The forgotten sense:
Smelling while traveling

When we travel, we experience the world with all our senses. While our eyes take in the landscapes and we feel the climate on our skin, it is often the pleasant scent of a place that leaves the deepest impression on our memory, sometimes completely unconsciously:

The resinous aroma of a pine forest, fields of wild thyme and rosemary, the salty sea air and fresh mountain breeze, the smell of damp earth in the rainforest…

Depending on the season and region, you can experience entire landscapes of scent: the herbal, slightly bitter aroma of lavender; the sweet, floral notes of lilac and wisteria; the honeyed scent of linden and locust blossoms; the spicy fragrance of hay flowers; the delicate freshness of orange and lemon blossoms; as well as the velvety softness of oleander and the intoxicating scent of jasmine. The bouquet is especially intense in the early morning or evening hours, when the air is moist and the scents are more pronounced.

Food is often a scent experience even before it becomes a taste experience. At markets or simple street kitchens, aromas combine into a sensual invitation. We smell first and then often decide intuitively what we want to try. In Sri Lanka, for example, a hint of cinnamon and curry lingered in the air long before the food arrived on the plate.

What we especially love is following scents, breathing them in, identifying them, or simply letting them be part of the atmosphere. It’s amazing how strongly smells are connected to emotions. Sometimes just a drop of essential oil, the scent of a spice or the smoke of an incense stick is enough to transport us back in our minds to a place where we had a wonderful time.

Perhaps that is exactly the power of smelling: scents bring memories to life, often quite unexpectedly. That’s what makes them such a fascinating travel companion.