Blog - The best travel insights and top travel tips
Welcome to the Mountain Kingdoms blog. We have been walking and trekking the world for over 36 years and here we share our holiday recommendations, travel pointers and favourite mountain views.
What is it actually like to travel now?
I've just returned from 10 days in Switzerland, and despite the extra hoops that had to be jumped through it was an absolute joy to be travelling again.... Read more
Beginner's guide to visiting Japan
For first time visitors, Japan can seem a daunting prospect – a land of strange customs with a seemingly impenetrable language, and weird and wonderful food. But if you visit with an open mind and embrace the differences, you’ll find Japan to be an utterly fascinating and richly rewarding destination; far removed from other travel experiences. ... Read more
Travel Photography - Our Top Ten Tips
We all want to come back from our holidays with great photos to share with our family and friends, and to show off on social media, but how do we ensure we best capture the amazing people and places that we encounter on our travels. Whatever camera you’re using, here are our top tips to help you make the most of the moment and get those Instagram worthy shots that make everyone else want to be there.... Read more
A love affair with Bhutan
Steve Berry, our MD, first travelled to Bhutan 35 years ago on an expedition to climb Bhutan's highest peak, and so began his love affair with the tiny Himlayan kingdom. Here is Steve's story of his earliest encounters with the Thunder Dragon Kingdom.... Read more
Discover the sacred celebrations of a Bhutanese festival
Festivals are a significant part of Bhutan's culture. Most festivals, also known as a 'tsechu', are of great religious significance and are mostly celebrated through music and masked dances. ... Read more
Travel for tea lovers
Tea remains the most popular drink in the world (after water) and there are well over 40 countries growing and producing tea for sale. China and India remain the two biggest tea producers but even in Britain we grow small quantities at the Tregothnan Estate in Cornwall. In fact, if you wanted to tour the tea producing world your travels would take you from South America to Eastern Europe, through much of Asia, the Indian Sub-continent and Africa. ... Read more
2021 Photo Competition of the Year
We love to share our favourite travel memories and unforgettable experiences, and what better way to do that than with our Mountain Kingdoms Photo of the Year Competition. Between now and December, we'll be giving away Mountain Kingdoms Water-to-Go bottles to ten lucky monthly winners and a £250 Mountain Kingdoms holiday voucher to the overall competition winner.... Read more
Our Top Five Island Idylls
Whether a balmy tropical island, a remote desert island or even a naughty love island, our imaginations have been captivated by the romance of islands for hundreds of years. And in current times, the dream of an island idyll, distanced from the rest of the world, is even more alluring. ... Read more
Our passion for travel
At Mountain Kingdoms we have a real passion for travel and we're constantly seeking out new destinations and experiences in the far flung corners of the world. But each member of the team has somewhere that they're totally smitten with - a special place that soothes the soul and lifts the spirits. Here, we share some of our travel love affairs.... Read more
Looking back at an epic journey to K2
K2 is the second-tallest mountain on earth, without doubt one of the deadliest to climb, and even the trek to stand beneath it is not for the faint-hearted. Anyone who loves the mountains and epic climbing... Read more