TRAVEL LOG

Comfort amid the sequoias

, Bloomberg
12:00 AM PDT, June 18, 2006

A new seasonal tent camp is set to open July 3 in Sequoia National Monument, but this one will take camping in the area to new heights of comfort.

Forget the cots and sleeping bags and making creamed chipped beef on toast.

Sequoia High Sierra Camp will have 330-square-foot canvas tents with twin, queen- and king-size beds, down pillows, feather mattress tops, linens and teak furniture, not to mention flush toilets, showers and three meals a day, said Catherine Boire, a spokeswoman for Delaware North Cos. Parks & Resorts, which will be operating the camp.

"I call it a back-country tent hotel," she said.

With 36 tents "it's much larger than typical High Sierra camps," Boire said. Guests have to hike into the camp, which is at 8,400 feet. They can take the long route, an 11-mile moderate-to-strenuous hike or an easy 1 1/2 -mile trail. The camp is between Sequoia and Kings Canyon national parks, and off the Twin Lakes Trail.

It will be open until mid-September. Delaware North is offering an introductory rate this season of $350 per bungalow, which sleeps one or two people, including meals. (Brochure rates are $225 per person, double occupancy.)

For information, (866) 654-2877, http://www.sequoiahighsierracamp.com .

Copter ride to Inca ruins

FOR a price, there's now a faster way to get to the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru. By helicopter.

Tour company Inkaterra last month started daily flights from Cuzco to the ruins. The helicopter seats up to five plus a pilot. Rates are $895 to $2,210 per person, depending on the number of passengers. Information: (800) 442-5042, http://www.inkaterra.com .

Fares rise with fuel cost

AMERICAN, United, Delta, Continental, Northwest and US Airways increased fares by $50 on domestic first-class and last-minute coach tickets last week. Southwest had not joined the others in the fare increase as of the Travel section's extended deadline Friday. The airlines are raising fares to offset rising fuel prices. They also increased surcharges on transatlantic flights by $10, to $75, each way.

Bloomberg

— Compiled by

Vani Rangachar