Exploring the World Through Pages: A Journey with the Best Books on Travel
When it comes to travel, it is not that just going to see a new place but also about an entire sojourn of learning, exploring and soul searching.
There is no substitution for seeing the word with our own eyes, but for those times when we cannot pack up and go, literature can take us far off places.
From classic travelogues to contemporary memoirs, from guidebooks to photo books and published anthologies, the world of travel literature is as wide-ranging as you could wish it to be; there’s no such thing as a definitive experience.
Now, in this post, we delve into the best travel books which help to give an idea of travel being exploratory, culturally enlightening and showcasing the beauty outside our window.
“Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer:
Based on the harrowing true events of Christopher McCandless, a renegade drifter turned nature explorer who ditched his possessions and hitchhiked across America before deciding to plunge deep into the Alaskan wilds essentially inviting near certain death to take him.
Adapted to screen once before as the Sean Penn directed Into The Wild, McCandless’ adventurous and journey of personal discovery is a fascinating that we can’t help but wrap around more great name talent for our impending meet. The quest for meaning themes connect with readers just well and it’s clear that this elusive man had immense larger than life appeal. Complex themes of freedom, solitude, and the quest for meaning are all explored in detail throughout this captivating read from Krakauer.
“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho:
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (not a travelogue) the book narrates the journey of a shepherd boy, Santiago, who travels from Spain to Egypt in search of an unknown treasure.
On the journey the Santiago meets many people and gels several lessons of pursuing once dreams following the heart, and being open to the unknown.
Through Coelho’s lyrical metaphors, the philosophical revelations remain a resonating favorite of mine, beckoning its readers to explore their own personal legends and the journey in search of self.
“A Walk in the Woods” by Bill Bryson:
Bill Bryson’s humorous and insightful memoir “A Walk in the Woods” chronicles his attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail, a 2,200-mile footpath that stretches from Georgia to Maine.
With his friend Stephen Katz in tow, Bryson sets out to explore the rugged beauty of the American wilderness, encountering eccentric characters, breathtaking landscapes, and unexpected challenges along the way.
Bryson’s witty observations and candid reflections on nature, friendship, and the joys of exploration make this book a delightful read for armchair travelers and outdoor enthusiasts alike.
“In Patagonia” by Bruce Chatwin:
In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin Both a voyage of exploration and a haunting book of recollection, ‘In Patagonia’ by Bruce Chatwin is an odyssey through the mind, body, and soul of Chatwin himself.
Based on his own travels in the region, Chatwin combines historical stories, first person reflections and a lush narrative to create an intense picture of Patagonian landscapes, cultures and people.
In shimmering, incandescent prose, Chatwin shows us an entire continent on the threshold of self-destruction and seizes this opportunity to build a multiple water cycle from the towering peaks of the Andes make downwards towards the windswept grasslands of southern Patagonia.
“Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed:
This memoir recounts the experiences of Cheryl Strayed as she walks alone for a 1,100 miles down the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert to Washington State (2012).
Struggling to cope with personal heart ache and loss, Strayed embarks on a solo adventure of self-discovery, pain-relief and spirit-manifesting as she crosses the harsh paths of mountains while recounting her life story.
Strayed’s intimate and candid tale attracts viewers since it portrays the physical and emotional walks through long-distance hiking, in addition to the deeply transformational power of nature.
“The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner:
In his latest book, The Geography of Bliss, journalist Eric Weiner travels to places around the world in search of countries where locals are happy.
Weiner crisscrossed the globe from the high-altitude tranquility of Bhutan to the loopy hedonism of Iceland, exploring and experiencing not only each country’s culture and landscape, but conducting numerous interviews on site with “locals” about what makes them happy.
In a wonderfully peculiar travelogue that captures the oddities of some of the most off-the-beaten places around the globe, Weiner adds rational thought and sociological perspective to prompt readers into scrutinizing their own frame work in the pursuance of happiness; an inquiry we all share no matter nationality or craft.
“Travels with Charley: In Search of America” by John Steinbeck:
The American novelist John Steinbeck tells this tale in, Travels with Charley: In Search of America (1962), a mix of memoir and travel writing that records his tour around the United States with his French poodle Charley in a camper he named Rocinante.
Leaving his home in Sag Harbor, New York, Steinbeck treks across the small towns, big cities, and wide open spaces throughout the American continent with zeal for the sights and sounds and stories of our people.
Steinbeck was a keen observer, and his prose is well-applied to the America of the early 1960s here: There are notes upon which only age can produce, but somehow life at Carson Hill is perpetually caught in vernal bloom… And Steinbeck’s descriptions capture something old and unyielding within this burgeoning nation as Shelters do for its people; ‘America was born of bits and pieces’.
Conclusion:
Great books about travel can take us on journeys to foreign lands, ignite our wanderlust and show us the world in new ways.
Grounded in the powerful display of storytelling, memoir, and exploration into what it means to be human, these books welcome readers to untangle their own knots of self-examination.
Travel literature: there is a wealth of experiences and stories just waiting for you to experience. Across the wilds of the Appalachian Trail, or in mystery reaches of Patagonia, the world has so much more to tell!
Therefore, let your mind run wild as you dive into the pages of a book and through them into the world.
