Nature destinations

Abel Tasman is the smallest national park in the country and the sunniest, a coastline of golden beaches and granite headlands with a 60 km coastal track that can be walked or broken up by water taxi. Kayaking with fur seals is the other main way to see it. Tides govern two of the track's crossings.

Abisko sits beside Torneträsk lake inside the Arctic Circle, at the northern end of the Kungsleden trail. Its position in the rain shadow of the Norwegian mountains gives it more clear nights than anywhere nearby, making it a leading northern lights location. In summer the same terrain offers midnight-sun hiking and the U-shaped Lapporten valley view.

Amboseli sits below Kilimanjaro on the Tanzanian border, with swamps fed by mountain meltwater that hold elephants through the dry season. The park is known for large, well-studied elephant families and for open views of the mountain when the cloud lifts, usually early and late. It is small enough to cover in two days.

Kyoto

A short, striking path through towering bamboo on Kyoto's western edge. The grove sits beside Tenryu-ji, a Zen temple that is part of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto UNESCO site. The bamboo path is busiest from mid-morning, so early visits are much quieter.

The Atacama is the driest non-polar desert on earth, sitting at 2,400 metres and above with salt flats, flamingo lagoons, the El Tatio geyser field and altiplano lakes on the Bolivian border. San Pedro de Atacama is the base for all of it. The dryness and altitude give exceptional night skies, which is why major observatories are here.

Bacalar is a 42 km freshwater lagoon in southern Quintana Roo, banded in several shades of blue over a white limestone bed, with cenotes dropping to 90 m within it. Sailing, kayaking and swimming are the activities; there is no beach resort strip. Sunscreen and motorboat use are restricted to protect the microbialite reefs.

Białowieża straddles the Polish–Belarusian border and holds the last substantial area of primeval lowland forest in Europe, with dead wood left standing and trees several centuries old. The strict reserve can only be entered with a licensed guide. It is also the stronghold of the European bison, which was brought back from extinction in the wild here.

Bohemian Switzerland is a sandstone park on the German border, with gorges cut by the Kamenice river and the largest natural rock arch in Europe at Pravčická brána. Trails link the arch, the gorge boat sections and forest plateaus; a 2022 wildfire closed some routes, which reopened in stages. Hřensko and Mezní Louka are the usual trailheads.

Boquete sits at about 1,200 metres in a green valley below Volcán Barú, which at 3,474 metres is high enough to see both oceans from the summit on a clear morning. Geisha coffee grown here sells for record prices, and farm tours explain why. Cloud forest trails such as the Quetzal Trail run out of the valley.

Bwindi is an old montane rainforest in south-western Uganda holding roughly half the world's remaining mountain gorillas. Trekking runs in small permitted groups to a habituated family, with a strict one-hour observation limit and walks that can last from one to eight hours on steep, muddy ground. Permits are limited daily and sell out months ahead.

Chitwan is a lowland park of sal forest and grassland holding one-horned rhino, tigers, gharial and more than 500 bird species. Jeep drives, canoe trips and guided walks all run from the village of Sauraha. It is a five-hour drive from Kathmandu or Pokhara and a good counterweight to the mountains.

Chobe protects a stretch of river on the Namibian border that holds one of the largest elephant concentrations in Africa, particularly in the dry season when herds come to drink. Boat cruises on the Chobe river are the signature activity, giving low-angle views of elephants, hippos and buffalo. Kasane at the park gate is an easy road transfer from Victoria Falls.

The Cliffs of Moher run for 14 kilometres along the Clare coast, rising to 214 metres at their highest point near O'Brien's Tower. A paved path links the visitor centre to viewpoints, and a longer coastal trail continues to Doolin and Hag's Head with far fewer people on it. Seabird colonies, including puffins in early summer, nest on the ledges.

Corcovado on the Osa Peninsula is the most biologically intense park in the country, holding all four Costa Rican monkey species, tapirs, scarlet macaws and one of the last viable jaguar populations. Entry requires a certified guide and advance reservation, usually from Drake Bay or Puerto Jiménez. Multi-day stays at the Sirena station give the best wildlife.

Cotopaxi is a symmetrical 5,897 m glaciated volcano an hour south of Quito, with páramo grassland, wild horses and a refuge at 4,860 m reachable on foot. Day visitors walk to the refuge and the glacier edge; the summit is a technical night climb with a guide. The park closes when volcanic activity increases.

The Daintree is estimated at around 180 million years old, making it the oldest continuously surviving tropical rainforest, and it runs down to the sea at Cape Tribulation where it meets the reef. Boardwalks, a river cable ferry and crocodile-spotting cruises structure most visits. Swimming in the rivers is not safe because of estuarine crocodiles.

The Dead Sea shore is the lowest land on earth at over 400 m below sea level, with water salty enough to float in unaided and mineral mud used across the resort spas. Most visits are a half-day stop between Amman and Petra. The water level is falling measurably each year.

The Drakensberg escarpment rises above KwaZulu-Natal in basalt walls and amphitheatres, protected as the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park and listed by UNESCO for both nature and its San rock art. Trails range from valley walks to the chain ladders up the Amphitheatre and the Tugela falls. Weather turns quickly, and summer afternoons bring lightning.

El Chaltén was founded in 1985 and exists for hiking: trails to Laguna de los Tres below Fitz Roy and Laguna Torre below Cerro Torre start from the village streets, with no permits or transport needed. Wind is constant and weather turns in minutes, so flexible days matter. It is three hours by road from El Calafate.

Etosha is built around a vast salt pan, and in the dry season animals concentrate at a small number of waterholes, making self-drive game viewing unusually productive. Elephant, lion, rhino and large herds of springbok and zebra are all regular. Several camps have floodlit waterholes that can be watched all night.

Kyoto

Thousands of vermilion torii gates climbing Mount Inari. The full loop takes two hours. The head shrine of the Shinto god Inari is famous for thousands of vermilion torii gates covering the trails up Mount Inari. The gates are gifts from individuals and businesses. The full loop to the summit takes a few hours.

The Garden Route follows the southern coast for about 300 kilometres between Mossel Bay and Storms River, with lagoons, indigenous forest, cliffs and long beaches. Knysna and Plettenberg Bay are the main bases, and Tsitsikamma National Park holds the forest and suspension bridges at the eastern end. It is usually driven over four to six days.

The Grand Canyon is 446 kilometres long and over a kilometre deep, cut by the Colorado river through layers spanning nearly two billion years. The South Rim is open year-round with shuttle buses along the viewpoints; the North Rim is higher, quieter and closed in winter. Hiking below the rim is serious: the return climb is the hard half, and there is no water on most routes.

The Great Barrier Reef runs for around 2,300 kilometres along the Queensland coast and is the largest coral reef system on earth. Day boats from Cairns and Port Douglas reach outer reef pontoons and dive sites, while liveaboards get to less-visited sections. Coral health varies considerably by site after repeated bleaching events.

Iguaçu is a system of some 275 waterfalls on the Brazil–Argentina border, spread across nearly three kilometres of cliff in subtropical forest. The Brazilian side gives the wide panoramic view from a cliff walkway; the Argentine side puts you on catwalks above and beside the Devil's Throat. Most visitors see both across two days.

The Argentine side holds around eighty percent of the falls and puts visitors on catwalks running above, beside and directly over the water, ending at the platform on the lip of the Devil's Throat. A small train links the circuits inside the national park. Coatis and butterflies are everywhere along the trails.

Issyk-Kul is the world's second largest alpine lake, 182 kilometres long and slightly saline, which keeps it from freezing despite sitting at 1,600 metres. The northern shore holds beach resorts used by Central Asian holidaymakers; the southern shore is quieter, with canyons, petroglyph fields and access to the mountains. A road circles the whole lake.

Jeju is a volcanic island south of the peninsula, built around the shield volcano Hallasan with lava tubes, crater cones and a coastline of black rock and beaches. A 437-kilometre walking route, the Olle Trail, circles the island in numbered sections. Domestic flights from Seoul are among the busiest air routes in the world.

Jökulsárlón is a glacial lagoon where icebergs calve off Breiðamerkurjökull and drift to the sea, washing up on the black sand of Diamond Beach opposite. Boat trips run among the bergs in summer, and the site is a five-hour drive from Reykjavík, which is why most people break the journey at Vík. Seals are common in the lagoon year-round.

The backwaters are a 900-kilometre network of canals, lagoons and lakes running parallel to the Arabian Sea coast, lined with villages, rice paddies and coir workshops. Converted rice barges, kettuvallam, are hired with crew for overnight trips from Alleppey and Kumarakom. Smaller canoes reach the narrow channels the barges cannot.

Keukenhof is a 32-hectare bulb garden between Amsterdam and The Hague, planted each autumn with around seven million bulbs and open only from late March to mid-May. Paths run through themed gardens and pavilions, and the surrounding commercial bulb fields can be cycled. It is busiest at weekends and in the middle of the day.

Khor Al Adaid, the inland sea, is a tidal inlet in the far south of Qatar where the Gulf reaches into high dunes on the Saudi border. It can only be reached by four-wheel drive across the sand, so visits run as guided trips from Doha. The area is a UNESCO-recognised nature reserve with flamingos and dugongs in the shallows.

Kibale is a moist tropical forest in western Uganda with thirteen primate species, including a large and well-habituated chimpanzee population. Tracking walks leave twice daily and usually find a group within a couple of hours. The Bigodi wetland beside the park is a community-run birding and monkey walk worth a morning on its own.

The Kinabatangan is Sabah's longest river, and the remaining forest along its banks funnels wildlife into a narrow corridor. Dawn and dusk boat cruises regularly find proboscis monkeys, macaques, hornbills and pygmy elephants, with orangutans less predictably. Lodges along the river run the cruises and night walks.

Komodo National Park covers three main islands and the water between them, protecting the Komodo dragon and some of the richest reef in Indonesia. Visits run as boat trips from Labuan Bajo on Flores, combining ranger-guided dragon walks with snorkelling at Pink Beach and manta cleaning stations. Currents here are strong, so guided diving is the norm.

The Krimml falls drop 380 metres in three stages at the western end of the Salzach valley, inside Hohe Tauern National Park. A well-graded switchback path climbs beside the water to a series of viewing platforms, taking about ninety minutes to the top. The spray zone is used therapeutically for respiratory conditions, and the trail closes in deep winter.

The Krka river drops through a series of travertine cascades inside a limestone canyon between Šibenik and Knin, with Skradinski Buk the largest and most visited set. Boardwalks loop around the falls, and boats run up the flooded river gorge to the monastery island of Visovac. Swimming below the main falls is no longer permitted.

Kruger covers about 19,500 square kilometres along the Mozambique border and is one of the few major African parks you can drive yourself, with tarred roads, rest camps and shops. All of the big five live here, and sightings depend on season, water and patience. Private reserves on the western boundary offer off-road guided drives at higher cost.

Atitlán fills a collapsed volcanic caldera at 1,560 metres, ringed by three volcanoes and a dozen villages, each with its own character and Maya language. Boats rather than roads are the main link between them: Panajachel for transport, San Marcos for retreats, San Juan for weaving cooperatives. The lake is deep and the afternoon wind is strong.

Bled is the image most people have of Slovenia: a glacial lake with an island church, a cliff-top castle and the Karavanke range behind it. A flat six-kilometre path circles the water, and traditional pletna boats row out to the island. It is the country's busiest destination, so early mornings and shoulder season make a large difference to the experience.

Bohinj is bigger, wilder and quieter than Bled, lying inside Triglav National Park with mountains rising straight out of the water. Swimming, kayaking and lakeside walking are the main activities, and the Vogel cable car climbs to a plateau with a view over the whole valley. It is the better base for hiking, including the approach to the Savica waterfall and routes up towards the Triglav massif.

Saimaa is a maze of interconnected lakes, channels and some 14,000 islands filling much of south-eastern Finland. Cottages, saunas and small boats define the summer here, and kayaking between islands is straightforward for beginners. The lake is the only habitat of the endangered Saimaa ringed seal, of which a few hundred remain.

Landmannalaugar is a rhyolite mountain basin in the highlands, striped in ochre, green and black, with a natural hot river running through the camp. It is the northern trailhead of the Laugavegur trek and the base for a set of strong day hikes. Access requires fording rivers or taking the scheduled highland bus.

A flat-floored glacial trench with vertical walls on both sides and 72 waterfalls falling into it, including the Staubbach which drops almost 300 metres beside the village. Cable cars and rack railways climb from the valley to car-free Mürren and Wengen, which are the starting points for most of the hiking. It is the practical base for the Jungfrau region.

Lençóis Maranhenses is a field of white sand dunes on the north-east coast where rainwater collects between the ridges into thousands of clear blue lagoons. The water arrives with the rains and evaporates by the end of the year, so the lagoons are full roughly from June to September. Four-wheel drive from Barreirinhas is the standard access.

The road from Vlorë to the Riviera climbs to just over 1,000 m at Llogara before dropping to the sea in a series of hairpins, with a view along the whole Ionian coast. The pine forest at the top is a national park with short walking trails, and the ridge is Albania's main paragliding site. It is a stop rather than a base, but the best single view on the coastal drive.

Lofoten is a chain of Arctic islands where granite peaks rise straight out of the sea above white beaches and red fishing cabins. It is the most photographed part of northern Norway and has grown busy in summer, though the hiking remains excellent and the winter aurora season is quieter. Road connections run the length of the chain, with ferries at either end.

The Maasai Mara is the Kenyan section of the Serengeti ecosystem, open grassland with high predator density year-round and the wildebeest migration crossing the Mara river between roughly July and October. Conservancies bordering the reserve limit vehicle numbers and allow night drives and walking. Fly-in from Nairobi takes under an hour.

Meteora is a cluster of sandstone pillars in central Greece topped by six working Orthodox monasteries, reachable by road and by footpaths between the rocks. Sunset from the western viewpoints is the signature moment, but walking the old monks' trails is the better way to see it. Kalambaka below has train connections from Athens and Thessaloniki.

Milos is a volcanic island with a coastline of white rock formations, coloured cliffs and more than seventy beaches, many reachable only by boat. Sarakiniko's bleached moonscape is the best-known image, and the fishing villages of Klima and Mandrakia have boathouses cut into the rock. A car or quad is close to essential.

Mindo is a cloud forest town in the Chocó Andean corridor, one of the richest birding areas in the world, with hummingbird feeders, cock-of-the-rock leks and around 500 recorded species. Chocolate made from local cacao and tubing on the river fill the non-birding hours. It sits at a comfortable 1,250 m.

Bromo is an active cone inside the much larger Tengger caldera in east Java, surrounded by a flat sea of volcanic sand. The standard visit is a pre-dawn jeep ride to a viewpoint on the caldera rim, then a walk and stair climb to the smoking crater. Nights at 2,000 metres are genuinely cold, which surprises most first-time visitors.

Kinabalu rises to 4,095 metres in Sabah, the highest peak between the Himalaya and New Guinea, and is climbed over two days with a compulsory mountain guide and an overnight at Laban Rata. Permits are limited daily, so bookings are made months ahead. The park below holds pitcher plants, orchids and montane forest worth a day on its own.

Toubkal is the highest mountain in North Africa at 4,167 m, climbed over two or three days from the village of Imlil via a mountain refuge. No technical skill is needed in summer, though crampons are required from roughly November to April. Guides are mandatory under current rules.

Murchison Falls is Uganda's largest park, split by the Victoria Nile, which forces itself through a seven-metre gap and drops 43 metres at the falls themselves. Boat trips run upstream to the base of the falls past hippos and crocodiles, and game drives on the northern bank find elephant, giraffe and lion. A trail climbs from the river to the top of the falls.

Ngorongoro is an intact volcanic caldera about 19 kilometres across, with a floor of grassland, swamp and soda lake holding a resident population of some 25,000 large animals including black rhino. Vehicles descend on a one-way road at dawn and must leave by late afternoon. Maasai continue to graze cattle in the wider conservation area.

Nyungwe is one of Africa's oldest montane rainforests, with thirteen primate species including habituated chimpanzees and large colobus troops. A 70 m-high canopy walkway crosses a ravine, and there are more than 130 km of trails. It is a five-hour drive from Kigali through tea country.

The Okavango is an inland delta where a river from the Angolan highlands spreads across the Kalahari and evaporates rather than reaching the sea. The flood arrives in the middle of the dry season, filling channels that are explored by mokoro dugout canoe and by boat, alongside vehicle and walking safaris on the islands. Access is almost entirely by light aircraft to camp airstrips.

Pamukkale is a hillside of white travertine terraces formed by calcium-rich hot springs, walked barefoot along a marked route to protect the surface. On the plateau above sits Hierapolis, a Greco-Roman spa city with a large theatre and a necropolis. The two are a single ticketed site and take half a day together.

The Pantanal is the world's largest tropical wetland, flooding and drying on an annual cycle that concentrates animals along rivers and waterholes in the dry months. It offers the most reliable jaguar sightings anywhere, along with giant otters, capybara, caiman and hyacinth macaws. Access is via the Transpantaneira road in the north or Campo Grande in the south.

Perito Moreno is a 30-kilometre glacier in Los Glaciares National Park with a five-kilometre front standing about 70 metres above the water. Unlike most glaciers it has remained roughly stable, and blocks calve off the face regularly in front of the viewing walkways. Boat trips and guided ice walks put you at water level and on the ice itself.

Pico do Fogo is an active volcano rising to 2,829 m inside a collapsed caldera, with villages farming vines and coffee on the crater floor. The last eruption in 2014 buried part of Chã das Caldeiras, and the lava field is still visible. The summit climb takes three to four hours up and about one hour down through ash.

The Picos are a limestone massif rising to 2,600 m just 20 km from the Atlantic, with deep gorges, cable-car access to high terrain and a strong tradition of blue cheese and cider. The Cares Gorge walk is the signature route, cut into the cliff between Poncebos and Caín. Weather changes fast and cloud can close the Fuente Dé cable car.

Sixteen terraced lakes fall into one another through travertine barriers that are still growing, joined by boardwalks that run just above the water. Routes are numbered and one-way in the busy season, with a shuttle bus and an electric boat linking the upper and lower lakes. Entry is capped, so tickets need booking ahead in summer.

Port Antonio sits on the wet eastern end of Jamaica, backed by the Blue Mountains and the Rio Grande valley. Bamboo rafting on the river, the Blue Lagoon and a string of small beaches make up the draw, with far fewer visitors than Negril or Montego Bay. Rain is frequent, which is what keeps the area so green.

Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock, is a flat cliff platform 604 m above the Lysefjord, reached by a four-hour return hike from the car park near Stavanger. The path is well built but rocky and busy through the summer. Fjord cruises from Stavanger pass beneath it for the other perspective.

Pulau Ubin is a granite island off Singapore's north-east coast, reached by bumboat from Changi Point, where a few hundred residents still live in wooden kampong houses. Bicycles are the way to get around, and the Chek Jawa wetlands at the eastern end expose a mudflat ecosystem at low tide. It is the clearest surviving picture of pre-development Singapore.

The Ring of Kerry is a 179-kilometre circuit of the Iveragh peninsula, taking in mountain passes, beaches, stone forts and views out to the Skellig islands. Coaches drive it anticlockwise, so going the other way or starting early avoids the convoys. Killarney National Park at the eastern end holds the lakes, waterfalls and old woodland.

Rovaniemi sits on the Arctic Circle at the meeting of two rivers and is Lapland's transport hub, rebuilt after 1944 to a plan by Alvar Aalto. In winter it is the base for husky sledding, reindeer farms, snowmobiling and aurora watching; in summer the same forests are used for river trips and midnight-sun hiking. Flights and overnight trains arrive from Helsinki.

The Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat, about 10,600 square kilometres of hexagonal crust at 3,656 metres. In the dry season it is a blinding white plain with cactus islands; after rain a shallow film turns it into a mirror. Multi-day jeep tours continue south to coloured lagoons, flamingos and geysers near the Chilean border.

Saxon Switzerland is a national park of eroded sandstone towers, gorges and plateaus along the Elbe upstream of Dresden. Marked trails link viewpoints such as the Bastei bridge and the table mountains of Lilienstein and Königstein, and the rock towers are a historic free-climbing area. Trains from Dresden run along the river to most trailheads.

Semuc Champey is a 300-metre natural limestone bridge in the Alta Verapaz jungle, carrying a staircase of turquoise pools while the Cahabón river runs underneath it. A steep path climbs to a viewpoint over the whole formation. Access is by rough road from Lanquín, which is the main reason it stays relatively quiet.

The Serengeti covers about 14,750 square kilometres of grassland, kopjes and riverine forest, and holds the largest land mammal migration on earth as roughly 1.5 million wildebeest move in an annual loop. Where to stay depends entirely on the month: southern plains for calving, western corridor mid-year, northern river crossings from July. Predator density is high across the park all year.

The Soča runs turquoise the whole way from the Julian Alps to the Italian border, and the valley around Bovec and Kobarid is the country's adventure centre: rafting, canyoning, kayaking and paragliding. It is also the ground of the Isonzo Front, and the Kobarid museum and outdoor trails explain the mountain war in detail. Roads over the Vršič pass connect it to Kranjska Gora in summer.

Song-Köl is an alpine lake at 3,016 metres, ringed by summer pasture where herding families set up yurts from June to September. There are no permanent settlements, and the experience is staying in a yurt camp with the families who work the pasture. The approach roads over the passes close with the first heavy snow.

Sossusvlei is the salt pan at the end of the Tsauchab valley, surrounded by some of the highest dunes in the world, with the dead camelthorn trees of Deadvlei nearby. The gate opens at sunrise and the light in the first hour is the reason to stay inside the park boundary. The last five kilometres need a 4x4 or the park shuttle.

Sun Moon Lake is Taiwan's largest natural lake, sitting at 748 metres in the central mountains, with a cycle path along part of the shore and boats crossing between piers. Thao indigenous villages, tea plantations and the Wenwu temple ring the water. Mornings often bring mist that clears by mid-morning.

Taroko is a marble canyon on Taiwan's east coast, where the Liwu river has cut vertical walls and the road runs through tunnels cut into them. Trails such as Shakadang and the Swallow Grotto follow the water at gorge level. Earthquakes and typhoons close sections regularly, so current trail status matters more here than anywhere else in Taiwan.

Tasmania is a mountainous island south of the mainland where around twenty percent of the land is protected as World Heritage wilderness. Cradle Mountain, the Overland Track and Freycinet's Wineglass Bay carry the walking; Hobart carries the food, the convict history at Port Arthur and the Mona museum. Distances are short but roads are slow.

The Tatras are the only alpine-style range in Poland, with granite ridges, glacial lakes and marked trails running up from Zakopane. Morskie Oko is the best-known lake, reached by a long paved approach; the higher routes, including Rysy and the Orla Perć ridge, are serious mountain terrain. Winter brings skiing and avalanche risk in equal measure.

Taveuni is a volcanic island in the north-east with dense rainforest, waterfalls on the Bouma coast and a coastal walking track. Offshore, the Somosomo Strait channels nutrient-rich current across the Rainbow Reef, producing the soft-coral diving Fiji is known for. The island is reached by domestic flight or ferry from Vanua Levu.

Tayrona protects a stretch of Caribbean coast where the Sierra Nevada drops to the sea, with jungle paths linking beaches and indigenous Kogi communities living inside the park. Most beaches have dangerous currents; Cabo San Juan and La Piscina are the swimmable ones. The park closes for several weeks each year at the request of indigenous authorities.

Theth is a stone-house valley deep in the Accursed Mountains, with a lock-in tower, a waterfall and the Blue Eye of Theth within walking distance of the village. Most visitors come for the day hike over the pass to Valbona, one of the best-known mountain crossings in the Balkans. Guesthouses are family-run and half-board is the norm.

Tikal was one of the most powerful Maya cities, and its temple pyramids still rise above the rainforest canopy of the Petén. The site is large enough that walking between plazas takes real time, and the forest around it holds howler monkeys, toucans and coatis. Sunrise entry is sold separately and often means cloud rather than a clear view.

Tongariro is the country's oldest national park and a dual World Heritage site for both landscape and Māori cultural significance, centred on three active volcanoes. The Alpine Crossing is a 19.4 km one-way walk past crater lakes and lava flows, and requires a booked shuttle and settled weather. In winter it becomes a mountaineering route.

Torres del Paine is a granite massif in Chilean Patagonia with three signature towers, turquoise lakes, glaciers and guanaco herds on the steppe below. The W trek takes four to five days between refugios, and the full O circuit eight to nine; both need booking months ahead because beds and campsites are capped. Wind is the defining condition.

The Verdon river has cut a 25-kilometre canyon up to 700 metres deep through the limestone of upper Provence, ending in the reservoir of Lac de Sainte-Croix. Rim roads on both sides link a chain of viewpoints, while the floor is reached on foot by the Sentier Blanc-Martel or by kayak from the lake. Villages like Moustiers-Sainte-Marie make practical bases.

Viñales is a tobacco-growing valley in western Cuba, with limestone mogote hills rising abruptly from red soil fields still worked with oxen. Farm visits explain the cigar process from leaf to rolled product, and horse riding or walking between farms is the usual way to see the valley. Most accommodation is in family casas in the village.

Wadi Rum is a protected desert of sandstone and granite mountains rising from red sand, inhabited by Bedouin communities who run the camps and jeep tours. Nights in a desert camp with clear skies are the point as much as the landscape itself. Scrambling routes and rock climbing are available for those who want more than a jeep tour.

The White Desert is a protected area of chalk rock eroded into mushroom and tower shapes, standing white against the sand of Egypt's Western Desert. Trips run from Bahariya oasis as overnight camps, which is the point: the formations are at their best at sunset, under stars and at first light. Four-wheel drive and a licensed guide are required.