Adventure Travel : The Most Exhilarating "Must Do" Trips

Ever since the man could walk, he traveled. At first, we traveled to
escape harsh climate and find food, but as we evolved, we started
traveling for fun. Thus appeared travel destinations and travel guides.
As time passed, more and more people started traveling to various
locations, for the landscape, traditions and thrills.

Here are a few travel locations that are sure to give you your thrills
and kicks, somewhat like a top five, I guess, but don't trust me - go
check them out yourself out!

1. Himalaya

By far the greatest mountain range in the world, the Himalaya have
captured the imagination of philosophers, mystics, mountaineers and
empire builders from the earliest ancestors of contemporary Hindus and
Buddhists to the present day. Mount Kailash, home of the greatest of the
gods, and Meru, centre of the Hindu and Buddhist universe, rise from
their surrounding ridges of the central Himalaya. From the high slopes
to the foothills, people have carved out an often-meager existence in
the harshest of environments with determination, subtlety and
imagination enriched by powerful cultural identities. Tribal peoples
living often at high altitudes have made their living from their tough
environment through trade over the highest passes in the world, while
farmers have developed agriculture on the man-made terraces of the
warmer, lower-lying valleys and hills of the southern ranges. Although
the mountain environment gives a common character to the whole region,
each hamlet has its own identity. The villages of the arid high-altitude
plateau of Ladakh could scarcely be more different from the homesteads
of the monsoon forests of Arunachal Pradesh.

2. Kilimanjaro Climb

Just three degrees south of the Equator is the 5,895m (19,340ft) high,
permanently snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain. It
offers one of the best opportunities in the world to climb a peak at
high altitude without needing technical climbing ability. Any normally
fit, healthy person prepared for some physical exertion and exercise
should be able to complete the ascent to Uhuru Peak, which involves
approximately 70 kilometers of walking in total, and no technical
climbing.

3. Torres Del Paine in Patagonia, Chile

Near the fjord area of Tierra Del Fuego and the Beagle Channel one may
visit the famous Torres Del Paine National Park on the southern edge of
the Patagonia Ice Cap. The area is easy to get to from Punta Arenas with
transportation of buses, taxis and minibuses. It is possibly the most
famous national park in South America with 60,000 visitors last season.
It is some 100 km north of Puerto Natales. A 2422 sq. km park was given
the World Heritage status in 1978 by UNESCO.

It gets it's name from three wonderful and very prominent polished
columns of pink granite, the Towers of Paine (Torres Del Paine).

Here you may go backpacking and trekking, or you can join programs to do
the mountain climbing as well. Nandu and Guanaco (Ostrich and Alpaca
like animals) are frequently seen in the park refuge. There is a broad
diversity of fauna y flora. Backpackers should have experience with
overnight trips in rough country; those who desire to make ascents
should have mountaineering ice and snow climbing experience.

4. Amboseli Safari

Amboseli National Park is one of Kenya's most popular parks because of
the stunning view it displays of nearby Mount Kilimanjaro, the world's
tallest freestanding mountain. When you go on your Amboseli Safari, be
sure to get the famous photograph of elephants with the unforgettable
views of Kilimanjaro in the background!

Streams from Kilimanjaro surface in the centre of Amboseli, creating
swamps that attract and support a rich diversity of wild animals and
birdlife.

As Amboseli is easily accessible, it forms a popular part of many of our
safari itineraries.

Amboseli is one of the smaller game parks in Kenya and the vegetation
ensures that the animals are easy to spot. Lions can easily be found and
can occasionally be watched stalking their prey.
Buffalo, zebra, giraffe, gazelle and other plains game are plentiful in
the park and hippos live in the open waters and swamp channels. The
elephants found here are surprisingly relaxed around safari vehicles;
they were largely unaffected by ivory poaching and have some of the
largest tusks.