Where You Need To Travel Right Now For The Ultimate Instagram Snap
When you follow the motley crew of travel bloggers and photographers gallivanting around the world on Instagram, you’ll eventually start noticing the same destinations cropping up on your feed.
Here’s where to travel to right now for instant Instagram bragging rights.
Chefchaouen, Morocco
This picturesque city to the north of Morocco in the Rif Mountains is a visual onslaught of blues: vivid cobalt blues, pastel blues and shades of blue that blend into the cerulean sky above. Papa Smurf would have been proud. It’s not certain whether the medina was painted blue as the spiritual colour of the Jewish community who fled to Chefchaouen during the Spanish Inquisition, or if was a tactic to keep pesky mosquitoes at bay. Whatever the case, allow yourself ample time to get lost in the jumble of alleyways with your trusty camera on hand.
Salvation Mountain, California
Salvation Mountain is part hippy art sculpture, part Christian tribute, part psychedelic Land of Oz, and a whole lot of love. It’s located at the entrance to Slab City, a squatter’s city in Southern California, and at first you may confuse it for a desert mirage. However, it’s real and it’s spectacular.
Created by the late Leonard Knight using lead-free paint, Salvation Mountain is a spiritual message to God, with biblical verses and murals scattered around the site. You’ll arrive a sceptic and you’ll leave a believer.
Sahara Desert, Morocco
When looking at the exotic images of intrepid travellers crossing magnificent sand dunes on camel back, you would never think that the sprawling Sahara Desert is one of the harshest environments in the world – you will, however, develop a massive case of wanderlust envy.
Set up the perfect shot with a trail of footprints and an enigmatic silhouette of yourself from behind against the glowing orange sand dunes and watch the likes rack up.
Campuhan Ridge Walk, Bali
When your morning walk looks something like this.
A photo posted by Tanya | One World Just Go (@oneworldjustgo) on
A solitary path weaving through overgrown verdant grasses and hilly vistas, a lone palm tree striking a pose against the never-ending blue sky: the Campuhan Ridge Walk in Ubud, Bali, has all of the elements of a tropical haven. This paved walkway, popular with tourists and locals alike, is located just outside of the city centre, but it feels much farther away from the chaos and cacophony of noise in central Ubud.
Amble along the trail through the dense foliage and reconnect with nature –preferably in the early morning when the sun is not at its most searing hot. After all, you don’t want to look like a sweaty mess in your (many, many) photos.
Rainbow Mountain, Peru
Any attraction in Peru is destined to remain in the shadow of the celebrated Incan ruins of Machu Picchu. It seems this is how Rainbow Mountain has managed to remain a bit of a traveller’s secret, even though the start of the trek to the spot, known locally as Vinicunca, is only three hours away from Cusco.
It’s a challenging hike and you’ll be battling tough terrain and high altitude along the way; however, once you reach the Rainbow Mountain with its mesmerising swirl of natural colours, you’ll soon forget all about the blood, sweat and tears that you’ve had to endure to get there. This is the rare case where it really is all about the destination and not the journey.
Montserrat Monastery, Spain
The Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Montserrat is nestled between the peaks of Montserrat, north-west of Barcelona in Catalonia, and it is still a functioning monastery today. People travel to Montserrat for the exceptional views as well as to see the Black Madonna, or the Virgin of Montserrat – one of the most famous pilgrimage sights in Spain. However, for the ultimate in Instagram cred, climb the ‘stairway to heaven’ and strike a pose – you’ll be inundated with Instagram likes, we promise.
Anywhere in Iceland
Let’s be honest for a moment: the Iceland tourism board has the easiest job in the world. It’s not that difficult to sell a country as a holiday destination when you have an abundance of unparalleled ethereal beauty to work with. From gushing waterfalls to glistening glaciers to rugged mountains and moonscape terrain: capturing Iceland in images will undoubtedly fill up an entire camera’s memory card – or five. Come prepared with your camera battery fully charged.
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