Nature destinations

Egypt's flagship Red Sea resort, with world-class reef diving and a lively strip of beachfront hotels and bars.

A long-established Red Sea hub for diving, island-hopping day trips and family-friendly beach resorts.

A barefoot Sinai beach town beloved by divers and backpackers, with the famous Blue Hole just up the coast.

Hokkaido's hub for miso ramen, powder-snow ski trips and a famous February snow festival.

Japan's first permanent capital, where free-roaming deer bow for crackers among giant Buddha halls.

Subtropical islands with white-sand beaches, coral reefs and a distinct Ryukyu culture.

A palm-lined city on Lake Tana, the launch point for boat trips to island monasteries and the thundering Blue Nile Falls.

A volcanic holiday island of craters, waterfalls, lava tubes and coastal drives.

The gateway to Volcanoes National Park, where misty rainforest peaks shelter the world's most famous mountain gorillas.

A breezy resort town on the sandy shores of Lake Kivu, Rwanda's favourite spot for lakeside lounging and golden sunsets.

Indonesia's temple-and-surf island, where rice terraces, beach clubs and Hindu shrines share one lush coast.

A cool-climate highland city of art-deco streets, volcano craters and factory-outlet shopping.

Bali's quieter neighbour, ringed by empty white beaches and crowned by the volcano Mount Rinjani.

The launch point for Komodo National Park — dragon-inhabited islands, pink beaches and world-class diving.

East Java's bustling port city and the springboard for sunrise treks up the surreal Mount Bromo.

India's high-tech garden city, cooled by altitude and known for leafy parks, craft beer and buzzing cafés.

A Keralan spice port of Chinese fishing nets, colonial quarters and gateway to the tranquil backwaters.

The country's southern hub, mixing Spanish heritage with whale sharks, waterfalls and island-hopping reefs.

Palawan's postcard bay of limestone karsts, hidden lagoons and turquoise island-hopping tours.

An island of the surreal Chocolate Hills, tiny tarsiers and calm river cruises through jungle.

The Philippines' surf capital, a laid-back teardrop island of coconut palms, lagoons and reef breaks.

Mindanao's easygoing main city, gateway to Mount Apo, durian markets and eagle conservation.

A relaxed lakeside city beneath the Annapurna range, Nepal's base for trekking, paragliding and Himalayan sunrises.

Nepal's jungle safari heartland, where one-horned rhinos and elusive tigers roam a UNESCO-listed national park.

The dramatic mountain airstrip town where Everest Base Camp treks begin, perched on a ridge deep in the Khumbu.

Gateway to Ha Long Bay, where thousands of limestone karsts and sea caves rise from emerald waters.

A sun-drenched resort city with a long crescent bay, island-hopping trips and ancient Cham towers.

A misty mountain town of cascading rice terraces, ethnic-minority villages and Vietnam's highest peak.

Nigeria's purpose-built capital, a green and orderly city spreading beneath the dramatic granite dome of Aso Rock.

A laid-back riverside city known for its colonial-era museums, tropical resorts and Nigeria's most famous street carnival.

The lively hub of the Niger Delta, known for its garden-city roots, waterfront leisure parks and seafood-rich dining.

A surreal landscape of fairy chimneys and cave hotels, where dawn skies fill with hundreds of hot air balloons.

The sun-drenched hub of the Turkish Riviera, pairing a Roman-era old harbour with long Mediterranean beaches.

Gleaming white travertine terraces of warm thermal water, crowned by the ruins of the ancient spa city of Hierapolis.

A yacht-filled harbour town beside Oludeniz's blue lagoon, one of the world's most celebrated paragliding spots.

A laid-back mountain village deep in tea country, famed for misty ridge hikes and the iconic Nine Arch railway bridge.

The heart of the Cultural Triangle, crowned by the ancient rock fortress of Sigiriya and Dambulla's gilded cave temples.

Sri Lanka's cool-climate 'Little England', a hill station of emerald tea estates, misty lakes and colonial-era cottages.

A palm-fringed beach town on the south coast, one of the world's best places to see blue whales and catch surf sunsets.

A riverside adventure hub framed by jagged karst peaks, known for tubing, blue lagoons and hot-air balloon sunrises.

The gateway to southern Laos, launching loops through coffee-growing highlands, thundering waterfalls and Khmer ruins.

A remote village on the Nam Ou River, wedged between towering limestone cliffs and beloved by trekkers and slow travellers.

Gateway to the thunderous Iguazu Falls, where hundreds of cascades roar through subtropical rainforest on the triple border.

An island city of 42 beaches, where surfers, lagoon seafood shacks and Azorean fishing villages share a single shoreline.

The Amazon's jungle metropolis, launch point for river cruises and rainforest lodges, crowned by a gilded opera house.

A green, orderly planned capital at the foot of the Margalla Hills, crowned by the striking modernist Faisal Mosque.

A fabled Karakoram valley of apricot orchards and ancient forts, ringed by some of the highest peaks on earth.

The rugged gateway to K2 and the Baltoro glaciers, dotted with alpine lakes, cold deserts and hilltop forts.

A long west-coast ribbon of white sand famed for lagoon snorkelling, dolphin mornings and blazing sunsets.

The east-coast base for Taroko Gorge — towering marble cliffs, blue rivers and Pacific coastline.

Taiwan's largest lake, a serene mountain retreat of cycling paths, temples and morning mist.

Laid-back capital of Sichuan, famed for giant pandas, fiery hotpot and unhurried teahouse living.

A poet's paradise of misty West Lake, arched bridges and terraced tea hills on the city's edge.

Dreamlike karst peaks rise over the Li River, a landscape printed on China's twenty-yuan note.

Towering sandstone pillars pierce the clouds, the otherworldly scenery that inspired the floating mountains of Avatar.

An adobe oasis town in the world's driest desert, base for lunar valleys, geysers, salt flats and starry skies.

A German-flavoured lake town in Chile's Lake District, gazing across Lake Llanquihue at the perfect cone of Osorno volcano.

A windswept city on the Strait of Magellan and the southern gateway to Torres del Paine's granite towers.

A laid-back Caribbean archipelago of stilted water bungalows, starfish beaches and reggae-soaked beach bars.

A cool-climate mountain town in coffee country, laced with cloud-forest trails, hot springs and hummingbirds.

An autonomous indigenous archipelago of 365 palm-dotted islets, ringed by reefs and run by the Guna people.

A sleepy Pacific surf village and the jumping-off point for the shark-rich dive sites of Coiba National Park.

Home to the world's longest natural sea beach, a 120-kilometre sweep of sand backed by seafood shacks and green hills.

The lush tea capital of Bangladesh, surrounded by rolling plantations, swamp forests and crystal rivers by the Indian border.

Bangladesh's hilly port metropolis, a gateway to beaches and hill tracts with a gritty, storied maritime character.

The launch point for the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest and last great refuge of the Bengal tiger.

East Africa's safari capital, sitting beneath Mount Meru within striking distance of the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater.

A friendly coffee-farming town at the foot of Kilimanjaro, the classic base camp for climbing Africa's highest mountain.

Tanzania's 'Rock City' on the shores of Lake Victoria, famous for giant granite boulders balancing improbably over the water.

The world's adventure capital on the shores of Lake Wakatipu, where bungy jumps and jet boats meet jaw-dropping alpine scenery.

A geothermal wonderland of geysers, bubbling mud pools and hot springs, and the heartland of living Maori culture.

The Garden City of the South Island, reinvented with street art and bold architecture alongside gentle punts on the Avon.

A relaxed lakeside resort town framed by mountains, home of the famously photogenic lone willow standing in the water.

A lakeside town on New Zealand's largest lake, ringed by thundering waterfalls, geothermal fields and volcanic peaks.

Ecuador's adventure playground at the gateway to the Amazon, packed with waterfalls, hot springs and canyon swings.

The lively hub of the Galápagos Islands, where giant tortoises, marine iguanas and sea lions live steps from town.

Macau's sleepy green corner, a fishing village of egg-tart bakeries, hiking trails and the black sands of Hac Sa Beach.

A green oasis city inland, famed for palm groves, ancient forts and a mountaintop resort.

A rugged northern emirate of desert dunes, beaches and the world's longest zipline down its highest peak.

The UAE's only emirate on the Gulf of Oman, a diving haven of mountains meeting the Indian Ocean.

The tropical capital of the south, where khareef monsoon mists turn the Dhofar mountains green above banana-fringed beaches.

A historic dhow-building port on Oman's east coast, and the gateway to the turtle-nesting beaches of Ras Al Jinz.

Capital of the Musandam exclave, dubbed the 'Norway of Arabia' for dhow cruises through sheer fjord-like inlets.

The 'Green Mountain' of the Hajar range, terraced with rose gardens and orchards above dramatic canyon rims.

The laid-back northern capital, ringed by old-city temples, misty mountains and lantern-lit festivals.

Thailand's largest island, pairing buzzing beach resorts with a charming Sino-Portuguese old town.

A dramatic coast of limestone karsts, hidden lagoons and the launch point for island-hopping to Railay.

A palm-fringed Gulf island of coconut groves, luxury resorts and a landmark golden Big Buddha.

The far-north gateway to the Golden Triangle, famed for its surreal all-white and deep-blue temples.

A quiet northern fishing town known for its dhow harbour, flamingo-dotted mangroves and the family beach at Al Farkiah.

Qatar's west-coast oil town turned weekend escape, near the Zekreet desert's mushroom rocks and Richard Serra's steel monoliths.

The Maldives' most popular local island, where guesthouses, sandbank trips and snorkelling make paradise affordable.

The southernmost atoll city, a chain of causeway-linked islands with wreck dives, wetlands and WWII-era history.

A castaway stretch of the Maldives, from Fulhadhoo's empty white sandbars to Baa Atoll's UNESCO manta-ray waters.

The thundering horseshoe cataract on the US border, best met head-on from a mist-soaked boat deck.

A glass-tower Pacific port where mountains, forest and ocean meet at the city's edge.

A mountain-resort town inside a Rockies national park, gateway to turquoise glacial lakes.

A show-stopping coastal city beneath Table Mountain, where beaches, vineyards and dramatic capes meet a buzzing food scene.

The lively gateway to Kruger National Park, set among the subtropical hills, rivers and fruit farms of the Lowveld.

A laid-back bay city on the Sunshine Coast, pairing warm swimming beaches with easy trips to elephant-rich Addo.

A sunny riverside capital with a laid-back outdoor lifestyle, cultural precinct and man-made city beach.

The tropical gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and ancient Daintree Rainforest, where reef meets jungle.

One of the world's most isolated cities, blessed with sun-drenched beaches, riverside parks and nearby wine country.

An elegant, festival-loving city ringed by parklands and Australia's most celebrated wine regions.

A colossal red monolith rising from the desert heart, a sacred site glowing crimson at sunrise and sunset.

Tasmania's harbour capital, blending colonial history, a bold modern art museum and rugged island wilderness.

Australia's planned capital, a spacious garden city of national monuments, museums and lakeside institutions.

An alpine town gateway to Neuschwanstein, the fairytale castle that inspired Disney's own.

A dizzying ribbon of pastel villages clinging to cliffs above the turquoise Tyrrhenian Sea.

Five candy-coloured fishing villages linked by cliff trails along the rugged Ligurian coast.

A duty-free tropical archipelago of white-sand beaches, mangrove tours and a vertigo-inducing sky bridge.

Borneo's coastal gateway to Mount Kinabalu, island reefs and fiery sunsets over the South China Sea.

A limestone-cradled former tin town reborn as a foodie haven of cave temples and old-town cafes.

Sarawak's riverside capital, a launchpad for rainforest wildlife, orangutans and longhouse culture.

The famous blue-washed mountain town of the Rif, where every alley glows in shades of indigo beneath rugged peaks.

The classic gateway to the Sahara, where camel caravans set off across the towering orange dunes of Erg Chebbi.

A postcard-perfect lake town of covered wooden bridges, ringed by snow-capped Alpine peaks.

The adventure capital of the Bernese Alps, cradled between two lakes beneath towering peaks.

A car-free Alpine resort village sitting in the shadow of the iconic pyramid-shaped Matterhorn.

A sun-kissed Italian-speaking lake city where Swiss precision meets Mediterranean flair.