Sights and Soul Travels

The bountiful blessings of a journey to Israel inspire both pilgrims and historians. From church mosaics to historical mosques, temple walls to alluring beaches, Israel is a classic. It brims with religious and historic importance and contemporary vitality, containing some of the world’s most historically and religiously significant sites. This is where the Baha’i Gardens blossom with date palms and carnations, antique fortresses shimmer with gold stones, and Roman ruins rise out of the coastal plains. The welcoming ambiance spans the whole country: from sampling olives fresh from the orchard to wines produced from verdant vines, from the ancient history to gorgeous landscapes and from the vibrant culture to the genuine hospitality of the Israelis.

See the magnificent Victoria Falls up close from the Zimbabwean side, enjoy the Zambezi River sunset cruise and the Boma dinner experience with African dancing, drumming and entertainment, while staying at the magnificent safari lodge overlooking the endless expanse of the African savannah and the watering hole with visiting monkeys, baboons, warthogs and elephants. Then continue to Botswana’s Chobe National Park, famous for its large herds of elephants and zebras and enjoy the unique river safaris conducted in boats as well as in jeep while staying at a luxury safari lodge on the banks of the Chobe River.

The enchanted Galápagos Islands, with their volcanic, otherworldly landscapes, are a magnet for wildlife lovers. Until their discovery in 1535, the islands were completely isolated from the mainland, so the species living here developed to adopt to this unique environment, and are different from anywhere else in the world. Until recently, these animals had no exposure to people and never learned to fear them, so they are extremely tame around humans. The islands’ moon like landscapes of mist-covered volcanic peaks, red sand beaches, and strange forests of prickly pear cactus are full of prehistoric looking iguanas, giant tortoises, doe-eyed sea lions playing with you while you snorkel, vividly pink flamingoes, blue-footed boobies performing their "sky pointing" dance, and hunting penguins swimming around your legs.

Visit the Nation's Capital and see the Smithsonian museums, the National Gallery of Art, the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, tour the colonial Old Town Alexandria, take a cruise on the Potomac River, enjoy a show at the Kennedy Center, visit the Newseum, the Library of Congress and the US Capitol, then indulge in designer shopping and fine international dining.

Chile is a bewitching place of extremes: millennial glaciers in the southernmost part of the planet, enchanted forests, massive volcanoes, remote islands full of legends, and great wines. We’ll tour Patagonia, a mythic land of fjords, mountains and glaciers hidden among green landscapes that give way to the horizon that disappears at the end of the world.

Known as the land of a million elephants, Laos is the most serene country in Southeast Asia. The landscape is a stunning mix of mist-shrouded mountain peaks flanked by jungle-clad valleys, beautiful French colonial towns, gilded temples, golden Buddhist stupas and the magic of the Mekong. Both physically and spiritually, the world here moves at the pace of the saffron-robed monks, and the skyline is defined by mountains and temples, and cicadas and waterfalls drown out the hum of voices. During this journey, we’ll experience the essence of old Asia with glittering temples, unique hill tribe cultures, and the mighty Mekong flowing through it.