Where and what do the Explore experts recommend you try next?
From our Operations Director John Telfer.
1) Wander amongst the 1000 Khackars (stone crosses, some of which are 6' high) at the graveyard at Noraduz in Armenia.
2) In Peru, hike along ancient Inca paths to the lost city of Choquequirao, explore the Chachapoyas region of Northern Peru and the Gocta waterfalls; climb the massive sand dunes at Huacachina and grab a cold beer on the way to the airport at the Cordano bar - my favourite old-fashioned drinking hole, a few seconds walk from the Palacio Nacional in Lima
3) Watch the sun go down from the ramparts of El Castillo, a small fortress overlooking the Rio San Juan River in Nicaragua: a jumping off point for a visit to Indio Maiz Rainforest reserve.
4) Play dominoes in a backstreet bar in Roseau, Dominica - my favourite island in the Caribbean
From our Asia Product Manager Caroline Phillips
1) If you’re going to see the Angkor temples - I can thoroughly recommend visiting the Bayon for sunrise - the crowds all flock to Angkor Wat and roaming around those massive carved heads in the pre dawn gloom is quite surreal. Also in general you'll find that all the big tour parties disappear between about 1200 and 1500 because of the heat so if you chose one of the shadier overgrown temples such as Ta Phrom to explore during this time - it'll be nice and quiet. Another time to beat the crowds is the wet season when the temples shine green with mosses and lichens
2) We've recently been checking out the Laos/Vietnam borderlands either side of the crossing at Na Meo which opened to foreign travellers 4 years ago. Our leader has been waxing lyrical about the unspoilt villages and karst scenery of the region and the Vieng Xai cave complex, used by the Pathet Lao as a hideout during the war is a real highlight.
3) Why not travel by boat along the Mekong between China and Northern Thailand and discover a back-route little used by westerners. The scheduled speedboat service departs from Jinhong in China's Yunnan Province and travels through the heart of the Golden Triangle (Burma on one side, Laos on the other) to Chiang Sean in Thailand - takes approx 10 hours
4) Festival time - travelling at festival time can offer a whole new dimension to your travels and many are still largely ignored by tourists.
e.g - At the time of the Naadam festival in Ulaan Bataar there are other smaller Nadaams (but with the same going on) elsewhere such as at Karakorum. Or why not go to the Karauli Cattle Fair rather than Pushkar?
From our Latin America Product Manager Jason Beevis
1) Make sure you are in Buenos Aires on a Sunday to visit the fantastic San Telmo market. Stay at the Mansion Dandi Royal in San Telmo district and get nightly tango lessons too.
2) Everyone's heard of the Amazon but the best place for wildlife in Brazil is the Pantanal.
3) In the Yucatan (Mexico) get to Chichen Itza 15 minutes before the ticket box opens at 8 am to be first in the queue to get that great photo of the gran plaza empty before the Cancun buses come.
From our Middle East Product Executive Ali Harding
1) Take a boat out onto Lake Nasser - everyone knows Aswan but also visit the inscriptions at Wadi Es Sebou, wander through the Temples of Amada and the old fort of Kasr - all practically impossible to visit any other way.
2) In Iran, climb Mt Damavand (5671m high) towering above the Tehran skyline – the highest point in the Middle East and surely the next ‘must do’ peak.
3) Hike through the Jebel Akhdar area and walk along the rim of Oman's very own Grand Canyon. Head off on a dhow to explore the towering cliffs off the Musandam Islands.
From our Africa Product Manager Peter Eshelby
1) Visiting Timbuktu? If you want to visit Mali’s Dogon country and the famous Saharan trade outpost of Timbuktu it is in fact quicker to fly into Burkina Fasos’ Capital Ouagadougou rather than Bamako. You can visit this little-known African nation and then hop over the border into Mali.
2) Want to see a pyramid? Did you know there are three times as many pyramids in Sudan as there are in Egypt? Most Sudanese pyramids are less than a hundred feet high but they are in spectacular locations along the Nile and you certainly won’t have to worry about the crowds!
3) Do you enjoy travelling by rail? An Italian-era steam train between is available for tourists for a short 25km section of restored track near the Eritrean capital Asmara. The train once ran from the coast to the capital at al altitude of 2225m passing through 30 tunnels and over 65 bridges.