Whether your dream ceach trip consists of spending a few pampered nights in a four-star resort or swimming among tropical fish some 80 feet (24 meters) underwater the Maldives are the sort of islands where either or both can come true. Stradding the Equator southwest of Sri Lanka the 1,102 islands that make up the Maldives from 26 atolls. The soft air enveloping the archipelago blends into a beautiful palm-fringed haze.
One of tge most pgotographed beaches in the world the pale pink sands of Anse Source d'Argent unfuris across the island of La Digue one the 115 components of this archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The sands sparkle against a backdrop of towering granite boulders, worn by time and weather. The turquoise water is relatively shallow and protected from the ocean's waves by a reef.
Auyuittuq is the most geologically dynamic of the national parks in Nunavut. Sculpted by glaciers the park is 85 percent rock and ice and has the highest peaks in the Canadian Shield. Mount Asard, pictured here and Thor Peak are dream destinations for rock climbers.