Afar Magazine Is Turning 15—Here Are Some of Our Favorite Feature Stories Published Throughout the Years

In honor of our 15th anniversary, our editorial team rounded up a few of our favorite features we’ve run over the years.

Collage of 8 photos showing  people, urban scenes, and the outdoors.

These are a few of our favorite feature stories from Afar’s 15 years of storytelling.

Collage by Ellie See

This fall, we are commemorating 15 years of Afar, and it is fun to look back. Since 2009, Afar’s stories have inspired, enriched, and empowered our community of travelers who care.

Rooted in the power of experiential travel, Afar has grown to be one of the most forward-thinking, critically acclaimed travel media publications today. Now, as we reflect on the past 15 years, it’s our chance to proudly celebrate our legacy and boldly steward the future of travel as a force for good.

The 15 stories highlighted here are some of our favorites because they fulfill our editorial mission. They are inclusive stories that showcase the multitude of the human experience. They are driven by curiosity about the world, without judgment. They are optimistic and joyful, while not whitewashing or Photoshopping reality. And finally, they showcase the power of radical empathy, or of arriving in a new place with humility and a desire to learn from others.

If you enjoy reading through our archives, please consider subscribing to our quarterly print magazine to see what the next 15 years holds. Thanks for your support!

Happy reading!— Julia Cosgrove, VP and editor in chief

Julia Cosgrove is vice president and editor in chief of Afar, the critically acclaimed travel media brand that makes a positive impact on the world through high-quality storytelling that inspires, enriches, and empowers travelers who care. Julia lives in Berkeley, California.
An aspiring bluegrass fiddler from London discovers much more than music on a trip to North Carolina.
In India’s most contradictory city, artists and intellectuals improvise their way through the commotion.
For centuries, millions of people have visited the town in southwestern France, hoping for healing.
When you’re alone in Tokyo and you need someone to talk to, do as the locals do: Rent a friend.
Writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner went to Iceland seeking puffins and peace. Along the way, she learned that the perfect Icelandic adventure is just a dream—but you can, and should, still go in search of it.
The city is overrun with tourists. But what if travelers were part of the solution, not the problem?
A visually impaired traveler journeys through the wilds of Zimbabwe and discovers a side of the safari experience that very few know.
Rock climbing. Wadi hiking. Sinkhole swimming. Author Sarah Thankam Mathews seeks out adventure in her childhood home.
I think back to the quiet and restrained child I was, of how much I wanted to see and be in the world, to know its beauty firsthand.
Sarah Thankam Mathews, The Otherworldly, Overwhelming, Oftentimes Unbelievable Natural Wonders of Oman, Afar 15th Essay Pick
Anya von Bremzen dives deep into one of the most ethnically diverse places on Earth—New York City’s borough of Queens.
Rahawa Haile grew up surrounded by the beauty and kitsch of South Florida. Now she returns and wonders what happens when the places we love start to disappear.
For years, Hawai‘i has been packaged as a picturesque paradise. A place where mainland travelers could forget the worries of home. The problem? Hawai‘i’s land, history, and people are often ignored or trampled. Chris Colin reports on the locals who are pushing back.
Greenland has a rich vocabulary for ice and snow. But what happens to language when those natural phenomena start to disappear?
In the wake of a nationwide surge of anti-Asian hate crimes, writer Bonnie Tsui reflects on the resiliency of Chinatowns.
Chinatown was born of diaspora but also of the human need to gather and make a home. It’s the most American story there is.
Bonnie Tsui, What Chinatown Means to America—and to Me, Afar 15th Essay Pick
How does a place change when the person who defined it for you is now gone?
Once upon a time, writer Roxane Gay and her wife, the illustrator Debbie Millman, set sail to Antarctica. Here, they each tell the tale—well, their version of it.