Best of The World 2022

Many of us are busy planning our next adventure. With countless trips put on hold in the past year, there’s plenty of pent-up desire to get out and explore again — but where to go? If you’re looking for inspiration, editors from National Geographic Traveller titles around the world have picked the planet’s 35 most exciting destinations for travel in 2022. Five categories — adventure, culture and history, nature, family and sustainability — frame unforgettable experiences that reveal the beauty and diversity of the world and prove there’s every reason to be excited to pack those bags and hit the road again

- By The Global Editors of National Geographic Traveller. Photographs by AWL Images, Alamy, Getty, 4Corners, Steven Barber

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Adventure

PALAU

GO SHARK DIVING IN THE PACIFIC

Step off the plane at Palau International Airport and the stamp in your passport will include the Palau Pledge, which all visitors must sign, promising that ‘the only footprints I shall leave are those that will wash away. The pledge was drafted by and for the children of this remote western Pacific archipelago to help protect its culture and environment from the negative impacts of tourism.

Some 80% of Palau’s waters — recognized by National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project as one of the richest marine ecosystems on the planet — is preserved as the Palau National Marine Sanctuary. At 193,000sq miles, the sanctuary is one of the world’s largest protected marine areas, safeguarding more than 700 species of coral and 1,300 species of fish.

During the 20th annual Shark Week Palau, from 27 February to 6 March 2022, divers can observe and participate in citizen science-assisted counts of numerous shark species. Daily dive sites are chosen for their abundant sharks and other marine life, including large aggregations of manta rays and thousands of spawning fish. Snorkellers can join a February or November Oceanic Society tour of Palau’s UNESCO World Heritage-listed Rock Islands Southern Lagoon. NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER (INDIA)

CHANKILLO, PERU

VISIT A NEWLY LISTED UNESCO TREASURE