Where to visit in 2019
FROM Toronto (Canada) to Belize, Greenland to Dordogne (France), National Geographic Traveler has revealed its picks for the best must-see destinations and travel experiences of 2019.
Overall, the magazine’s Best Trips issue features 28 destinations which are categorised under four themes – cities, nature, culture and adventure.
Under cities, Toronto is given a place of honour for what editors describe as a dynamic, multicultural hub for creativity.
The city’s diversity – nearly half of its residents are immigrants who together speak more than 200 languages – is credited with fuelling the city’s creative mix, be it music (Drake and The Weeknd are namedropped in the piece), food or art.
Meanwhile, travellers seeking to be awed by nature are advised to visit Fanjingshan, China’s newest Unesco World Heritage Site. A sacred Buddhist site, intrepid hikers can climb the 2,335m Red Clouds Golden Summit, a dramatic, thumb-like peak that takes climbers high into the clouds. The reward? Sweeping views of the green mountain range below and a temple visit at the top.
In 2019, the Dordogne region of southwestern France will fete the 100th anniversary of the Felibree, an annual celebration for all things Occitan, one of several reasons it also makes NatGeo’s Best Trip 2019 list.
Picture-book castles and the area’s nine Michelin-starred restaurants are also reasons to visit. – AFP Relaxnews
National Geographic’s Best Trips destinations for 2019 are: Cities
Dakar, Senegal Salvador, Brazil Kansas City, Missouri, US Toronto, Canada Matera, Italy
Perth, Australia Mexico City, Mexico
Nature Peruvian Amazon Montenegro Belize Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique
South Walton County, Florida, US Fanjingshan, China
Tahiti, French Polynesia
Culture
Cairo, Egypt
Hoang Lien Son, Vietnam Galway, Ireland Bauhaus Trail, Germany Oakland, California Vevey, Switzerland Dordogne, France
Adventure
Greenland Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
Isla de los Estados, Argentina Macedonia Canterbury Region, New Zealand Cano Cristales River, Colombia Oman
Fanjingshan, China Toronto