Find a place

An atlas of the world’s beautiful places

Where to go — and how to get there

The world’s best places, country by country: from spots you can dash off to for a weekend to expeditions to the ends of the earth. Photos, season, access, budget, entry rules and laws — with sources and the date of each check.

Find a placeVisa-free for Russian citizens

133places41countries and Antarctica5access levels

Krasnaya Polyana — Russia · easyLake Baikal and Olkhon — Russia · fairly easyAltai Mountains — Russia · fairly easyKarelia: Ruskeala and Kizhi — Russia · easyTeriberka — Russia · fairly easySulak Canyon and Highland Dagestan — Russia · fairly easyKamchatka: Volcanoes and the Valley of Geysers — Russia · hardPutorana Plateau — Russia · expeditionFranz Josef Land — Russia · expeditionKazbegi and Gergeti Trinity Church — Georgia · fairly easySvaneti and Ushguli — Georgia · needs planningTbilisi — Georgia · easyTatev — Armenia · fairly easyGarni and Geghard — Armenia · easyLake Sevan — Armenia · easyCharyn Canyon — Kazakhstan · fairly easyKolsai Lakes and Kaindy — Kazakhstan · fairly easyAlmaty and the Trans-Ili Alatau — Kazakhstan · easyLake Issyk-Kul — Kyrgyzstan · easyLake Song-Kul — Kyrgyzstan · needs planningAla Archa — Kyrgyzstan · easySamarkand — Uzbekistan · easyBukhara — Uzbekistan · easyKhiva — Uzbekistan · fairly easyCappadocia — Turkey · easyPamukkale and Hierapolis — Turkey · easyLycian Way — Turkey · needs planningSheikh Zayed Grand Mosque — UAE · easyHatta — UAE · fairly easyLiwa Oasis and the Rub’ al Khali — UAE · needs planningPyramids of Giza — Egypt · easyLuxor — Egypt · easyMount Sinai and Dahab — Egypt · fairly easyChefchaouen — Morocco · easyMerzouga and Erg Chebbi — Morocco · needs planningToubkal — Morocco · needs planningPhu Quoc — Vietnam · easyHa Long Bay — Vietnam · easyHoi An — Vietnam · easyDa Lat — Vietnam · easySa Pa and Fansipan — Vietnam · fairly easyHa Giang Loop — Vietnam · needs planningPhong Nha-Ke Bang — Vietnam · fairly easySon Doong Cave — Vietnam · expeditionRailay and Krabi — Thailand · easyChiang Mai — Thailand · easyKhao Sok — Thailand · fairly easyBali — Indonesia · easyKomodo — Indonesia · needs planningRaja Ampat — Indonesia · hardSigiriya — Sri Lanka · easyElla and the Tea Hills — Sri Lanka · easyYala National Park — Sri Lanka · fairly easyLocal Islands of the Maldives — Maldives · easyHanifaru and Baa Atoll — Maldives · fairly easyFuvahmulah — Maldives · needs planningTaj Mahal — India · easyGoa — India · easyLadakh — India · hardPokhara — Nepal · easyKathmandu Valley — Nepal · easyEverest Base Camp Trek — Nepal · hardTaktsang — Tiger’s Nest — Bhutan · needs planningPunakha Dzong — Bhutan · needs planningPhobjikha Valley — Bhutan · needs planningZhangjiajie — China · fairly easyGuilin and Yangshuo — China · fairly easyGreat Wall of China — China · easyKyoto — Japan · easyMount Fuji and the Five Lakes — Japan · fairly easyShiretoko — Japan · needs planningGorkhi-Terelj — Mongolia · easyLake Khövsgöl — Mongolia · needs planningGobi Desert — Mongolia · needs planningBay of Kotor — Montenegro · easyDurmitor and the Tara Canyon — Montenegro · fairly easyLake Skadar — Montenegro · easyDolomites — Italy · fairly easyCinque Terre — Italy · easyRome — Italy · easyGolden Circle — Iceland · easyJökulsárlón — Iceland · fairly easyLandmannalaugar — Iceland · needs planningLofoten Islands — Norway · fairly easyPreikestolen — Norway · fairly easySvalbard — Norway · hardZanzibar — Tanzania · easySerengeti and Ngorongoro — Tanzania · needs planningKilimanjaro — Tanzania · hardSossusvlei and Deadvlei — Namibia · needs planningEtosha — Namibia · needs planningSkeleton Coast — Namibia · hardCape Town and the Cape of Good Hope — South Africa · easyKruger National Park — South Africa · fairly easyDrakensberg — South Africa · fairly easyAvenue of the Baobabs — Madagascar · needs planningTsingy de Bemaraha — Madagascar · hardNosy Be — Madagascar · fairly easyChichen Itza — Mexico · easyCenotes of the Yucatán — Mexico · easyCopper Canyon — Mexico · needs planningOld Havana — Cuba · easyViñales Valley — Cuba · easyTrinidad — Cuba · fairly easyMachu Picchu — Peru · needs planningVinicunca Rainbow Mountain — Peru · needs planningLake Titicaca — Peru · fairly easySalar de Uyuni — Bolivia · needs planningLa Paz — Bolivia · fairly easyEduardo Avaroa Lagoons — Bolivia · hardAtacama Desert — Chile · fairly easyTorres del Paine — Chile · needs planningEaster Island — Chile · hardIguazu Falls — Argentina · fairly easyPerito Moreno Glacier — Argentina · needs planningUshuaia and Tierra del Fuego — Argentina · needs planningRio de Janeiro — Brazil · easyLençóis Maranhenses — Brazil · needs planningThe Amazon near Manaus — Brazil · needs planningQuito — Ecuador · easyCotopaxi — Ecuador · fairly easyGalápagos Islands — Ecuador · hardGrand Canyon — USA · fairly easyYosemite — USA · fairly easyThe Wave — USA · hardGreat Barrier Reef — Australia · fairly easyUluru and Kata Tjuta — Australia · needs planningPurnululu — Bungle Bungle Range — Australia · hardMilford Sound — New Zealand · fairly easyTongariro — New Zealand · fairly easyAoraki / Mount Cook — New Zealand · fairly easyAntarctic Peninsula — Antarctica · expeditionSouth Georgia — Antarctica · expedition
easyfairly easyneeds planninghardexpeditionLand — Natural Earth

Where to start

In season nowVisa-free with a Russian passportEasy to reachMountainsSeaExpeditions

World’s best

Places worth crossing half the planet for, each with an honest look at the route, the season and the cost.

Lake Baikal and OlkhonWorld’s best

Russia · Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

Lake Baikal and Olkhon

The deepest lake in the world: the cliffs of Olkhon in summer, clear ice in February and March.

Access 2/5 · fairly easyJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Vyacheslav Argenberg · CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Kazbegi and Gergeti Trinity ChurchWorld’s best

Georgia · Stepantsminda, Georgia

Kazbegi and Gergeti Trinity Church

A 14th-century church on a hill beneath the 5,000-metre Kazbek — one of the most recognisable views of the Caucasus.

Access 2/5 · fairly easyJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Braveheart · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
SamarkandWorld’s best

Uzbekistan · Uzbekistan

Samarkand

The Registan, turquoise domes and the tilework of Shah-i-Zinda — the heart of the Great Silk Road.

Access 1/5 · easyJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Ekrem Canli · CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
CappadociaWorld’s best

Turkey · Nevşehir, Turkey

Cappadocia

Stone “fairy chimneys”, underground cities and hundreds of hot-air balloons at dawn.

Access 1/5 · easyJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Pyramids of GizaWorld’s best

Egypt · Cairo, Egypt

Pyramids of Giza

The last of the Seven Wonders of the World that you can still see with your own eyes, and the Great Sphinx.

Access 1/5 · easyJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Ricardo Liberato · CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ha Long BayWorld’s best

Vietnam · Quang Ninh, Vietnam

Ha Long Bay

Thousands of limestone islands in emerald water — the signature landscape of Vietnam.

Access 1/5 · easyJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Thomas Hirsch / Ravn · CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Raja AmpatWorld’s best

Indonesia · Southwest Papua, Indonesia

Raja Ampat

Hundreds of green islands at the heart of the Coral Triangle — some of the richest reefs on Earth.

Access 4/5 · hardJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Rolandandika · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Taj MahalWorld’s best

India · Agra, India

Taj Mahal

A white marble mausoleum — a symbol of India and of a love that has outlived the centuries.

Access 1/5 · easyJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Yann; edited by King of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Everest Base Camp TrekWorld’s best

Nepal · Khumbu, Nepal

Everest Base Camp Trek

Two weeks on foot past Sherpa villages and monasteries to the foot of the highest mountain in the world.

Access 4/5 · hardJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Nepal Trek Adventures · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Taktsang — Tiger’s NestWorld’s best

Bhutan · Paro, Bhutan

Taktsang — Tiger’s Nest

A monastery clinging to a sheer cliff 900 metres above the Paro valley.

Access 3/5 · needs planningJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Gerd Eichmann · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Great Wall of ChinaWorld’s best

China · Beijing, China

Great Wall of China

A wall along mountain ridges — from restored Mutianyu to the wild sections.

Access 1/5 · easyJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Velatrix · CC0, Wikimedia Commons

All of the world’s best

Hard to reach

Permits, helicopters, icebreakers and treks of many days. Hard going — but these are exactly the places you remember for life.

Putorana Plateau

Russia · Taymyr, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia

Putorana Plateau

Table mountains beyond the Arctic Circle, hundreds of waterfalls and fjord-like lakes — no roads and almost no people.

Access 5/5 · expeditionJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Vitaly Repin · CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Franz Josef Land

Russia · Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, Arctic Ocean

Franz Josef Land

The northernmost archipelago of Eurasia: glaciers, polar bears, walruses and the midnight sun.

Access 5/5 · expeditionJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Николай Гернет · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Son Doong Cave

Vietnam · Phong Nha-Ke Bang, Vietnam

Son Doong Cave

The largest cave in the world, with its own jungle, clouds and river inside.

Access 5/5 · expeditionJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Trantuanviet · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Raja AmpatWorld’s best

Indonesia · Southwest Papua, Indonesia

Raja Ampat

Hundreds of green islands at the heart of the Coral Triangle — some of the richest reefs on Earth.

Access 4/5 · hardJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Rolandandika · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Ladakh

India · Union Territory of Ladakh, India

Ladakh

A high Himalayan desert: Buddhist monasteries, passes above 5,000 metres and Pangong Lake.

Access 4/5 · hardJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Fulvio Spada from Torino, Italy · CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Everest Base Camp TrekWorld’s best

Nepal · Khumbu, Nepal

Everest Base Camp Trek

Two weeks on foot past Sherpa villages and monasteries to the foot of the highest mountain in the world.

Access 4/5 · hardJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Nepal Trek Adventures · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Svalbard

Norway · Norway, Arctic Ocean

Svalbard

An Arctic archipelago: glaciers, polar bears, the midnight sun and Russian Barentsburg.

Access 4/5 · hardJFMAMJJASOND
Photo: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

All hard-to-reach places

Where the community lives

Absolute lives in Russia and Vietnam. Krasnaya Polyana and Phu Quoc are the community’s centres and good starting points.

Krasnaya PolyanaAbsolute community homeKrasnaya PolyanaThe Caucasus an hour from the sea: trails to lakes and waterfalls in summer, ski resorts in winter.Phu QuocAbsolute community homePhu QuocAn island in the Gulf of Thailand: white beaches, sunsets over the sea and night markets.

From here it is easy to go further: from Sochi around the Caucasus, from Phu Quoc across Southeast Asia.

How the atlas works

Not thousands of listings but hand-picked places — and everything you need to know before you buy a ticket.

The best, not everything

Every country has its main place, an easy one and a hard one. Chosen for beauty, uniqueness and recognition (UNESCO, national parks).

The way there, honestly

An access scale from 1 to 5: from “hop on and go” to an expedition. You see what makes a place hard: permits, season, effort, fees.

Rules with a date

Entry for Russian citizens, Russian Foreign Ministry warnings, laws and fees — with links to official sources and the date of each check.

A budget without ads

World Bank price levels, mandatory fees and a converter: “your usual day at home → there”. No affiliate links.

The access scale

How hard it is to get to a place and spend time there. Visas are separate: every country has its own badge for the Russian passport.

  1. 1

    easy

    A city or resort: regular transport, no permits or special preparation.

  2. 2

    fairly easy

    A day of travel, local transport or a day tour — no special preparation.

  3. 3

    needs planning

    Connections, a guide or tour, the season, physical effort: worth planning ahead.

  4. 4

    hard

    Permits, several days of travel or trekking, a short season, sizeable fees.

  5. 5

    expedition

    Days of travel, permits, infrequent flights or sailings, big money — and the weather decides everything.

Questions

Is this a travel agency?

No. AbsoTravel is a non-commercial atlas of the Absolute community: it sells nothing, takes no commissions and has no affiliate links. The site accepts no money.

How up to date are the entry rules?

Every rule is checked on an official website, and the date of the check sits right next to it. Rules change: before you go, open the source link and compare.

Why do places have no reviews?

Because making them up is not an option, and there are no real ones yet. Stories from community members will appear in the “Stories” section as people send them in.

Where are my saved places and trip plan kept?

Only in your browser. No accounts, no cookies, no analytics: the site does not know who you are or what you save. You can save the plan to a file and move it to another device.

Does it work offline?

Yes, it is an app: install it on your phone. Pages you have opened, photos, saved places, your plan and checklist all work without a connection — on a plane or in the mountains.

Whose photos are these?

Freely licensed photos from Wikimedia Commons. The author and licence are under each photo, and the files sit on our own server: your browser does not contact other sites.