Europe, Africa, the Americas, Oceania and the poles — a lifetime list for the long-haul traveller.
Cave dwellings cut into a ravine and lived in for millennia, now restored as homes, churches and small hotels above a dry riverbed.
Small, lived-in island of pastel fishing harbours and lemon groves, a quieter ferry ride from Naples than Capri or Ischia.
Dolomite ridgelines and high meadows with well-marked trails and mountain huts serving local food, in a UNESCO-listed mountain range.
Medieval pilgrim route of about 780 km to Santiago de Compostela, walked today by pilgrims and walkers of all faiths, with a short last 100 km option.
Nasrid palace-fortress with carved plasterwork, courtyards and water gardens above the old Albaicín quarter.
Limestone massif a short drive from the Atlantic coast, with the Cares Gorge path, shepherd villages and cheese caves.
Terraced vineyards on a river gorge where port and table wines are made; reached by train, river boat or road.
Twin crater lakes in one caldera, with hydrangea-lined roads, hot springs at Furnas and boiling-ground cooking nearby.
Steep peaks over fishing villages with drying racks for cod, hiking and kayaking in summer, and northern lights in winter.
Narrow fjord with waterfalls and abandoned mountain farms, best seen from the water by ferry or from the Dalsnibba road.
Rift valley between two tectonic plates where Iceland’s parliament first met in 930, with clear fissure pools for snorkelling.
Westernmost Faroese island with a small village and a puffin colony reached by a short, weather-dependent ferry.
Medieval closes and Georgian New Town set on a volcanic ridge, with museums, a castle and August festivals.
Stone houses at Skara Brae, the Ring of Brodgar and Maeshowe chambered tomb, all older than Stonehenge and the pyramids.
About 40,000 hexagonal basalt columns on the Antrim coast, linked by the cliff path to Dunseverick and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge.
Irish-speaking pocket of stone beehive huts, sheep-dotted headlands and pubs with live music, on a loop road beyond Tralee.
Tidal island abbey reached by a causeway, with some of Europe’s biggest tides rolling across the bay.
Rhône-Saône city with covered passages called traboules, Renaissance Old Town and bouchon bistros serving regional cooking.
Intact medieval and baroque centre on the Vltava, with the castle district, Charles Bridge and a deep concert and beer culture.
Lakeside salt-mining landscape with a village in use for over 3,000 years, plus the Dachstein caves and cable car.
Medieval market square, Wawel Hill and Kazimierz district, with underground salt chapels at Wieliczka a short ride away.
Last large lowland primeval forest in Europe, where free-living European bison can be seen on guided walks.
Walled Hanseatic town with steep lanes and church towers, beside a very digital capital with strong food and design scenes.
Sixteen terraced lakes linked by waterfalls and wooden boardwalks in a beech and fir forest.
Deep fjord-like inlet with a walled medieval port, Venetian mansions in Perast and a fortress path above the old town.
Orthodox monasteries on sandstone pillars above Kalambaka, some still lived in by monks and nuns, and linked by old stairs and footpaths.
About 16 km walk through a gorge in the White Mountains, ending at the sea in Agia Roumeli, with a ferry back.
One of Europe’s oldest and deepest lakes, with a medieval town of Byzantine churches and a monastery on the shore at Saint Naum.
Inhabited medieval citadel in Transylvania with a clock tower, covered scholars’ stairs and painted houses, close to Saxon fortified churches.
Canal-lined medieval city of brick gabled houses, Flemish painting collections, chocolate shops and Trappist beer cafes.
A flooded volcanic crater with clifftop villages, best understood on foot along the rim between Fira and Oia, away from the sunset crowds.
Terraced lemon groves and pastel villages stacked above the sea, linked by a dramatic coast road and old mule paths.
Old Kingdom pyramids and the Sphinx on the Giza plateau, with older step pyramids at Saqqara a drive away; the Grand Egyptian Museum is nearby.
Vast temple complex of Karnak on the east bank, and tombs and temples of the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut across the Nile.
Medieval walled medina of around 9,000 lanes, home to the Al-Qarawiyyin library and working tanneries and craft workshops.
Plains of the annual wildebeest migration with year-round lions and cheetahs, linked by road to the crater’s resident wildlife.
Africa’s highest peak at 5,895 m, climbed on a guided trek via routes such as Machame or Lemosho over six to eight days.
Swahili trading port of coral-stone houses, carved doors and spice markets, with beaches an hour away on the east coast.
Grassland reserve bordered by Maasai conservancies, known for big cats and the river crossings of the wildebeest migration from July to October.
Montane forest with about half the world’s mountain gorillas, tracked on foot with rangers in small group treks.
Volcanic park in the Virunga range where mountain gorilla families are visited by rangers, with a golden monkey trek as an alternative.
Mile-wide Zambezi curtain of water dropping into a gorge, seen from either country on foot, by boat or from the Batoka bridge.
Inland delta where seasonal floodwater turns islands into wildlife refuges, explored by mokoro canoe and on foot.
Red dunes in the Namib-Naukluft desert, with Deadvlei’s dead camelthorn trees and the Sesriem canyon close to the park gate.
Reserve with all of the Big Five reachable by self-drive or guided drives, with rest camps and private reserves along the western boundary.
City between flat-topped mountain and two oceans, with wine estates nearby, Robben Island tours and Cape Point.
Eleven medieval Orthodox churches carved down into volcanic rock and still in daily use, with large festivals at Genna and Timkat in January.
Dirt road lined with Grandidier’s baobabs, some about 800 years old, near Morondava on the west coast.
Small granite island with ox carts, bicycles and boulder-backed beaches such as Anse Source d’Argent, reached by ferry from Praslin.
Mountain island with terraced valleys and cliff paths linking villages; Cova crater and Ribeira Grande trails are popular day walks.
Small island off Dakar with the House of Slaves museum, a memorial to the Atlantic slave trade, and quiet colourful lanes.
Trade forts on the Gulf of Guinea used in the transatlantic slave trade, run as museums with guided tours.
A walled medina of souks, courtyards and palaces, centred on a square that turns into an open-air kitchen and stage each evening.
A 446 km-long canyon over a billion years of rock, seen from the South Rim or hiked down to the Colorado River.
World’s first national park, with geysers, hot springs, bison herds and wolves seen from the Lamar Valley.
Glaciated peaks and turquoise lakes in the Canadian Rockies, with scenic drives like the Icefields Parkway and hot springs.
Exposed Earth’s mantle rock at the Tablelands, fjord boat trips in Western Brook Pond and Viking-age heritage up the coast.
Walled French-colonial city above the St Lawrence with cobbled lanes, a hilltop fortress and strong Québécois cooking.
Southern Mexican city with seven moles, mezcal and market cooking, and nearby villages known for weaving and pottery, plus the Day of the Dead.
Maya city of the Kukulcán pyramid, with sinkhole swimming holes around Valladolid and Ik Kil nearby.
Canyon system larger than the Grand Canyon, crossed by a railway between Los Mochis and Chihuahua, home to Rarámuri communities.
Colonial city ringed by three volcanoes, with ruined churches, coffee farms and a famous Holy Week procession of carpets.
Maya city rising from rainforest with temple pyramids and howler monkeys, best seen early with a guide.
Limestone mogote hills and tobacco farms in western Cuba, with caves, cycling and stays in family-run casas particulares.
Cloud forest reserves with hanging bridges, quetzals and hummingbirds, plus night walks led by local guides.
Self-governed Indigenous Guna territory of small islands and coral reefs, with stays in simple Guna-owned cabins and Guna textile molas.
Mountain range of coffee estates and rainforest, with Maroon heritage villages and a pre-dawn hike to Blue Mountain Peak.
Louisiana city of Creole and Cajun cooking, brass bands, and Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest, with music spilling out of Frenchmen Street clubs.
Six million acres of tundra and taiga around North America's tallest peak, where a single park road carries buses deep into grizzly and caribou country.
Inca citadel on a mountain ridge, reached on the Inca Trail or by train to Aguas Calientes, with a nearby Sacred Valley.
Deep valley with terraced villages and condors riding thermals at Cruz del Cóndor, reached from Arequipa.
Volcanic archipelago with giant tortoises, marine iguanas and sea lions, seen by day trips from islands or on small liveaboard cruises.
Walled Caribbean colonial port with fortress walls, colourful plazas, nearby Rosario Islands and a lively Getsemaní quarter.
Cloud-forest valley with wax palms up to 60 m tall, walked on a loop trail from the village of Salento, in the coffee region.
World’s largest salt flat at around 3,650 m, crossed on three-day jeep trips linking lagoons with flamingos and geysers.
Island on Lake Titicaca sacred in Inca tradition, with Aymara farming villages, terraces and a path linking north and south.
Granite towers and glaciers in Patagonia, with the W and O circuit trails and guanacos in the open steppe.
Remote Polynesian island with about 900 moai statues, an island council of Rapa Nui people and the Rano Raraku quarry.
Desert oasis town at 2,400 m with salt lagoons, geysers and some of the world’s clearest night skies.
A chain of about 270 waterfalls on the border, seen from boardwalks on both sides and from boats beneath them.
A 30 km glacier in Los Glaciares National Park, whose ice face calves into Lago Argentino, seen from walkways or by boat.
Mountain-backed coastal city with Sugarloaf, Christ the Redeemer, samba schools and Carnival in February or March.
White sand dunes with seasonal blue freshwater lagoons from about June to September, reached from the town of Barreirinhas.
World’s largest tropical wetland, with jaguars seen along the Cuiabá River, caimans and capybaras on boat and truck safaris.
Sandstone monolith and domes sacred to the Anangu, with guided walks on culture and country; climbing has been closed since 2019.
Largest coral reef system in the world, visited from Cairns or the Whitsundays by day boats, snorkelling and diving.
Wetland and escarpment park with thousands of Aboriginal rock-art sites at Ubirr and Nourlangie, jointly managed by traditional owners.
Fringing reef reached from the beach, where whale sharks gather March to July, and humpbacks pass in winter.
About 65 km, six-day alpine trek from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair through the Tasmanian Wilderness.
Glacier-carved fjord with waterfalls and peaks, seen by cruise or kayak, with the Milford and Routeburn tracks nearby.
About 19 km volcanic day walk past craters and emerald lakes in a dual World Heritage park sacred to Māori.
Geothermal valley where Māori guides explain living geothermal cooking, carving, weaving and kapa haka performance.
Island chain north-west of Nadi with village homestays and small resorts, reached by catamaran or seaplane, and with sandbar beaches.
Coral lagoon with motus and clear shallows, with Polynesian culture, church choirs and island nights at Arutanga.
Active volcano whose crater rim can be reached by truck, with nightly lava bursts, and nearby kastom villages.
Limestone islands with coral reefs and Jellyfish Lake, with a marine sanctuary and diving at Blue Corner.
A deep natural harbour framed by the Opera House sails and the Harbour Bridge, best seen from the water on an ordinary commuter ferry.
Expedition cruise from Ushuaia across the Drake Passage to penguin colonies, whales and icebergs along the peninsula.
Arctic archipelago at 78°N with polar bears, walrus and glaciers, with boat and snowmobile trips from Longyearbyen.
Sermeq Kujalleq glacier calves icebergs into a UNESCO-listed fjord, seen from trails and boat trips out of Ilulissat town.
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How we chose. This is an editorial selection, in no particular order and not a ranking. Places are grouped by continent. Descriptions are written in our own words from public sources; seasons, permits, access and safety advisories change — approximate, verify before you travel. Last reviewed 2026-11-10. Your ticks are saved only on this device.
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