Where to go in July
Ride 'em in, cowboy! Start a stampede in Canada or saddle up to send arrows flying in Mongolia during July
The start of scorching summer… well, in the northern hemisphere, anyway – on the flipside of the world, winter brings snow to ski slopes in Argentina, Chile, Australia and New Zealand, and dry season access to some of Africa’s finest game reserves. And all that sunshine – 24 hours a day, above the Arctic Circle – means it’s prime time to explore the far north.
Events & festivals
BLAZING SADDLES – Don your Stetson for Canada’s Calgary Stampede, an Alberta celebration of rodeo ridin’ and steer wranglin'. Over in Italy, ten bareback rides compete the Palio around Siena’s Piazza del Campo in Tuscany. NATIONAL PRIDE – Visit Canada (1 July), the Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao (2 July) or of course the USA (4 July) for patriotic celebrations. Or for a more muscular event, head to Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, for the Naadam Festival, lauding the ‘manly sports’: horseriding, archery and wrestling – watch 1,024 big blokes in colourful pants tussle for the title of arslan (lion).
WORLD MUSIC – The Rainforest World Music Festival in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo, brings together top acts from around the globe. Over in the Caribbean, the Fiesta de Merengue sees Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, jive to latin sounds on the Malecon.
WEIRD & WONDERFUL – Get down and dirty at Boryeong Mud Festival, South Korea, for mud wrestling, mud massage, mud marathon… all in the name of smoother skin! Meanwhile, in Australia you can slap a wager or two on the Boulia Camel Races in Queensland’s Outback.
Wildlife
WILDEBEEST & ZEBRA – Vast herds sweep across the plains of Kenya’s Masai Mara during the Great Migration between July and September.
MARINE LIFE – Green and hawksbill turtles nest on the Caribbean beaches of Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica. Whales breach in the waters around Hermanus, South Africa, while humpback whales are spotted around Tonga. Elsewhere, orca gather in Puget Sound, Washington State, USA; manta rays fly over Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef; and dolphins frolic around the Azores.
OTHER WILDLIFE – Brown bears gorge on salmon swarming up the rivers of Alaska and British Columbia, Canada. Huge herds of caribou migrate from the treeline to calving grounds in the Arctic Tundra. And Brazil’s Pantanal is at its wildlife-rich best from July to September, offering the best chances of spotting jaguar.
Activities
TREKKING – Climb Africa’s highpoints – Tanzania’s driest time of year means you have a great opportunity to summit Africa’s highest peak, Kilimanjaro, while the wildlife-bustling slopes of Mt Kenya also beckon. Walk the Inca Trail, Peru – this is the dry season, ideal for trekking the trail to Machu Picchu along with routes throughout the Peruvian Andes. Europe's Alps, Pyrenees and Tatras all entice trekkers during the summer.
CRUISING – Sail around Svalbard – during high summer the sun never sets, and sea ice allows cruises to circle Spitsbergen and the other islands of the archipelago.
SKIING – Pack your skis and head for New Zealand – the Austral winter means there’s white stuff here pretty reliably July-September, especially on the Southern Alps and peaks around the South Island.
Natural phenomena
WETLAND FLOODS – Massive rains in Angola earlier in the year wash down into Botswana, spreading through this vast inland Okavango Delta, bringing highest water from June to August.