Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Two to Three Weeks
From Nashville, head east to hike amid the craggy peaks and waterfalls of Great
Smoky Mountains National Park before a revitalizing overnight in the arty moun-
tain town of Asheville and a tour of the scandalously opulent Biltmore Estate ,
America's largest private home. Plow straight through to the coast to loll on the
sandy barrier islands of the isolated Outer Banks , then head down the coast to fin-
ish up in Charleston , with decadent food and postcard-pretty architecture.
History
Native Americans have inhabited North Carolina for more than 10,000 years. Major
tribes included the Cherokee, in the mountains, the Catawba in the Piedmont and the
Waccamaw in the Coastal Plain.
North Carolina was the second territory to be colonized by the British, named in
memory of King Charles I (Carolus in Latin), but the first colony to vote for independen-
ce from the Crown. Several important Revolutionary War battles were fought here.
The state was a sleepy agricultural backwater through the 1800s, earning it the nick-
name the 'Rip Van Winkle State.' Divided on slavery (most residents were too poor to
own slaves), North Carolina was the last state to secede during the Civil War, but went
on to provide more Confederate soldiers than any other state.
North Carolina was a civil rights hotbed in the mid-20th century, with highly publi-
cized lunch-counter sit-ins in Greensboro and the formation of the influential Student
Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Raleigh. The later part of the century
brought finance to Charlotte, and technology and medicine to the Raleigh-Durham area,
driving a huge population boom and widening cultural diversity.
Information
North Carolina Division of Tourism ( 919-733-8372; www.visitnc.com ; 301 N Wilmington
St, Raleigh; 8am-5pm Mon-Fri) Sends out good maps and information, including its annu-
al Official Travel Guide.
North Carolina State Parks ( www.ncparks.gov ) Offers info on North Carolina's 38 state
parks and recreation areas, some have camping (prices range from free to more than $20
a night).
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