Dreaming of your next adventure? Unsure where to go in March?
When to Go When showcases the most amazing places in the world and the best time of year to visit them. With a chapter dedicated to each month of the year, picking your next port-of-call is easy and will have you reaching for your passport in seconds. It even suggests an alternative time to visit each place if you can't make it that month. So whether you're looking for festivals and culture, an unforgettable journey, natural wonders, rest and relaxation, or active adventures, you're sure to find something to fire your imagination.
Whistler, Canada
It’s all about the great outdoors in Whistler. Spring sees sunny days and powder aplenty, allowing for all manner of winter sports.
This pretty resort village is cradled in one of the most scenic spots in western Canada. The
Whistler and Blackcomb mountains dominate the landscape, with more than 200 ski runs,
16 alpine bowls and three glaciers. Quiet trails through thick forests of fragrant pine
and cedar beckon cross-country skiers, while the icy surface of the frozen Green Lake seems purpose-made for ice skating. And then there’s heli-skiing, snowtubing, ice climbing and so much more besides.
When you’ve had your fill of thrills, Whistler is a surprisingly cosmopolitan place to while
away the evening. Enjoy an après-ski craft beer or cocktail at one of the many lounge bars and take in the spectacular scenery.
When Else to Go: December
For more info: Top 10 Vancouver and Vancouver Island
Valencia, Spain
Anarchy erupts on Valencia’s streets during March’s Fallas Festival, a raucous romp of giant puppets, firework displays and fiery festivities.
Pumping out clouds of gunpowder smoke, the multitude of fireworks explodes with such ferocity that the ground judders. The explosions increase in volume until, before you know it, the ruckus stops and the crowd bursts into spontaneous applause. Today’s mascletà – a
daytime firework display – is over, and tomorrow’s will probably be even louder. This is the Fallas Festival, a boisterous burst of colourful fireworks, explosions and processions in honour of St Joseph, the patron saint of carpenters.
From 15 to 19 March, more than 300 huge, elaborate papier-maché sculptures – the fallas – are set up in the city streets to be inspected and judged on their artistic merit. There is an air of unruly celebration that slowly builds to a crescendo of hysteria and anarchy. Revellers are sustained by creamy hot chocolate and sugar-dusted churros, while hardcore partygoers seek stronger, around-the-clock stimulation in the many bars of the buzzing Barrio del Carmen. On the final night, the sculptures are packed with fireworks and set alight. As the flames greedily consume each work of art, the ecstatic onlookers pull back to avoid the heat, while firefighters nonchalantly hose down nearby buildings, occasionally flicking plumes of water over the spectators. Within minutes, each sculpture, which has typically taken six months to create, has been burnt to the ground in a spectacular fiery climax of wanton destruction.
When Else to Go: July
For more info: DK Spain
Marrakech, Morocco
The treasures that lie within the dusky pink medina walls of mystical Marrakech are best discovered in March, when temperatures are cooler and crowds are smaller.
The spectacular Jemaa el-Fna, the main square in Marrakech, is the beating heart of the city, throbbing day and night with an extraordinary carnival of snake-charmers, storytellers,
acrobats and musicians, all drawing enthralled crowds. In the evening, the square transforms into a giant open-air restaurant as hundreds of stalls sell traditional favourites, from delicious flame-grilled meats to harira (a thick lentil and chickpea soup) or – for those wishing to have a truly Moroccan experience – boiled sheep’s head. Simply sit back on one of the many benches around the square and enjoy the sizzling, smoke-filled hustle and bustle of it all.
But there’s more to this romantic old trading city. Head for the souks north of the square – a vast area of higgledy-piggledy cupboard-sized shops and stalls filling dozens of narrow
alleyways. A delicious mix of heady aromas draws you further into the endless maze of
lanes, where stalls are laden with bunches of fresh mint, jars of plump olives infused with
lemon and garlic, mounds of succulent Medjool dates and bright pyramids of spices. Intricately tooled leather, metalwork, brass lanterns, carpets and jewellery are all here in abundance. Each area specializes in a particular item, so one street might be filled with colourful leather babooshes (slippers), the next with sparkling glazed pottery. Whether you are buying or not, it is a wholly entrancing experience.
When Else to Go: April–May or September–November
Yucatán, Mexico
The Descent of Kukulcán, down the northern staircase of the spectacular ancient Mayan El Castillo pyramid, can be seen from mid-February into April, but it is at its best on the spring equinox, on 20 and 21 March.
You sit with fellow onlookers watching the spectacle, awestruck. Brilliant sunlight picks out the tail of a giant serpent carved alongside the great north staircase of El Castillo, the pyramid at the heart of the ruined Mayan city of Chichén Itzá. As the day moves on, seven triangles of light form a zigzag on the steps and bring the serpent to life. This phenomenon – the Descent of Kukulcán – happens every year on the spring equinox. Aligned with the sun and stars with amazing precision, El Castillo was built around AD 800. It has 365 steps around its four sides, one for each day of the year – effectively making it a huge clock.
When Else to Go: November
For more info: Where to Go When: The Americas
Barsana, India
The Hindu festival of Holi sees revellers coat one another in coloured powders in honour of spring. Barsana, in north India, is unique for its legendary Lathmar Holi hilarity.
Holi – or the “Festival of Colours” – bursts onto the Indian calendar in an explosion of colour and noise, as everyone takes to the streets with handfuls of gulal (coloured powder) and reckless abandon. Nothing reflects the spirit of Holi better than the rainbow powders that symbolize the change from drab winter into bright spring. Gulal is either used dry and smeared onto people, or mixed with water and splattered from water pistols and balloons.
On the night before Holi, large hola (bonfires) are lit and an effigy of the demon Holika is burnt, signifying the triumph of good over evil. The mood is jubilant, but it is as dawn breaks the next day that the festival erupts.
The festival has long been presided over by Lord Krishna, whose roots in the state of Uttar Pradesh give the festivities an increased fervour in the village of Barsana. Here, Lathmar Holi follows a distinct tradition in the few days before the main Holi festival. Armed with sticks, the women make the men dress in women’s clothing and dance while clouds of flame-red, turmeric-orange and electric-yellow powder cover the streets in a technicolour smog.This is a typically Indian festival, pulsing with sensuality, joy and life.
When Else to Go: October–November
More info: Treasures of India
Ningaloo, Australia
Whale sharks arrive around the time of March’s coral bloom, making for an incredible snorkelling experience.
Behind the blue curtain of the deep, Ningaloo’s wonders beckon. For three months of the year, the warm waters off the coast of Western Australia encounters the mighty 15m (50ft) whale shark, looking to feast on plankton in the March coral blooms. The whale sharks
are further joined by a legion of manta rays, clownfish and starfish. Ningaloo Marine Park,
stretching for 260 km (162 miles), teems with life and offers countless incredible underwater experiences. Dive at one of the world’s top dive sites – Navy Pier – and watch all manner of marine life cruising the ocean floor.
When Else to Go: November
More info: Road Trips Australia