Asia

The largest, most varied continent on Earth — from Himalayan peaks to tropical archipelagos and ancient Silk Road cities.

Photography coming soon
Countries~48
Best timeNov–Mar (south); spring/autumn (north)
Getting aroundFlights, trains, buses, boats
LanguagesHundreds; English in tourist hubs
HighlightsHimalaya, temples, islands
Travel zoneEast, SE, South, Central, West

The Overview

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, stretching from the Mediterranean shores of the Levant to the Pacific coast of Japan, and from the Siberian Arctic to the equatorial islands of Indonesia. Within it sit the highest mountains on the planet, the Himalaya and Karakoram, alongside vast deserts, monsoon-fed deltas and dense rainforest. It is the cradle of several of the world's oldest civilisations and the birthplace of every major faith. For travellers, the sheer scale means almost any kind of journey is possible, and routes can be customised around climate, culture and terrain rather than a single fixed circuit.

Practically, Asia divides into broad travel zones: East Asia with its modern megacities and refined traditions, Southeast Asia with its beaches, street food and easygoing backpacker trails, South Asia with its temples, palaces and intensity, Central Asia along the old caravan routes, and Western Asia bridging continents. Distances are large, so most long trips combine flights with trains, buses and boats. Climate varies enormously, but the cooler, drier months from roughly November to March suit much of the south and southeast, while spring and autumn are kindest in the temperate north and east.

Featured tourism regions

The landscapes travellers picture first — some cross borders, all worth building a trip around.

Nepal, India, Bhutan

The Himalaya

The greatest mountain range on Earth, home to Everest and a string of trekking valleys, hill monasteries and remote kingdoms strung along the roof of the world.

Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines

Southeast Asian Islands

Thousands of tropical islands with white-sand beaches, coral reefs, volcanoes and warm seas — the classic backdrop for diving, island-hopping and slow coastal travel.

Central Japan

The Japanese Alps

A spine of snow-capped peaks dividing Honshu, dotted with hot-spring towns, traditional thatched villages and some of Asia's finest powder skiing in winter.

North India

Golden Triangle

India's classic first circuit — Delhi, Agra and Jaipur within a day's drive of each other: the Taj Mahal, Mughal forts and the Pink City's bazaars.

Explore the region
Southern Vietnam

The Mekong Delta

A vast green maze of channels where the Mekong meets the sea — floating markets, rice paddies, fruit orchards and life lived on the water.

Central Asia

The Silk Road

The legendary caravan corridor across Uzbekistan and beyond, lined with turquoise-domed Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva — oasis cities of the old trading routes.

Drawn to one of these regions? Tell us the feeling you're after and we'll shape the route.

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Featured countries

The countries our travellers ask for most — tap one to open its full guide.

All other countries

Every corner of Asia is worth a trip — browse the rest below.

Iran

31 regions · 373 destinations

Iran, formerly known as Persia, is a land of striking natural beauty, breathtaking tiled mosques, and one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan

34 regions · 353 destinations

Afghanistan is a land of extraordinary history and dramatic landscape — a mountainous, landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, South and West Asia tha…

Philippines

17 regions · 326 destinations

The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,100 islands strung between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, and it rewards travellers willing to is…

Taiwan

Taiwan

20 regions · 301 destinations

Taiwan is a self-governing island nation off the southeastern coast of mainland Asia, a place where dense, neon-lit cities give way within an hour's drive to m…

Azerbaijan

72 regions · 294 destinations

Azerbaijan is where the Caucasus meets the Caspian, a country that wears its contrasts openly: medieval caravanserais and flame-shaped glass towers in Baku, se…

South Korea

South Korea

17 regions · 291 destinations

Often called the "Land of the Morning Calm", the Republic of Korea occupies the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and packs an extraordinary range of exper…

Malaysia

16 regions · 280 destinations

Malaysia is one of Southeast Asia's most rewarding and underrated destinations — a country where soaring skyscrapers, colonial-era shophouses, primeval rainf…

Indonesia

7 regions · 270 destinations

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago — more than 17,000 islands strung across the Equator between the Indian and Pacific oceans, nicknamed the "Emera…

Cambodia

Cambodia

25 regions · 210 destinations

Cambodia is a small Southeast Asian kingdom that punches far above its weight for travellers willing to look beyond the headline ruins.

Maldives

21 regions · 198 destinations

The Maldives is, for many travellers, the closest thing on earth to a vision of paradise — a scattering of nearly 1,200 low coral islands strung across the Ind…

Mongolia

Mongolia

22 regions · 184 destinations

Mongolia is one of the world's last great empty places — a landlocked giant wedged between Russia and China, with the lowest population density of any sovereig…

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

9 regions · 168 destinations

Sri Lanka packs an improbable amount of variety into an island roughly the size of Ireland.

Palestine

16 regions · 156 destinations

The State of Palestine encompasses the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, two non-contiguous territories in the Levant carrying some of t…

Myanmar

Myanmar

15 regions · 155 destinations

Myanmar — also known as Burma — is Southeast Asia's most enigmatic destination, a country where gilded pagodas pierce the morning mist, longtail boats glid…

Yemen

22 regions · 150 destinations

Yemen is one of the oldest centers of civilization in the Arabian Peninsula — a land of mud-brick skyscrapers, terraced mountain villages, frankincense valleys…

Laos

17 regions · 149 destinations

Laos is Southeast Asia's only landlocked nation, a country of mist-wrapped mountains, slow brown rivers and gilded temples that has held onto a gentler pace of…

Saudi Arabia

13 regions · 143 destinations

Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the Middle East and, until recently, one of its most closed.

Nepal

7 regions · 138 destinations

Nepal packs more drama into its modest footprint than almost anywhere on earth.

Uzbekistan

13 regions · 132 destinations

Uzbekistan is the crown jewel of the Silk Road — the most accessible and rewarding of the Central Asian republics, and home to some of the most spectacular Isl…

Syria

14 regions · 111 destinations

Syria is one of the cradles of human civilization, home to some of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth and an extraordinary density of historical…

Iraq

16 regions · 109 destinations

Iraq is the land of Mesopotamia — "the cradle of civilization" — where writing, cities, law, and large-scale agriculture first emerged between the Tigris and E…

Israel

6 regions · 104 destinations

Israel packs an extraordinary density of history, faith, landscape, and modern energy into a country smaller than New Jersey.

Bangladesh

8 regions · 90 destinations

Bangladesh is South Asia's most underrated destination — a country of immense rivers, emerald rice paddies, ancient mosques and a warmth of welcome that catche…

Jordan

12 regions · 90 destinations

Jordan is a compact Arab kingdom in the heart of the Middle East that packs an extraordinary range of experiences into an area smaller than Portugal.

Lebanon

8 regions · 83 destinations

Lebanon is a small Mediterranean country of outsized character — a place where you can ski the mountains in the morning and swim in the sea by afternoon, all w…

Pakistan

Pakistan

6 regions · 79 destinations

Pakistan is one of Asia's most rewarding and least-understood travel destinations — a country where the world's second-highest mountain, the ruins of a 4,500-y…

Bhutan

20 regions · 74 destinations

Bhutan is unlike anywhere else on earth.

Kyrgyzstan

9 regions · 73 destinations

Kyrgyzstan is Central Asia's adventure heartland — a small, mountainous, landlocked republic where the Tian Shan and Pamir-Alay ranges fill more than 90% of th…

Armenia

11 regions · 71 destinations

Armenia is a small, mountainous republic in the South Caucasus that packs an outsized amount of history into a country roughly the size of Belgium.

North Korea

North Korea

13 regions · 69 destinations

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly called North Korea, is one of the most isolated countries on Earth and is often described as the wor…

Oman

11 regions · 69 destinations

Oman is the Arabian Peninsula's quiet counterpoint to its glitzier Gulf neighbours: a sultanate of fjord-like inlets, palm-shaded oasis towns, fortress-crowned…

Kuwait

6 regions · 64 destinations

Kuwait is a compact, oil-rich emirate at the head of the Persian Gulf, sandwiched between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Turkmenistan

6 regions · 54 destinations

Turkmenistan is Central Asia's great enigma — one of the most isolated and tightly controlled countries on earth, and for exactly that reason one of the most f…

Singapore

5 regions · 46 destinations

Singapore is a city-state at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, a sovereign island nation roughly the size of a mid-sized city yet packed with the cultur…

Tajikistan

5 regions · 46 destinations

Tajikistan is the roof of Central Asia — a small, fiercely mountainous republic where more than 90% of the land is folded into ranges and over half sits above…

Bahrain

4 regions · 40 destinations

Bahrain is the Gulf's compact contrarian — a low-slung archipelago of 30-some islands off the coast of Saudi Arabia, small enough to cross in under an hour yet…

United Arab Emirates

7 regions · 37 destinations

The United Arab Emirates compresses an improbable amount of contrast into a country slightly smaller than Austria.

Qatar

8 regions · 25 destinations

Qatar is a small, immensely wealthy peninsula on the Arabian Gulf that has transformed itself from a pearling and fishing economy into one of the world's most…

Brunei Darussalam

4 regions · 24 destinations

Brunei Darussalam — the "Abode of Peace" — is a small, oil-rich Islamic sultanate on the northern coast of Borneo, wedged between the Malaysian states of S…

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