BY HARRIET O’BRIEN

WThe Tutankhamun exhibition, running until May at London’s Saatchi Gallery, offers a fix of wonder. Yet its exquisite statuettes and jewellery are mere tasters of the treasures and sights to be seen in Egypt. Most of its marvels simply can’t be transported. There’s nothing quite like the pizzazz of the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, or the majesty of the Great Sphinx of Giza. And then there’s all the natural glory, from dreamy views on a Nile cruise to vibrant coral in the Red Sea.

Nile cruising featured in our must-do list for 2019, and in 2020 there are even more reasons to visit Egypt. A star-studded remake of Death on the Nile (with director Kenneth Branagh playing Poirot) will encapsulate the glam nostalgia of the country’s river cruises when it is released in October. In preparation, Uniworld River Cruises is launching stylish SS Sphinx, while Sanctuary Retreats has given luxe Sanctuary Nile Adventurer a beautiful makeover.

The world’s largest archaeological

Put yourself in the picture at Giza, above; Tiger’s Nest Monastery in Bhutan, main museum, the Grand Egyptian Museum on the Giza Plateau, will open in autumn, housing some 100,000 objects, from Tutankhamun’s goldplated coffin to a gigantic statue of Ramesses II dominating the atrium.

Direct flights from the UK to Sharm el-Sheikh have resumed after four years: the Red Sea resort is accessible from Gatwick and Birmingham, with services from other airports on the way. How to go Abercrombie & Kent (01242 547703; abercrombiekent.co.uk) offers a week’s trip taking in Cairo and Giza (with three nights B&B at Four Seasons Nile Plaza) and a four-night full-board cruise on Sanctuary Nile Adventurer from £2,850 per person including flights. Tui (020 3451 2720; tui.co.uk) offers four-nights all-inclusive in Sharm el Sheikh at the Coral Sea Imperial hotel, from £652 including flights.

Harriet O’Brien is a travel writer and editor with a passion for ancient places.

colonised by the Welsh, and now a popular drive (from the Atlantic to the Andes, following the pioneers’ route) and a flat but, at 400-odd miles, long bike ride (tip: pedal Andes to Atlantic, with the wind behind). South lie the wildlife wonders of Puerto Deseado, a tidal inlet full of porpoises and nesting cormorants, and Monte León national park, with its Magellanic penguins, rheas, whales and guanacos. The island of Tierra del Fuego has king penguins to ogle and king crabs to eat. In the Andes, pioneering hotelier Explora plans to open a new property in trekking hub El Chaltén in late 2020.

Over in Chile, Awasi Patagonia, the region’s most luxurious lodge, is pioneering conservation-minded tourism with its puma reserve, while the newly launched Ruta de Parques (Route of Parks) – a project led by philanthropist Kris Tompkins and founded with her late husband Doug – spans 17 national parks and 1,700 miles of trails, linking up Puerto Montt and the Lake District, Balmaceda in underexplored Aysén, and Torres del Paine national park.

Much of Chilean Patagonia is best enjoyed on cruises that ply the southern fjords and glacier-hewn channels. In Punta Arenas are replicas

Andrew Flintoff

“In 2020, I’d love to visit either of the Poles. Looking further ahead, I wouldn’t mind booking myself on to one of those commercial space travel ventures.”

of the Nao Victoria (the flagship of the Magellan-Elcano circumnavigation), HMS Beagle and the lifeboat James Caird, used by Sir Ernest Shackleton for the famous Elephant Island rescue of 1916. When Bruce Chatwin visited Patagonia in 1975, he spun his celebrated travelogue out of a quirky, empty, other-worldly place. These qualities are still abundant. Visit from October to May for the kindest weather. If you’re on a budget, camp your way around; no-frills carriers Norwegian and FlyBondi (in Argentina) and JetSmart and Sky (in Chile) now compete on Patagonian routes with Latam and Aerolíneas Argentinas. How to go Journey Latin America (020 3553 9647; journeylatinamerica. co.uk) has a 17-day Signature Patagonia holiday that combines a short stay in Buenos Aires with visits to El Calafate, Ushuaia, Torres del Paine, Puerto Varas and Bariloche. From £5,504pp, including flights, excursions and good hotels.

‘Hike with your guide up to Tiger’s Nest’

Chris Moss is Latin America expert. The author of

(Signal/OUP), he’ll be leading a one-off tour of the region for Martin Randall in late 2020.

WWILL ROBSON

Touching down on the world’s diciest runway may be a white-knuckle introduction to the Kingdom of Bhutan, but this most laid-back of nations, perched at the far end of the Hindu Kush Himalayas, will soon calm then entrance you with its “slowly, slowly” approach to existence. King Jigme Wangchuck sets an example: once he has had his morning swim in the country’s only indoor pool, it is open to the public. The “hermit kingdom” limits entry visas to ensure that you feel more a visitor, less a tourist, and lucky enough to wander lush forests in the south, or watch traditional archery contests in the fertile

Lobesa Valley in the west.

Most of Bhutan is forested: oaks and walnut trees draped with moss and orchids overhang deep gorges of rushing emerald-coloured rivers. A quarter is nature reserve, where the golden takin (a goat-like mammal) hides in the forest and eagles wheel

SPHINX SELFIE