India
Gurez Valley
Pyramid-shaped peaks towering over log-cabin villages along a razor-wire border in the high Himalayas.
Pyramid-shaped peaks frame a valley of log cabins and wildflower meadows. The Kishanganga River runs milky blue through the centre. Razor wire marks the Line of Control on the ridgeline above. Gurez is one of the most scenically dramatic valleys in Kashmir — and one of the least visited, precisely because of where it sits.
Gurez Valley lies in northern Kashmir near the Line of Control with Pakistan, accessible only via the Razdan Pass (3,300 metres), which opens between May and October. The Dard Shin community here lives in traditional wooden houses with turf roofs, speaks the Shina language, and maintains customs distinct from the rest of the Kashmir Valley. Military checkpoints and permit requirements have kept tourism to a minimum, preserving both the landscape and the culture. The valley is associated with Habba Khatoon, the legendary Kashmiri poet-queen who is said to have composed her verses on these slopes in the 16th century. Wildflowers — purple irises, buttercups, and edelweiss — carpet the valley floor in summer, and the surrounding peaks exceed 5,000 metres.
Solo
The permit process, the military checkpoints, and the empty valley beyond them — Gurez rewards the solo traveller willing to navigate bureaucracy for genuine remoteness.
Couple
Log-cabin homestays in a wildflower valley beneath snow peaks, with almost no other tourists — Gurez is as private as Kashmir gets.
- Wooden log houses with turf roofs line a valley where the Kishanganga River runs milky blue from glacial melt.
- Permit-only access due to the valley's proximity to the Line of Control means near-zero tourism.
- Habba Khatoon, Kashmir's legendary poet-queen, is said to have composed her verses on these slopes.
- Summer wildflowers carpet the valley floor — purple irises, buttercups, and edelweiss grow at 2,400 metres.
Rogan josh cooked slowly in earthen pots until the lamb falls off the bone.
Saffron-infused kahwa tea poured from copper samovars to chase away the high-altitude chill.
Látrabjarg
Iceland
Vertical sea cliffs swarming with puffins at the absolute western edge of Europe.
Curral das Freiras
Portugal
A village hidden inside a volcanic crater so deep that nuns fled here from Atlantic pirates.
Baume-les-Messieurs
France
An abbey at the bottom of three converging gorges where waterfalls vanish underground.
Imouzzer Ida Outanane
Morocco
A hidden waterfall in an argan forest where beekeepers harvest from wild cliff hives.
Bangaram Atoll
India
Teardrop coral atolls where bioluminescent plankton washes up on uncrowded sand in the Arabian Sea.
Alleppey
India
Houseboats drift through palm-fringed backwater canals where village life unfolds on narrow embankments.
Valparai
India
Rainforest canopy spills over tea estates where wild elephants and leopards routinely cross the road.
Kaas Plateau
India
A volcanic plateau that erupts into a violent carpet of wildflowers three weeks a year.