All About World Heritage Sites
Make traveling more meaningful
A 5-day cruise aboard expedition ship Ventus offers a fascinating look at the region’s spellbinding mix of deserts, glaciers, forests, and mountains.
Source: You don’t have to be a hard-core backpacker to see gorgeous, wild Patagonia – The Boston Globe
Located within the Iguazú National Park, Iguazu Falls offers several trails and railways with phenomenal views of its 275 individual waterfalls. The diverse wildlife and beauty of the park moved the UNESCO to declare it a World Heritage Site in 1984. The largest waterfall system in the world, Iguazu Falls is consistently recognized as one …
It’s the perfect excuse to book a trip to Alaska.
Source: Thomas Cook has stopped trips to see captive killer whales: Here’s how you can see them in the wild
If your neighbor mentions that they’re going on vacation, questions of “where have you decided on…
Source: The Most Aesthetically-Pleasing Holiday Destinations You May Not Be Aware Of
Fitz Roy and Perito Moreno aren’t the only epic treks in Argentina. Insider Caroline shares her favorite trails around the country.
It was about 8 p.m., and a cacophany of chirping birds and cicadas filled the inky darkness. If a large animal—a tapir, perhaps, or a jaguar—snapped branches or scampered through the bush, it would have been hard to hear it. My ears strained, my pulse quickened, as I surveyed the dense jungle ahead with a flashlight, waiting to spy a flash of green eyes …
Not many visitors make it to this part of northeastern Argentina, despite its Urugua-í Provincial Park being just a 2.5-hour drive from Iguazu Falls, one of the world’s largest waterfalls and certainly one of the most breathtaking. It even had a recent cameo in Black Panther. The Brazilian side of the falls is more popular and claims several things the Argentinian side lacks: notably, good roads, luxury hotels, and helicopter tours. But Misiones, one of Argentina’s 23 provinces, is full of untapped adventures beyond the Unesco World Heritage site.
Subscribing to a safari model, the four-month old Awasi Iguazú now offers a viable way in for high-class explorers.
Read more from source: Awasi Iguazu Review: Luxury Adventure Beyond the Falls
As I reach the the maze of boardwalks, the voice of my guide fades. In fact, all sound gets drowned out completely and the entirety of my being zeroes in on the beautiful, overwhelming expanse spread out before me.
Heading out of El Calafate for our several-hour journey to Los Glaciares National Park in the early hours of the day, I have little hope of a worthy viewing of Perito Moreno Glacier. The forecast predicts heavy cloud and a chance of rain.
Thankfully, the journey in itself offers many surprises. As Route 11 hugs Lake Argentino to the right side we see many different bird fauna – the black neck swan, the vapor duck, the coot and the cauquen – but none shocks me more than the gorgeous pink Chilean flamingos huddled in a group at the lake’s edge.
Our first sighting of the glacier is from the far end at Curva de Los Suspiros, aptly named the ‘curve of sighs’ due to the magnificent panoramic viewpoint it presents of the Perito Moreno Glacier. This view is the ultimate teaser of what’s to come.
The world is a beautiful place, and there’s no better way to take in the sights than a good hike.
Below is a list of breathtaking trails that span all difficulty levels.
From Japan’s Yoshida Trail to Argentina’s Fitz Roy Trek, here are 26 hikes worth traveling for.
Appalachian Trail
Where to find it: Crossing 14 US states from Georgia to Maine.
Length: 2,200 miles
Difficulty: Some parts are easy, but some parts are among the toughest in the country.
The AT is one of those trails that everyone has heard about at least once — even people who aren’t at all outdoorsy. The average thru-hiker takes around 165 days to complete it from end to end, and it features some intense elevation changes along its length.
The exact length of the trail changes from year to year due to modifications during maintenance.
Baltoro glacier & K2
Where to find it: Start from Islamabad, Pakistan, to obtain permits, then fly to Skardu, Pakistan, to begin your trek
Length: According to Central Karakorum National Park estimates, it’s possible to reach the K2 base camp in seven to eight days.
Source: 26 hiking trails around the world that should be on your bucket list
The Awasi Iguazú, a 14-suite lodge close to the mighty Iguazú Falls, is a luxurious game changer for the destination.
Oddly enough, it didn’t smell like rain. The sky had turned from blue to silver to a deep, dark gray as our trio of kayaks explored a remote stretch of Argentina’s Yacuí River, a tributary of the larger Iguazú. With its milky green waters and banks lined with the towering palmito and palo rosa trees of the Atlantic Forest, the Yacuí, set in the northeastern province of Misiones, is about as far from the cosmopolitan streets of Buenos Aires as you can get.
We’d driven 90 minutes due east from the town of Puerto Iguazú, on the unpaved Route 101 that runs along the border of Iguazú National Park, to reach this remote location. After clambering down a makeshift pier, we’d dropped our kayaks in the water and begun paddling upstream, with no end point in mind — our destination was the magical rain forest that straddles the river, once a vast wilderness that covered more than 100 million acres of Argentina, Paraguay, and Brazil.
Source: One of the world’s great wonders has an amazing new hotel
Our annual list of the places everyone will want to travel to this year.
While Elon Musk is hard at work trying to make Mars the next travel frontier, other places in this orbit demand a visit right now. You can easily deduce why cities hosting the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics might land on Forbes Travel Guide’s list, but other out-of-this-world destinations are in such a fun, creative space right now that they should sit atop your travel plans, too.
Sydney
After a seven-month renovation, Australia’s most famous landmark reopened with a bang on New Year’s Eve. Debuting new machinery, lighting and improved acoustics, the Sydney Opera House is back and better than ever for the 2018 season.
For a sumptuous stay post-performance, just stroll a few blocks south to the brand-new Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Hotel and enjoy a retro-chic drink at the 1960s-inspired Soiree Bar.
Asheville, North Carolina
