A pristine alternative to the Channel: long-distance swimming in Croatia
A new company is offering swimmers the chance to cover the same distance as a cross-Channel swim but in friendlier waters – and with some tempting stops en route
‘Framed by jagged peaks, it felt like stepping into a dream’: readers’ favourite mountain trips in Europe
From the Alpujarras to the Dolomites, our tipsters hike, camp and devour hearty mountain food in some of Europe’s most spectacular scenery• Send us a tip on European wilderness – the best wins a £200 holiday voucher
Viva Zapotec! A thriving ecotourism project in Mexico’s Oaxaca state
The people of the Sierra Norte have achieved a rare balance – preserving an ancient way of mountain life while welcoming visitors
How far can we go on the old hippy trail? Overland from Leeds to Georgia
We travelled 3,000 miles by bus and train to what is currently the eastern limit of independent overland travel
Walking up an appetite in Armenia’s Caucasus mountains
Neighbouring Georgia gets all the attention when it comes to Caucasus adventures and cuisine, but nothing beats the ‘primeval happiness’ of a post-walk feast in Armenia - and there are far fewer trekkers
Saddle up: 10 of the best horse riding breaks in Europe
From camping in Gypsy caravans in Cumbria, to trekking in Transylvania and cantering through olive groves in Crete
I travelled 2,000 miles from Italy to the tip of Spain – on horseback
I had to brave wolves, bitter weather and mountain passes during my epic journey, but it was transformative
It’s like plunging under the North Pole: my mind-stretching ice dive in the French Alps
Move over wild swimming … ice diving in a frozen mountain lake and camping under the Milky Way connects you with nature at its most raw and magical
Alternative wonders: why Yemen’s ancient terraces are a supreme human creation
The soil, treasured for centuries, turns steep Yemini slopes into fertile and productive land. Coffee grown here was served at London’s first coffee house in 1652
Alternative wonders: why the stone citadel of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka is my rock of ages
The landscape is not the dead relic of a foregone age. It is a living reminder of how knowledge tailored to the local ecology is essential
Alternative wonders: why Egypt’s Colossi of Memnon are my giants of history
Emerging from the heat shimmer, these two enormous statues in Luxor appear completely otherwordly – like giants in a wheat field
Alternative wonders: why Tibet’s Samye monastery is my spiritual inspiration
The region’s first Buddhist monastery is a complex of chapels and stupa towers from a vast mandala – a symbolic and spiritual representation of the whole universe
A sprawling megacity of multi-level madness: why Chongqing in China is my wonder of the world
This megacity is like Hong Kong on steroids – a vertically sprawling, astonishing urban phenomenon that can only be understood in three dimensions
From a feisty goddess to stone phalluses: why Turkey’s Temple of Artemis is my wonder of the world
The temple was an inspiration for countless Greek and Roman temples that followed and is twice the size of the Parthenon
‘The river that runs in the sky’: readers choose their wonders of the world
From Margate to Uzbekistan our tipsters reveal the special sites that made a lasting impression on them