Seeking Silence

Norwegian fjords With steep mountains enclosing a waveless sea, fjords are naturally noiseless cocoons. Glacier-carved inlets create an accordion-like geography that, if unfurled, would form the world’s second-largest coastline. These undulations have preserved picturesque rural communities with nothing but red farmhouses and gushing waterfalls to break up vast stretches of green. Lake Tekapo, New Zealand Located in the largest Dark Sky Reserve in the Southern Hemisphere, this high-altitude lake far from noise and light pollution is a perfect perch for astronomical experiences that produce an unparalleled sense of tranquility. Join an Indigenous celestial guide for a Tātai Aroraki (Maori astronomy) reading of the stars and planets. Manhattan Healing Forest, Roosevelt Island New York City’s first “pocket forest” offers a respite from one of the world’s loudest urban centers. A year…