoals of herring gather around Iceland’s coast, off the northern side of the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Where they go, the orca that hunt in these waters year-round are not usually far off. Come December and January, spotting tours launch from Grundarfjordur, in the shadow of the looming Kirkjufell mountain, where sightings are common and, sometimes, you can spy the pods herding the fish into balls before ruthlessly darting in to strike.
What about… the penguins of the sub-Antarctic islands? Cruises to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands reward with visits to Salisbury Plain, where you can spy 200,000 king penguins shuffling flipper to flipper. Early winter is when the season’s first chicks hatch.
3. Spy elusive snow leopards in India
True, your chances of spotting a snow leopard aren’t great. Fewer than 8,000 live in the wild, yet the big cats of Ladakh’s Hemis NP, deep in the Indian Himalaya, are never closer than in winter. It’s then that they descend to altitudes of just a few thousand metres to hunt the mountains’ blue sheep, which drop lower to forage. Guides valiantly hunt for signs as you lie in wait on cold, jagged rock, juggling a long lens in frozen fingers. The trekking in the mountainsides can be treacherous but spectacular, and even just a brief flash of that silvery fur is worth it.
What about… Southern Spain’s Iberian lynx? Europe may lack big cats, but it is home to one of the world’s rarest felines. Barely 400 Iberian lynx survive, mostly in the highlands of Andalucía’s Sierra de Andújar where winter tours find them at their most active during daylight hours.
4. Spot Yellowstone’s wolves in snowy USA
Visiting Yellowstone NP in winter might seem odd given many of its facilities are shut. But January and February offer a unique opportunity when it comes to tracking the park’s wolves, because their mottled grey coats are just easier to spot against the white snow. Winter tours in Wyoming’s Lamar Valley and Rose Creek, where these predators were reintroduced in the early 1990s, reward with the life-and-death dramas of the pack as well as sightings of elk, bison and bighorn sheep.
What about… France’s wolf packs? It’s not just Yellowstone where wolves are bouncing back. Half of France’s grey wolves are now concentrated in the Southern Alps after being driven out by hunters in the 1930s. Tracking tours add a frisson to any Alpine hiking trip.
5. Soak on a lonely island in Greenland
South Greenland’s island of Uunartoq is as remote as it gets. No one lives there, there are no roads, and you’ll need to take a boat from Qaqortoq or Nanortalik to reach it. But therein lies its appeal. The island’s hot spring lies in the middle of a soft, mossy field, near an abandoned nunnery and overlooking the shore. There’s a small hut to change in (the only facilities on the island), but your main concern is the 40ºC waters melting your bones as you watch drift ice float by.
What about… Colorado’s mountain hot springs? The rocky US state has plenty of dramatic soaks. Ouray’s Wiesbaden Hot Springs is nestled at the foot of the San Juan Mountains and has its own cave springs, while the rustic Strawberry Park, outside Steamboat Springs, is wrapped by wilderness. Read More…
