BURST OF COLOURS

Hindu spring festival – Holi – is celebrated on March 6th and 7th in 2023. The latter date being ‘Rangwali Holi’ (the day we all anticipate – when with childish excitement you can pelt handful of colourful powder into strangers in the street). While best experienced in India and Nepal, making them top March travel destinations, there will be plenty of mini-Holis in all the countries with strong Indian diaspora – such as United states, UK, Mauritius, Indonesia and a number of smaller exotic places

Holi represents the arrival of spring and the dominance of good over evil. It is plaited around a playful story of young and mischievous years of Hindu god Krishna and his love to a consort-to-be Radha .

Traditionally the colors used in Holi came from flowers and herbs, but today they’re usually synthetic and won’t come off your clothes easily. Even your hair main retain a hint of blue or pink for a few weeks. Having learned that, if you are still ready to walk into the colourful cloud and immerse into contagious joy and bliss, it is time to choose your color:

Red is dedicated to matrimony, love, beauty and festivity
Yellow symbolizes health, hope and holiness
Blue is the colour of gods, and Lord Krishna first and foremost
Green is associated with nature, happiness, harvest as well as new beginnings

WALKING ON MIRROR IN UYUNI

It is only few months in a year that famous salt flats of Bolivia turn into the largest nature mirror. When rain falls and enough water is collected on the vast areas of the salar – magic happens.

Rain season in Uyuni lasts from December to beginning of April. But here is the tricky thing – should you arrive too early there will be not enough water yet. Should you arrive too late – it may dry out already and smaller patches of reflective surface that remain won’t give you the full experience of this magic powerful place. As always with nature, you never know for 100%. However, safest bet would be travel to Uyuni in March. That’s the month when tourists get the best experience there

SAKURA TIME

“In the cherry blossom’s shade there’s no such thing as a stranger” – Kobayashi Issa

During the last week of March and first half of April, Japan’s Cherry trees are in bloom, dramatically transforming picturesque Japanese landscapes. Observing cherry blossom is more than just a line in a bucket list. It is a ceremony, centuries old tradition that we can be part of.

To combile the majesty of nature with cultural experience, head to Yoshino and blend with groups of Japanese families and friends who gather for Hanami to pay respect to the beginning of the spring and admire the beauty of the short-living flowers.

To pursue your perfect instagram post with an iconic mountain, take a trip to Fuji Five lakes. Otherwise, cherry orchads are everywhere and there are dozens of beautiful spots across the country where you can dive with all your senses into this tender pink, bitter-sweet scented spring phenomenon.

And, for ideal planning of your Hanami you might want to check a couple of sakura-zensens (calendars) in the internet, like this one for example.

THINK TWICE BEFORE GOING TO…

Mediterranean. In March and November, Mediterranean countries are most often hit by infamous Sirocco storm. It brings sands from Sahara Desert with the speed sometimes reaching 100 km/h!

From Greece to Israel and from Tunisia to Spain – tourists are forced to remain in their hotel rooms for a couple of days. The only thing one can do is observing from the window how thick layer of sand suspended in the air wraps everything around. Not exactly a seaside relaxing vacation you dreamed of, right? 🙂

Photo credits and copyrights:  Pixabay, PXhere, Unsplash, Flickr, Free-Images.com