At this time of year, The New York Times’ Travel desk usually publishes its lavish 52 Places to Go list, a compendium of suggestions for the destinations that are especially worth visiting in the coming year, accompanied by show-stopping photography. But in this pandemic year, creating our usual list was out of the question. Instead of turning to our contributors and correspondents, we turned to another group of passionate travelers, our readers, and asked them to tell us about their most beloved places, and why they deserved a place on our list, as well as to share their photographs.
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New York Times - A very different '52 Places'
Visit South Wales UNITED KINGDOM
South Wales (Welsh: De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south. It has a population of around 2.2 million, almost three-quarters of the whole of Wales, including 400,000 in Cardiff, 250,000 in Swansea and 150,000 in Newport. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, South Wales extends westwards to include Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people would probably recognise that they lived in both south Wales and west Wales. The Brecon Beacons National Park covers about a third of South Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest British mountain south of Cadair Idris in Snowdonia.
Visit Saipan NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
Saipan is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2017 estimates by the United States Census Bureau and the Commonwealth's Department of Commerce, Saipan's population was 47,565.The legislative and executive branches of Commonwealth government are located in the village of Capitol Hill on the island; the judicial branch is headquartered in the village of Susupe. Since the entire island is organized as a single municipality, most publications designate Saipan as the Commonwealth's capital. As of 2015, Saipan's mayor is David M. Apatang and the governor of the Northern Mariana Islands is Ralph Torres.
Visit Isfahan IRAN
Isfahan, historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan, Esfahan or Hispahan, is a city in Iran. It is located 406 kilometres (252 miles) south of Tehran, and is the capital of Isfahan Province. Isfahan has a population of approximately 2.0 million, making it the third largest city in Iran after Tehran and Mashhad, but was once one of the largest cities in the world. The Naghsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan is one of the largest city squares in the world. UNESCO has designated it a World Heritage Site.
Visit the Llanos COLOMBIA
Los Llanos is a vast tropical grassland plain situated to the east of the Andes in Colombia and Venezuela, in northwestern South America. It is an ecoregion of the Flooded grasslands and savannas Biome. The Llanos' main river is the Orinoco, which forms part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela and is the major river system of Venezuela.
Visit the Siwa Oasis EGYPT
The Siwa Oasis is an urban oasis in Egypt between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert, 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan border, and 560 km (348 mi) from Cairo. About 80 km (50 mi) in length and 20 km (12 mi) wide, Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt's most isolated settlements with about 33,000 people, mostly Berbers, who developed a unique and isolated desert culture and a distinct dialect and language different than all other dialects called Siwi, they are also fluent in the Egyptian dialect of Arabic which is called "Masry" meaning Egyptian.
Walk the Camino de Santiago SPAIN
The Way of St. James or St. James' Way is the pilgrimage to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried.
Visit Malpaís COSTA RICA
Malpais is a town in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica which began as a fishing and cattle-farming village, and has become popular among surfers and adventure travelers around the world. Recently, Forbes Magazine voted the beaches of Malpais and neighboring Santa Teresa as "One of the ten most beautiful in the world." The town got its name from the fact that all the rivers and streams that flow into the beach in the area dry up in the summer season, making it a "bad land" to try to live in.
Visit Dakar SENEGAL
Dakar is the capital city of Senegal, located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula, on the country's Atlantic coast. It is Senegal's largest city. Its position, on the western edge of Africa (it is the westernmost city on the African mainland), is an advantageous departure point for trans-Atlantic and European trade; this fact aided its growth into a major regional port.
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Visit Saint James the Less Church ENGLAND
St James the Less is a Church of England Parish Church in Pimlico, Westminster, built in 1858–61 by George Edmund Street in the Gothic Revival style. A grade I listed building, it has been described as "one of the finest Gothic Revival churches anywhere". The church was constructed predominately in brick with embellishments from other types of stone. Its most prominent external feature is its free-standing Italian-style tower, while its interior incorporates design themes which Street observed in medieval Gothic buildings in continental Europe.
Visit the Medina of Marrakech MOROCCO
Marrakesh ( or ; Arabic: مراكش Murrākuš; Berber languages: ⴰⵎⵓⵔⴰⴽⵓⵛ, romanized: Amurakuc, French: Marrakech) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is the capital of the mid-southwestern region of Marrakesh-Safi. It is located west of the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Marrakesh is situated 580 km (360 mi) southwest of Tangier, 327 km (203 mi) southwest of the Moroccan capital of Rabat, 239 km (149 mi) south of Casablanca, and 246 km (153 mi) northeast of Agadir.
Visit the Nanda Devi National Park INDIA
The Nanda Devi National Park or Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, established in 1982 is a national park situated around the peak of Nanda Devi (7816 m) in Chamoli Garhwal district of Uttarakhand, in northern India. The entire park lies at an elevation of more than 3,500 m (11,500 ft) above mean sea level. The National Park was inscribed a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988. It was later expanded and renamed as Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks in 2005. Within the National Park lies the Nanda Devi Sanctuary, a glacial basin surrounded by a ring of peaks between 6,000 metres (19,700 ft) and 7,500 m (24,600 ft) high, and drained by the Rishi Ganga through the Rishi Ganga Gorge, a steep almost impassable defile. The National Park is embedded in the 2,236.74 km2 (863.61 sq mi) sized Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, which, in turn, is encompassed in the 5,148.57 km2 (1,987.87 sq mi) buffer zone around the Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks UNESCO site. The best time to visit Nanda Devi National Park is from May to October.
Hike the Laugavegur trail ICELAND
The Laugavegur is a famous trekking route in South-West Iceland from the hot springs area of Landmannalaugar to the glacial valley of Þórsmörk. It is noted for the wide variety of landscapes that are experienced in just 55 km (34 mi). The route is typically completed over 2–4 days with potential stops at the mountain huts at Hrafntinnusker, Álftavatn and Emstrur. An ultramarathon is held on the route each July.
Visit Wadi Rum JORDAN
Wadi Rum also known as The Valley of the Moon is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan 60 km (37 mi) to the east of Aqaba; it is the largest wadi in Jordan. The name Rum most likely comes from an Aramaic root meaning 'high' or 'elevated'. To reflect its proper Arabic pronunciation, archaeologists transcribe it as Wadi Ramm.
Visit Aruba NETHERLANDS ANTILLES
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km (approx. ) east of Guajira Peninsula. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.
Visit Kaohsiung TAIWAN
Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China (Taiwan). On December 25, 2010, it merged with Kaohsiung County to form a larger municipality. Kaohsiung is the second largest city in Taiwan, with a population around 2.9 million.
Visit the Scottish Highlands SCOTLAND
The Highlands are an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east.
Visit Lake Michigan UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. The other four Great Lakes are shared by the US and Canada. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron (and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of West Virginia).
Visit Niansogoni BURKINA FASO
Loumana is a department or commune of Léraba Province in south-western Burkina Faso. Its capital is the town of Loumana. According to the 2019 census the department has a total population of 33,778.
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Visit the South London Parks LONDON
South London is the southern part of London, England, south of the River Thames, consisting of the London Borough of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton and Wandsworth. South London originally emerged from Southwark, first recorded as Suthriganaweorc, meaning ‘fort of the men of Surrey’. From Southwark, London then extended further down into northern Surrey and then western Kent.
Visit Beirut LEBANON
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. As there has been no recent population census, the exact population is unknown; estimates in 2007 ranged from slightly less than 1 million to slightly more than 2 million. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport. The Beirut metropolitan area consists of the city and its suburbs.
Visit Siberia RUSSIA
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union (USSR) from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th to 19th centuries.
Visit Andros GREECE
Andros is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about 10 km (6 mi) southeast of Euboea, and about 3 km (2 mi) north of Tinos. It is nearly 40 km (25 mi) long, and its greatest breadth is 16 km (10 mi). It is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and well-watered valleys. The municipality, which includes the island Andros and several small, uninhabited islands, has an area of 380 km2 (146.719 sq mi). The largest towns are Andros (town), Gavrio, Batsi, and Ormos Korthiou.
Visit Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south.
Visit East Haddam CONNECTICUT
East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 9,126 at the 2010 census.
Visit Yarra Ranges National Park AUSTRALIA
Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the southeastern region of Australia, in the Victoria Central Highlands, 107 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. Established in 1995 and managed by the statutory authority Parks Victoria, the carbon-rich forest is home to the Mountain Ash Tree, one of the tallest tree species in the world. A wide diversity of fauna make their home across the park's 76,003 hectares, including kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, platypi and 120 species of native birds. The Yarra, O'Shaunessy and Taggerty rivers flow through the Park, and with several reservoirs form an important source of drinking water for Melbourne. Among the conservation challenges facing Yarra Ranges National Park are climate change and invasive species of weeds.
Visit Bryce Canyon National Park UTAH
Bryce Canyon National Park is a national park located in southwestern Utah in the United States. The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon which, despite its name, is not a canyon but a giant natural amphitheater created by erosion along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Bryce is distinctive due to geological structures called hoodoos, formed by wind, water, and ice erosion of the river and lake bed sedimentary rocks.
Visit Huanchaco PERU
Huanchaco is a popular vacation beach city in province of Trujillo, Peru. Huanchaco is known for its surf breaks, its caballitos de totora and its ceviche, and is near the ancient ruins of Chan Chan. Huanchaco was approved as a World Surfing Reserve by the organization Save The Waves Coalition in 2012 This historic town is part of the tourist circuit called the "Moche Route" or "Ruta Moche".
Visit Jimmy’s Beach AUSTRALIA
Hawks Nest is a small town of the Mid-Coast Council local government area in the Hunter and Mid North Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, located north of Port Stephens between the Tasman Sea and the Myall River. It was named after a large hawk's nest in a tree on the Myall River that was used as a navigational aid. The traditional custodians of this land are the Worimi people.
Visit the University of Cambridge ENGLAND
The University of Cambridge is a collegiate research university in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's fourth-oldest surviving university. The university grew out of an association of scholars who left the University of Oxford after a dispute with the townspeople. The two English ancient universities share many common features and are often jointly referred to as Oxbridge. Cambridge is formed from a variety of institutions which include 31 semi-autonomous constituent colleges and over 150 academic departments, faculties and other institutions organised into six schools. All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. All students are members of a college. The university does not have a main campus, and its colleges and central facilities are scattered throughout the city.
Visit Lahore PAKISTAN
Lahore (/ləˈhɔər/; Western Punjabi: لہور ALA-LC: Lahor Punjabi pronunciation: [ləhoːr]; Urdu: لاہور ALA-LC: Lāhor IPA: [lɑːhoːr]) is the capital city of the Pakistani province of Punjab, the second largest metropolitan area in the country and an important historical center in South Asia. With a rich history dating back over a millennium, Lahore is a main cultural center of Punjab region and Pakistan. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains an economic, political, transportation, entertainment, and educational hub. It is referred to as the "Mughal City of Gardens" due to the historic presence of gardens in and around the city dating back to the Mughal period.
Visit Svalbard NORWAY
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude, and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the largest island, followed by Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya.
Visit Alberta CANADA
Alberta /ælˈbɜrtə/ is a province of Canada. It had a population of 3,645,257 in 2011, making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces. Alberta and its neighbour, Saskatchewan, were established as provinces on September 1, 1905. Alberta is located in western Canada, bounded by the provinces of British Columbia to the west and Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territories to the north, and the US state of Montana to the south.
Visit Santa Rosa CALIFORNIA
Santa Rosa (Spanish for '"Saint Rose"') is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 176,753. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and Redwood Coast, as well as the fifth most populous city in the Bay Area after San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fremont; and the 27th most populous city in California.
Visit Ladakh INDIA
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state in the control of the Republic of India. It is however disputed territory between Pakistan and India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the most sparsely populated regions in Jammu and Kashmir.
Visit the Bath Houses of Hokkaido JAPAN
Hokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectures. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaido is its capital, Sapporo, which is also its only ordinance-designated city.
Cross the Tappan Zee Bridge NEW YORK
The Tappan Zee Bridge, officially named the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, is a twin cable-stayed bridge spanning the Hudson River between Tarrytown and Nyack in the U.S. state of New York. It was built to replace the original Tappan Zee Bridge, which was located just to the south. The new bridge's north span carries the northbound and westbound automobile traffic of the New York State Thruway, Interstate 87 (I-87) and I-287; it also carries a shared use path for bicycles and pedestrians. The south span carries southbound and eastbound automobile traffic.
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Visit Northern Arkansas ARKANSAS
Ponca is an unincorporated community in Newton County, Arkansas, United States. Ponca is located on Arkansas Highway 43, 10 miles (16 km) west of Jasper. Ponca has a post office with ZIP code 72670. Ponca is well known for its access to the Buffalo National River, which is a hub for naturalist as well as photography and hiking tourism. Ponca is also known for the regular sightings of elk, which reside in the Boxley Valley.
Visit Tagaytay PHILIPPINES
Tagaytay, officially the City of Tagaytay (Tagalog: Lungsod ng Tagaytay), is a 2nd class component city in the province of Cavite, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 85,330 people. It is one of the country's most popular destinations for domestic tourism because of its scenery and cooler climate provided by its altitude. Tagaytay overlooks Taal Lake in Batangas and provides views of Taal Volcano Island in the middle of the lake through various vantage points situated in the city. Tagaytay is relatively close to the capital city of Manila, only 59 kilometres (37 miles) away via Aguinaldo Highway, providing an easy escape for the locals from the heat of the huge metropolis.
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Visit Milford Sound NEW ZEALAND
Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey (the 2008 Travelers' Choice Destinations Awards by TripAdvisor) and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World.
Visit Córdoba SPAIN
Córdoba (; Spanish: [ˈkoɾðoβa]), or Cordova () in English, is a city in Andalusia, southern Spain, and the capital of the province of Córdoba. It is the third most populated municipality in Andalusia, after Sevilla and Málaga, and the 11th overall in the country. It was a Roman settlement on the right bank of the Guadalquivir, taken over by the Visigoths, followed by the Muslim conquests in the eighth century and later becoming the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba. During these Muslim periods, Córdoba was transformed into a world leading center of education and learning, producing figures such as Averroes, Ibn Hazm, and Al-Zahrawi, and by the 10th century it had grown to be the second-largest city in Europe. Following the Christian conquest in 1236, it became part of the Crown of Castile.
Visit Gates of the Arctic National Park ALASKA
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is a U.S. National Park in Alaska. It is the northernmost national park in the U.S. (the entirety of the park lies north of the Arctic Circle) and the second largest at 13,238 mi² (39,460 km²), about the same size as Switzerland. The park consists primarily of portions of the Brooks Range of mountains. It was first protected as a U.S.
Visit Con Dao VIETNAM
The Côn Đảo Islands are an archipelago of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province, in the Southeast region of Vietnam, and a district of this province. Formerly a Khmer Empire territory known as Koh Tralach, កោះត្រឡាច ("Wax gourd Island"), the islands were settled by the Vietnamese by the 17th century.
Visit Northern Kyrgyzstan KYRGYZSTAN
Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. Ethnic Kyrgyz make up the majority of the country's six million people, followed by significant minorities of Uzbeks and Russians. The Kyrgyz language is closely related to other Turkic languages, although Russian remains spoken and is a co-official language, a legacy of a century of Russification. Ninety percent of Kyrgyzstan's population are Muslim, with the majority of its population following Sunni Islam. In addition to its Turkic origins, Kyrgyz culture bears elements of Iranic, Mongolian and Russian influence.
Visit Table Mountain SOUTH AFRICA
Table Mountain is a flat-topped mountain forming a prominent landmark overlooking the city of Cape Town in South Africa, and is featured in the flag of Cape Town and other local government insignia. It is a significant tourist attraction, with many visitors using the cableway or hiking to the top. The mountain forms part of the Table Mountain National Park.
Visit Turku, the oldest town in Finland FINLAND
Turku is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (Varsinais-Suomi) and the former Turku and Pori Province (Turun ja Porin lääni; 1634–1997). The region was originally called Suomi (Finland), which later became the name for the whole country. As of 30 September 2018, the population of Turku was 191,499 making it the sixth largest city in Finland after Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa and Oulu.
Visit the Rawah Wilderness COLOMBIA
The Rawah Wilderness is administered by the USDA Forest Service. It is located on the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado, near the Wyoming border, and also in the Routt National Forest to its south. It encompasses 76,394 acres (309.16 km2) and includes 25 named lakes ranging in size from five to 39 acres (20,000 to 160,000 m2). There are 85 miles (137 km) of trails in the area and elevation ranges from 8,400 feet (2,600 m) to 13,000 feet (4,000 m). Much of the area is traversed by the Medicine Bow Mountains and the Rawah Range for which it is named. The temperature in the Rawah Wilderness ranges from a low of 5 degrees Fahrenheit during the winter and a high of 77 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer.
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