Best Adventure Travel Destinations 2014 (PHOTOS)

You might eat your way through Shanghai's bustling food markets and its most renowned chefs' private kitchens, or head to the world's last intact Buddhist kingdom--Bhutan--in search of the elusive snow leopard.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

As dawn breaks over the savanna, your guide signals a stop. Through the trees ahead, you see the outline of something very big ambling through the underbrush. When the elephant -- a 10-foot-tall, 12,000-pound bull--finally steps into the clearing and looks your way, your heart races, and for a moment, you remember how small you are. Then the giant continues on its way, and you on yours.

Welcome to a walking safari in Zambia, where your boots stand in for a Land Rover and all that separates you from rhinos, giraffes, lions, and hippos are the thin walls of a canvas tent. Sound rough? Then consider that, at day's end, hot showers, ice-cold drinks, and feather beds await you in a luxurious mobile camp.

This is just one of the trips we've chosen for 2014, and it's indicative of the qualities we believe make for good adventure travel: extraordinary experiences that challenge you without, well, depriving you.

That means a hike through Slovenia's rugged Julian Alps that's punctuated with stops to sip local Cabernets and nibble Bohinj cheese. Or a gear-grinding mountain bike journey through Italy's mountains that pauses for a soak in 2,000-year-old Roman baths.

You might eat your way through Shanghai's bustling food markets and its most renowned chefs' private kitchens, or head to the world's last intact Buddhist kingdom--Bhutan--in search of the elusive snow leopard.

A little intimidating? Perhaps. Life changing? You betcha.

Rates quoted throughout are per person based on double occupancy.

--Peter Koch

Rising Star: Sri Lanka

Best Adventure Travel Destinations 2014

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE