UNESCO recognition through its World Heritage List and time in the subsequent travel spotlight can be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, a new site gets a big status boost and some protection. On the other hand, an influx of tourists adds pressures and more need for protection. One way to curb this effect is for travellers to visit alternative heritage destinations where high tourism congestion isn’t causing problems.

Once you get the hang of it, travelling light is actually pretty easy to do. I’ve found that you don’t have to compromise your appearance or style to travel lightly, and the more you practice responsible packing, the more you’ll discover the fun of being Holly Go-Travel-Lightly, not Wanda Weighed-Down-By-Luggage. After all, no one likes a girl with a lot of baggage.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, has a well-deserved reputation as host of the biggest Carnival celebration in the world. Nowhere else on earth is this gloriously wanton Christian holiday of feasting before fasting quite as grand in scale. In fact, all over Brazil, wild and massive celebrations compete for the Carnival spotlight. This makes it easy to forget that Carnival is celebrated with the same passion and gusto in many other parts of the world as well!