Best Adventure Travel 2014

ADVEMTURE TRAVEL 2014 MOUNTAIN BIKING IN AVORIAZ Avoriaz is one of 12 interconnected resorts in the Portes du Soleil region of the French Alps, where man-made bike trails and alpine tracks create a spectacular playground for moun- tain bikers. The area, which includes Les Gets and Morzine, opens 25 ski lifts during the summer for riders who'd rather earn their thrills the easy way. There are more than 650km of trails in Portes du Soleil, ranging from mellow to OMG. At the end of June the Pass'Portes du Soleil mountain bike festival sees 4000 bikers descend on the region fora 75km race that is mostly downhill. The gondolas close to bikers in Septem- ber, then the skiers get their turn. SAILING IN CAPE HORN Tall ships may look like they've sailed straight out of a classic oil painting, but you don't need to set your DeLorean to 1870 to navigate the stormy seas in one - but you should be pre- pared to get stuck in on deck, and climbing the rigging is es- pecially encouraged. The Auckland-to-Falklands route around Cape Horn is one of the gnarliest shipping channels on the planet, and you'll rack up 5400 nautical miles among some of the world's biggest waves. SWIMMING IN SPORADES ISLES You don't have to watch The Beach to figure out that swim- ming from one island to another is a pretty magical way to arrive at your holiday destination. In this tour of a super- quiet stretch of the Aegean Sea you get to do that every day, Greek island-hopping stroke by stroke without the bother of carrying your kit, which will follow behind in the support boat. You'll be sharing the craggy coastlines of the Sporades archipelago and its protected turquoise waters with dol- phins, seals and scientists, as the area is part of Europe's largest natural marine park. KAYAKING IN KAMCHATKA For an experience so edge-of-the-world you'll need to be careful you don't actually drop off, this 160km hike and kayak expedition in remotest Kamchatka takes some beating. Your small group will be dropped by helicopter at the foot of the Karimsky volcano, where you'll begin crossing the Sibe- rian taiga. You'll encounter no roads or people, the only tracks being those of the 25,000 brown bears who call this region home. When you reach the headwaters of the salmon- and trout-rich Zhupanova river, you'll take to your kayak and paddle its entire length to the Bering Sea. ROCK CLIMBING IN YANGSHUO Yangshuo, a picturesque former fishing village, has found itself dubbed the adventure capital of China thanks in part to its accessibility but mostly due to the rock-climbing opportu- nities afforded by its many limestone karst peaks, which rise strikingly from the dense emerald-green vegetation. A buzz- ing scene of local and international climbers enjoy arguably the best concentration of climbs in Asia, most of which are reachable by a short bike or bus ride from downtown. Many routes are well bolted, though the more intrepid climber can still find fresh, and in some cases nearvertical, routes to con- quer. WHITEWATER RAFTING IN MOSQUITO COAST The swamp-riden jungle that makes up the Mosquito Coast, named after the local Miskito Indians rather than the pesky bloodsuckers, is one of the least explored areas in the Ameri- cas. Yet the truly hardy can whitewater raft through its core, riding the Rio Platano river to the Caribbean coast with only the region's indigenous tribes and unique wildlife (river otters, scarlet macaws, pumas, jaguars and vampire bats) for company. When not riding the rapids, you'll explore the caves and subterranean creeks (once used for ancient rituals) that line the river, and by night you'll hone your bushcraft skills by wild camping on the sandy riverbanks. RE-DEFINING THE WORLD OF TRAVEL, UK.co.uk 0207 6127222 TRAVEL CENTER [email protected] 3517 OTECT IATA Source : http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travel-tips-and-articles/best-adventure-travel-for-2014 FRANCE CHILE GREECE RUSSIA HOMDURAS