Tony Bailie

Crna Gora is the Serbo-Croat for Black Mountain, but it is by its Italian translation that most people know Montenegro. In terms of breadth and width Montenegro is tiny, around 150km in both directions, making it a fifth of the size of Ireland. But in terms of height it is a towering nation, with wave after wave of mountain ranges rolling out into its hinterland. Montenegro was the last of the former federal republics that once made up Yugoslavia to break away from Serbia just over a decade ago, a much less painless and non-violent process compared to its neighbours in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo. While for now most visitors stick to its impossibly picturesque coasts and around the Bay of Kotor where the mountains plunge to the sea, there is a sense that this is an eco-tourist paradise on the verge of discovery. The coastal towns and villages show clear Italian influences, with cobbled streets, piazzas, Venetian-style palaces and small Catholic Churches. But alongside these are onion-do...

Tony Bailie hikes through the lunar landscape of Murcia's badlands, climbs a forest-covered mountain, visits 'snow wells' and peeks into a former TB sanatorium to see if any ghosts turn up... An ancient sea floor pushed upwards over millions of years formed Barrancos De Gebas which lies about an hour's drive out of Murcia city. Barrancos means ravines and dozens of them – chalky white, rising and falling away from one another – give this place an other-worldly feel. Despite the sparse vegetation, earning it the title of The Badlands, it is a rich habitat for hundreds of butterflies and moths. It has been a protected area since 1995 and its unique desert landscape shimmers with an eerie whiteness in the morning sun. The barrancos form a hinterland for Sierra Espuña, which in contrast sees lush green forests rising along a series of not-too-high but impressive mountains. The greenery of this area is thanks to an early 20th century environmentalist called Ricardo Codorníu ...