FLIGHTS OF FANCY

Travelling to any of the fairytale-pretty locales on this list, is a little like winning a bucket list lotto. Far from just skin-deep beauty, each of these sites safeguards their cultural and natural heritage, which makes them not just accolade-winning, but also sustainably unique.

- Sonia Nazareth

Blue Mountains, Australia

The world heritage site that is the Blue Mountains, a 45-minute drive from Sydney, could have stepped from the realm of fantasy. The slate-colored haze that gives the mountains their name, derives from an oil-mist emitted by the tall Eucalyptus trees that form a canopy across the landscape. Deep valleys and sandstone outcrops stud this scene. Iconic land formations like The Three Sisters adorn the face of numerous postcards.

Scenic World is an attraction that offers unique ways into the compelling geology of these mountains.

The world's steepest railway chugging through the rainforest, at a 52-degree incline, is one way to get closer. The Cableway here is reputedly the steepest aerial cable car in the Southern hemisphere. A Skyway Cable Car allows you to stand on a glass floor, as you gaze at cliff tops in the lush Jamison Valley and feel the icy spray of the Katoomba falls. In 2022, Beyond Skyway was launched. This new innovation enables visitors to experience the changing colors of the Jamison valley, harnessed atop the roof of the cable car.

Once you've had an overview of the pristine scape, take a guided walk. On a Buunyal Tour, you walk with an indigenous guide along a 2.4 km boardwalk through the ancient temperate rainforest. You can appreciate the wonders of the mountains - trees, birds, streams, rocks, while listening to compelling indigenous stories.

The other gift of being in the Blue Mountains, is that the skies here are among the brightest in New South Wales and opportunities to identify Saturn's rings, the Orion Nebula and shooting stars, are abundant.

Courchevel, France