Wedged between high, glacial mountain peaks on the northern side of the Chola Mountains is the vast monastery and shedra (Buddhist college) complex of Dzogchen (竹庆寺; Zhú Qìng Sì), one of the most important seats of the Nyingma (Red Hat sect). Exploring this massive and ever-expanding complex of temples, prayer halls, stupas and meditation retreats alone could keep you busy for a day or three, but there's more to Dzogchen than spirituality. With snow capped mountain peaks on one side and rolling grasslands with wandering yaks and nomads on the other there's plenty of scope here for several days of exciting walking.

Dzogchen

Dzongsar Valley

A major passenger port for the fairly nearby Balearic Islands, Dénia (Spanish: Denia) is a cheery place that lives for more than just tourism. The old town snuggles up against a small hill mounted by a tumbledown castle, and the town's streets buzz with life and top foodie choices. The beaches of La Marina, to its northwest, are good and sandy, while southeastwards the fretted coastline of Les Rotes and beyond offers less-frequented rocky coves. With its excellent selection of hotels and restaurants, and mix of local and tourist life, Dénia is perhaps the Costa Blanca's most appealing base.

Dénia

Düsseldorf impresses with boundary-pushing architecture, zinging nightlife and an art scene to rival many higher-profile cities. It’s a posh and modern city that seems all buttoned-up business at first glance: banking, advertising, fashion and telecommunications are among the fields that have made North Rhine–Westphalia's capital one of Germany’s wealthiest cities. Yet all it takes is a few hours of bar-hopping around the Altstadt (the historical quarter along the Rhine) to realise that locals have no problem letting their hair down once they shed those Armani jackets. The Altstadt claims fame as the ‘longest bar in the world’ but some focus has moved to Medienhafen, a redeveloped harbour area home to international avant-garde architecture. Older neighbourhoods are also evolving, including the now-hip Flingern and the vibrantly creative Unterbilk, especially along Lorettostrasse. And the new underground Wehrhahn line's six stations are an eye-catching blend of architecture, design and art.

Düsseldorf

East Africa is a wild realm of extraordinary landscapes, peoples and wildlife in one of our planet's most beautiful corners.

Wildlife

Welcome to the true home of the African safari. This is untamed Africa, where wildebeest, shadowed by zebras, stampede in their millions across the earth; where lions, leopards and cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs roam free in search of their next meal. Such stirring scenes of life and death, such overwhelming scenes of abundance coexist with scenes of surprising fragility, among them chimpanzees and powerful yet gentle silverback male gorillas forced with their families into remote islands of montane forest. To draw near to such wildness is to experience something so profound as to live forever in the memory.

Beaches & Islands

In few places do fascinating human cultures come together quite so agreeably as they do along East Africa’s Indian Ocean coastline. Travel back in time to the days when this part of the world was at the center of a far-flung trading network whose influences – African, Asian, Middle Eastern – continue to dance their way through modern Swahili culture. From Lamu to Zanzibar and just about everywhere in between, you can also relax on white-sand beaches, dive amid colorful marine life or sail on a dhow (ancient Arabic sailing vessel). Some might call it paradise.

Captivating Cultures

Wherever you go, don’t miss the chance to get to know East Africa’s people. Whether you're exploring Maasailand accompanied by red-shawled Maasai warriors, standing in solidarity with victims of genocide at the sobering Kigali Genocide Memorial, or hunting with the ancient Hadzabe people of Lake Eyasi, there are countless opportunities to immerse yourself in the everyday beauty, realities and vibrancy of East African life. It is, after all, East Africans themselves, with their warmth, hospitality and fascinating history, who will provide you with so many of your journey's most memorable moments.

Beautiful Landscapes

This is the land of the Masai Mara and the Serengeti, of an immense red sun setting behind a flat-topped acacia somewhere out beyond eternity. Here on the African savanna, the world remains as it once was, unspoiled by human presence. Nearby are the epic signposts to the Rift Valley, among them Mt Kilimanjaro, the Ngorongoro Crater, the Crater Highlands, Mt Meru, Mt Kenya and the Rwenzoris. By climbing these peaks on foot, by scaling the Rift, you add your own footprints to Africa's marvelous human story and explore in ways unimaginable to those who never leave their vehicles.

East Africa

Unfurling gently eastwards to the sea, the vast flatlands of East Anglia are a rich web of lush farmland, melancholy Fens and sparkling rivers. The area is justly famous for its sweeping sandy beaches, big skies and the bucolic landscape that once inspired Constable and Gainsborough. It's not all rural idyll though: rising out of the Fens is the world-famous university city of Cambridge, with its stunning classical architecture and earnest attitude, while to the east is the cosmopolitan city of Norwich. Around them, magnificent cathedral cities, pretty market towns and implausibly picturesque villages are testament to the enormous wealth amassed here during medieval times, when the wool and weaving industries flourished. The meandering coastline is peppered with charismatic fishing villages and traditional seaside resorts, while inland lie the languid, hypnotic charms of the Norfolk Broads, an ideal location for serious relaxation.

East Anglia

East Austin is on the rise. Just look at the construction cranes and new buildings along E 6th St, which is rapidly gentrifying. This is where the cool kids hang. Old-timers will tell you that east of I-35 is dangerous and to be avoided, especially at night. Although the neighborhood retains a gritty feel, and hosts its fair share of vagrants, it generally feels safe, especially along the main thoroughfares. The neighborhood has a rich history as an African American community, with roots back to the 19th century.

East Austin

Exploring east Bali is one of the island's great pleasures. Rice terraces spill down hillsides, wild volcanic beaches are pounded by surf and traditional villages are barely touched by modernity. Watching over this region is Gunung Agung, the 10,308ft (3142m) active volcano known as the 'Navel of the World' and 'Mother Mountain'.

Temples, palaces and whimsically designed water gardens are dotted throughout the landscape. Two of the temples – Pura Besakih and Pura Lempuyang – are among Bali's most important pilgrimage sites, and evocative reminders of the island's royal dynasties can be found in Klungkung (Semarapura), in Amlapura and at Tirta Gangga.

Up on the northeast coast, Amed and Tulamben are laid-back beach destinations for those keen to escape the crowds on the south coast. Diving, snorkelling, enjoying yoga and lazing by swimming pools are the priorities up here, and can be enjoyed by travelers on every budget.

East Bali

Rhode Island’s jagged East Bay captures the early American story in microcosm, from the graves of early settlers in Little Compton to the farmsteads and merchant homes of whalers and farmers in Warren and Barrington, and the mansions of slave traders in Bristol. Aside from Barrington's historic and picturesque Tyler Point Cemetery, set between the Warren and Barrington Rivers, and Warren’s clutch of early stone and clapboard churches (built in the 18th and 19th centuries), the most interesting of the three communities is Bristol. Further south is Sakonnet, the Wampanoag’s ‘Place of Black Geese,’ a rural landscape of pastures and woods centered on the two tiny communities of Tiverton and Little Compton. The East Bay is proudly protected by its residents and represents a fascinating, largely unpromoted region for the discerning independent traveler interested in American history and New England's natural delights.

East Bay

Berkeley and Oakland are what most San Franciscans think of as the East Bay, though the area includes numerous other suburbs that swoop up from the bayside flats into exclusive enclaves in the hills. Many residents of the ‘West Bay’ would like to think they needn’t ever cross the Bay Bridge or take a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) train through an underwater tunnel. But a wealth of museums and historical sites, a world-famous university, excellent restaurants and bars, a creative arts scene, offbeat shopping, woodsy parks and better weather are just some of the attractions that lure travelers from San Francisco over to the sunny side of the Bay.

The slow-paced East Cape is a unique and special corner of New Zealand. It's a quiet place, where everyone knows everyone, and community ties are built on rural enterprise and a shared passion for the ocean. Horse riding, tractors on the beach, fresh fish for dinner – it's all part of daily life here. Inland, the wild Raukumara Range forms the Cape’s jagged spine. Tracing the fringe of the land, the 327km Pacific Coast Hwy (SH35) runs from Opotiki to Gisborne. Lonely shores lie strewn with driftwood, while picture-postcard sandy bays lure just a handful of visitors.

East Cape

In both landscape and character, the east coast is where the real barrenness of the Highlands begins to unfold. A gentle splendour and a sense of escapism mark the route along the twisting A9, as it heads north for the last of Scotland’s far-flung, mainland population outposts. With only a few exceptions the tourism frenzy is left behind once the road traverses Cromarty Firth and snakes its way along wild and pristine coastline.

While the interior is dominated by the vast and mournful Sutherland mountain range, along the coast great heather-covered hills heave themselves out of the wild North Sea. Rolling farmland drops suddenly into the icy waters, and small, historic towns are moored precariously on the coast’s edge.