ExplWorld - Independent Travel Magazine

Vol. 1 · October 2026Independent travel journalism

How mountain gorillas survive war, Ebola outbreaks and the world’s priciest wildlife permit.

Country of the Month · October 2026

New Zealand

Two islands, three plates, and more landscape per kilometre than almost anywhere.

Capital WellingtonBest season December–March and October–NovemberCurrency New Zealand dollar (NZD)Language English, te reo MāoriDaily budget €135 / $146 /dGuides Visa, budget & season data live

Explore New Zealand

Verified Read

The Border the Gorillas Ignore

How mountain gorillas survive war, Ebola outbreaks and the world’s priciest wildlife permit.

Read the story

Feature · Iceland

Where the Earth Still Breathes

The volcanic highlands of Iceland's interior - on foot and by road in early winter.

Feature · Norway

The Slow Road Through the Fjords

Bergen to Lofoten by ferry and coastal highway. 2,400 km / 1,490 mi of the most dramatic coastline on earth.

Where to go · October

Five places that work right now

India · Myanmar · Jordan · Bolivia · New Zealand - Post-monsoon clarity in South Asia. New Zealand spring has arrived.

See the list

01 / 05

Where to go in October

Where to begin

Start here

Destinations

194country guides

Every country on earth, researched by people who have been there.

Browse countries →

Itineraries

233curated routes

Day-by-day routes for every type of trip, from weekend escapes to year-long overlands.

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When to go

12months mapped

Weather, crowds, festivals, and costs - every country, every month of the year.

Plan your timing →

Reporting

Journal

All Journal →

Central & East Africa

The Border the Gorillas Ignore

Roughly a thousand mountain gorillas live across three countries: one at war and under an Ebola emergency, one that has just ended its own outbreak, and one selling the world’s most expensive wildlife permit. A thousand kilometers west, their lowland cousins can be visited in three more countries including the forest where Ebola once killed five thousand of them. What a visit in 2026 actually involves, what it costs and what it costs the animals.

ExplWorld Editorial · 30 min

Central & East Africa

Ebola Without a Vaccine

ExplWorld Editorial · 37 min

The Gateway That Flooded Twice

ExplWorld Editorial · 20 min

Also in this issue

All stories →

An Earthquake Without Borders

Japan

Finding Silence in the Noto Peninsula After the Quake

Morocco

Atlas Light: A Photographer's Journey from Marrakech to the Drâa Valley

Bolivia

Salt, Altitude, and the Sacred Lake

Georgia

Tbilisi After Midnight: The City That Never Settled

Norway

The Lofoten Letters: Winter Above the Arctic Circle

Open Journal

Itineraries

All Routes →

Difficulty

Duration

6 routes

→The Carretera Austral

→Villa O'Higgins to El Chaltén on foot

→Torres del Paine

→Tierra del Fuego to Ushuaia

Torres del Paine to Tierra del Fuego by road, trail, and boat. The full length of the continent's wild edge.

Difficulty

Challenging

South America · 21 days

Patagonia End to End

Torres del Paine to Tierra del Fuego by road, trail, and boat. The full length of the continent's wild edge.

Asia · 18 days

The Mekong Corridor

Follow the river south from Luang Prabang through ancient capitals to the delta. Every morning smells of incense.

Africa · 14 days

The Rift Valley Traverse

From the highlands of Lalibela down through the Great Rift to Nairobi. Landscape, culture, and wildlife in sequence.

Asia · 16 days

The Caucasus Loop

Three ancient countries in three weeks. Monastery ruins, cave cities, and food culture that predates European civilisation.

Middle East · 12 days

Oman South to North

Salalah to Muscat via the Empty Quarter edge, the Hajar Mountains, and the turquoise wadis of the interior.

South America · 14 days

Colombia in 14 days

Bogotá to the Caribbean in two weeks: capital culture, the coffee axis, reborn Medellín, colonial Cartagena and the beaches of Tayrona.

Destinations

Explore by region

All 194 countries →

Europe45 countries

Portugal·Norway·Georgia·Albania+41

Asia32 countries

Japan·Vietnam·Nepal·Uzbekistan+28

Africa53 countries

Morocco·Ethiopia·Tanzania·Rwanda+49

South America12 countries

Peru·Colombia·Chile·Bolivia+8

Middle East15 countries

Jordan·Oman·Iran·Lebanon+11

Oceania14 countries

New Zealand·Papua New Guinea·Fiji·Tonga+10

Practical

Travel tools

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Visas & Entry

48,000+

passport pairings

Visa rules and allowed stays for every nationality, from the passport-index dataset - refreshed with every deploy.

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Transport

244

countries covered

Multi-country trips budgeted and visa-checked in one pass - costs, borders and seasons side by side.

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Budgeting

244

countries

Editorial daily budgets by country - accommodation, food, transport and activities at honest mid-range.

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Borders

Schengen states

Schengen 90/180 counted the way the border counts it - both ends of every day, across every member state, on any date you ask about.

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