Guided tour: April 29 - May 5, 2016
Summary: A new tour available through Active Travel will take intrepid travellers into the mysterious country of North Korea. Travellers can join in local public holiday celebrations, ride the underground Pyongyang Metro (the deepest in the world) and visit the Victorious Fatherland Liberation Museum, where they will hear history from the North's perspective. The seven-day tour will provide a fascinating lesson in culture and history and is priced from A$3850, twin-share. For details, visit www.activetravel.com.au or call 1300 783 188.
Full details:
A new seven-day tour available through Australian travel agency, Active Travel, will take intrepid travellers on a truly memorable cultural experience – journeying into North Korea, one of the world's most mysterious countries.
Travellers can join the locals in celebrating International Labor Day, visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace of the Sun – the mausoleum of former supreme leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, travel on the deepest underground rail system in the world and hear the history of the Korean War from the North's perspective at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation Museum. The unique cultural experience is certain to provide engaging dinner conversation on return.
The tour will begin on April 29, 2016, in Beijing, where guests will then fly to Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. There a local guide will show sites such as the Arch of Triumph, which marks the 1945 liberation from Japan, the Mansudae Grand Monument with its huge statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and propaganda murals along the way. The following day, May 1, is International Labor Day and travellers will be able to join in local celebrations, such a folk festival, communal dancing and watching spectacular fireworks displays.
Guests will visit various historical and cultural sites the following day, including the Demilitarised Zone, with its armistice signing hall just metres from the border with South Korea, and the Koryo History Museum, dedicated to Kaesong's past as capital of Korea. The final full day in the country will begin with a visit to Kim Il Sung Square, home to North Korea's famous military parades, and travellers will ascend the Juche Tower for a spectacular view of Pyongyang from above.
The Pyongyang Metro is the deepest underground rail system in the world and guests will visit its elaborate stations decorated with murals, mosaics and chandeliers, and ride with locals for several stops. A visit to the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum will take place next, followed by a visit to the USS Pueblo, a spy ship captured and kept as a trophy in 1968. Travellers will then catch a train back to Beijing the following day before flying home.
Including meals, English speaking local guides, admissions as per itinerary, flight from Beijing to Pyongyang and the return train journey, the seven-day tour costs from A$3850, twin-share. A $434 single supplement is also available, and return flights to Beijing from Australia are extra.
For details, visit www.activetravel.com.au or call 1300 783 188.