Page 18 - Travel + Leisure India & South Asia (January 2020)

Undertourism

D IS C O V E RI E S MOVE BEYOND THE ORDINARY

Elbowing for selfie space at the Eiffel Tower and joining the hordes on Thailand’s beaches are passé.
The latest kid on the block is undertourism, where travellers ditch popular honeypot destinations
for lesser-known, and at times remote, counterparts. BY ADILA MATRA

GO SKIING AT GUDAURI, GEORGIA
It is time to swap the Alps for the Caucasus. For your next ski
holiday, head to Gudauri, an emerging resort town with smooth
snow slopes and splendid views of the Caucasus. Located in
the Kazbegi region of Georgia, 120 kilometres from the capital
city of Tbilisi, Gudauri is perched at a height of 2,196 metres.
Adrenaline junkies can try paragliding, speed riding (an
extreme mix of skiing and paragliding), and heli-skiing, apart
from skiing. Gudauri is relatively new in the tourism circuit, so
you don’t have to worry about long queues or jostling fellow
travellers. Offering up to 1,500 metres of vertical drop, the
resort has something for every level of skier—from beginners to

EXPLORE HISTORY IN
TIRANA, ALBANIA

The capital and largest city of
the Republic of Albania, Tirana
is largely unexplored. While
decades of Stalinist rule and
the subsequent collapse of
Communism painted a sad picture
of the city and kept it away from
itineraries, the capital has turned
its weakness into its strength
successfully—relics of the old FROM LEFT: CHRISTIAN KOBER/ROBERTHARDING/GETTYIMAGES; PETER EASTLAND/ALAMY
regime, grey and abandoned,
stand against new colourful
constructions in Tirana now.
Explore one of the many castles
in the city, scale the mountain
of Dajti, discover the city on a
cycle, and dine in traditional
restaurants. And since the locals
are always curious about tourists,
they might even invite you in for a
cup of coffee or a rakija (a plum
brandy). visit-tirana.com