Things to do
Things to do in Asia
Temples, mountains, markets, beaches and museums across the continent.
Photo: Pierre André Leclercq · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Angkor Wat
អង្គរវត្តThe largest religious monument in the world, built in the early 12th century as a Hindu temple and later turned to Buddhist use. It stands at the heart of the Angkor Archaeological Park near Siem Reap.
Photo: Gunawan Kartapranata · Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Borobudur
BorobudurA ninth-century Mahayana Buddhist temple in Central Java, built as a single stepped stupa with relief panels running around its terraces.
Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Prambanan
PrambananA ninth-century Hindu temple compound near Yogyakarta, dedicated to the Trimurti and known for its tall, sharply pointed shrines.
Photo: Dhirad, picture edited by J. A. Knudsen · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Taj Mahal
ताज महलThe white marble mausoleum built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan for Mumtaz Mahal, completed in the mid-17th century on the bank of the Yamuna.
Photo: Jakub Hałun · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Great Wall of China
長城Fortifications built and rebuilt across northern China over many centuries. Several restored sections north of Beijing are open to visitors.
Photo: Jmhullot · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)
Terracotta Army
兵馬俑Thousands of life-size clay figures buried near the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, and rediscovered by farmers in 1974.
Photo: User:kallgan · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The Forbidden City
紫禁城The imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties at the centre of Beijing, now the Palace Museum.
Photo: Paul Vlaar · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Fushimi Inari Taisha
伏見稲荷大社The head shrine of Inari, famous for the paths of vermilion torii gates climbing the wooded slopes of Mount Inari.
Photo: Martin Falbisoner · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Kinkaku-ji
金閣寺The Golden Pavilion: a Zen temple whose top two storeys are covered in gold leaf, set above a reflecting pond.
Photo: Redd Angelo reddangelo16 · Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Sensō-ji
浅草寺Tokyo's oldest temple, in Asakusa, approached through the Kaminarimon gate and the Nakamise shopping street.
Photo: Giada_jn · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
Hiroshima Peace Memorial
原爆ドームThe Genbaku Dome, left as it stood after the atomic bombing of 6 August 1945, and the surrounding Peace Memorial Park.
Photo: sasint · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
The Grand Palace
พระบรมมหาราชวังThe former royal residence in Bangkok's Rattanakosin district, and the home of Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
Photo: yuttakornrs · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
Ayutthaya Historical Park
อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์พระนครศรีอยุธยาThe ruins of the Siamese capital sacked in 1767, with brick prangs and rows of headless Buddha figures.
Photo: Kenznguyen · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
Ha Long Bay
Vịnh Hạ LongThousands of limestone karst islands and islets rising from the Gulf of Tonkin in northern Vietnam.
Photo: tienthinhphoto · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
Hoi An Ancient Town
Phố cổ Hội AnA remarkably intact Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, lit by silk lanterns after dark.
Photo: Someformofhuman · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Petronas Twin Towers
Menara Berkembar PetronasThe 452-metre twin towers that have defined the Kuala Lumpur skyline since 1998, joined by a double-decker skybridge.
Photo: Basile Morin · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Gardens by the Bay
滨海湾花园A waterfront park in Marina Bay with conservatories and the Supertree Grove.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Sigiriya
සීගිරියA fifth-century royal citadel built on and around a granite outcrop rising from the plain, with frescoes and water gardens.
Photo: Pierre André Leclercq · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic
ශ්රී දළදා මාළිගාවThe Sri Dalada Maligawa in Kandy, which houses the relic of the tooth of the Buddha.
Photo: A.Savin · Wikimedia Commons (FAL)
Galle Fort
ගාලු කොටුවA fortified town built by the Portuguese and extended by the Dutch in the 17th century, on Sri Lanka's southern coast.
Photo: Bassem · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Hagia Sophia
AyasofyaBuilt as a cathedral in 537, later an imperial mosque, then a museum, and a mosque again since 2020.
Photo: Carlos Delgado · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Topkapı Palace
Topkapı SarayıThe palace from which Ottoman sultans ruled for some four centuries, above the meeting of the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn.
Photo: Brocken Inaglory · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Göreme National Park
Göreme Millî ParkıThe rock-cut churches, cave dwellings and fairy chimneys of Cappadocia's volcanic landscape.
Photo: Benh LIEU SONG · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Ephesus
EfesOne of the best-preserved classical cities in the Mediterranean, with the Library of Celsus and a great theatre.
Photo: Frank Schulenburg · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Gyeongbokgung Palace
경복궁The main palace of the Joseon dynasty in central Seoul, first built in 1395 and extensively reconstructed.
Photo: april_kim · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
Bulguksa
불국사An eighth-century Silla temple near Gyeongju, with the Dabotap and Seokgatap stone pagodas.
Photo: Vilkasss · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
Hegra
الحِجرThe Nabataean city of Hegra (Madain Salih) near AlUla, with more than a hundred monumental rock-cut tombs.
Photo: Kranich17 · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
At-Turaif in Diriyah
الطريفThe mud-brick district that was the first seat of the Saudi state, on the edge of Riyadh.
Photo: U.S. Department of State from United States · Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
جامع الشيخ زايد الكبيرA large white marble mosque in Abu Dhabi, completed in 2007 and open to non-Muslim visitors outside prayer times.
Photo: 8268513 · Pixabay (Pixabay Content Licence)
Burj Khalifa
برج خليفةAt 828 metres, the tallest building in the world since its opening in 2010.
Photo: Gustavo Jeronimo from Aranjuez, Spain · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Registan
RegistonThe public square of Samarkand, framed by three madrasas faced in glazed tile.
Photo: Sergey Pesterev · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Lake Baikal
Озеро БайкалThe oldest and deepest freshwater lake on earth, in southern Siberia.
Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Andrew Leatherwood · Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Mount Fuji
富士山Japan's highest mountain at 3,776 metres, a stratovolcano long treated as a sacred site and an artistic subject.
Photo: Velatrix · Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Khao Sok National Park
อุทยานแห่งชาติเขาสกRainforest, limestone karst and the Cheow Lan reservoir in southern Thailand.
Photo: Khitai (a flickr user) · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes
제주 화산섬과 용암 동굴The volcanic landscape of Jeju, including Hallasan, the Geomunoreum lava tube system and the Seongsan Ilchulbong tuff cone.
Photo: nathan · Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Potala Palace
བོད་ཀྱི་ཕོ་བྲང་པོ་ཏ་ལThe winter palace of the Dalai Lamas in Lhasa, rising from Marpo Ri hill. Travel to the Tibet Autonomous Region has additional permit requirements.