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Wolwedans, Namibia
The Namib Desert is as dramatic as the landscape of the heart: flame- colored rolling dunes and expansive blue skies are punctuated only by a mysterious gemsbok or a lonely acacia tree. In the middle is a 450,000-acre nature reserve and Wolwedans, a tented camp on stilts. The tent walls roll up, allowing couples to admire the sunset.
Check In Wolwedans
264-61/230-616; www.wolwedans.com; doubles from $261.
Don’t Miss Splurging on a night in the new Private Camp, pitched in a secluded valley.
Yukon Territory, Canada
Pristine glacial lakes, game-filled valleys, and an expanse of tundra all await guests at a resort nestled in the Yukon’s Ruby Range and accessible only by floatplane. Whether it’s heli-hiking or a canoe ride that completes that edge-of-the-world feeling, you’re blissfully isolated—in this province, caribou outnumber people five to one.
Check In Tincup Wilderness Lodge
604/762-0382; www.tincup-lodge.com; doubles from $141.
Don’t Miss The northern lights, visible across the horizon during the fall.
Luang Prabang, Laos
This UNESCO World Heritage site—straddling the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers—is a mix of Buddhist temples and colonial architecture. Hire a "jumbo," or motorbike taxi, and putter past saffron-robed monks bearing alms bowls to Wat Xieng Thong. Or, journey into the mountains to explore the waterfall at Tat Kuang Si.
Check In The sleek La Résidence Phou Vao has 32 rooms and a spa in a 7.5-acre garden.
800/237-1236; www.orient-express.com; doubles from $220.
Don’t Miss Bargaining for woven silks and silver jewelry in the evening market stalls.
Las Brisas, Mexico
Although it’s just 25 minutes from Ensenada, Las Brisas del Valle inn, set amid sandy boulders and Cabernet vines, beckons like an unexpected Tuscan estate. Chef V. Omar Garcia serves estate-made olive oil and local añejo cheese. Guests spend their days lounging on screened four-poster beds around the pool. Ask for the Lulu room, which has views of the Sierra Blanca and lavender-carpeted olive groves.
Check In Las Brisas del Valle
Guadalupe Valley, Ensenada; 818/207-7130; www.lasbrisasdelvalle.com; doubles from $175, dinner for two $90.
Don’t Miss Horseback riding among the desolate vineyards and countryside.
Copyright © 2008, American Express Publishing. All rights reserved.
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