Our innovative adventure partners Intrepid Travel have just released for 2025 a ‘Not Hot List’ aimed at highlighting less-visited destinations, away from overcrowded travel ‘hotspots.
The list of 10 locations is definitely for more adventurous travellers and Intrepid have launched new trips in four of the locations featured.
The ‘Not Hot List’ includes a 10-day Greenland Expedition, a land itinerary in a country where most visitors arrive via ship. There is also an 11-day Trans-Mongolian Railway Adventure, which stops in remote villages along the Gobi Desert, and an 11-day Cape York and Torres Strait Explorer journey to the northernmost tip of Australia.
Here is the list in full…
1. Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan
This region in the Karakoram mountains is home to the densest cluster of peaks standing at more than 7,000 metres. But while Nepal attracts two million hikers annually, Pakistan welcomes fewer than 20,000.
2. Accra, Ghana
More flights to Ghana’s capital and a huge redevelopment of its waterfront including a beach promenade mean Accra should become a destination in its own right rather than just a gateway to beaches and national parks.
3. Cape York, Australia
While Cape York, the northernmost Australian tip, attracts many Australian visitors, it remains relatively unknown internationally. Travellers encounter both local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities here.
4. Anti-Atlas Mountains
This rugged region, on the Saharan side of the Atlas mountain range, is a long-overlooked trekking destination. It boasts ancient granaries carved into rock by nomads, which have now been restored to attract visitors.
5. Adirondacks
At six million acres, this area is larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Canyon and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined. In 2025, the new Adirondack Rail Trail will raise its profile further.
6. Sainshand, Mongolia
Intrepid’s new train-based journey along the Trans-Mongolian Railway offers a lesser-known alternative to the Trans-Siberian route. This journey allows visitors to take in views of the Gobi Desert with stops at remote communities like Sainshand
7. Maldonado, Uruguay
This emerging region’s olive groves and vineyards is suggestive of Tuscany but has long been overshadowed by South America’s wine giants. Each December, international artists transform the village of Garzon into a giant installation
8. Nordmarka, Norway
Oslo, Norway’s “quirky” capital offers “floating saunas, artsy communities, diverse architecture, international cuisine, wild swimming spots, and a dynamic night-life scene”. Yet it is only 30 minutes from the Nordmarka forest’s hiking, biking, skiing and sailing opportunities.
9. Rupununi Savanna, Guyana
Guyana has long remained one of South America’s least visited countries. The Rupununi Savanna is a vast green open space housing Kaieteur Falls – the longest single drop waterfall in the world.
10. Disko Island, Greenland
Intrepid’s Greenland Expedition spotlights modern life above the polar circle. Travellers experience the culture and history of local fishing towns and take guided hikes to Inuit settlements.
Get in touch for more details on any of the above destinations.
We’re always encouraging travellers to take the ‘road less travelled’ so ask us for other ideas too if you want to lose the crowds.
Happy travelling!