Asia

Asia is almost too massive and diverse to conceptualize as a digestable travel "destination". Even defining the borders of this continent is difficult - from the mountains around the Black Sea in the west, to the snow fields of Siberia in the east, there are more people and cities in Asia than outside of it. Asia's highest point is Nepal's and China's Mount Everest, which rises to 8,848 m (29,028 feet) above sea level. Its lowest point is Israel's and Jordan's Dead Sea, whose surface is 400 m (1,312 feet) below sea level. Asia's longest river is the Yangtze, which runs 6,300 km (3,915 miles) through China. Its largest lake is the 386,400 sq km (149,200 square mile) Caspian Sea, which is surrounded by several central Asian nations. Asia is bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the east, by Australia to the southeast, and by the Indian Ocean to the south. It is bounded by the Red Sea to the southwest, by Europe to the west, and by the Arctic Ocean to the north.

Travel options range wildly, from the desert ruins and modern malls of the Middle East to the magnificient monuments in South Asia, and from the beach bungalows and jungle treks of South-East Asia to the megacities and technology capitals of East Asia. Find out more about regions, destinations, and itineraries below.

Regions

Countries

Central Asia

• Afghanistan

• Kazakhstan

• Kyrgyzstan

• Tajikistan

• Turkmenistan

• Uzbekistan

East Asia

• China - the quickly awakening giant of East Asia, with huge cultural treasures among the rising skyline
  • Hong Kong - China's former British colony - a shoppers paradise, famous for its harbor view
  • Macau - a former Portuguese colony with liberal gambling laws

• Japan - the home of ninjas, Hello Kitty, Pokémon, and Nintendo, electronics multinationals and Zen gardens

• Mongolia - a nomadic land of vast spaces

• North Korea - Orwell's worst nightmares come true

• South Korea - the dynamic but undiscovered destination of East Asia

• Taiwan (Republic of China) - an island of sharp contrasts: lush mountains, skyscrapers and gentle tai-chi

Middle East

• Bahrain

• Iran

• Iraq

• Israel and the Palestinian Territories

• Jordan

• Kuwait

• Lebanon

• Oman

• Qatar

• Saudi Arabia

• Syria

• United Arab Emirates

• Yemen

South Asia

• Bangladesh - home of beautiful mangroves and the worlds longest beach

• Bhutan - the last Shangri-la

• India - a billion people, several hundred languages and dozens of religions

• Maldives

• Nepal - home to Mount Everest

• Pakistan

• Sri Lanka - pearl of the Orient

Southeast Asia

• Brunei - tiny oil-rich sultanate in Borneo

• Cambodia - recovering from decades of war and home of Angkor

• East Timor - one of the world's newest states, at the eastern tip of Indonesia

• Indonesia - the giant of the region, with more than 18,000 islands and a population of over 240 million

• Laos - the forgotten, but growing, country of South-East Asia, landlocked by Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam

• Malaysia - multicultural country covering the skyscrapers of KL and the jungle headhunters of Borneo

• Myanmar (Burma) - military dictatorship open to the adventurous traveller

• Philippines - freewheeling former Spanish and American colony

• Singapore - clean and orderly island-city state

• Thailand - the most popular destination in the region

• Vietnam - firmly marching down the long road to capitalism

Russia and the Caucasus

• Armenia

• Azerbaijan

• Georgia

• Russia

Travel to Asia, visa requirements

Get around

Asia attractions and sightseeing

Itineraries

• Itineraries for travel within Asia

• Intercontinental initineraries - some of which are partly in Asia

Stay safe

Stay healthy

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