Chomolhari Trek and the Tiger`s Nest

Bhutan

The last independent Buddhist mountain kingdom in the Himalayas, Bhutan (Druk Yul, the Land of the Thunder Dragon) is one of the most remote and tantalizing corners of Asia. Seventy percent of its 18,000 square miles is forested, and the nation treats nature with admirable respect—its king is young and environmentally sensitive, and many of the country's higher regions remain nearly free of the footprints of man, untouched examples of the fast-disappearing Himalayan environment. The nine-day trek to Chomolhari, Bhutan's sacred and highest mountain, at the border with Tibet, offers outsiders a rare opportunity to experience its unspoiled mountain wilderness and varied terrain, not to mention its almost complete lack of other trekkers (Bhutan heavily restricts tourism). Climbing beside terraced farms and verdant rice paddies, through meadows and low forests, travelers venture beyond the tree line into a world of glaciers and rock, where the legendary snow leopard prowls. Campsites are set up in high alpine pastures where yak herders bring their shaggy animals to graze by pristine mountain lakes. Clinging to a sheer mountain ledge about 3,000 feet above the terraced Paro Valley, Taktsang, the Tiger's Nest, is a destination of treks long and short, and of reverent Buddhist pilgrims.... read more >>

EUROPE

From the Highland Games of Scotland to the Acropolis in Greece, wine-tasting in Burgundy to walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, and Count Dracula's Castle in Romania to Santa's Village in Finland.

AFRICA

From the Great Pyramids of Giza to the Imilchil Betrothal Fair in Morocco, safari in Kenya's Masai Mara to climbing Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and the spectacular Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe and Zambia.

MIDDLE EAST

From the Dead Sea to Jerusalem's Old City, the rose-red city of Petra in Jordan to Krak des Chevaliers in Syria, shopping in Dubai's Gold Souk to one of the world's oldest inhabited cities in Yemen.

ASIA

From Beijing's Forbidden City to Xi'an's Terra-Cotta Warriors, Japan's Sapporo Snow Festival to Calcutta's Marble Palace, Turkey's Whirling Dervishes to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

USA & CANADA

From the Las Vegas strip to the French Quarter in New Orleans, Alaska's Inside Passage to Skating the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, and sailing at Cape Cod to whale-watching in Vancouver.

LATIN AMERICA

From the Mayan Ruins in Mexico to Belize's Barrier Reef, the San Blas Archipelago of Panama to Buenos Aires's Tango Bars, and Machu Picchu in Peru to the Penguin Rookeries of Antarctica.

The CARIBBEAN, BAHAMAS & BERMUDA

From Cap Juluca in Anguilla to the Shark Rodeo at Walker's Cay in the Bahamas, Cuba's Jazz Festival to Sailing the Grenadines, and Old San Juan in Puerto Rico to Carnival in Trinidad.

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND & The PACIFIC ISLANDS

From the Sydney Opera House to Ayers Rock, New Zealand's Tasman Glacier to the Cook Island's Dance Festival, the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea to Tonga's Heilala Festival.
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