KATHMANDU: Nepal’s Annapurna Circuit has been listed in the top 10 of the world’s best destinations. The world’s most popular travel guidebook publisher ‘Lonely Planet’ has named the circuit as the best destination among 10 best travel experiences for safe travel after the coronavirus affected tourism around the world.
It stated, “The COVID-19 has resulted in travel restrictions around the world and has clipped your wings through 2020 but now is the perfect time to plan ahead so you’re ready for your next adventure when it is safe to hit the road again.” It has named the circuit as the best trek in the world in the Ultimate Travel List.
Lonely Planet also said that one could get a lot of satisfaction while walking in the Annapurna region by observing the scenery of temples, hills, mountains, rivers and local people’s life, among other attractions.
The circuit which has long been considered the best trek in Nepal and one of the world’s greatest treks is mesmerizing and the sense of its journey is psychologically satisfying, starting in rice paddies and climbing through yak pastures before crossing the mighty snow-bound Thorung La pass, said the Lonely Planet.
It is the side trips that make great treks, notably up to high-altitude Tilicho Lake or to the village of Ngawal offering mountain views just across the valley from the terrace there, the Lonely Planet added.
The other best destinations mentioned by the Lonely Planet are Petra’s Lost City, Ecuador’s Galapagos, Australia’s Uluru National Park, Botswana’s Okavango Delta, North America’s Yellowstone National Park, Slovenia’s Blade Lake, Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil, Cambodia’s Angkor Temple and Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni.