Natural features
Cappadocia hot-air balloons and fairy chimneys
Nevşehir, Turkey
A landscape of rock pinnacles ('fairy chimneys'), valleys and cave dwellings in central Turkey, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Travel tips in Asia
Tours and activities
Hà Giang Loop
Hà Giang, Tuyên Quang, Vietnam
A road trip of about 350 km through the karst mountains of Hà Giang, Vietnam's northernmost province, on the border with China.
Natural features
Raja Ampat
Papua Barat Daya, Indonesia
An archipelago of 1,500 islands off West Papua with the richest marine life on earth, around 75% of all known coral species.
Historic sites
Geghard Monastery
Garni, Kotayk, Armenia
A medieval monastery partly carved into the cliffs of a gorge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with chambers hewn from the rock and remarkable acoustic…
Places to stay
Kōya-san temple stay
Wakayama, Japan
A mountaintop monastery town founded in 816 by the monk Kūkai, with more than 100 temples, many offering shukubō (temple lodging), where you eat vege…
Natural features
Ninh Bình and Tràng An
Huyện Hoa Lư, Ninh Bình, Vietnam
A landscape of limestone peaks rising from rice fields and rivers, called 'Ha Long Bay on land', a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Buildings
City Palace and Lake Pichola, Udaipur
Udaipur, Rajasthan, India
Udaipur, the 'City of Lakes', is built around Lake Pichola, with the huge City Palace rising from its shore and the Lake Palace hotel floating in the…
Historic sites
Amber Fort, Jaipur
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
A hilltop palace fortress overlooking Lake Maota, built of pale yellow and pink sandstone from 1592, with courtyards, gardens and the dazzling Sheesh…
Historic sites
Itchan Kala, Khiva
Khiwa, Xorazm, Uzbekistan
The walled inner town of Khiva, a remarkably complete Silk Road city of mud-brick walls, madrasas, minarets and palaces, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Historic sites
Boudhanath Stupa
Kathmandu, Bagmati, Nepal
One of the largest stupas in the world, a great white dome with the all-seeing eyes of the Buddha painted on its tower, the centre of Tibetan Buddhis…
Historic sites
Mount Nemrut
Kâhta, Adıyaman, Turkey
A mountain top at 2,134 m where King Antiochus of Commagene built a tomb mound in the 1st century BC, with huge stone heads of gods and kings now sca…
Historic sites
Shah-i-Zinda, Samarkand
Samarkand, Samarqand, Uzbekistan
An avenue of mausoleums climbing a hillside, built from the 11th to the 19th centuries, with some of the most beautiful glazed tilework in Central As…
Buildings
Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Twin skyscrapers 452 m high, the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004, linked by a skybridge on the 41st floor.
Historic sites
Hagia Sophia, Istanbul
Fatih, İstanbul, Turkey
Built as a cathedral by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in 537, later a mosque, then a museum, and again a mosque since 2020, with a vast dome that s…
Buildings
Punakha Dzong
Punākha, Punakha, Bhutan
Probably the most beautiful dzong (fortress-monastery) in Bhutan, built in 1637 at the meeting of two rivers, the Pho Chhu and the Mo Chhu.
Historic sites
Galle Fort
Galle, Southern, Sri Lanka
A fortified old town built by the Portuguese and Dutch on a headland on the south coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with ramparts, a lighthouse, c…
Walks and treks
Huangshan (Yellow Mountain)
Huangshan, Anhui, China
A range of granite peaks rising above a sea of clouds, with twisted pine trees growing from the rocks, which inspired centuries of Chinese painting a…
Historic sites
Humayun's Tomb, Delhi
Delhi, India
The tomb of the Mughal emperor Humayun, built in the 1560s, the first garden tomb in India and an inspiration for the Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Herit…
Natural features
Song-Kul Lake
Naryn, Kyrgyzstan
A high alpine lake at 3,000 m surrounded by summer pastures where nomadic herders bring their horses, sheep and yaks from June to September.
Historic sites
Tbilisi Old Town
Tbilisi, Georgia
Georgia's capital, with an old town of carved wooden balconies, churches, and the sulphur baths of Abanotubani, beneath the Narikala Fortress, reache…
Historic sites
Terracotta Army, Xi'an
Lintong, Shaanxi, China
Thousands of life-sized clay soldiers, archers, horses and chariots, each with an individual face, buried to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, China's…
Walks and treks
Goecha La trek from Yuksom
Gyalshing, Sikkim, India
One of the great Himalayan treks: about 8 to 10 days from the village of Yuksom, through rhododendron forests and high meadows, to the Goecha La pass…
Natural features
Ubud and the Tegallalang Rice Terraces, Bali
Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
Ubud is Bali's cultural heart, with temples, art markets, yoga retreats, and traditional dance performances in the evenings.
Walks and treks
Jebel Shams and the Balcony Walk
Bahlā’, Ad Dakhiliyah, Oman
Oman's highest mountain, about 3,000 m, overlooking Wadi Ghul, the 'Grand Canyon of Arabia'.
Historic sites
Nijō Castle, Kyoto
Kyoto, Kyōto, Japan
The Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shoguns, who ruled Japan from 1603 to 1867.
Natural features
El Nido and the Bacuit Archipelago
El Nido, Palawan, Philippines
Limestone islands rising from turquoise water at the northern tip of Palawan, with lagoons, beaches and coves.
Walks and treks
Sa Pa rice terraces
Sa Pa, Lào Cai, Vietnam
A mountain town in the far north-west, surrounded by spectacular rice terraces and villages of Hmong and Dao people.
Natural features
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Yongding, Hunan, China
Thousands of towering sandstone pillars rising from forested valleys, often wrapped in mist, which inspired the floating mountains in the film Avatar.
Natural features
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre
Taman Rajawali, Sabah, Malaysia
A centre in Sabah where orphaned orangutans are raised and returned to the forest.
Natural features
Pamukkale Travertines and Hierapolis
Pamukkale, Denizli, Turkey
Pamukkale ('cotton castle') is a hillside covered in dazzling white terraces of travertine, formed by calcium-rich hot springs flowing down the slope…
Buildings
Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto
Kyoto, Kyōto, Japan
The head shrine of Inari, the god of rice and business, famous for its thousands of bright vermilion torii gates, donated by businesses, which form t…
Historic sites
The Bund, Shanghai
Huangpu, Shanghai, China
Shanghai's riverside promenade lined with grand colonial-era banks and hotels, facing the futuristic skyline of Pudong across the Huangpu River, incl…
Historic sites
Old Bukhara
Bukhara, Uzbekistan
A holy Silk Road city with more than 140 monuments, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Natural features
Wadi Rum
Aqaba, Jordan
A desert valley of red sand and towering sandstone mountains, where Lawrence of Arabia passed and films such as The Martian were shot, a UNESCO World…
Natural features
Mount Fuji and the Fuji Five Lakes
Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi, Japan
Japan's highest and most sacred mountain, a near-perfect volcanic cone 3,776 m high, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Walks and treks
Mount Rinjani
Labuan Lombok, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia
Indonesia's second-highest volcano, 3,726 m, on Lombok, with a crescent-shaped crater lake, Segara Anak, and hot springs.
Walks and treks
Everest Base Camp Trek
Solukhumbu, Koshi, Nepal
The classic trek to the foot of the world's highest mountain, about 12 to 14 days return from Lukla, through Sherpa villages such as Namche Bazaar, p…
Historic sites
AlUla and Hegra
Al-Ula, Al Madinah, Saudi Arabia
Hegra (Mada'in Salih) was the second city of the Nabataeans after Petra, with more than 100 monumental tombs carved into sandstone outcrops, Saudi Ar…
Natural features
Taroko Gorge
Hualien, Taiwan
A deep marble gorge carved by the Liwu River in eastern Taiwan, with sheer cliffs, temples and trails.
Buildings
Tiger's Nest Monastery (Paro Taktsang)
Paro, Bhutan
Bhutan's most famous sight: a monastery clinging to a cliff 900 m above the Paro valley, where Guru Rinpoche is said to have arrived on the back of a…
Natural features
Jeju Island and Hallasan
Jeju, South Korea
A volcanic island off the south coast, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with Hallasan, South Korea's highest mountain (1,947 m), lava tubes such as the …
Historic sites
Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai, Thailand
A golden temple on a mountain above Chiang Mai, reached by a naga-lined staircase of 306 steps (or a funicular), with views over the city.
Tours and activities
Pamir Highway
Khorugh, Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan
One of the world's great road trips, through the high Pamir mountains from Dushanbe to Osh in Kyrgyzstan, along the Afghan border in the Wakhan Valle…
Natural features
Khao Sok National Park
Phanom, Surat Thani, Thailand
One of the oldest rainforests in the world, with limestone peaks rising from Cheow Lan Lake, where you can stay in floating bamboo bungalows.
Tours and activities
Kilim Karst Geoforest Park mangrove tour, Langkawi
Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia
A boat trip through the mangroves and limestone cliffs of the Kilim Karst Geoforest Park, in the north-east of Langkawi, part of a UNESCO Global Geop…
Historic sites
Golestan Palace, Tehran
Tehran, Iran
The oldest monument in Tehran and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the former royal palace of the Qajar dynasty, set around a garden of pools and trees.
Attractions
National Palace Museum, Taipei
Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan
One of the greatest collections of Chinese art in the world, with nearly 700,000 objects, many brought from the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1949.
Natural features
Ha Long Bay
Hạ Long, Quảng Ninh, Vietnam
Nearly 2,000 limestone islands and pillars rise from the emerald water of the Gulf of Tonkin, making one of the most spectacular seascapes in the wor…
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