Some places are too extraordinary to experience through photos alone. From fiery foliage in Vermont and fresh wines in Portugal to sacred traditions in Japan and wildlife sounds in Nepal, discover fall adventures that engage every sense and create lasting memories.
My next-door neighbor recently returned from Alaska. “It’s a place you really have to visit in person to believe,” he told me. “The mountains rise 18,000 feet from the sea. The enormity is just staggering. Photographs don’t do it justice.”
That’s the joy of travel. What you see, feel, taste, smell and hear while you’re out adventuring stays with you much longer than a photo.
At Backroads, we design every trip to fully engage the senses, because we know that these are singular experiences for our guests, tied to a particular place and often a particular season. Fall is especially rich with stimuli and yields many magical moments. Here are just a few.
September
Vermont’s brilliant annual color wave turns the Green Mountains gold, red and orange. Catch it first in the cooler Northeast Kingdom starting mid-month, before the vibrant patchwork descends south through the hardwoods. Because 70 percent of Vermont is forestland, the effect is stunning. Sugar maples—the state tree—feature the brightest-hued leaves.
Backroads will take you there:
Each September and October in Scotland and Ireland, herders move grazing sheep down from the highlands with the help of dogs (often collies) trained to understand various commands sounding from a small metal whistle or just the shepherd’s mouth. Whistles can carry up to two miles in crisp weather and signal the dogs to head clockwise, counterclockwise, lie down and return. On our trips, a local herder and his dog give us a lesson.
Backroads will take you there:
- Scotland’s Inverness to Isle of Skye & Argyll Hiking & Walking Tour
- Scotland & England Hiking & Walking Tours
- Ireland’s Connemara Hiking & Walking Tours
Swim in comfortable 75-degree September seas along Croatia’s sunny Dalmatian Coast. Will it be the turquoise waters circling Brač Island’s sandy Golden Horn, the pine-shaded Uvala Dubovica on Hvar Island or the shell-shaped Mlini Bay, outside Dubrovnik? Bring your goggles to take advantage of some of the clearest waters in Europe.
Backroads will take you there:
- Croatia Bike Tours
- Croatia Hiking & Walking Tours
- Croatia Multi-Adventure Tour
- Croatia Easygoing Walking Tour
Try Portugal’s bright new wines during the Douro Valley vindima (harvest), when grapes are crushed by foot to kick-start natural fermentation. These unfiltered reds and whites are fruity, floral and a treat rarely exported or bottled for foreign markets. Many of our Douro Valley trips pair pedaling or trekking with tastings this season.
Backroads will take you there:
- Madrid to Porto Bike Tour
- Portugal’s Douro River Cruise Bike Tour
- Portugal Easygoing Walking Tour
- Portugal Hiking & Walking Tour
The distinctive smoky smell of blistered green chiles wafting through the air is an olfactory experience in much of New Mexico this month. In fact, it’s the official state aroma. In the capital city of Santa Fe, follow the scent to the Railyards Farmers Market, where batches of peppers are popped into a steel cage, charred and sold. That’s an ideal precursor to a lunch of blue-corn enchiladas topped with your choice of chile sauce: red, green or Christmas (a blend of the two).
Backroads will take you there:
This weeklong observance in Japan, tied to the autumn equinox (September 22), is a time to reflect on life’s impermanence and develop what Buddhists believe is the sixth sense—the mind. During Higan, translated as “the other shore,” you’ll see people visiting and cleaning family graves, attending temple services and meditating about the path to enlightenment.
Backroads will take you there:
October
Before their glowing yellow needles fall off, golden groves of these conifers light up the Rockies, and Banff National Park is a spectacular setting to admire the show in early October. Hike to Chester Lake, southeast of Banff, past groups of the trees crowding the meadow basin and below massive peaks. Another scenic spot is Larch Valley, renowned for its larch forests.
Backroads will take you there:
On the Canary Island of La Gomera, locals have been whistling to communicate for generations, and children still learn this unique language in school. Now a UNESCO-recognized language, Silbo Gomera was developed so inhabitants could more easily convey requests or messages across deep ravines, cliffs and mountain ridges. In October, whistling exhibitions are common at island festivals and community events. On our trip, we found locals to demonstrate their whistling ways.
Backroads will take you there:
Prayer wheels large and small mark sacred sites across Bhutan, and turning them gently clockwise is believed to generate good karma and help your prayers find their way to the Buddha. You’ll encounter several en route to the Tiger’s Nest Monastery, a pilgrimage destination considered the birthplace of Buddhism in Bhutan. We trek there on our trips.
Backroads will take you there:
Italy produces some 70 percent of the world’s white truffles, and the annual hunt for these prized tubers begins in October in northern Piedmont. You’ll find them incorporated into dishes at fine restaurants, but for an immersive experience, check out the International Alba White Truffle Fair, with cooking demos, dinners and informational sessions; the event begins October 10 in the town of Alba. Tack on a visit right after our trip ends.
Backroads will take you there:
Bourbon’s aromatic notes—caramel, toasted oak, smoke, dried fruit—are the scents of the season, and there’s no better place to enjoy it than the birthplace of this barrel-aged whiskey, considered an American treasure. A dram is autumn in a glass at the end of an active day.
Backroads will take you there:
Attend one of the moving daily Pilgrim’s Masses at Santiago de Compostela’s cathedral to mark your passage across all or part of these sacred routes. This ceremony at the end of The Way uniquely envelops and celebrates this community of travelers. If you take our last hike of October, stick around to witness the mass on All Saint’s Day (November 1), a rare occasion when the botafumero—the world’s largest censer—is swung over the gathered crowd, a ritual that dates back to the 13th century.
Backroads will take you there:
- A Taste of Camino de Santiago Easygoing Walking Tours
- A Taste of Camino de Santiago Hiking & Walking Tours
November
The planet’s largest bird of prey, with remarkable ten-foot-plus wingspans, isn’t hard to spot if you’re in the right South American location. Drifting high on the thermals, seeking carrion, these massive creatures are emblems of Chile, Colombia and Ecuador. Chances are very good you’ll see them on a Backroads trip to any of these countries. Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park is an excellent place to view them this month, thanks to dedicated lookouts and strong updrafts that support their flight.
Backroads will take you there:
- Chile’s Patagonia Hiking & Walking Tour (or head out on our Chile’s Patagonia & Fjords Cruise Hiking & Walking Tour in December, another great condor-viewing month)
In Nepal’s Chitwan Park, your ears will often alert you to wildlife before your eyes do.
Trackers use their listening skills to pick out the echo of the Indian peafowl (may-ow! may-ow!), the trumpet of the Asian elephant, rhinos moving through the grass, the barks of startled Chital deer, chattering Rhesus macaques in the overstory, and—if you’re lucky—the roar of resident Bengal tigers. This landscape is rarely silent.
Backroads will take you there:
The traditional Moroccan hammam at the P’tit Spa de l’Heure Bleue hotel in Essaouira is a sanctuary of relaxation. The quiet, dimly lit space is finished in tadelakt, a silky hand-polished lime plaster used for centuries that feels like a smooth sculpture. Indulge in an argan-oil massage or a prickly pear treatment to round out the authentic Moroccan vibe.
Backroads will take you there:
Native to New Zealand and long part of Maori food culture, these beautiful shellfish are one of the world’s biggest (up to six inches long). Sweet, briny and tender, they’re also packed with anti-inflammatory nutrients, protein and omega-3 fatty acids. At the South Island’s Marlborough Sounds you’ll enjoy the freshest sea-to-table experience, or you can find them on menus at other coastal establishments around the country.
Backroads will take you there:
- New Zealand South Island Multi-Adventure Tour
- New Zealand North Island Multi-Adventure Tours
- New Zealand South Island Hiking & Walking Tour
Cape Point, South Africa, is said to have the freshest air on the continent—strong winds bring unpolluted currents straight up across the Southern Ocean from Antarctica, some 3,700 miles away. In fact, a global atmospheric watch station was built here to monitor baseline air quality. We head to the point to fill our lungs.
Backroads will take you there:
Seeking spiritual intuition or insight? Some people believe Sedona, Arizona, is the gateway to inner knowing and that the area’s geology—iron- and quartz-rich rocks and unusual electromagnetic conditions—subtly encourages altered states of awareness. We wander to Airport Mesa, one of four big vortices, said to emit masculine energy, on our trip.
Backroads will take you there:
Sedona Hiking & Walking Tour—4-Day Getaways
Tasha Zemke is a Backroads marketing writer and editor. She lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, for eight years and one of her strongest memories is the morning walk to work with the distinct smell of roasting green chiles. As a result, many midday meals in fall were chicken enchiladas.
