All Destinations

An archaeological zone covering 26 square kilometres on the dry Irrawaddy plain — at its 11th-13th century peak, the kingdom of Pagan built more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas, and monasteries here, and around 2,200 still stand. UNESCO-listed in 2019 (decades after Angkor and Borogudur) following revised restoration policy. The signature Bagan experience is sunrise from the temple plain as hot-air balloons drift over thousands of brick stupas — flights operate October-April only and book months ahead. Note: following the February 2021 military coup, Myanmar travel involves serious safety, ethical, and practical considerations including travel advisories, banking sanctions (no international cards work), and ongoing civil conflict elsewhere in the country.

The Gobi is one of the world's last great empty wildernesses — 1.3 million km of arid steppe, rocky outcrops, and gravel pans straddling southern Mongolia and northern China, ranked the fifth-largest desert on Earth. Only about 5 percent is true sand sea, but the dunes that do exist are spectacular: Khongoryn Els (the Singing Sands) climbs to 200 metres along 100 kilometres of the Gurvan Saikhan range. The Mongolian Gobi delivers three flagship sights — the Singing Sands, ice-filled Yolyn Am canyon, and the rust-coloured Bayanzag Flaming Cliffs where Roy Chapman Andrews unearthed the first dinosaur eggs in 1923. Bactrian camels, ger-camp nights under a black sky, and 4WD steppe drives define the trip.

Hạ Long Bay is the postcard image of northern Vietnam — roughly 1,600 jungle-topped limestone karst islands rising sheer out of jade-green water across 1,553 km² of the Gulf of Tonkin. UNESCO listed it in 1994 (and again in 2000 for geology) and it became one of the New 7 Natural Wonders in 2012. Most visitors arrive on overnight junk-boat cruises out of Tuần Châu or Hạ Long City, threading between karsts to caves like Sửng Sốt and Thiên Cung, kayaking into hidden lagoons, and climbing the 427 steps up Ti Tốp Island for the iconic aerial view. The neighbouring Lan Hạ Bay (south of Cát Bà Island) has fewer boats and arguably better swimming.

Anhui province's UNESCO granite range — 1,860m peaks rising from the yunhai sea-of-clouds layer that gave centuries of Chinese poets and ink painters their template for what a mountain should look like. Two cable cars (Yungu on the east, Taiping on the west) lift visitors past the four classic features (oddly-shaped pines, grotesque rocks, sea of clouds, hot springs) onto a plateau of summit hotels at Beihai, Xihai and Baiyun. Most visitors stay one or two nights for sunrise. Five hours from Shanghai by G-train.

A 22 km freshwater lake on the Shan Plateau at 880 m elevation — famous worldwide for the Intha leg-rowing fishermen who balance one foot on the bow, the other wrapped around an oar, freeing both hands for the conical net. Floating gardens grow tomatoes on rafts of weed; stilt villages of teak houses sit out on the lake; the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda holds five Buddha images so encrusted with gold leaf they've lost all human form. Bagan is the architecture; Inle is the everyday human-on-water genius.

Khövsgöl Nuur is northern Mongolia's Dark Blue Pearl — a 136 km long, 262 m deep alpine lake near the Russian border that holds roughly 1 percent of the planet's surface fresh water and is over two million years old. It sits at 1,645 m in a basin of larch-and-cedar taiga, ringed by 3,000 m peaks of the Khoridol Saridag range. The Tsaatan reindeer herders camp in the surrounding forest, reached only by multi-day horse trek from the gateway village of Hatgal. Summer means horse trekking, kayaking, and bird-watching; from January the lake freezes a metre solid and the March Ice Festival fills the surface with horse races and shaman ceremonies.

Technically a peninsula on mainland Thailand (Krabi Province) but the towering limestone karst cliffs cut it off from road access — the only way in is by longtail boat (10–15 minutes from Ao Nang, 45 minutes from Krabi Town). No cars, no scooters, no traffic, and a small-island feel that makes Railay Thailand's most beach-paradise mainland destination. It is one of the world's most legendary rock-climbing destinations, with over 700 bolted routes split between Railay East, Tonsai, and Phra Nang Beach across grades from 5a to 8c. Phra Nang Cave at the southern tip contains a 'Princess Cave' shrine where local fishermen leave wooden phallus offerings (lingam) to the spirit of a princess believed to bestow fertility. The four beaches sit within 15 minutes' walk of each other but feel dramatically different — Railay West for postcard sunsets, Railay East as the climbing-and-mangrove backside, Phra Nang Beach (the most beautiful), and Tonsai (rougher, backpacker climbing zone). Closest airport: Krabi (KBV), 25 minutes by car to Ao Nang.

The highest marine biodiversity on Earth — 1,500 fish species, 700 molluscs, and 600+ coral species inhabit these four islands and 1,500 islets in West Papua. Cape Kri holds the world record for fish species counted in a single dive (374). The Pianemo viewpoint — karst limestone islands dotting a turquoise lagoon — is one of the most photographed landscapes in the world.

Taiwan's largest lake, an 8-square-kilometre alpine bowl at 748 metres in the Nantou highlands, named for its split shape — a sun-round eastern half and a crescent western half divided by Lalu Island. Wenwu Temple looks down on the north shore, the Ci'en Pagoda crowns Mount Shabalan, and a 29-kilometre cycle path rated by CNN as one of the world's most beautiful loops the entire shoreline. Reachable in about four hours from Taipei via the High Speed Rail to Taichung plus a Nantou Bus connection.

A 19-kilometre marble canyon on Taiwan's east coast where the Liwu River has cut through 1,000-metre cliffs of polished white and grey marble. Eternal Spring Shrine clings to a waterfall, the Tunnel of Nine Turns weaves through the narrowest neck of the gorge, and the Swallow Grotto wall is pocked with caves carved by river spray. The 2024 magnitude 7.4 earthquake closed the central highway and most signature trails, so check current trail status before going.

The karst landscape on China's 20-yuan note — limestone peaks rising from emerald paddies along the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo town. The four-hour bamboo-raft drift between Yangdi and Xingping is the most photographed river journey in China. Moon Hill (a hollowed-out limestone arch) and the Yulong River's quieter rafts are the village base; the Impression Sanjie Liu (a Zhang Yimou-directed open-air light show with 600 performers on the river) plays nightly. Bicycle the Ten-Mile Gallery for the village rice fields. Subtropical — best March–May and September–November.

The otherworldly sandstone pillar forests that inspired Avatar's Pandora. Glass skywalks, the world's longest cable car, and mist-shrouded peaks create a surreal landscape.