Asia's Best Beaches - with extra thrills There are loads of lovely places to flop on the sand - but where's the fun in that? Discover our pick of the 22 best South-East Asian beaches that offer a bucket load of adventure including: Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and more... Explore Yosemite We show you how to celebrate this Californian National Park turning 125 in style - using catered camping in the beautiful backcountry Bryson on Britain Read our exclusive extract from Bill Bryson's brand new travel book – The Road to Little Dribbling: More Notes from a Small Island - and catch our interview with the man himself Amazon Join us as we head for the biodiversity of Brazil to discover the food, the people and the wildlife that are connected by this great river Iran With travel restrictions easing there's never been a better time to discover travel's hottest new destination PLUS: Booking Air BnB? Read this first; first 24 hours in Sao Paulo; take a short break to the Isle of Skye; Gran Canaria away from the holiday resorts; and much, much more...
Welcome…
Behind the scenes this month...
Contributors • Wanderlust is brought to life by people from all over the planet. Here are just some of the individuals who helped to create this issue – and their hot trips for 2020…
The Wanderlust Philosophy
Wanderlust
VIEWFINDER
Your letters • Your mail and missives: being inspired to explore Kyrgyzstan, falling in love with Hoi An, remembering a remarkable wildlife highlight of a Costa Rica holiday and much more...
SOCIAL TALK
#wanderlustmag • Been somewhere beautiful? Done something amazing? Tag us at #wanderlustmag on Instagram or email your pictures to fromtheroad@wanderlust.co.uk and make us jealous.
Life on the edge
The Grapevine • What’s getting us talking at Wanderlust Towers
PERU’S wildest corner • Little-visited Loreto is rich in Amazonian adventures – here’s why you need to see it for yourself
Tokyo • Bright neon lights and soaring skyscrapers are most travellers’ first impression of Tokyo. But if you head deep into the heart of the city, you’ll see another side to Japan’s urban jungle with our pick of mind-blowing insider experiences
THE DESTINATION: AQABA, JORDAN • With ancient sites to explore on land and diving opportunities in the Red Sea, Jordan’s port city of Aqaba is much more than just the gateway to Petra. Is now the time to embark on an epic trip?
WADI RUM
Get out and about around Aqaba…
THE NUMBERS
The top nine LONG JOURNEYS • By extending the length of your adventure you can live the places you visit instead of just seeing them. Here are some of the best long trips…
Park life with… KRIS TOMPKINS • Following on from the launch of Chile’s Route of the Parks project, the ex-CEO of Patagonia clothing tells us how she and her late husband Doug helped create the world’s biggest conservation scheme
Mont Blanc tart • Best experienced in an Alpine wonderlands ’twixt Italy and France, a Mont Blanc tart is a tiny festive treat with sky-high ambition
Head to Head Costa Rica VERSUS Belize • Both teem with wildlife, but are you more drawn to Costa Rica’s rainforest-swathed volcanoes and oceanic beaches, or Caribbean Belize, with its dive-friendly coral cayes and misty mountains littered with Mayan ruins?
Skylodge Adventure Suites, Peru • Wake up at the wing-level of soaring Andean condors, 400 metres above the Sacred Valley
Leon McCarron Old roads and hidden valleys • On a journey into remote central China, the adventurer and travel writer encounters enthusiastic villagers, an unusual rice wine drinking ritual and a long tale about a scarf-wearing chicken
WIN! A LIFE OF ADVENTURE WITH...