Join the ranks of 'Racontourists' and discover the world of the Ancients

Is there anything more satisfying than wandering through a sequence of crumbling and enchanted ruins? It remains a guaranteed restorative pastime where, under the spell of absorption and delight, time stops on its heels. Another key component of making the whole experience so vivid is finding the right guide, who can contextualize and bring the poetic nature of these abandoned landscapes to life.

For Egyptomaniacs, Luxor offers immediate access to some of the country’s most revered archaeological jewels. Specifically the complex of Karnak, the equivalent of the Vatican of ancient Egyptian worship, with its Sacred Lake and Avenue of Sphinxes, not to mention the more esoteric smaller temple of worship to the goddess Sekhmet, which is best seen with the incomparable Egyptologist and guide Ahmed Hammam. He regularly works with the hotel Al Moudira – itself a cultural wonderland of salvaged antiques from the palaces of Alexandria – the perfect base to explore the wonders of north Luxor and the west bank of the Nile. Staying here is the perfect balm to incredibly early mornings spent admiring hieroglyphics and the most ornately painted temple ceilings. From here, head out on a pilgrimage to Dendera, an imposing edifice and series of shrines, constructed during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, from about 125 BCE to 60 CE. Arrive at 7am sharp, when the complex opens, to pay homage to the Egyptian goddess of beauty and love, Hathor, and see the enormous reliefs of Cleopatra and her son Caesarion carved into the temple wall.

Another exotic, ancient haunt is the mystical My Son Sanctuary in central Vietnam, once the spiritual and political epicenter of the Champa Kingdom and home to a complex of ornate red-brick 4th- to 13th-century Hindu temples. Whatever you believe, this is a place that compels the imagination. It’s best visited through luxury travel specialists Original Travel, who have seen a trend within their clients of ‘Raconteurism’ (as they call it) where there is a revival in the art of using travel as a means of gathering stories and anecdotes, then returning home with tales to tell.

As co-founder Tom Barber says, ‘Our team of destination experts and network of clued-up concierges can advise on the most interesting places to visit, facilitate introductions to some fascinating people and arrange incredible experiences.’ Indeed, they can organise the most enlightening private tour with the renowned archaeologist and specialist in Champa conservation, Tran Ky Phuong. To spend time with him, as he shows you some of his favourite corners of the My Son Sanctuary, including a tiny museum that houses some of the earliest tablets of Hindu script and the Shaiva Hindu and Mount Meru temples, is extraordinary. It’s worth basing yourself in the Four Seasons Nam Hai, just under an hour’s drive away. There is no better place to acclimatise after a day spent trekking through jungly ruins, soothed with early-evening yoga and sound healing treatments, followed by a fresh ginger tea.

Some landscapes remind you of all the beauty in the world, particularly the parched landscapes of Sicily or Greece, as you drift around Europe on a Byronic pilgrimage. And the romantic poet would certainly have had something to say about the recent reopening of Imaret, a museum mansion of a hotel in the historic Greek port town of Kavala. This Ottoman landmark was built in 1813 by Muhammad Ali Pasha, the founder of modern Egypt, on the site of an ancient Greek temple. Today it’s an elegant and cultured sanctuary, where you can embark on a journey up to Mount Paggaio, said to be the home of Orpheus. Meanwhile, over on Persephone’s island, Sicily, there are many revered cultural sites, from the Valley of the Temples to Segesta near Palermo and the hilltop cultural mecca that is Taormina, home to a landmark Greek amphitheatre. Also not to be missed is Belmond’s Grand Hotel Timeo, which is like the annexe to this ancient Greek wonder, whose impeccable hotel concierge can arrange tickets to concerts that take place there.

And for those who love the idea of actually sleeping in a ruin, any of The Landmark Trust’s array of historic properties could fit this brief, but one in particular, The Ruin in Hackfall, North Yorkshire, is the undisputed bolthole of dreams. Built around 1767 as a banqueting house, The Ruin sits high above a wooded gorge and is known as a ‘Janus-faced’ Georgian folly (meaning it has two faces), with its unusual Gothic-style roofline. And here there is undoubtedly enough Brontë beauty to satisfy one’s romantic imaginings – this could be a storybook idyll made for Cathy and Heathcliff, with doors opening straight out onto the misty countryside.