10 Legendary Trips You Can Still Take

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10 Legendary Trips You Can Still Take
By Donald Burnam

You can still take these historic journeys, from the Silk Road to the Orient Express

With high-speed trains, fast cars and jumbo jets that can whisk us across time zones in a matter of hours, getting from point A to point B has never been easier (though we all know it’s not hassle-free). But with so much time saved comes the loss of something else—the idea that sometimes the journey is the destination itself. And there’s no better way to partake in what’s called “slow travel” than by doing it on a historic route.

With several notable treks, two-lane historic highways, and slow train lines from which to choose, where does one begin?

With the experts, of course. We’ve put together a team of noted travel writers and experts, asking for their top historic routes. Some routes are known the world over while others are, quite literally, off-the-beaten-path. Regardless, all the journeys are still functional today—and offer insight into a place that you just can’t get from 30,000 feet above.

The granddaddy of all historic routes is, of course, the Silk Road, the famed network of old trading routes that connected China to the Mediterranean. Most 21st-century travelers don’t take the entire route, but do it in portions. That’s what longtime travel editor and writer Don George did. He trekked it through Pakistan and said it was one of the grandest trips of his life. “What could be more stirring than walking in the footsteps of Marco Polo and viewing ways of life that have changed little since his time?” says George, who runs the literary travel websites Don's Place and Recce.

Another highly recommended route comes from writer Tony Perrottet: the Athens-to-Olympia pagan pilgrimage path. “I’d advise driving it,” says Perrottet, who made the journey for his book about the origins of the Olympic Games, The Naked Olympics. Ancient Greeks would make the pilgrimage to Mt. Olympus just before the Olympics. “You end up in the mountains of Arcadia,” says Perrottet, “which are filled with shepherds and medieval monasteries—it’s a very magical place.”

For thousands of years, travelers have also been lured to the magic of the Nile River. The slow moving waterway makes the perfect venue for viewing ancient Egyptian wonders. According to Perrottet, the Romans were fascinated with cruising down the Nile, as were the 19th-century Victorian-era British who’d stop to gawk at the pyramids and mummies. Today, travelers can still cruise down the Nile, just like their British and Roman predecessors did.

Another member of our panel also zeroed in on a historic river route. Mary Morris, author of several novels and non-fiction travelogues (and most recently, The River Queen, about her trip down America’s most famous river), picked the upper Mississippi, which was trafficked by early explorers like Lewis and Clark, as well as Mark Twain. Morris especially recommends the section between Lacrosse, Wis., and Dubuque, Iowa. “The river is so wide at that point and on each side are savannahs and huge flocks of birds,” says the author. “It almost feels like you’re in Africa.”

Rail journeys were a hit with our team of travel experts, so it’s no surprise that a few picked the Trans-Siberian Railway, which runs from Moscow to Vladivostok via south Siberia. Built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the railway spans eight time zones. “The best way to do it,” says Morris, “is to get off and on — I particularly liked the town of Irkutsk.”

A railway that achieves more elevation than mileage is the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the pick of Oxford Atlas of the World editor Ben Keene. Completed in 1881, the railway is only 51 miles long. Keene notes that the railway boasts 550 bridges and 919 curves, but not a single tunnel. It’s hard not to feel like you’re on a rail journey to the top of the Earth.

When Don George moved from Paris to Athens, he couldn’t pass up taking the famed Orient Express, the legendary railway line that links the City of Light to Istanbul. Passing by cities like Milan, Venice and Belgrade, George says, “All of Europe went by outside — and inside too. It’s a crash course in European history and culture.”

Our experts also picked several historic routes that are walkable. One of writer Tony Perrottet’s favorite routes is the Appian Way, the “Queen of Highways” that led Romans out of the Eternal City southward toward Naples and beyond. Author of the travel history book Pagan Holiday (about Roman travelers), Perrottet says travelers can traverse about 10 miles of cobbled, pedestrian-only road that’s flanked by millennia-old mausoleums and umbrella pine trees. “It’s only a few miles from the city,” says Perrottet, “but it’s so idyllic, it feels like you’ve just stepped back a few centuries or more.” Perrottet adds that renting a bike is also a great way to experience it.

On the other side of the globe, Don George recommends a lesser known hike: the Shikoku, a sacred pilgrimage route of 88 temples in Japan. The path takes wanderers along rocky seacoasts, lush green rice paddies, and bright fishing villages. “Walking the temple route is a pathway to the scenic and spiritual heart of Japan,” George says.

Another obscure, but equally intriguing expert pick is the 95-mile West Highland Way in Scotland, a series of old military routes that take trekkers through varied terrain. Ben Keene picked this route for its diversity, which starts near Glasgow, winds through coniferous forests, and ends on top of one of Scotland’s highest hilltops, Ben Nevis.