Fancy a new destination? Here are some of the best off-the-radar places to go find your next adventure.
Written by Will Gray
6 min readPublished on
Adventure holidays are now so popular that in peak season trying to find your way to the best trails, reefs and summits is like battling your way through Times Square in New York City. So if want your crags uncluttered and your peaks pristine, it’s time to ditch the so-called best destinations and go somewhere different.
We’ve scoured the planet to discover the best up-and-coming hotspots for your next trip – whether you’re into mountain biking, trail running or scuba diving.
Why: This is the place the locals go for adventure
Adrenaline junkies head straight to Queenstown for extreme adventures. But Wanaka, just a one-hour drive away, offers similarly thrilling adventures in a smaller, more laid back and stunningly beautiful lakeside setting.
In winter, Treble Cone is a popular ski resort, while in summer Wanaka is the gateway to a lake and mountain playground for water sports, hiking, offroad biking and skydiving. Nearby Mount Iron or Mount Roy both give amazing views of Lake Wanaka and the surrounding mountains. Puzzling World is also a great day out if rain stops play.
Why: Wild pinnacle mountain trails in a remote Patagonian outpost
The isolated outpost of El Chalten, which sits in Los Glaciares National Park, is towered over by the stunning saw-tooth peaks of Fitzroy and Cerro Torre.
The rock pillar skyline is seen clearly from the town and there are many, many trails to reach world class climbing routes including the Laguna de los Tres day hike, which ends at the base of Fitzroy’s granite peaks.
It’s close to the steaming Masaya crater and the sand boarding route down Cerro Negro, while a few hours’ drive leads to a unique climb up tangled tree roots to a crater lake in Ometepe Island’s Volcan Maderas. Local travel is just as adventurous as the activities, with drivers taking old school buses to breakneck speeds.
Nepal’s extreme sport capital has watersports on Phewa Lake and some of the world’s top paragliding areas nearby. There are also places for mountain biking, ultralight flight, rock climbing, canyoning and white water rafting or kayaking on the turbulent Trisuli River for some pre- or post-hike adrenaline hits.
Why: You probably know this famous ski town, but it comes alive in summer as well as winter
In the shadow of Mont Blanc and surrounded by mountains, the birthplace of modern mountaineering is now also a trailrunner’s paradise thanks to the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) that runs every August or September.
Cable cars on the extensive ski fields access huge glaciers and granite peaks, interlaced with running and mountain bike trails. Put on crampons to hike on Mer de Glace or climb one of the many prepared routes which suit everyone from beginner to expert – including the legendary Mont Blanc.
It sits at the base of a national park and opens the door to a wide range of adventures including mountain trails, class 3-4 white water rafting, ziplines over the cloud forest canopy, stand-up paddleboard trips on Lake Arenal, rapels down huge jungle waterfalls and relaxing hot spring-fed water parks.
For us, Palma is simply the airport to fly into – it's the island as a whole that offers a wild adventure at every turn. The largest of the Balearic islands, Mallorca sits off Spain’s east coast and is a hot spot for hiking and biking. But its rocky coastal landscape and inland caves and canyons also provide the playground for more adrenaline-fuelled adventures including sea caving, cliff jumping and canyoning.
Although darkness blankets the town for 24 hours over many winter weeks, shoulder season gives enough light to go out and play. Snowmobile or fatbike on frozen fjords, go ice fishing, kayak bright blue glacial melt rivers or cross country ski to spot the Northern Lights.
Sat beside a lake in the shadow of Villarica volcano, which last erupted in 2015, Pucón is an adventure hub with a relaxed alpine feel. Its many tour agencies offer lots of ways to enjoy Chile’s great lakes region, including white water rafting and kayaking, skiing and snowshoe hiking among ancient trees. And to unwind after all that activity, there are some stunning natural hot spring-fed pools set in the middle of the forest.
Inland there are places where you can go canyoneering through waterfalls, including three-layered Kawasan Falls, and spots to trek to Osmena peak. By the coast, beautiful white beaches line the bays in Alcoy and Aloguinsan and some of the area’s best diving, with the potential to encounter whale sharks, is in nearby Moalboal.
The rolling dunes are perfect for quad biking and sand boarding, the ocean is full of big game for deep-sea line fishing and for those who prefer their adventures to be aerial, there are plenty of skydiving and paragliding spots over the spectacularly barren coast.
