With its tea plantations and rice paddies, dense jungles and expansive forests, the region is well known as a green paradise. But many of the most impressive Asian landscapes have names you may never have heard of. Journey with us as we reveal just some of the incredible locations that make the rest of the world green with envy!
NOHKALIKAI FALLS, INDIA
The tallest plunge waterfall in India is a stunning sight not just because of its thrilling 340-metre height, but for the dense evergreen rainforest blanketing the surrounding cli!s and the surreal green coloured plunge pool below. The falls are located in the state of Meghalaya, near Cherapunji (also known as Sohra), one of the wettest places on the planet
MU CANG CHAI RICE TERRACES, VIETNAM
While Asia’s staple crop, rice, thrives in the flooded Mekong Delta at Vietnam’s southern tip, in the country’s mountainous north, local hill tribes have created rice terraces to control the downward flow of water. These astonishing emerald stairways, seemingly ascending to the heavens, are perhaps at their most beautiful in Mu Cang Chai, the perfect place for trekking and visiting ethnic minorities such as the Hmong and Red Dzao
RAJA AMPAT, PAPUA, INDONESIA
Raja means “king”, while empat denotes “four”, and without doubt, the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta, and Waigeo – along with the surrounding 1,500 islands, cays, and shoals that make up this unspoiled archipelago at the northwest tip of New Guinea – are the “crown jewels” of the Coral Triangle, home of the richest marine biodiversity on Earth. These treasures of limestone cli!s, mangrove forests and translucent waters are populated with a breathtaking parade of corals, “sh, birds, mammals and reptiles
HAPUTALE, BADULLA, SRI LANKA
Sitting on the southern edge of the Sri Lankan central highlands, at an elevation of around 1,500 metres, Haputale is surrounded by hills covered with awe-inspiring cloud forests and tea plantations, remnants of the British legacy. The epicentre of tea, one of the country’s most lucrative exports, the misty town of 5,000 people is mostly made up of Muslims and Hindus, many of whom eke out a living from plucking the fragrant leaves
GREAT WALL OF CHINA, JINSHANLING, CHINA
The marvel of ancient engineering that is the Great Wall is reason enough to travel to China to view these famous forti”cations, but visitors are also treated to some of the country’s most spectacular natural landscapes. This is no more apparent than at Jinshanling, the section of the wall located in the gorgeous forest-covered mountains of Luanping County in northeastern Hebei Province. Not overrun with tourists like some sections, Jinshanling remains wild and ruined and true to its original form
BAN GIOC WATERFALLS, CAO BANG, VIETNAM
A jaw-dropping natural border between Vietnam and China, Ban Gioc Waterfalls is an exquisite multitiered spectacle that harmonises perfectly with the lush surrounding greenery. The main waterfall in the north is about 100 metres wide and 70 metres tall, and features three cascades. Visitors hop on bamboo boats to view this mesmerising wonder of Nature from the turquoise lake at the base of the falls
BAN PA PONG PIANG, CHIANG MAI, THAILAND
The location of Thailand’s highest mountain, Doi Inthanon National Park is situated in a watershed area of the Ping River, one of the two main tributaries of the mighty Chao Phraya, and is home to numerous bucolic Karen villages dotted among picture-perfect rice terraces. The small hamlet of Ban Pa Pong Piang o!ers some of the most photogenic views of these iconic emerald-green man made structures
ZHANGJIAJIE, HUNAN PROVINCE, CHINA
Part of the Wulingyuan UNESCO World Heritage Site in South Central China, Zhangjiajie National Forest Park features an otherworldly collection of impossibly tall quartz-sandstone pillars adorned with dense foliage. If the landscape seems familiar, it could be because it is the subject of many ancient Chinese paintings, or possibly because it is said to have inspired the “ctitious floating pillars of Pandora from James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Avatar
JEWEL CHANGI AIRPORT, SINGAPORE
The Little Red Dot may be very short on primary forest, but there’s no shortage of stunning green architecture across the island nation. Indeed, at see the country’s showpiece building, you only need to step o! your flight to Changi Airport and wander over to the Jewel, a Nature-themed entertainment and retail complex with the world’s tallest indoor waterfall at its centre. The verdant surrounding indoor garden spans “ve storeys and boasts more than 900 trees and around 60,000 shrubs
CAMERON HIGHLANDS, PAHANG, MALAYSIA
Named a#er William Cameron, a British explorer commissioned by the then colonial government to map out the Pahang-Perak border area in 1885, the Cameron Highlands is the biggest and best known of Malaysia’s hill stations. Much of the area remains forested, and there is a network of excellent hiking trails. A number of tea plantations also dot the area, o!ering visitors teatasting sessions and the opportunity learn about the tea-making process
