7 PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE

 

PLUNDER THE PENSION PLAN AND MAKE SURE YOU’VE TICKED OFF THESE MUST-VISIT DESTINATIONS BEFORE YOU POP YOUR DESIGNER CLOGS

 

1. THE LOST TEMPLE OF BOROBUDUR

 

For a truly undiscovered temple you need to skip the well-trodden Inca Trail or Angkor Wat and head into the rainforests of Java in Indonesia.

Borobudur lay buried under volcanic ash until the early 1800s but now the huge pyramid-shaped temple rises high above the jungle canopy in a series of stepped layers.

Each is alive with intricately carved stone panels. Upper layers boast beehive domes and kneeling statues of Buddha inside. Climb it at sunrise for spectacular views.

Silverbird Travel (020 8875 9090 or www.silverbird.co.uk) offers five nights in Bali and two in Yogyakarta seeing Borobudur from £1,250.

 

2. THE FAIRY CHIMNEYS OF CAPPADOCIA

 

Drive into Turkey’s remote interior and you’ll find a magical place where winds have sculpted the rock into huge wigwam-shaped domes that are now teeny multi-storeyed homes.

Climb the wooden stairs to sip tea and listen to folk music or see an aerial view from a hot-air balloon at sunrise.

A 15-day Highlights of Turkey tour with Exodus (0845 863 9600 or www.exodus.co.uk) costs from £953.

 

3. THE BLUE HOLE REEF, BELIZE

 

Just south of Mexico, the tiny country of Belize has awesome dive sites suitable for beginners to experts. On the surface, the Blue Hole is a vast circle of azure sea and white coral.

Below, there’s a coral sink-hole that plunges 140m. Descend 40m and you find a huge cave where you can swim around stalactites and stalagmites and get friendly with sharks.

Dive Worldwide (0845 130 6980 or www.diveworldwide.com) has seven nights in Belize for £999. A three-dive trip to the Blue Hole costs £105.

 

4. THE MOAI STATUES OF EASTER ISLAND

 

No one knows who carved the enormous stone statues on Easter Island – or why – but the awe-inspiring 600 oversized heads that sit on crude bodies and stare across the island are known as the Moai.

Standing up to 9m high, they make a truly arresting sight. More lie abandoned in quarries, as if some disaster stopped everything in its tracks.

Windswept and eerie, Easter Island is one of the world’s most isolated places, but it has comfortable guesthouses and friendly locals. It’s a five-hour flight from Chile.

Last Frontiers (01296 653000 or www.lastfrontiers.com) has a four-day visit from £1,448.

 

5. THE WOODEN CHURCHES OF KARELIA

 

The Church of the Transfiguration was built by the deeply spiritual residents of Karelia 300 years ago.

And it’s well worth taking a sleeper train from St Petersburg to get to see it – if it’s winter, you can cross the frozen lake by snowmobile.

Go Russia’s (020 8434 3496 or www.justgorussia.co.uk) Karelia island tour costs from £1,259.

 

6. THE SALT MINES OF WIELICZKA

 

Dig beneath the town of Krakow in Poland and you’ll find an incredible treasure. The Wieliczka Mine is 135m underground and is decorated with hundreds of religious statues carved from the salt.

There’s even a cathedral and, if you time it right, you can catch a concert in the Blessed Kinga chapel.

Regent Holidays (0845 277 3317 or www.regent-holidays.co.uk) has three-night trips to Krakow and the mines from £281.

 

7. THE AMPHITHEATRE AT EL JEM

 

It looks like the Colosseum in Rome, but there the similarities with El Jem in Tunisia end. Not only is this ancient monument better preserved, there’s a good chance you’ll get the place to yourself.

You can wander freely around the lofty tiers looking down on the arena below where gladiators fought to the death.

The Traveller (020 7436 9343 or www.the-traveller.co.uk) offers four-night luxury trips to Tunis, with a day at El Jem, from £800.

 

Prices per person based on two sharing, including flights and accommodation prices correct at time of going to press
Words: Jeremy Head; Photography: Alamy, Getty Images, Photolibrary.com

 

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