5. The Canary Islands
Why it’s hot? New flights offer easy access to some surprisingly crowd-free treks
We love it when places defy stereotypes. The Canaries (Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro) have long been the fly’n’flop Mecca yet few realise what fine hiking trails it has – Tenerife even hosts its own walking festival (23-27 May).
La Gomera is the obvious hiking candidate, drawing you into its volcanic interior or walk in the footsteps of Christopher Columbus (who once stopped for supplies). There are plenty of lesser-known alternatives, though, such as tiny El Hierro, the Canaries’ southernmost island, whose recently launched network of walks still fly well below tourists’ radars.
La Palma itself is etched in trails, cresting volcanic ridges and winding the craters that pock the island’s southern spine. Even Gran Canaria boasts its own mini Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage trail originally linking the island’s two St James-dedicated churches, since extended to create a three-day (77km) coast-to-coast trek. Time you put away the parasol and lace up your boots.
6. Cambodia
Why it’s hot? There’s a new Angkor in town
There’s only one Angkor. Well, at least that was the thinking until a series of buried Medieval cities were discovered beneath its jungle suburbs last summer. Yet, for the time being, all that is still just fascinating dirt, which is why the opening up of the ‘other Angkor’ Wat, the Temple of Preah Vihear, has us so excited.
Perched high in the Dangrek Mountains and within spitting distance of the Thailand-Cambodia border, the ruins of this 11th-century Khmer temple complex has been at the centre of a long, bitter land dispute between the two neighbouring countries. This escalated to violence in 2008 after UNESCO declared the temple a World Heritage Site for Cambodia. Visitors were still allowed, but at their own risk and under military gaze.
The last shot in anger was fired back in 2011, yet ongoing tensions meant that countries like the UK for example only recently lifted its travel warning. Yet the numbers are still just a drop in the ocean compared to the millions stomping around Angkor, which makes this remote, peaceful temple a real hidden treasure.
