Lonely Planet's 1000 Ultimate Adventures

Lonely Planet has used the expertise of 26 writers to produce a numbers game for its loyal travelers with 1,000 listed adventures separated into 100 chapters. There are a few duplications in these millenary adventures, making that total not quite accurate. Additionally, a few chapters list books and movies, perhaps as a sop to armchair traveler readers. This hefty, handsome book with lots of attractive color photographs won't qualify as a guide for tourists. Beyond the brief entry for each of the treks, there's minimal information for re-creating one's own visit to a primitive tribe in New Guinea or sandboarding in Namibia. Many of them will qualify for personal bucket lists, like the ubiquitous climb of Mt. Everest, sleeping among polar bears in Churchill, Canada, and skysurfing in Arizona. More unusual pursuits might include watching the mask dances of the Dogon in Mali; skiing in Gulmarg, Kashmir, India; or visiting the Thrihnukagigur volcano in Iceland. Lonely Planet's trips run the gamut of physical activities—running, walking, climbing, swimming, fishing, biking, boating, boarding, skiing, diving, and more. Most take place outdoors, but you can find the occasional indoor pursuit, like the skiing and snowboarding at a mall in Dubai.