Petra in Jordan has topped a new list of travel destinations.
15-Oct-2020
Petra in Jordan has topped a
new list of travel destinations.
The historic city was named the number
one place to visit in Lonely Planet’s
latest Ultimate Travel List, a book ranking 500 travel experiences all around
the world.
Petra was commended for its “eternal air
of mystery”; the ancient sandstone city, a Unesco World Heritage Site, was
voted in as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World by popular ballot in
2007.
In second place were the Galápagos
Islands, followed by Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia and Botswana’s
Okavango Delta.
The UK had a number of entries in Lonely
Planet’s second annual list, with the Lake District being ranked highest at
number 40.
It was followed by the British Museum
(56), Wales Coast Path (82), Giant's Causeway (102) and the Jurassic Coast
(116).
The longlist of destinations was
compiled from Lonely Planet guidebook highlights, before being whittled down to
a shortlist.
Readers and experts were then asked to
vote on their top 20 travel experiences to create a definitive ranking.
Entries were also given extra points if
their sustainability credentials stacked up, while points were deducted for
destinations known to suffer from overtourism.
“We changed the way we calculated the
list,” said Lonely Planet’s VP of publishing, Piers Pickard. “For this
edition we rewarded extra points to sights that are managing tourism
sustainably.”
He
added: “After seven months of staying at home, now's the perfect time to start
thinking about where and how to travel once normality returns.
“In
putting together this book, we were excited by changes in both the 'where' and
the 'how'. We added 200 new entries into our list of the world's Top 500.
“And
we were both surprised and reassured by just how many of the Top 500 are working
hard to create more sustainable visitor experiences.”
The
Ultimate Travel List
1.
Petra, Jordan
2.
The Galápagos Islands
3.
Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia
4.
Okavango Delta, Botswana
5.
Yellowstone National Park, USA
6.
Lake Bled, Slovenia
7.
Iguazú Falls, Argentina-Brazil
8.
Temples of Angkor, Cambodia
9.
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
10.
Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
UK
top 10
1.
Lake District
2.
British Museum
3.
Wales Coast Path
4.
Giant's Causeway
5.
Jurassic Coast
6.
Brecon Beacons
7.
Snowdowia
8.
V&A Museum
9.
West Highland Way
10.
Glen Coe