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From secret surf stashes on the Pacific to untouched Caribbean isles—plus all the volcanoes and colonial plazas in between—Nicaragua has the makings of a sporting paradise. Come discover Central America's red-hot center.

Keep the GPS handy, fly rod at the ready, and don't forget your rubber boots

A change has come to the Iron Curtain death zone—and it's wild

The highest points in heartland states like Kansas and Iowa aren't much to look at, but when you knock off seven of them in a four-day, 3,000-mile blitz . . . well, let's just say the little bastards have a way of kicking back.

As the brutal battle over proposed drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge grinds on, a former oil worker returns to the North Slope in search of the truth about the pro-exploration argument. His conclusion? (Brace yourself.) The unthinkable is the right thing to do.

Sex. Danger. Family values. This backyard soap opera has it all—plus feathers, razor-sharp talons, and a neighborhood obsessed.

Adventure Adviser, Colorado Sunset near Cripple Creek, Colorado Q: Where are the best mountain bike rides in the Royal Gorge and Colorado Springs area? I will be there in early June and wish to see some beautiful scenery while off-road biking in the mountains.

Ronni heard it first: the softly insistent, slightly descendant keloo-keloo of the quetzal, strobing from the cloud forest around us. We were hiking the five-mile Sendero de los Quetzales (“Path of the Quetzals”), a trail that winds through the 35,390 lush acres of Panama's Volcán BarĂş National Park in UNESCO's…

Ready to bask in the warmth of endless summer? Our online resource is your key to the Caribbean’s most idyllic getaways. Here, you’ll find great travel deals, gorgeous places to stay, and active adventures guaranteed to get your heart racing. Dive in, the water’s warm! Nevis: Unhurried and unsung hero…

Ten North American spas that will recharge your mind, body, and soul

Travel is one thing. But uprooting your family and moving abroad is a much deeper plunge into adventure.

Twelve value-packed Caribbean resorts where your room comes with a view—and killer perks, too

Trekking hut to hut along South Africa’s shore is just what the witch doctor ordered

From mountain biking in Mexico to snorkeling in Panama...

9. Ancient Crumbles in the Jungle Tikal, Guatemala Why I’m bounding up the steps of Tikal’s Temple of the Masks predawn on a chilly March morning is still not clear to me—let’s chalk it up to barroom advice that sounded completely rational after a few beers. But I…

To maximize the return on your investment in wanderlust, you need know-how and solid advice. We’re here to help. From saving on destination packages and high-value gear to insider trips and the bet reasons to blow a bundle, we’ve got the lowdown on affordable, rip-roaring, full-value adventure travel.

On and off the Slopes at Ten Top Ski Areas

We stopped at a boulder below the saddle of 10,229-foot Heyburn Mountain as early-May sunshine broke past the ridge and washed over us: three backcountry skiers on a mission to schuss the wild peaks of central Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, and me, a snowshoe loafer in search of serenity. As my…

View from the California Riding and Hiking Trail Q: Now that fall is here we’re thinking of taking a backpacking trip through the desert. Any hints on where we should go? What about day hikes? — Nicole Frisbee, Denver, Colorado Adventure Advisor:…

Escape urban gridlock in West Virginia, where country roads and mountain mamas are only a fraction of the attraction

Was Michael Rockefeller eaten by cannibals?

Eileen and Tom Lonergan went out for a day of scuba diving, and never came back. The story behind the movie Open Water.

The gray wolf may lose federal protection. Will killing it become the law of the land?

Mountaineering's greatest debate—who reached the top of Everest first?—rages on

Amy Bechtel was there, and then she simply wasn't

Winding a thousand miles from India to China, the Burma Road was built to defend China in World War II, but the atomic bomb made it irrelevant and the jungle reclaimed it. Mark Jenkins vowed to do what no one had done for nearly 60 years—travel the entire Burma Road—and discovered the madness of present-day Myanmar.

What are you looking at? Q: How can I take a safari in Africa without being a millionaire? — Gudrun Nalitla, Reykjavik, Iceland Adventure Advisor: A: At first it seems hard to believe that a little drive through a…

A rude guide to Manhattan's new island-lapping bike loop

Today's topic: We rank the Top 40 schools where you can hit the books AND the backcountry. Your assignment: Rappel off that ivory tower and take our cram course on America's most adrenaline-friendly colleges. You'll come for your B.A. (Bachelor of Adventure) and want to stay for life.

If it's Riviera glitter you're after, head to Monaco. But for endless climbing, epic singletrack, and wild seacoast adventure, set a course for Finale Ligure.

A modern speed demon breathes new life into an ancient Hawaiian sport

He grew up poaching alligators, he sells Cadillacs, and his friends run oil companies. But saving the bayous of Louisiana's Atchafalaya Basin is Harold Schoeffler's number-one deal.

Everybody loves the Klamath. Everybody wants a piece of it. And they're willing to go to war to get it. Editor's Note/Correction

1. Havasu Falls, Supai, Arizona Hike two miles to this perfect turquoise pool, with year-round 72-degree water, in Havasu Canyon. All About H2O The wet stuff is always there for us—it grows our food, puts splash and spirit in our adventure, and (by the way) keeps us alive.

A plan to save Guatemala's Mayan cities with a park and a posh eco-lodge has enviros and locals boiling

Mama's boys, beware: Portsmouth Island is nature untethered

Horrible winters. A dwindling, aging population. Abandoned farms reverting to prairie grass. Perfect, says our writer.

This spring, a quarter of a million Americans took a trip. It was noisy, hot, and violent. Accommodations were poor. Some of them didn't come back.

California’s Skylonda Lodge Q: I like dried fruit, camping and bugs. My wife likes brie, soft beds and spas. Question: Where can we go in August where we can hike and bike by day, and have a full service resort at night? — Philip Cordova…

One family's 100-mile journey across the Mongolian steppe

Get a fresh perspective on the Old Country: pedal, paddle, skate, and hike in these eight ruggedly charming European outposts

Budget-conscious families should know two things about the tropics: First, Central America and the Caribbean are only a few degrees hotter in summer than in winter. Second, as temperatures rise, resort prices often fall by 15 to 20 percent or more. What's a little humidity in exchange for a great, affordable family trip? We found six of the best spots-from Puer

Australia's first great adventure was part Lewis and Clark, part Donner Party—searing proof that fame is a four-letter word

Hit the biodiversity jackpot in Brazil's Pantanal

  A cobblestone sidestreet in Santa Rosa Q: My wife and I are interested in heading to Honduras, especially Santa Rosa, but I can't seem to find any ideas on a place to stay there. I know there's a big budget travel scene down there, but our days of…

A new way to navigate the Tar Heel state

Family trips can leave parents feeling like they need a vacation from their vacation. Moms and dads can't always cater to kids—they occasionally need to indulge in adult-friendly pursuits, like flying down a white-knuckle mountain-bike trail or taking off on a sailboard. Here are five innovative trips—with built-in baby-sitting—so children have f

From the heart of Jack London country to Quebec, the best of 60 degrees latitude and higher

Outside Editorial Director Alex Heard is auctioning off two pieces of Everest history on eBay this week. Both items were carried to the mountain’s summit by writer Jon Krakauer during the disastrous 1996 climbing season that inspired his bestseller, Into Thin Air. Proceeds from the sale of these items will…

Take a tundra tour along the Yukon's loneliest road

Five adventure bonanzas in the Yukon's summertime wilds

The Macal River Valley in Belize is home to three-toed tapirs, elusive jaguars, and a rare subspecies of scarlet macaw. But if Belize Electricity Ltd. gets its way, one of the richest riparian habitats north of the Amazon will disappear beneath the waters of a controversial hydroelectric dam. So who's gonna get zapped?

At twice the size of Texas, Alaska isn't easy to boil down into a "best of" list. The fact is, just about every cranny of this behemoth state can be labeled with a superlative: the wildest, the most vast, the most breathtaking. Even though any intrepid family can land in Anchorage, rent a car, start driving, and come upon wildlife and characters that guarantee

On assignment in the Himalayas

Three Generations of Great Climbing Sherpas

  Blackwater NWR is the center of the greatest nesting density of bald eagles in the eastern United States north of Florida. Q: I'm thinking of taking a kayak trip around the Chesapeake Bay. Can you point me to some resources for planning a route, camping areas, maps of…

When the sea summons you, answer! Fourteen idyllic beach escapes, from Cape Cod to Sanibel.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Hillary and Tenzing's historic first Everest summit, we're opening the vaults to bring you the best stories ever written about the planet's tallest mountain. From Jon Krakauer's groundbreaking article, "Into Thin Air," to Brad Wetzler's account of sex, death and bad behavior at Base Camp, a collection of Outside's

Anza-Borrego’s raw desert beauty Q: I’m looking to camp someplace pretty, not too popular, and mild in temperature around this time of the year. Can you give me any suggestions? — Anne Moore, Long Beach, California Adventure Advisor: A: There…

Honomu, Hawaii: Aloha Spirit

Four travel outfitters that are doing it right

Question: Can adventure travel take root in struggling, war-ravaged countries where the smoke is still clearing? Test Case: The Republic of Georgia, home to unspoiled wilderness, beautiful mountains, and (oh, drat) fugitive Chechen rebels and rumored Al Qaeda cells Answer: Good question!

Breathe easy: descending Peru’s 19,870-foot Huayna Potosi Q: A friend and I are looking to take a two-month trip through South America this June and July. We would like to spend time in Peru, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina, and are very interested in finding some active trips…

The cassowary—Australia's six-foot-tall, 180-pound jungle bird—is a pushy, hard-pecking, head-butting, talon-swiping thug on the loose, and humans trespass in its habitat at their own risk. But on our writer's wary quest to confront this beast, he learns to spare a little sympathy for a fightless victim just fighting to stay alive.

In the sixties and seventies it was the hippie trail that brought foreigners to Afghanistan. Two decades of war and terror later, Kabul is a nonstop rave of C-130s, NGOs, soldiers, and spooky nation-builders. The freaks are back on Chicken Street—where everything old is new again.

In Outside‘s 2004 Traveler issue, we bring you “The Sporty Forty,” a compendium of great destinations in Mexico and Central America. But this isn’t the first time we’ve explored that gloriously sun-soaked neck of the woods. Here, we present a complete anthology of our favorite south-of-the-border getaways. Taking the plunge…

In Outside's 2004 Traveler issue, we bring you “The Sporty Forty,” a compendium of great destinations in Mexico and Central America. But this isn't the first time we've explored that gloriously sun-soaked neck of the woods. Here, we present a complete anthology of our favorite south-of-the-border getaways. Taking the plunge…

Grab your hammock and sunblock and go!

Dreaming of Oceania's island paradise? Here's how to feed your fantasy.

Camping in communal bliss in Moorea

Just Married: One Couple's Well-Oiled Open-Road Odyssey

Is paradise drowning? The serene South Pacific archipelago of Tuvalu wants the world to know it will soon be the first nation to sink beneath the rising waters of global warming—an early warning of biblical inundations to come. And guess what? It's your fault.

Mount Everest becomes a prize on TV's Global Extremes. Is this a Good Thing?