Sen Monorom
The 3000-sq-km Keo Seima (formerly called Seima Protected Forest) hosts the country’s greatest treasure trove of mammalian wildlife. Besides unprecedented…
Must-see attractions in Southeast Asia
Sukhothai
The Sukhothai Historical Park ruins are one of Thailand’s most impressive World Heritage sites. The park includes the remains of 21 historical sites and…
Holland Village, Dempsey Hill & the Botanic Gardens
Singapore's 74-hectare botanic wonderland is a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of the city's most arresting attractions. Established in 1860, it's a…
El Nido
For an easy day trip out of El Nido, head north by tricycle or motorbike to this incredible, golden-hued, 3km-long beach. Development has arrived in…
Raja Ampat Islands
These small, uninhabited and incredibly picturesque islands, 30km beyond Waigeo, feature heavily in Raja Ampat promotional material. It’s mainly…
Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang's best-known monastery is centred on a 1560 sǐm (ordination hall). Its roofs sweep low to the ground and there's a stunning 'tree of life'…
El Nido
This incredibly beautiful, jungle-backed, stretch of golden sand toward the northern tip of mainland Palawan is the centre of El Nido's surfing community…
Myanmar (Burma)
This lovely 1834 teak monastery is Inwa’s most memorable individual attraction. It's supported on 267 teak posts, the largest 60ft high and 9ft in…
Nan
Nan’s most famous Buddhist temple is celebrated for its exquisite murals, executed during the late 19th century by a Thai Lü artist named Thit Buaphan…
Central Mountains
Newly developed as a tourist attraction in early 2018, the falls here are among the best on Bali. It’s about a 20-minute walk from the car park; a 500m…
Central Sulawesi
Seemingly scattered haphazardly around the hills near Lore Lindu National Park are some 400 ancient stone megaliths of unknown origin that might be over…
Northern Laos
Joining a truly fascinating 18-point tour is the only way to see Vieng Xai's seven most important war-shelter cave complexes, set in beautiful gardens…
Taman Nasional Kepulauan Togean
Togean Islands
Togean Islands National Park was gazetted in 2004, and in 2017 was declared a tourism area of national significance. The park encompasses 3400 sq km of…
East Java
The Ijen plateau's most extraordinary sight is the magnificent turquoise sulphur lake of Kawah Ijen. A night hike to the crater in which the lake boils…
Northern Bangkok
Among the largest open-air markets in the world, Chatuchak (also referred to as 'Jatujak' or simply 'JJ Market') seems to unite everything buyable, from…
Southern Laos
Bucolic Wat Phu sits in graceful decrepitude, and while it lacks the arresting enormity of Angkor in Cambodia, given its few visitors and more dramatic…
Sumatra
This scattering of ruined and partially restored temples is the most important Hindu-Buddhist site in Sumatra. The temples are believed to mark the…
Bagan
With its 170ft-high, gold corn-cob hti (decorated pinnacle) shimmering across the plains, Ananda is one of the finest, largest, best-preserved and most…
Phnom Penh
In 1975 Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turned into a prison known as Security Prison 21 (S-21); it soon became…
Yogyakarta
Beside the southern alun-alun (main square), Yogya's enormous kraton (palace) is the cultural and political heart of this fascinating city. Effectively a…
Lampang Province
This ancient Buddhist temple compound has several interesting religious structures, including what is arguably the most beautiful wooden Lanna temple in…
Cambodia
Prek Toal is one of three biospheres on the Tonlé Sap lake, and this stunning bird sanctuary makes it the most worthwhile and straightforward of the three…
Northwestern Cambodia
For tantalising lost-world ambience, this remote temple complex about 90km south of Preah Vihear City can't be beaten. It's wrapped by vines and trees,…
Kanchanaburi Province
Splashing in emerald-green pools under Erawan Falls is the highlight of this very popular 550-sq-km park. Seven tiers of waterfall tumble through the…
Buriram Province
Prasat Phanom Rung has a knock-you-dead location. Crowning the summit of a spent volcano, this sanctuary sits 200m above the paddy fields below. To the…
Chiang Mai
Overlooking the city from its mountain throne, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep is one of northern Thailand's most sacred temples, and its founding legend is…
Tak Province
Located in the Um Phang Wildlife Sanctuary, this waterfall is Thailand’s largest, measuring an estimated 200m high and up to 400m wide during the rainy…
Penang
At 23 sq km, this is Malaysia's smallest national park, but it's beach-fringed forests are home to silvered leaf monkeys, flying lemurs, leopard cats and…
Central Java
In a magnificent position 900m above the Solo plain with fine views of Gunung Lawu, Candi Sukuh is one of Java’s most enigmatic and striking temples. It’s…
Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre
Cambodia
This wonderful wildlife sanctuary for rescued animals is home to gibbons, sun bears, elephants, tigers, lions, deer, enormous pythons and a massive bird…
Phnom Penh
The National Museum of Cambodia is home to the world’s finest collection of Khmer sculpture: a millennium’s worth and more of masterful Khmer design…
Bagan
Visible from all parts of Bagan, this massive, walled, 12th-century temple – about 1600ft east of Shwesandaw – is infamous for its mysterious, bricked-up…
Vigan
The Mestizo District, or Kasanglayan ('where the Chinese live'), is a grid of streets hemmed in between Plaza Burgos and Liberation Blvd and bisected by…
Sabah
This small reserve has forested hills rising dramatically from the surrounding plain. If getting into the Maliau Basin or Danum Valley feels like too much…
West & Southwest Singapore
Made up of a series of parks and hills connecting Kent Ridge Park to Mt Faber and the Labrador Nature Reserve, the Southern Ridges will have you trekking…
Chin State
The highest peak in Chin State – 10,016ft – and the third-highest in Myanmar, stunning Mt Victoria is one of the principal attractions of southern Chin…
Phnom Penh
Within the Royal Palace compound is this extravagant temple, also known as Wat Preah Keo or Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The Silver Pagoda is so named…
Mandalay
Every day, thousands of colourfully dressed faithful venerate Mahamuni's 13ft-tall seated buddha, a nationally celebrated image that’s popularly believed…
Quang Ngai
This tranquil rural spot was the setting for one of the most horrific crimes of the American War, a massacre committed by US troops that killed 504…
Chiang Mai
Wat Chedi Luang isn't as grand as Wat Phra Singh, but its towering, ruined Lanna-style chedi (built in 1441) is much taller and the sprawling compound…
