Slovakia

The notion of spending two minutes in a box-sized room chilled to an inconceivable -121C, all in the name of a health kick, sounds like something from a sci-fi novel.  And when I hear that this so-called 'wonder treatment' - used by athletes to boost performance - is known as 'cryotherapy', my mind fills with wrapped images of dead bodies put in the freezer. Fortunately, cryonics (freezing the dead) is very different to cryotherapy, which I'm about to try at AquaCity, a water park and spa centre at the foot of the Tatra Mountains in Slovakia.

In the film Hostel, the director Eli Roth depicted Slovakia as a dirty, dangerous war-torn country brewing with evil. Horny backpackers were particularly vulnerable, not only from the devious women who'd lure them to an early death for a few korunas, but also the young ruffians who'd kill for a mobile phone - or even a piece of chewing gum.

Experience Macedonia's Pristine Powder
Skiers looking for perfect powder, that fluffy, untouched stuff of dreams and snow that's all but guaranteed love Popova Sapka in northwest Macedonia, which one reviewer called "the Balkans' St Moritz".  Set at 1,700m up in the rounded peaks of the Dinaric Mountains, Popova is higher than most of its Eastern European competitors meaning good cover is pretty much a given from January to March (the town's simple, effective slogan is: 'We have snow').  No wonder, then that it's hosted both the European and Balkan Ski Championships along with the Sarplaninski Cup, which was launched at Popova in 1947.  Wide, open runs combined with plenty of incredible off-piste terrai and great value accommodation mean Popova is one of Eastern Europe's best kept ski destinations.

Not all of us can and want to visit the European type ski resorts; we want to enjoy the sports without the fashion show.  Heading further east to Slovakia is one of our recommendations. Slovakia home to some untouched and quietly hip ski resorts.  The country has five main ski areas in what is called the High Tatras and Low Tatras, an hour by road separate them.  The Low Tatras is the better of the two, although its considered low, the area is 2,000m above sea level.

Jasna is the Low Tatras is one of the better ski resorts in Slovakia.  It has over 90 snow cannons covering a 12Km area of slops and allowing skiing on both the north and south of the Chopok mountains, guaranteeing snow for five months).  Parts of the slopes are illuminated for night skiing as well.