Travel_LeisureIndiaSouthAsia-January_2017

TRAVEL + LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 19

FROM LEFT: SHUTTERSTOCK (2); COURTESY OF QUEENSTOWN WINTER FESTIVAL; SHUTTERSTOCK; COURTESY OF BÜRGENSTOCK HOTELS AG

Right Time, Right Place

The openings, events, and festivals worth planning a trip around this year.

Happenings

The ultra-modern

Bürgenstock Resort

(buergenstock.ch),

which opens in

mid-2017 with four

hotels and a spa,

is one of the biggest

developments to

come to this part

of Switzerland.

Get there quicker via

the 36-mile Gotthard

Base Tunnel

(the world’s longest

train tunnel), which

has shaved 40

minutes off the

trip from Milan. And

don’t miss Mount

Pilatus—its popular

cog railway is now

included in the Swiss

Travel Pass.

LAKE

LUCERNE

in

SEPTEMBER

The total solar

eclipse on August 21

will be the first in

almost 40 years to be

visible from the

continental US, with a

path of totality that

slashes across the

States from Oregon

to South Carolina. For

prime viewing, head

to Jackson Hole,

Wyoming (wyoming

stargazing.com)—

spectacular scenery,

expansive vistas,

and minimal light

pollution make it an

ideal vantage point.

JACKSON

HOLE

in

AUGUST

There are two new

places to stay in New

Zealand’s adventure

capital (ski season

starts in mid-June,

but there’s bungee

jumping and jet boating

year-round). Bed

down at the boutique

Hulbert House

(doubles from US$672;

hulberthouse.co.nz),

with six suites in an

1888 Victorian villa,

or the 69-room

QT Queenstown

(qthotels and resorts.

com), which is

slated to land on

the shores of

Lake Wakatipu

this year.

QUEENSTOWN

in

JULY

Travellers hoping to

see East Africa’s

waning population of

mountain gorillas will

be able to do it in style

starting this summer,

when Wilderness

Safaris’ first Rwandan

property, the upscale,

six-villa Bisate Lodge

(villas from US$1,400

per person; wilderness-

safaris.com), opens

near Volcanoes

National Park.

RWANDA

in

JUNE

This month, the

Canadian city kicks off

a year of events in

honour of its 375 th

birthday (375mtl.

com). Even subzero

temps can’t stop the

celebrations: until

March 11, the city

holds Les Hivernales,

a carnivalesque

series of wintry games

and events. Later this

year, look for art

pop-ups, symphony

performances,

and the unveiling of

the Promenade

Fleuve-Montagne,

an urban boardwalk

that will connect

Mont-Royal to the

St Lawrence.

MONTREAL

in

JANUARY

National Pa

TRAVEL + LEISURE / JANUARY 2017 21