If you can’t sit still, cancel the meditation class and sign up for one of these adrenaline-filled green retreats
THE ONE IN THE DESERT
Feynan Ecolodge, Jordan
Follow in the footsteps of the Bedouins and spend the night at Feynan Ecolodge in Wadi Feynan. It’s the ultimate off-the-grid escape. Set in the Dana Biosphere Reserve, this lodge manages to mix luxe with clever green thinking. Expect solar power, candlelit rooms and drinking water served in handmade clay pots. But when you can tear yourself away from your room you should as you can meet Bedouin villagers, go on hikes through the wadis and use the hotel’s telescope to take in the staggering night sky.
THE ONE THAT COMPRISES 55,000 HECTARES
Mahu Whenua, New Zealand
Famed record-producer Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange has taken 55,000 acres of rolling farmland and turned it into a conservation area complete with a chic eco lodge. Just 12 people will be able to stay at Mahu Whenua (meaning ‘healing land’) that’s just outside Wanaka. The former sheepstation is now home to birds, animals and 1.36 million native trees and shrubs, which the team planted. The sky is the limit (quite literally) when it comes to outdoor adventures at Mahu Whenua. Take one the resort’s horses out for a ride, or jump into a heli to go heli-biking, heli-skiing or heli-hiking depending on the season.
THE ONE WITH DINOSAUR BONES
Three Camel Lodge, Mongolia
If you’re looking for the ultimate nomadic adventure, then
Three Camel Lodge in Mongolia is hard to beat. Not only will you sleep in a traditional felt ger, but will you be able to see the true nomads in action as the resort lets them graze their animals on the land as they walk between the plains. You too will also be given the chance to explore the land of Genghis Khan by foot, horseback, 4WD or Bactrian camel. Journey around the 600-foot Hongoryn Els (‘singing’ sand dunes), through the Yol Valley or even Tugrigiin Shiree – where they found the bones of the famed fighting dinosaurs.
THE ONE IN THE AMAZON
Caiman Lodge, Amazon
When you arrive at your jungle hideaway by canoe, you know that you’re all set for adventure. Caiman Lodge can be found within the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, which is rich in monkeys, bird species and amphibians. Forty huts complete with hammocks are scattered throughout the grounds. Although the tower that features three separate rooms is sought-after for the view of the lagoon. Guests can tour the area by bike, canoe or Jeep. They can go for a hike with the resort’s naturalist and they can even camp in the jungle.
