Travel literature
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea stands as one of the earliest known examples of travel literature, generally dated to the 1st century CE. Authorship remains debated among scholars, yet this text established a foundation for recording maritime routes and coastal observations across the ancient world. Pausanias followed centuries later with his Description of Greece in the 2nd century CE, documenting temples, statues, and local myths through detailed first-person observation.
In medieval times, Islamic travelers produced some of the most influential accounts of their era. Nasir Khusraw wrote the Safarnama between 1003 and 1077, blending spiritual reflection with geographical description during his pilgrimage journeys. Ibn Jubayr traveled from 1145 to 1214, leaving behind records that combined religious devotion with precise descriptions of foreign lands he encountered.
Marco Polo lived from 1254 to 1354 and recorded extensive travels across Asia, creating narratives that shaped European understanding of distant civilizations. His contemporary Ibn Battuta, who lived from 1304 to 1377, journeyed even further than Marco Polo, covering vast territories across Africa, Asia, and Europe while maintaining meticulous written accounts.
Chinese travel record literature flourished during the Song dynasty between 960 and 1279. Fan Chengda, living from 1126 to 1193, incorporated geographical data into his writings alongside topographical observations. Xu Xiake, active from 1587 to 1641, expanded this tradition by including detailed maps and measurements in his travel journals.
Zhou Daguan's thirteenth-century account of Cambodia provided crucial historical documentation for Angkor at its height. Su Shi, a poet and statesman from 1037 to 1101, wrote Record of Stone Bell Mountain as both philosophical argument and travel narrative, establishing moral purpose within descriptive writing.
Petrarch climbed Mont Ventoux in 1336, marking one of the earliest known instances of someone traveling specifically for pleasure rather than necessity or duty. He described reaching the mountaintop to see the famous height, calling those who stayed below frigida incuriositas, meaning cold lack of curiosity. His ascent became an allegory for moral progress through physical challenge.
Antoine de la Sale traveled through the Jura Mountains in 1430 while serving as poet for the Duke of Burgundy. He recorded personal reflections on terrifying thunderous cascades of mountain streams and horrified reactions to sheer rock faces that surrounded him during his journey.
In 1407, Antoine de la Sale climbed to the crater of a volcano in the Lipari Islands, describing his motivations as councils of mad youth. Gilles le Bouvier later published Livre de la description des pays in the mid-15th century, explaining why he chose to travel and write about his experiences.
The Grand Tour emerged as aristocrats, clergy, and wealthy individuals with leisure time traveled across Europe to study art and architecture from earlier centuries. This tradition created demand for guide books like Thomas West's publication from 1778 about the English Lake District.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote An Inland Voyage in 1878 and Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes in 1879, presenting hiking and camping as recreational activities rather than mere survival necessities. His work commissioned one of the first sleeping bags specifically designed for outdoor travel adventures.
Alexander von Humboldt published Personal narrative of travels to the equinoctial regions of America between 1799 and 1804, originally written in French before translation into multiple languages. Charles Darwin drew influence from this work when developing his own theories about natural history and geological formations.
Charles Darwin documented his journey aboard HMS Beagle at the intersection of science, natural history, and travel writing. The Quarterly Review published an assessment of his Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of H.M.S. Adventure and Beagle between 1826 and 1836 in December 1839.
Ivan T. Sanderson published Animal Treasure documenting expeditions to jungles of then-British West Africa during the late 1930s. Caribbean Treasure covered Trinidad, Haiti, and Surinam from late 1936 through late 1938, while Living Treasure described Jamaica, British Honduras, and Yucatán.
Gerald Durrell lived on the Greek island of Corfu between 1935 and 1939 with his siblings and widowed mother. His autobiographical My Family and Other Animals from 1956 humorously explored fauna of the island as part of what became known as his Corfu trilogy.
Sally Carrighar wrote One Day at Teton Marsh in 1965 and Home to the Wilderness in 1973, merging nature observation with personal narrative. These works demonstrated how scientific inquiry could coexist with literary expression within travel documentation.
Bruce Chatwin published widely acclaimed In Patagonia in 1977 and The Songlines in 1987 before dying at age 48 on the 19th of January 1989. Paul Theroux received the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award in 1989 for Riding the Iron Rooster after winning James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981 for The Mosquito Coast novel adapted into film that same year.
Jan Morris won Golden PEN Award in 2005 from English PEN recognizing lifetime distinguished service to literature. Bill Bryson received Golden Eagle Award from Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild in 2011 and became Durham University's eleventh chancellor between 2005 and 2011.
Travel blogs emerged in mid-1990s as social media platforms enabled writers like Matthew Kepnes, Johnny Ward, and Drew Binsky to share adventures online. These digital formats allowed travelers to convey information about particular countries or provide general navigation advice through websites, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and dedicated travel platforms.
The genre expanded beyond traditional books into periodicals, websites, and multimedia presentations while maintaining core elements of observation and description. Modern authors continued writing memoir-style accounts alongside journalistic pieces exploring global destinations.
Systematic study of travel literature emerged as field of scholarly inquiry during mid-1990s with conferences, organizations, journals, monographs, anthologies, and encyclopedias dedicated to the subject. Paul Fussell published Abroad in 1980 exploring British interwar travel writing as escapism before Marianna Torgovnick released Gone Primitive: Modern Intellects, Savage Minds in 1990.
Dennis Porter wrote Haunted Journeys: Desire and Transgression in European Travel Writing in 1991 examining psychological correlatives of travel. Sara Mills analyzed intersection of gender and colonialism during nineteenth century in Discourses of Difference: An Analysis of Women's Travel Writing published that same year.
Mary Louise Pratt's Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation from 1992 studied Victorian travel writing's dissemination of colonial mind-set while Ali Behdad explored colonial anxiety in Belated Travelers published in 1994.
Prizes awarded annually for travel books included Thomas Cook Travel Book Award running from 1980 to 2004, Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature, and Dolman Best Travel Book Award beginning in 2006. Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Awards started in 1985 given by SATW Foundation covering books, guidebooks, publications, websites, broadcast formats, magazine articles, and newspaper coverage across multiple categories.
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Common questions
What is the earliest known example of travel literature and when was it written?
The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea stands as one of the earliest known examples of travel literature, generally dated to the 1st century CE. This text established a foundation for recording maritime routes and coastal observations across the ancient world.
Who wrote the Safarnama and during what years did Nasir Khusraw complete this work?
Nasir Khusraw wrote the Safarnama between 1003 and 1077 while blending spiritual reflection with geographical description during his pilgrimage journeys. Ibn Jubayr traveled from 1145 to 1214 leaving behind records that combined religious devotion with precise descriptions of foreign lands he encountered.
When did Petrarch climb Mont Ventoux and why is this event significant in travel literature history?
Petrarch climbed Mont Ventoux in 1336 marking one of the earliest known instances of someone traveling specifically for pleasure rather than necessity or duty. His ascent became an allegory for moral progress through physical challenge after describing reaching the mountaintop to see the famous height.
What years did Charles Darwin document his journey aboard HMS Beagle and when was it published?
Charles Darwin documented his journey aboard HMS Beagle at the intersection of science natural history and travel writing between 1826 and 1836. The Quarterly Review published an assessment of his Narrative of the Surveying Voyages of H.M.S. Adventure and Beagle in December 1839.
How long did Gerald Durrell live on the Greek island of Corfu and what book resulted from this period?
Gerald Durrell lived on the Greek island of Corfu between 1935 and 1939 with his siblings and widowed mother. His autobiographical My Family and Other Animals from 1956 humorously explored fauna of the island as part of what became known as his Corfu trilogy.