5 INCREDIBLE PLACES TO EXPLORE FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR LIVING ROOM

Planes are grounded. Borders are closed. And with the whole of the UK in lockdown, popping to the shops for some bread and milk is the closest most of us are getting to “travelling” these days. But thanks to this mix of virtual tours, animal web cams and a bit of Google Maps magic, you can be transported to Italy, India, Africa or the Antarctic, without even needing to leave your house.

Staring at the ceiling might be an all-too-familiar feeling at the moment, but this is a ceiling with a difference. The Vatican’s website allows you to explore several of this city-state’s fantastic museums, including the SISTINE CHAPEL and its elaborate ceiling, painted by Michelangelo in the early 16th century. Move through the building, pan around the paintings, and zoom in to see the panel depicting God creating Adam. All without the crowds you’d (normally) get in real life!

One of the world’s truly great buildings, the TAJ MAHAL was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. A love letter in marble, the mausoleum took hundreds of stone-cutters, carvers and calligraphers over 15 years to build. And thanks to an interactive Google Street View project, you don’t have to travel all the way to northern India to admire their handiwork. On this virtual tour, you can wander around the Taj to your heart’s content, getting close-up views of its exquisitely carved frontage and even the huge main dome.

Nothing beats the feeling of arriving at MACHU PICCHU for dawn, after several days hiking up and down the Inca Trail, just in time to see the sun rise over the ruins. But for the time-being, you can settle for second best with this 360-degree tour of the site, which explores and explains, in vivid detail, all of the main structures, including the Intiwatana (a kind of sun dial), the Temple of the Condor, and several important buildings set around the Sacred Plaza. Keep an eye out for alpacas grazing on the terraced slopes!

If spotting wild animals on safari is more your thing, then you’ll enjoy watching the comings and goings at this waterhole in KENYA. The web cam captures all sorts of animal activity, whether it’s warthogs grazing round the fringes or hippos lazing in the pool itself; birdsong and the buzz of insects add to the atmosphere. If all’s quiet at the waterhole, you can switch over to other live cams for the chance to see gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo, hummingbirds flitting around a feeder in Panama, or an American bald eagle feeding her chick in its lofty nest.

A web cam of ANTARCTICA is the closest most people will get to the White Continent at the best of times, but this one comes with an added twist. Set up by the Citizen Science Alliance, Zooniverse enables you to take part in real-life research whilst gazing at your screen – their Penguin Watch project, where you monitor the number of penguins captured on camera, relies on the work of at-home observers to help them understand changes in population and the survival rate of chicks. So what’s it to be: a Netflix binge or a stint of penguin conservation?

The Isolation Guide to Armchair Travel

© Lijoma 2020