Deep roots in the smoky mountains
National Geographic Traveller (UK)|December 2022
Rising along the eastern flank of Tennessee, the Great Smoky Mountains are known for their hiking trails, waterfalls and wild bears - this is, after all, the most naturally biodiverse pocket in the us. But a road trip through its old-growth forests reveals a more human story. Here, tight-knit communities are preserving ancient appalachian crafts and traditions, from pottery and broom carving to folk dancing, all alongside some of America's most bombastic resort towns
By Zoey Goto
Deep roots in the smoky mountains

DRIVING THROUGH PIGEON FORGE IS NOTHING SHORT OF EUPHORIC

The small mountain city, deep in the beating heart of East Tennessee, boasts a main drag like no other, all twinkling lights, curious characters, gaudy billboards and eye-popping attractions. The kerbside carousel makes it hard to keep my eyes on the road.

I pass a gaggle of sightseers, among them Amish holidaymakers in bonnets and boaters, craning their heads back to admire a giant King Kong clinging to the outside of a tall building, his jaws frozen in an endless roar, his clenched fist grasping a retro aeroplane.

This is perhaps the kitschiest monument in the city - which has marketed itself as a 'family vacation hub' since the 1980s - but it's certainly not alone in vying for that title.

There's a replica of the doomed Titanic; a souvenir shop claiming to sell live alligators; and a waffle house boasting no fewer than 100 singing animatronic chickens.

Up ahead, a Bavarian-style mansion appears like a mirage. An actor dressed as Father Christmas stands out front, sweating in the blazing midsummer sunshine next to a colossal, bauble-decked fir tree. This hotel, I gather from a painted sign, celebrates Christmas every single day of the year. It's a lot to take in.

Yet, beyond this razzle-dazzle main drag of artifice and entertainment, waterfalls cascade in hushed 300-million-year-old woodland and hawks patrol the heavens. A road trip through the Great Smoky Mountains offers up almost impossible contradictions.

Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av National Geographic Traveller (UK).

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra December 2022-utgaven av National Geographic Traveller (UK).

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER (UK)Se alt
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