Blenheim

A once-in-a-lifetime, 4- to 5-day hike through the Andes, retracing ancient trails, combines mountain vistas, cloud forest and subtropical jungle. The finale is incredible – the lost Inca city of Machu Picchu, rising from the misty mountains.

Built by Emperor Vespasian in the 1st Century AD, Rome’s magnificent and iconic Colosseum, steeped in gory gladiatorial history is a must-see. Let the games begin!

Arguably the world’s greatest hot-air balloon flight, over Cappadocia‘s spellbinding moonscape-esque landscape of arches, honeycombed hills, striking spires and eye-popping, giant protuberances resembling gigantic mushrooms.

The world’s biggest party – a stadium parade with fabulous floats, music and sequinned samba dancers, and dozens of street parties and balls.

The world’s greatest diving and snorkelling on one of the seven wonders of the natural world – a global biodiversity hotspot teeming with colourful marine life.

Rising up from the silent, otherwise flat desert floor, this 600 million-year-old gargantuan, ochre-hued monolith is both ethereal and mesmerising – its colour changes depending on the season and time of day.

Swim (cage-free) with American crocodiles in glassy-clear water in a pristine biosphere reserve on these 3-day adventures. Crocs aside, this wreck-scattered atoll teems with sea life – so superb diving and snorkelling too.

One of the world’s greatest white-water rafting adventures on the Colorado River, 160 rapids through 280 miles of the incomparable Grand Canyon. One- to 21-day trips available, of varying grades.

A magnificent and unique 15th-century complex of imperial palaces that served as the home of Chinese emperors for 500 years. Beijing’s must-see attraction.

One of Italy’s most popular sights, an astonishingly beautiful but leaning belltower dating back to 1173, doomed from the outset having been built on unstable sand and clay.