Sarawak
The trail from Bario to Pa' Lungan is walkable without a guide. About halfway along you'll see Batu Arit, a large stone featuring bird carvings and…
Must-see attractions in Asia
Around Manila
This former Camp O'Donnell POW camp was where the American and Filipino soldiers who endured the notorious WWII Bataan Death March were transported: their…
Taitung
A spur line once brought trains to the centre of Taitung. That line was decommissioned in 2001 and has since been turned into an excellent cycle path. The…
Bukhara
This peaceful and little-visited burial complex a few kilometres west of Bukhara is a good place to escape the tour bus crowds and has partially managed…
Gyeongsangbuk-do
The body and robes of this Buddha are carved on a boulder over 12m high – on top of which are the head and hair, carved out of two separate pieces of rock…
Xi'an
More than 2000 years ago Xianyang was the capital of the Qin dynasty. These days it’s just a dusty satellite of Xi'an. Its chief attraction is this museum…
The Ancient Cities
This dagoba (the largest at Mihintale) is thought to have been built to house relics of Mahinda. On the far side you'll find the original, smaller brick…
Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park
Andaman Islands
Comprising 15 islands of mangrove creeks, tropical rainforest and reefs supporting 50 types of coral and plenty of colourful fish, the 280-sq-km Mahatma…
Nagasaki
This small but quietly moving museum celebrates the courage and faith of one man in the face of overwhelming adversity. Already suffering from leukaemia,…
Shinjuku & Northwest Tokyo
Lucky are the girls who attended the Frank Lloyd Wright–designed 'School of the Free Spirit' (Jiyū Gakuen; 自由学園). Built in 1921, Myōnichikan functioned as…
Kansai
It may not look like much, but this shrine, founded roughly 1300 years ago, has a serious historic pedigree: it has harboured general Minamoto Yoshitsune …
Rajasthan
The name of this glorious haveli (traditional, ornately decorated residence) means 'gold shop', due to the striking paintings, which use shimmering gold…
Kashmir & Ladakh
The three-storey ruin of a 17th-century royal palace sits on a crag surveying Zangla village and the valley looking north towards Hanamur. From 1823,…
Assam
Charaideo was the first Ahom capital, established in 1228 by the dynasty's founder Sukapha after his arrival in eastern Assam while seeking new lands with…
Bukhara
The peculiar Chashma Ayub (Spring of Job) mausoleum dates from the 12th century and has a tent-like Karakhanid-style roof. Legend has it that the prophet…
Mekong Turtle Conservation Centre
Kratie
This rundown (but well-meaning) wildlife conservation centre lies within the temple grounds of Wat Sorsor Moi Roi in Sambor, about 35km north of Kratie…
Kashmir & Ladakh
Bardan Gompa is a fortress-like monastery with a spectacular setting atop a rocky outcrop commanding an S-bend in the Lugnak Valley. The main prayer hall…
Kazakhstan
The most celebrated Burabay legend links Zhumbaktas, the Sphinx-like rock sticking out of the lake, with Okzhetpes, the striking 380m-tall rock pile…
Pokhara
Phewa Tal is the travellers’ focal point in Pokhara, and is the second largest lake in Nepal. In contrast to the gaudy tourist development of Lakeside,…
Kazakhstan
The Karaganda Ecological Museum, run by a dedicated, campaigning environmental NGO, is aimed at local schoolchildren and is the most imaginative museum in…
Dushanbe
Nurek Reservoir is 70km long and the world's second highest dam. Its remarkable opal-blue water, set within a pastoral landscape and edged with mountains,…
Panaji
On the hillside above Panaji is the well-to-do residential district of Altinho. Apart from good views over the city and river, the main attraction here is…
Ten Drum Rende Creative Village
Tainan
Tainan's largest art village is this awesome 7.5-hectare Japanese-era sugar refinery run by award-winning native percussion group, Ten Drum (十鼓). You can…
North Luzon
This small national park off the coast of Alaminos, 35km southeast of Bolinao, actually consists of 123 separate islets (some are just large rocks). Over…
Halong City
Vietnamese and cruise-ship tourists flock to this cable car that spans the Cua Luc inlet, offering dramatic views over Halong Bay. The views are…
Yangon
This overly glitzy ‘world peace’ zedi (stupa), about 5 miles north of the city centre, was built for the 1954–56 Sixth Buddhist Synod which coincided with…
Agra
Wildlife SOS runs this conservation centre, which offers rehabilitation and medical care to rescued elephants. You'll get to see the elephants while…
Telangana & Andhra Pradesh
This temple’s Naga-lingam (a phallic representation of Shiva) is crowned with a seven-headed cobra. Check out its unfinished Kalyana Mandapam (Marriage…
Gansu
Rising up on the Sichuan side of White Dragon River is this monastery – otherwise dubbed the Sichuan Monastery – built in 1413, home to around 700 monks…
Suzhou
Lashed by electronic music from the shops alongside, the Taoist Temple of Mystery stands in what was once Suzhou’s old bazaar, a rowdy entertainment…
Shandong
It's really the architecture that's the big draw at this museum, housed in an amazing guild hall built between 1884 and 1906 by arrivals from Fujian (福建,…
Uzbekistan
The best place to glimpse Termiz's Buddhist past is at this 3rd-century-AD Buddhist monastery complex, 9km west of the bus station. Discovered only in…
Kanchanaburi Province
Beautiful Tham Daowadung is rich with rock formations, and bats, crickets and snakes inhabit its eight chambers. There are lights but not stairs; the…
Kratie
Wat Sorsor Moi Roi, held up by 108 columns and covered in vibrant murals, was constructed on the site of a 19th-century wooden temple, a few pillars of…
Western Honshū
What remains of the old samurai quarter in Iwakuni now forms pleasant Kikkō-kōen, accessed via Kintai-kyō bridge. Within the park are old residences, a…
Yangon
This gigantic time capsule of junta-era propaganda is a mind-bending experience. It vilifies the effects of class A drugs on Myanmar's society while…
Mongolia
This museum on the main street has some information on obscure sights in the aimag; a display on J Gurragchaa (Mongolia’s first man in space), war photos…
Sigiriya
This decent museum has a fine diorama of the site, providing an excellent overview and explaining Sigiriya's cultural importance beyond the obvious…
Ueno & Yanesen
This grand residence offers a Western-style mansion designed by Josiah Conder in 1896, connected to a Japanese house built by Ōkawa Kijuro at the same…
Gyeongsangbuk-do
This Confucian seowon (서원; academy) from 1572 is set in leafy surrounds arranged with a typical sense of Confucian balance, with the main hall and…
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