Top five land-based tours with a difference

Nomad’s land

Fancy a back of beyond adventure?

Few places are more remote than the Gobi Desert, which sprawls across China and Mongolia. On a tour with Explore! look out for wild horses while traversing Mongolia in a four-wheel-drive vehicle before learning traditional nomadic skills such as ger (yurt) building and making yoghurt.

On a 5km hike to Tovkhon Monastery, you can dare yourself to climb along a cliff edge to monks’ meditation caves – it’s not for the faint-hearted.

Festival fever

Held every 12 years, the next Maha Kumbh Mela celebration will take place in January 2025 in Prayagraj city in northern India.

The location of this colourful religious gathering is chosen according to Hindu astrology – it depends on the position of the sun, moon and Jupiter. On a KE Adventure tour, visitor accommodation is in a comfortable camp close to storytellers, street vendors and strolling players.

Pedal power

This one’s not for wimps.

Tackle challenging climbs while pedalling your way through Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, though things ease off on the scenic Ciro Cycling Trail, the one-time Austro-Hungarian railway line.

En route, witness Mostar’s daredevil bridge divers hurl themselves into a river – a 23m drop – in a tradition that began more than 450 years ago. Participants on this Intrepid tour support World Bicycle Relief by providing bicycles to those in need.

Under the stars

Cross the Arctic wilderness on a snowmobile before trying Lapland’s latest trend, ice floating. Donning a thick suit keeps out the cold so you can enjoy blissful meditative moments under the Finnish night sky.

On the Go Tours also provides an option to stay overnight in a glass igloo where you can star-spot from your bed and perhaps catch the aurora borealis dancing across the sky.

Blaze a trail

Follow in the footsteps of the legendary Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, Sherpa to the base camp of the world’s highest mountain, Mt Everest. The trail with G Adventures winds past prayer rocks, oak and spruce forests and yaks grazing in Alpine meadows.

Along the way you’ll discover the hospitality of Sherpa villages and visit the world’s highest farm at Dingboche, staying overnight in tea houses.