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Unmapped: Where luxury and adventure meet

Unmapped – the new name in small group tours – is taking intrepid travellers in their 30s and 40s to some of the world’s most exciting destinations.

Currently offering tours to Sri Lanka, Oman, Mexico, Bali and Komodo, and Morocco, with a maximum of 14 travellers on each tour, Unmapped gives you the opportunity to explore off-the-beaten-track destinations and make meaningful connections with fellow travellers at the same time. What can you expect on a tour? Unmapped promises action-packed adventure, incredible food experiences and luxe-boutique accommodation.

 

The key to Unmapped adventures is you; a community of people who want to embrace new experiences, smash their comfort zone and learn about different cultures – all with a group of people who could become friends for life.

The indigo alleys of Chefchaouen.

Make memories in Morocco

From the snowy peaks of the High Atlas Mountains to the rolling dunes of the Sahara Desert, Morocco is made for adventure. On this tour, starting in Casablanca, you’ll have the chance to explore some of Morocco’s most interesting towns and cities.

Trip highlights

  • Meander through the souks and explore the beautiful Kasbah Oudaias in Rabat
  • Enjoy a home-cooked dinner with a local family in the blue city of Chefchaouen
  • Spend the night in a former palace located within the walls of Fes’ ancient medina
  • Hike to undiscovered waterfalls in the scenic Talassemtane National Park
  • Enjoy a sundowner at the best vantage point in Fes
  • Hike through Ifrane National Park in the Middle Atlas Mountains
  • Four-wheel-drive through the Sahara to a luxury desert camp
  • Take a camel ride to watch the sun rise above the dunes
  • Cycle through a labyrinth of palm and olive trees in Skoura’s palm grove
  • Take in the dramatic scenery as you travel through Morocco’s highest pass, Tizi n’Tichka
  • Experience a traditional hammam and massage in one of Marrakech’s most luxurious spas
World-renowned Moroccan cuisine.

Inclusions

– 13 nights’ twin share accommodation, including one night in a luxury desert camp

– Transport by air-conditioned minibus, 4WD and camel

– 14 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners

– All activity costs included

– English-speaking local tour guide

– Maximum 14 fellow travellers

 

Take advantage of Unmapped’s exclusive offer for International Traveller readers. Quote code INTRAV to receive the special price of $3999 (usual price $4191). Unmapped’s next Moroccan adventure departs 9 September.

 

To find out more, visit www.unmappedtravel.com, email letsgo@unmappedtravel.com or call us on +61 2 9286 8973.

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At the foot of the pyramids, Egypt finally tells its own story

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    Ancient Egyptian history has been scattered across the globe for decades, admired, preserved, and studied, but it’s rarely seen where it actually belongs. The newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) brings it home.

    From a viewing platform inside the Grand Egyptian Museum, the Great Pyramids of Giza rise from the desert, and for a moment, it feels like modern Egypt and ancient Egypt are shaking hands. The museum, grand in name and reality, has been a long time coming—since 1992, to be exact. Towering pharaohs, relics, and entire chapters of civilisation are on display here, all in full view of the pyramids. And because the GEM is the largest archaeological museum in the world dedicated to a single civilisation, it gets to tell Egypt’s story through its own voice, something many overseas institutions, understandably, haven’t quite managed.

    Reshaping Giza

    GEM entrance and gardens
    The GEM holds its own commanding position. (Image: Natasha Bazika)

    You might expect any building beside the Great Pyramids of Giza to fade into the background, but the GEM doesn’t bow to its famous neighbours. Perfectly aligned on the same axis and vast enough to span 70 football fields, the museum is less of an addition to Giza and more of a marker of the shift from a gateway to a cultural district.

    Inside, hieroglyphs carved from alabaster sweep across the walls and triangles appear everywhere, yet it’s a 3,200-year-old, 11-metre-tall, statue of Ramesses II who commands the room. His scale dictated the soaring atrium ceilings, which pour in natural light, unusual in museums but safe for the stone artefacts displayed.

    Hieroglyphs line the walls of the main entrance of the GEM
    Hieroglyphs line the walls of the main entrance. (Image: Natasha Bazika)

    Unlike many museums, the GEM has really considered how visitors move through it. The six-storey grand staircase leads you chronologically through Egypt’s history, from the Predynastic era to the Coptic period, flanked by statues that grow in scale and complexity as you climb. Elevators and lifts run alongside, keeping the journey accessible to everyone.

    At the top, a viewing wall frames the pyramids before you enter the main gallery to see artefacts rarely seen outside tombs, including the complete contents of Tutankhamun’s tomb, a highlight for many visitors.

    Pharaohs, artefacts and everything in between

    The GEM's showpiece Ramesses II
    The GEM’s showpiece Ramesses II. (Image: Natasha Bazika)

    The GEM holds around 100,000 artefacts across seven millennia, but the experience is entirely modern. Digital panels, QR navigation and clear bilingual signage make self-guided wandering easy, while short, glare-free labels in English, Arabic and braille are colour-coded to move you from broad themes to object-level detail.

    That said, a guide adds context you don’t get from a panel. I was lucky to have Essam Al Ebd Aziz, an Egyptologist, on board a 12-day Uniworld Nile cruise, walk me through some of the museum’s standout pieces.

    Top of the list is, of course, the Tutankhamun exhibit. Almost everything from his tomb, much of it never shown outside the Valley of the Kings, is here, from his golden funerary mask to delicate jewellery and ceremonial objects. But the GEM isn’t just about one boy king.

    GEM entrance is guarded by an 11-metre-tall Ramesses II statue.
    An 11-metre-tall Ramesses II statue guards the entrance. (Image: Natasha Bazika)

    Essam points out the canopic chest of Hetepheres, mother of Khufu, where her organs were stored in alabaster. I loved the forty little marching soldier figurines from the tomb of Mesehti, all lined up and hanging on a wall. And then there’s the statue of Metri, a scribe, with piercing blue eyes carved from lapis lazuli. All these pieces, and thousands more, now sit under one roof. And for the first time, people can see Egypt’s history in one place, told in its own voice, without leaving the shadow of the pyramids. That alone changes everything.

    Unmapped: lux-adventure tours for solo travellers