Deep in the remote southern area along the border with Guatemala, recent excavations have exposed remains of pyramids and cities that until recently, were nearly impossible to reach. Hieroglyphic texts found here are changing our knowledge of the Maya by revealing history that has been hidden for more than one thousand years. So what is the...Read More
Five hundred years ago the first contact between the great civilizations of Mesoamerica and Europe was just beginning. But it did not begin with Cortes’ landing in Mexico in 1519. Eight years earlier, a small lifeboat from a shipwrecked Spanish vessel drifted ashore on the southern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. The local Maya did not...Read More
Who was Frederick Catherwood? Here’s the incredible story… One day in 1839, English explorer Frederick Catherood and American explorer John Lloyd Stephens climbed the crumbling steps of the pyramids in the Maya city of Copán. The pyramids had been overgrown by the jungle and even the inhabitants of the region forgot about their origins. These...Read More
The Toltecs are the most mysterious and controversial group from ancient Mesoamerica. The interpretation of their importance to the greater cultural traditions of the region have ranged from seeing them as the “mother culture” from which all others sprang, to a group that didn’t even exist historically and were nothing but a figment of the Aztec...Read More
On Far Horizons’ Easter Island Tour Including Tapati Festival, you can experience a truly unique history and culture. Learn more about the Tapati Festival.Read More
The Omo Valley of southern Ethiopia is one of the last undiscovered places in the world. Three of Ethiopia’s eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites are found here and more than 200,000 people representing many different ethnic groups call the area home. Here you will meet people from local tribes, including the Dorze, Mursi and Hamer. The...Read More
Ethiopia, formerly called Abyssinia, is one of the oldest Christian countries in the world. Perched atop Africa’s highest plateau, the country is protected by forbidding deserts and tropical lowlands. Despite its apparent mountainous isolation, Ethiopia has long been a crossroads for Africa, the Middle East and the Indian Ocean, and a site of dynamic interaction...Read More
“Hault, who comes there?” “The keys!” “Whose keys?” “Queen Elizabeth’s keys!” Thus was the exchange between the sentry and the Chief Warder, in the dark of night, as our small group of privileged onlookers stood engrossed. With that final statement to identify the keys, all was well… The sentry stood down with his firearm at...Read More
Using the latest remote-sensing technology (LIDAR), Dr. Damien Evans, director of the University of Sydney’s archaeological research center in Cambodia, and his team have found the ruins of an ancient city hidden for more than 1,000 years in the dense jungles of Cambodia. Known as Mahendraparvata, it pre-dates Angkor Wat by 350 years. The Australian...Read More
By Heather Stoeckley, Tour Manager Easter Island is the epitome of an island paradise. The varying hues of green lands and bright blue ocean waters, punctuated by dirt-red stone (red scoria, used for the moai topknots) make for a visual delight, almost like looking at a perfectly composed painting. In the village of Hanga Roa,...Read More
