Passenger bus skids off a cliff in Sri Lanka, killing 21 people and injuring at least 14 others
A passenger bus skidded off a cliff in Sri Lanka's tea-growing hill country on Sunday, killing 21 people and injuring at least 14 others, an official said.
The accident occurred in the early hours of Sunday near the town of Kotmale, about 140 kilometers (86 miles) east of Colombo, the capital, in a mountainous area of central Sri Lanka, police said.
Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Prasanna Gunasena told the media that 21 people died in the accident and 14 others are being treated in hospitals.
Local television showed the bus lying overturned at the bottom of a precipice while workers and others helped remove injured people from the rubble.
The driver was injured and among those admitted to the hospital for treatment. At the time of the accident, nearly 50 people were traveling on the bus.
The bus was operated by a state-run bus company, police said.
Deadly bus accidents are common in Sri Lanka, especially in the mountainous regions, often due to reckless driving and poorly maintained and narrow roads.
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The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
‘On a peak under a blue sky': the joy of summer in Europe's mountains
After a tough scramble to the summit of Rhinog Fach, we look down into the deep valley holding the chilly waters of Llyn Hywel, then west across several miles of heather, bilberry and bare rock to the Welsh coast. Turning my gaze north, there is the entire Llyn peninsula leading east to the peak of Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon), no doubt weighed down by thousands of visitors. Up here there are just two of us in an utterly peaceful landscape. No clouds on the horizon. No surprises. The Guardian's journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. I lie down for a few minutes and feel myself drift off. There are no human voices to be heard, only birds. Summer has come early to these mountains and I wouldn't be anywhere else, drinking in that particular kind of tranquillity to be found on a peak under a blue sky. Mountains were not always seen as appropriate places to relax on a summer's day. Those lofty, mist-wreathed realms held surprises, most of them nasty, such as trolls and demons. Maybe a few ancient folk knew perfectly well that mountains in summer were wonderful, but they weren't the sort to publicise the fact: the solitary shepherd, gold prospectors not yet consumed by gold fever, and the workers who put up drystone walls – they all must have known the joy of lazing on a summit, perhaps seeing shapes in clouds. Changing culture and taste took a revolution led by artists and poets, men such as Nicolas Poussin, who in the 17th century tried to win people over with paintings of mysterious peaks and epic landscapes. Unfortunately, he couldn't resist adding a fallen Grecian column and a nymph draped in wispy stuff. It took another 150 years before the German artist Caspar David Friedrich relocated the wispy bits to the mountain tops, evicted the nymphs, and added one rugged poetic type, gazing out over the towering tors with a vaguely proprietorial air. His Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (1818, now in Hamburg at the Kunsthalle) remains the most evocative depiction of the romantic ideal. After that painting, summer in the mountains was de rigueur, but it turned out that Friedrich's sturdy 19th-century mountaineer was actually looking for a place to build a man-shed. All over the continent, wealthy romantics started funding simple dormitory accommodation, often precariously balanced on vertiginous crags. These mountain refuges were vital in allowing people to access the peaks, and became a huge part of my own enjoyment of the mountains. The first to be built was Refuge des Grands Mulets on Mont Blanc in 1853. There is still a hut there, rebuilt a couple of times, perched at 3,051 metres (10,009ft), overlooking the Bossons glacier. My own favourite, Rifugio Nuvolau, is a period classic in the Dolomites, built in 1883 and a haven of stout carpentry, hearty food and astonishing sunsets. Not all are antiques: Monte Rosa near Zermatt is an aluminium solar-powered box that sits above the Gorner glacier and requires ropes and crampons in order to reach it. Some huts are very high indeed: the Margherita on the Italian Monte Rosa is, at 4,554 metres, the highest building in Europe. Sweden's Låktatjåkko (1,228 metres) is both high in altitude and latitude: it's 155 miles (250km) inside the Arctic Circle and often buried in snow, even in summer. Digging to the front door is worth the effort: they serve fantastic waffles with cloudberry jam. The staff in these huts are usually charming and helpful. Not all guests, however, are so wonderful. 'There was one British visitor who, during the course of the night, pushed all the other sleepers along the dormitory bench,' complained one French guest after staying in Refuge de Ciottulu di i Mori in Corsica. 'He left a huge empty space behind him and we were all squashed up in one corner.' (I've no idea why I rolled like that. I was fast asleep.) Making a reservation in one of these treasures can require persistence. The famous ones are often booked out, but many of the huts I've mentioned have alternatives nearby. Where there are no mountain huts available, a tent is not always needed. In Romania's Carpathians, I've slept in hay ricks after jolly evenings drinking plum brandy with farmers. Sadly, the hay rick is disappearing as agriculture modernises, but the Carpathians remain a fine mountain destination. Once a local hunter persuaded me to go on a bear hunt (no guns involved). We climbed through shady pine forest and golden flower-sprinkled meadows to warm rock and vast vistas. The hunter described a recent incident when he was chased up a tree by a bear. He proved it by showing his rucksack, complete with claw marks. On our descent, we stumbled on a fresh bear track and, for a second, the idyllic evening was shot through by lightning bolts of adrenaline. An undeniable fact of mountain life is that moments of arcadian bliss can be abruptly ended. You go up in sun, and descend in a wild storm. The unpredictable must be expected. Helm Crag in the Lake District was a favourite of Romantic poet William Wordsworth and for that reason many go to commune with nature. One blustery lunchtime, I was sitting a little below the craggy summit about to enjoy a picnic when a group on the top suddenly flung their grandmother into the air. Caught by the wind, the old lady was whipped sideways and down, straight into the sandwich that was about to go in my mouth. Ash-scattering ceremonies really should be more careful. The ancestor went to her final resting place tainted with Branston pickle. Sign up to The Traveller Get travel inspiration, featured trips and local tips for your next break, as well as the latest deals from Guardian Holidays after newsletter promotion British mountains aren't enlivened by European-style huts, but we do have bothies, camping barns, the Youth Hostels Association (YHA), and a number of good cottages for hire. To climb the Rhinogydd (often anglicised to Rhinogs), I based myself at the off-grid retreat of Garth Gell farm, all lovely hand-worn woodwork, flagstone floors and dusty books. The Rhinogydd are often touted as the most rugged mountain chain south of Hadrian's Wall, which is a bit hard on the North Pennines and Cheviots, but the paths are certainly steep and challenging, deterring many visitors. The chain stretches for about 13 miles, with the highest point at Y Llethr (756 metres) where the 360-degree panorama is really special. The view is, of course, a big part of the attraction. We go up because we can see further. My snooze on Rhinog Fach is interrupted by my companion. 'Look!' he says. The best summer mountain experiences always have that unexpected moment: the bear jumps out and claws your rucksack, human remains land in your picnic … that kind of thing. I sit up, suddenly alert. 'On the wall. Down there.' There's a bird, its pale chest striped with grey, its tail fanned out in annoyance as a horde of smaller birds are mobbing it. And then it calls. I have never considered the cuckoo to be a mountain bird, but there it is at 600 metres on a Welsh hill. And at the same time, away to the west, the haze lifts a little and the blue horizon puckers behind the last bit of Wales. The Blackstairs Mountains of Ireland have appeared. A summer's day in the mountains is complete. Accommodation was provided by Garth Gell, a Kip hideaway, which sleeps six from £240 a night
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Everything you need to know about the world's top hotel brands
What does Six Senses Gangtey Lodge, a wellness retreat set in a glacial valley amid the mist-covered mountains of Bhutan, have to do with the Holiday Inn Express in London's Stratford you might wonder? Well, technically, they are sisters. Both fall under the umbrella of IHG Hotels & Resorts, which, alongside Six Senses, also counts Regent, InterContinental and Kimpton among its portfolio – and that's just the luxury brands. The hotel industry is in an ongoing period of consolidation and proliferation; each week seems to bring news of yet another brand launch or an old favourite being absorbed into a large corporate entity. The result of this is that the 10 largest hotel groups – your Marriotts, Hiltons and the like – have controlled almost 75 per cent of the global market in recent years. Wherever you're going and whatever you need, be it a honeymoon resort or a night at an airport, these groups want to add your booking to their market share. This price-point variety also protects businesses from economic downturns – if one year's bonus has you checking into Raffles, but the following year's new boiler and leaky roof makes Novotel the more realistic option, parent company Accor cashes in regardless. This consolidation is not entirely without benefit to the consumer. Economies of scale mean – in theory at least – a better product for a fairer price, while group loyalty schemes allow guests to rack up more rewards with fewer memberships, and the potential to turn those airport stay points into candlelit dinners at a beach bolthole in Bali. But now that travellers are confronted by such an overwhelming number of hotel brands, often with few clear defining factors – what's the difference between a Park Hyatt, a Grand Hyatt and a Hyatt Regency? – knowing how to sort the wheat from the chaff is becoming ever harder. We take a closer look at five of the biggest names to help you decode this complicated area of hospitality. Marriott International Number of hotels: 8,700 Marriott, from humble beginnings as a root beer stand in Washington DC, is the undisputed leader of the pack, with a market capitalisation of more than $72 billion. Its portfolio is vast, comprising some of the world's most recognisable hotels. The top end of the scale is awash with luxury; see the elegant service of Ritz-Carlton or the contemporary cool of Ian Schrager's Edition hotels. Then there's jewellery house Bulgari's foray into hospitality and St. Regis' classic grandes dames, plus of course the group's flagship JW Marriotts. Move down a spot from the very top tier and you'll find some hidden treasures in the premium range. Take Le Méridien's new 'urban resort' in Hualien, a city on the east coast of Taiwan, which at a squint could almost pass as an Aman. Autograph Collection, meanwhile, focuses on 'independent' hotels selected for their character – clearly evidenced at places such as the Anouska Hempel-designed Duxton Reserve in Singapore. This is also the market segment that the group's namesake Marriott Hotels & Resorts plays in, alongside stablemates Sheraton and Westin. The most affordable Marriott properties tend to be diffusion brands – Fairfield by Marriott, for example – hoping to glean a little of their parent company's repute. Best brand The Luxury Collection is a solid place to start, offering appealing handpicked hotels, from the bonafide legend that is Venice's Gritti Palace to buzzy newcomers such as Hôtel du Couvent in Nice. Ritz-Carlton, while sometimes having a reputation for old-school luxury, has also upped its efforts with openings such as the Ritz-Carlton, Nikko, a modernist beauty on the banks of Japan's Lake Chuzenji. Hilton Worldwide Number of hotels: 8,600 Hilton is probably the most famous hotel group in the world – in no small part thanks to the antics of Paris Hilton, the original Noughties celebrity heiress and founder Conrad's great-granddaughter. Hilton is certainly a group that understands the power of name recognition: aside from classic Hiltons, there's Canopy by Hilton, whose headboards attempt to create an overhanging canopy effect (who knew?), and Curio Collection by Hilton, similar to Marriott's Autograph Collection – think unique, independent properties with a bit of personality such as Boulders Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. Then there are the more practical Tru by Hilton, Hampton by Hilton and Embassy Suites by Hilton. Perhaps most curious of all is DoubleTree by Hilton. How does it distinguish itself from a regular Hilton? After considerable research the only tangible differentiator we found was that guests receive a chocolate chip cookie on check-in. When asked, a spokesperson for Hilton described it as: 'Hilton's fast-growing, upscale hotel brand known for its warm hospitality.' Best brand At the top of Hilton's chain is the illustrious Waldorf Astoria, best known for the New York outpost, which reopens this year following an estimated $2 billion renovation. Already open is the Osaka property, which has the best views of the city from its Andre Fu-designed lobby. IHG Number of hotels: 6,300 Holiday Inn, owned by IHG, is the world's most recognisable budget hotel brand, and a byword for a certain kind of simple, almost retro travel. The most familiar Holiday Inns tend to offer more practical stays (cities, airports, motorway service stations), but there are some surprising outposts: the Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives for example, which has overwater villas and starts at an appealing £200 per night. At the middle point of InterContinental Hotel Group's portfolio are Crowne Plaza (a solid four-star offering) and Hotel Indigo, another ' boutique collection ', with outposts as far-flung as the Galapagos and as close to home as Coventry. IHG's luxury output chiefly concerns Regent Hotels and Six Senses. Regent shares a founder with Aman (Adrian Zecha) and since being acquired by IHG has been rapidly expanding, now managing properties such as the iconic Carlton Cannes. Best Brand An unlikely hero for IHG is the 'voco' brand, a collection of affordable luxury properties that includes voco St. David's Cardiff; a sail-topped hotel with knockout views across the water to Penarth. Of the Six Senses brand, few properties can beat the five lodges that make up Six Senses Bhutan; staying at each offers a ready-made tour of the Land of the Thunder Dragon. Accor Number of hotels: 5,600 French group Accor does luxury well, counting Raffles, Sofitel and Fairmont in its high-end segment. It has also acquired the rights to the Orient Express name, kicking off this new venture with the opening of La Minerva last month in Rome. In the premium range, you'll find the modernity of Pullman, the cultural and design-forward Mondrian, and reliable Swiss stalwarts Mövenpick and Swissôtel. To the more affordable end of the scale are the mid-range Mercure (which also has a spruced-up subsidiary, Grand Mercure) and Novotel brands, as well as budget-friendly ibis. Accor also owns Mama Shelter, the youthful lifestyle brand that joins Hoxton hotels (now part of Ennismore, which is two-thirds owned by Accor) in vying for the coveted millennial market. Best Brand Hoxton redefined the concept of the mid-range hotel in creating an affordable brand that offers a truly trendy stay. The loveliest in the group is probably the Hoxton Paris, but closer to home we're fans of the Hoxton Southwark and its rooftop restaurant. Hyatt Hotels Number of hotels: 1,300 Hyatt is the smallest of the five groups on this list, but it's snapping at the heels of its larger competitors. The company recently bought boutique hotel booking platform Mr & Mrs Smith, signalling an intention to engage with more intimate properties. Smith isn't Hyatt's only acquisition either; it also owns Alila, Andaz and the Standard Hotels, all of which are notably design-focussed. It's the brands bearing the Hyatt name that are a little trickier to unpack. Park Hyatt, Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Centric and so on – where to start? Park Hyatt is, despite common misconception, far and away the most luxurious of the group, while Grand Hyatt, it turns out, is the less grand of the two. Hyatt Regency is a solid choice for accessible luxury, while Hyatt Centric offers affordable but stylish hotels often with unexpected perks, such as daybed-lined rooftop pools. Best brand The Unbound Collection by Hyatt is the group's answer to Marriott's Luxury Collection, and includes truly special hotels such as Biarritz's Hötel du Palais. Sofia Coppola's 2003 hit Lost in Translation made the Park Hyatt Tokyo a star, but the Park Hyatt Kyoto
The Sun
6 days ago
- The Sun
Six of the best long-haul holidays to take this summer from beautiful beach resorts to affordable luxe hotels
HOLIDAYMAKERS are hungry for long-haul getaways this year – and it is no surprise, considering the soaring costs in popular European hotspots. Thomas Cook has reported a ten per cent year-on-year increase in bookings for far-flung breaks and recent research from holiday operator On The Beach found getaways to Europe could easily set you back more than to farther afield. On The Beach's Zoe Harris said: 'The gap between long-haul prices and short-haul has decreased and the idea of a new, far-out destination is clearly pulling a lot of Brits, hence why bookings are up.' So, why not save your pennies and ditch your favourite sunshine spot for somewhere new and maybe even more exotic? Sophie Swietochowski shares her pick of long-haul holiday s for short-haul prices . . . KANDY, SRI LANKA SAVE around £500, if you swap a £1,200pp holiday on the Greek island of Santorini for a £769pp seven-night adventure at the 4* Radisson Hotel in the mountainous city of Kandy. Sri Lanka, where coconut palms line the roads and wild elephants roam freely, is often reserved for special occasions, but with prices like this, it doesn't need to be. 7 Carved into the hillside, the resort's modern and simple bedrooms come with lush views of tropical greenery. Going with a breakfast-only package means you can tuck into plates of fresh fruit piled on top of hot waffles and thick yoghurt before setting off for a day exploring the beautiful country. Kandy is the cultural capital of the island and is littered with intricately decorated temples. GO: Seven nights' B&B costs from £769pp including flights from Heathrow on September 8. 2025. See Orlando, US THRILLSEEKERS should look to Florida instead of Europe for their summer break this year. The Disney parks are just 15 minutes by car from the 3* Sonesta ES Suites Orlando Lake Buena Vista, where a week costs less than £800pp with TUI. But if you were to head to Paris – home to the European Disneyland – at the same time of year, you'd struggle to bag a TUI package for less than £1,000pp. You can use the cash you have saved on travel costs to pay a visit to Epic Universe, the first new theme park to come to Orlando in 25 years. When you are not being thrown upside down on a roller-coaster, the palm tree-laden ES Suites is the perfect place to relax with barbecue grills in the gardens, for guests to use. GO: Seven nights' self-catering costs from £759pp based on two sharing a one-bedroom apartment and includes flights from Gatwick on 15. See DUBAI, UAE THE glittering skyscrapers of Dubai are easier than ever to reach, and you could save a fair whack by heading here for around £700pp instead of Spain' s Marbella, where a week's break in July can cost upwards of £1,000pp. Well positioned – less than a five-minute drive from cultural sites like the Jumeirah Mosque and under ten minutes from glam beach clubs like Nikki Beach – the 4* Jumeira Rotana is an ideal base for first-timers. Temperatures can reach 40C in summer, but don't let that put you off, as many of the city's top attractions are air-conditioned. Make your way to the top of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper to soak up the best views of the skyline. Or, if you really need to cool down, head to Ski Dubai, with 22,500 square metres of ski slopes. GO: Seven nights' B&B costs from £723pp including flights from Manchester on July 2. See PUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REP WHEN it comes to fly-and-flop breaks, you may want to consider opting for the Dominican Republic over the Greek islands. A 4* break in Mykonos will cost £2,700pp in June, much more than this On The Beach deal to Punta Cana for £739pp. 7 The chic Sunscape Coco Punta Cana is a sleepy 4* resort on the Dominican Republic's eastern coast, where temperatures reach a balmy 32C towards the end of this month. Expect white-sand beaches overlooking turquoise waters, cocktails and a cushioned cabana shaded by palms. This place has everything within easy reach. There's an outdoor pool, private beach, casino, poolside bar, watersports centre, a la carte restaurant, beach volleyball, spa and more. And with an all-inclusive package, the only thing you need to focus on is topping up your tan. GO: Seven nights' all-inclusive costs from £739pp including flights from Gatwick on June 21. See MUSCAT, OMAN IF you are a fan of Dubai, but want somewhere more affordable, the Middle Eastern gem of Oman is the UAE's laid-back sister. A 5* luxury holiday at the Sheraton Oman Hotel, will only set you back £669pp. This price is staggeringly low if you compare it with a stay in a European Sheraton hotel – a package for its Mallorca hotel during the same week is just shy of £1,200pp with British Airways. Muscat is a great spot for culture vultures – home to winding souks crammed with spices, breathtakingly beautiful mosques that shimmer in the sun and golden sand dunes stretching for miles. Make sure to take advantage of the hotel's outdoor Courtyard Oasis, crammed with tropical plants, a restaurant and the spa – which claims to be one of the best in Oman. KHAO LAK, THAILAND WE'VE all got White Lotus fever. But instead of visiting Sicily (where the second series was filmed), head to Thailand (the location for series three) to bag a proper bargain. 7 A seven-night TUI package at the 4* The Leaf On The Sands, by Katathani costs just over £800pp, while a holiday in a 4* hotel in Sicily, during the same week, could set you back about £1,000pp or more. Surrounded by tropical greenery, in the beach resort region of Khao Lak, a little north of Phuket, The Leaf On The Sands offers two swimming pools where you can catch the rays while listening to birdsong. Do not get too comfy, though, as there is so much adventure waiting – treks through the Lam Ru National Park, trips to the Wat Suwan Khuha Temple or snorkelling around a shipwreck. GO: Seven nights' B&B is from £838pp including flights from Heathrow on September 11. See
