Scouting Report: Binn, Switzerland

THE TRAVELER Christian Pucher, development director for Six Senses Resorts & Spas, a Bangkok–based hotelier known for its high-end eco-resorts in pristine locales. Pucher leaves home every other week to identify sites for future properties in remote parts of Asia and the Middle East. THE PLACE Few places evoke paradise like the mythical Shangri-La, the mountainous valley depicted in James Hilton's 1933 novel, Lost Horizon. And that's just what Pucher found when he encountered the northwestern area of China's Yunnan province, which borders Tibet and was renamed Shangri-La in 2001 for its natural beauty. The Swiss native is no novice when it comes to mountains, but the snowcapped peaks, Alpine lakes, and deep gorges of the Tibetan Plateau were unlike anything he'd ever imagined. "I was in absolute awe," he says. "Mountains of up to 22,000 feet would rise and drop into valleys of 6,000 feet or more. The roads crossed some of the most beautiful landscapes I had ever seen. It created a very serene and peaceful feeling." Pucher spent hours perched on a rock gazing at the landscape and drinking po cha: a traditional Tibetan brew made from yak butter and tea leaves that's a natural remedy for altitude sickness. "It's not too tasty, but the humor, hospitality, and smiles of the local Tibetans more than made up for it," he recalls. The entry point for most visitors to Shangri-La is the rapidly modernizing tourist town of Zhongdian, an hour's flight from the provincial capital of Kunming (in turn, a three-hour flight southwest from Shanghai). Pucher advises staying put for two days for altitude adjustment—a good time to fuel up on lean, succulent yak steak at Arro Khampa Restaurant, housed in a two-story historic building in the city's old town district. Pay your respects at Zhongdian's majestic 300-plus-year-old Songzanlin monastery, home to hundreds of red-robed monks. When you're ready to head into the countryside, Songtsam Hotel, a 22-room boutique property next door to the monastery, can arrange a jeep and driver to take you along the old caravan route toward Lhasa, Tibet, which is dotted with small villages and centuries-old Buddhist temples that hug the mountains. "The changes in scenery, vegetation, and even climate several times within a day's drive are absolutely incredible," says Pucher. THE DETAILS China Eastern operates flights daily between Kunming and Zhongdian's Diqing Airport, flychinaeastern.com, from $140 one way; Arro Khampa Restaurant, Pijiangpo 28, 011-86/887-822-6442, yak steak $7; Songtsam Hotel, songtsam.com, doubles from $97; jeep tours about $90 per day; Khampa Caravan, day tours from $60 per person (for groups of two), khampacaravan.com. Your turn! Have you discovered a place like these while traveling? Share your stories by posting a comment at the bottom of page 1: Binn, Switzerland.

THE TRAVELER Marcella Echavarría, founder of SURevolution. The New York–based company connects indigenous artisan communities to fashion houses such as Donna Karan, Tory Burch, and Ralph Lauren. In the past six months, Echavarría has traveled to Cambodia, China, Botswana, Peru, Ecuador, and her native Colombia. THE PLACE Echavarría doesn't bother to make distinctions between work and pleasure, or business and personal—she weaves them all together. "It's like a tapestry," she explains—one that threads from one corner of the globe to the other and ties together people who knit while tending goat herds and fashion designers whose items retail at high-end department stores. The work keeps Echavarría on the road 60 percent of the time, visiting local communities and writing for South American travel and U.S. magazines. "An article can lead to a new product and the other way around," she says. For at least 10 days every year, when she needs a break, Echavarría retreats to Playa Koralia, a laid-back resort named after the beach on which it's set on Colombia's Caribbean coast. There's nothing in the world she's seen like it. "Playa Koralia is the only place where you can walk on a tropical beach and see snow-peaked mountains so close," says Echavarría. Scattered between palm trees, the 19 thatched bungalows encourage a no-Internet, no-newspapers, unplugged approach. You'll quickly come to appreciate other distractions—namely sea views from porch side hammocks, howler monkeys, iguanas, white eagles, natural whirlpools in the nearby rivers, and a full-service spa. (You might also spot a Colombian celebrity; singer Shakira has been known to check in from time to time.) The white-sand beaches and hiking trails of Tayrona National Park are only a 15-minute drive away. But even here, Echavarría can't resist giving her travels a greater purpose. She uses the resort as a base for visiting with the Wayúu, a matriarchal, nomadic indigenous society of weavers who live a couple hours' drive away in the Guajira Peninsula, where desert sand dunes melt into turquoise waters. "You could stay overnight, but you'd have to have the soul of an anthropologist," says Echavarría. (Visitors sleep in hammocks in a Wayúu host's maloca, a palm-thatched one-room home without running water.) The intense contrasts of the Wayúu people's surroundings—blindingly white beaches against a shockingly blue ocean—influence the bright color schemes of their mochilas, woven circular bags. "I remember thinking to myself, How is it that people spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a Louis Vuitton bag but don't recognize the value and beauty of these woven textiles?" Thanks to Echavarría, now they do. THE DETAILS Playa Koralia, koralia.com, from $95 per person, including meals. The resort offers private transportation for $45 each way between Santa Marta (where there's a national airport) and Playa Koralia (about an hour's drive). Your turn! Have you discovered a place like these while traveling? Share your stories by posting a comment at the bottom of page 1: Binn, Switzerland.

THE TRAVELER Beth Whitman, founder of Wanderlust and Lipstick, which includes a guidebook series for female travelers, a website, and tours. THE PLACE A self-proclaimed travel addict who's visited over 30 countries, Beth Whitman spends about a quarter of the year on the road leading tours or scouting out new destinations. In 2008, while researching her second book, Wanderlust and Lipstick: For Women Traveling to India, Whitman happened upon the seaside town of Varkala, located at India's southwestern tip in the state of Kerala. "I discovered Varkala the way any traveler should discover a new place," says Whitman. Upon landing late at a nearby airport, she overheard some backpackers talking about Varkala and followed her instincts. "The five of us piled into a taxi for the hour drive," she recalls. "When I got there it was dark, so it wasn't until the next day that I saw the magic of this place." After a night at the Preeth Beach Resort, Whitman awoke to a breathtaking scene: palm trees, restaurants, and cafés perched on cinnamon-red laterite cliffs overlooking the turquoise-colored Arabian Sea. "It was so peaceful, laid-back, and beautiful—just the kind of place I was looking for after weeks traveling the country." The sheer cliffs provide a backdrop to Papanasam beach, a long stretch of golden sand named for the local belief that its holy waters wash away sins. In the early mornings, the beach is a spiritual haven, with yoga sessions taking place on the sand. "You can bring your mat right down and join a class for about $5," Whitman says. (Massage therapists at Olympia House offer hot oil ayurvedic treatments.) During the day, the shoreline teems with fishermen mending their nets, Hindu priests from nearby 2,000-year-old Janardana Swami Temple, and schoolchildren eager to practice their English. At dusk, Varkala's riotous red-and-orange sunsets are best savored along the Cliff Walk, lined with crafts shops and hippie hangouts. At the cliff-side Café del Mar, you'll find fresh-off-the-boat squid, shrimp, and fish waiting to be cooked to order. THE DETAILS It's an hour-long taxi ride from the Trivandrum airport, $22; Preeth Beach Resort, near Papanasam Cliff, preethbeachresort.com, doubles from $18, doubles with air-conditioning from $50; Olympia House, 011-91/470-329-1783, massages from $11; Café del Mar, near North Cliff, 011-91/470-260-7221, seafood dinner for two from $10. Your turn! Have you discovered a place like these while traveling? Share your stories by posting a comment at the bottom of page 1: Binn, Switzerland.

THE TRAVELER Adam H. Graham, a food and travel freelance writer. The son of a chef, Graham worked at the New England Culinary Institute before landing a series of magazine gigs culminating with the executive editor position at Sherman's Travel magazine. He struck out on his own in 2007. THE PLACE Freelancing gives Graham the freedom to seek out places that resonate with him personally and, with any luck, draw the subsequent interest of editors and readers. "I tend to choose the underdog destinations," says Graham, whose recent trips to Sri Lanka and Colombia bring his tally of countries visited to 50. "The less that's been written about it, the more it interests me." Last June, he convinced a publication to send him to one such underappreciated gem: Newfoundland, an island in the easternmost Canadian province and the setting of Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Shipping News. A three-hour drive north along roller-coaster roads from the provincial capital of St. John's brought him to Trinity, a historic harbor town with a year-round population of 350. Lovely primary-colored wooden houses punctuate a landscape of craggy cliffs and rolling hills that immediately reminded Graham of western Ireland. "I hate to use this word, but it is magical, and there's this crystal-clear blue water that sparkles in the sunshine." Icebergs glide by, the occasional bald eagle soars overhead, and puffin penguins can be seen up close, diving right into Trinity Bay. Graham had an altogether different kind of wildlife encounter at the grocery store, where he winced as he tried flipper pie, a traditional dish made with seal meat (his verdict: "mealy and gross"). Cod lips, partridge berries, and screech (a harsh, oaky rum) are other staples of the area, which mixes Irish and Icelandic influences. Many locals speak with a distinctive Irish-like brogue—a 300-year holdover from the early Irish settlers—and support a small arts community. Rising Tide Theatre Company returns to Trinity each summer for a festival of works by Newfoundland playwrights. Tineke Gow, the Dutch proprietor of Gover House—a quaint two-story shingled cottage on Fisher Cove—also makes it her business to share tips about hiking, kayaking, whale-watching, and whatever else interests her guests. "She suggested I go up on this bluff during what she calls the golden hour, at 5 p.m., when the sun is setting and the whole town turns a golden color," recalls Graham. "It's like they're all living in some fantasy movie." THE DETAILS Rising Tide Theatre Company, risingtidetheatre.com; Gover House, trinityvacations.com, entire house (sleeps four to five) from $230. Your turn! Have you discovered a place like these while traveling? Share your stories by posting a comment at the bottom of page 1: Binn, Switzerland.