Secret Traveller by Jamal Shaikh: White magic

The most beautiful part of our planet has a hostile welcome for visitors. Interestingly, Antarctica is also the place humans are working towards keeping pristine

“You have to earn your visit to Antarctica,” the captain of the ship tells us in his welcome address. We have set sail from the Argentinian city of Ushuaia a few hours ago, which is situated on the southernmost point of the Southern Hemisphere and is also called “fin del mondo” or “the end of the world”.

The world’s largest glaciers (above)by area are found in Antarctica, where large amounts of ice have accumulated over a long period of time

Penguins use these ‘highways’ (above) cut through the snow to commute from their homes—their nests on land—to the sea, where they catch their food

Antarctic seals lounge on ice

Penguins are the most common bird in the Anarctic

Whales are not just the most majestic creatures on earth, they are also the engineers of the environment

Things to keep in mind

Michelin-starred chef and recently appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire, Vineet Bhatia

Vasim Shaikh of The Q Experiences, a luxury expedition company

Suhel Seth visited Antarctica in 2018 and wrote about it for HT Brunch