Vietnam
Fansipan
The roof of Indochina, where subalpine dwarf bamboo clings to wind-battered ridges above the clouds.
The wind is relentless. At 3,143 metres, the summit of Fansipan strips away everything comfortable — the air thins, the bamboo forest gives way to scrub, and the bronze monument at the top is rimed with ice in winter. Below, the Hoang Lien Son range falls away in every direction, ridgeline after ridgeline disappearing into cloud.
Fansipan is the highest peak in mainland Southeast Asia, rising 3,143 metres in the Hoang Lien Son range near Sa Pa. The two-day trekking route ascends through bamboo forest, rhododendron thickets, and subalpine scrub above the treeline. Temperatures at the summit can drop below freezing, with ice forming on the bronze monument during winter months. A cable car from Sa Pa reaches the summit ridge for those who want the panorama without the multi-day climb — at 6,282 metres, it held the world record for longest non-stop three-rope cable car when it opened. The mountain is sacred to the Hmong communities of the surrounding valleys. The summit offers views across the entire Hoang Lien Son range when cloud cover breaks.
Solo
The two-day trek through bamboo forest to a freezing summit above the clouds is one of mainland Southeast Asia's defining solo challenges — the cable car can't replicate the earned view.
Friends
Summiting the roof of Indochina together, camping above the treeline, and descending into Sa Pa's night market for celebratory pho — Fansipan is a shared achievement.
- At 3,143 metres, the summit is the highest point in mainland Southeast Asia — cloud cover breaks to reveal the entire Hoang Lien Son range.
- The two-day trekking route climbs through bamboo forest, rhododendron thickets, and subalpine scrub above the treeline.
- A cable car from Sa Pa reaches the summit ridge for those who want the view without the multi-day climb.
- Temperatures at the peak can drop to freezing — ice forms on the bronze summit monument during winter months.
Black pork grilled over open flame at the base camp, heavily spiced with wild pepper.
Hot ginger tea poured from thermoses at the high-altitude rest stops.
Pedra de Lume
Cape Verde
Float in a salt lake inside an extinct volcano, crater walls rising on every side.
Vale do Paúl
Cape Verde
Sugarcane terraces spill down a volcanic crater into the greenest valley in the archipelago.
Monastery of St. Anthony
Egypt
Earth's oldest inhabited monastery, wedged into a Red Sea mountain canyon since the fourth century.
Lander
United States
A river vanishes underground and resurfaces a quarter-mile later in a pool of giant trout.
Hoang Su Phi
Vietnam
Rice terraces so vertiginous they look like topographical maps carved directly into the sky.
Hoi An
Vietnam
Mustard-yellow merchant houses glowing under thousands of silk lanterns beside a tidal river.
Trang An
Vietnam
Sampans paddled by foot through flooded caves beneath vertical limestone monoliths.
Pu Luong
Vietnam
Giant bamboo water wheels groaning as they lift the river into terraced rice paddies.