The 20 best travel experiences you can have
FROM the Devil’s Throat to the extreme raunchiness of the Burning Man festival, there are some trips you’ll just never forget in your lifetime.
THE Devil’s Throat waterfall. The raunchy Burning Man festival. Beautiful Halong Bay in Vietnam.
Lonely Planet has released a list of the 20 best adventures you can take in your lifetime, published in its new book The Big Trip.
So get ready for a massive dose of wanderlust.
• Hiking to Jaw-Dropping Iguazú Falls, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil
Most impressive are the gargling waters at Garganta del Diablo (Devil’s Throat) that divide Argentina and Brazil, but you’re bound to be impressed anywhere along this stretch of cascading water.
• Scaling the Summit of Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
The famous snows may be thinning, but the rooftop of Africa still affords stunning views, probably because it’s the highest peak on the continent.
• Having a Royal Kilted Knees-Up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland
Imagine the maddest Scots getting all their friends over for a week of comedy and kooky arts. That’s what you get with Fringe — the wild and weird all crammed into a medieval city that never sleeps.
• Getting historic at the Acropolis, Greece
The great ‘sacred rock’ has towered over Athens for thousands of years in tribute to the ancient Greek gods, so explore it early in the morning to get a feel for the majesty and to avoid unholy crowds.
• Coming to the Chilled Oasis of the Taj Mahal, India
Even the bustling touts hold this ancient mausoleum in awe and as you get closer, the lotus design, the gold spire and the sacred Muslim moon are all drawn in detail.
• Donkey trekking into the Grand Canyon, US
With only the slap of saddlebags and your own footsteps you could be in a Western movie, not at the biggest and busiest canyon the world has to offer.
• Inventing new colours in the corals of Great Barrier Reef
The world’s largest coral reef can be explored by glass-bottomed boat, but if you strap on the snorkel you’ll see the colours up close and feel the tickle as rare fish get friendly.
• Channel-surfing through New York City, US
From the Seinfeld deli to the fashionista fantasy set of Zoolander to the Empire State’s memorable turn in King Kong, New York is just waiting for you to shout ‘Action!’
• Marvelling at the Limestone Karsts of Halong Bay, Vietnam
Whether you soak it up from a beachside restaurant or take on the waters in an old-school junk, you’ll have to visit a couple of times to see the many colours of the limestone.
• Heating up at the Burning Man Festival, US
Black Rock Desert in Nevada is overrun with hippies, artists and all the right kind of rabble for this trippy festival that includes nude cycling and incinerating a big wicker dude.
• Treating the whole city as your fancy dress party with Cosplay Gangs of Tokyo, Japan
From the latest manga superheroine to old-school Goths, get your kookiest duds on at Harajuku and other hot spots throughout Tokyo.
• Taking the plunge, diving at Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
Clear waters and plentiful coral make for some of the world’s sweetest snorkelling, plus scuba divers can go deeper with the King Cruiser wreck and there are some impressive limestone formations to explore.
• Taking a camel ride to the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
Seeing the mythical pyramids bouncing before you as your dromedary crosses the desert is the only way to arrive at the ruins that were the world’s biggest buildings in their day.
• Hiking the depths of Tiger Leaping Gorge, China
Follow the roughest stretch of the Yangzi River in the shadow of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain through the hamlets of the Naxi people.
• Making a French connection in the romantic capital of Paris, France
Pack your beret for amorous strolls along the Seine, rendezvous at the top of the Eiffel Tower and perhaps fall for the centuries-old belles who still beguile in paintings at the Louvre.
• Exploring the artsy Treasure House of the Hermitage, Russia
Possibly swiped at the end of WWII, these St Petersburg treasures have been hiding out in the Paris of the East just waiting for you to discover them.
• Re-enacting Che Guevara’s Motorcycle Diaries, South America
Rev an old bike out of Buenos Aires and head south through Chile, draw inspiration at Machu Picchu (pictured) and finish by volunteering in Peru (Guevara visited a leper colony). Witnessing all this inspired young Che to become a revolutionary.
• Rubbing noses with Maori at a Hangi in Rotorua, New Zealand
Rotorua might be crowded but the traditional feast cooked in the geothermal heat of the earth will soon make you feel at home before traditional dancing kicks off.
• Climbing to the top of Angkor Wat, Cambodia
From up the top you can see the scattered pieces of the Khmer empire’s history in dozens of temples, palaces and monuments buried in the jungle.
• Wildlife-spotting on the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
The islands that evolution forgot have the unique giant tortoises, but there are also
some pretty freaky iguanas, cute penguins and flocks of weird birds to discover
This is an extract from Lonely Planet’s The Big Trip (3rd Edition) © 2015.
Available now, RRP: $29.99.
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