Scottish Highlands named one of the world’s 25 best travel destinations in 2023 by National Geographic

Scottish Highlands is now part of a 30-year restoration project
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The ever-beautiful Scottish Highlands have been named among National Geographic’s 25 breathtaking travel destinations for 2023 as a 30-year-project aims to rewild the region. National Geographic ranked the locations by five categories; community, nature, culture, family and adventure.

The list featured some of the world’s most decorative sights including Peru’s Inca temples, Switzerland’s spectacular Lake Geneva, and King Tut’s new home in Egypt. However, the list also beholds under-the-radar locations, such as the Biodiverse Botswana and Manchester’s thriving art scene.

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The Scottish Highlands feature again In National Geographics’ ‘5 wildly underrated natural escapes for 2023’ list - which further homes in on less well-known attractions. This list also includes the Azores, Big Bend National Park in Texas, Botswana, and Slovenia.

The Highlands are known for their stunning views and mysterious coves. With staycations on the minds of many following the pandemic, millions of people from all over the UK flocked to see the region’s varied landscapes.

The entry for the Scottish Highlands says: “The windswept Scottish Highlands are celebrated for their austere beauty, but the sheep-scoured landscapes are in fact the result of human interference. In ancient times, Scotland’s glens and hills were covered by the great Caledonian Forest. Pine, rowan, and oak trees sheltered all kinds of now vanished wildlife, including wolves, bears, aurochs, and wild oxen.

“But centuries of logging and overgrazing devastated the ecosystem. Now a move to return the Highlands to its original woodlands, by reintroducing former flora and fauna in a process called “rewilding,” is gathering steam—with major strides to come in 2023.”

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So, what are the top 25 best destinations to travel to in 2023? Here’s the full list of locations chosen by National Geographic.

Full list of best destinations for travellers according to National Geographic

Karpathos, Greece

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Alberta, Canada

Laos

Accra, Ghana

Botswana

Slovenia

Scottish Highlands, Scotland

Big Bend National Park, Texas, USA

Azores, Portugal

Cairo, Egypt

Busan, South Korea

Appian Way, Italy

Charleston, South Carolina, USA

Longmen Grottoes, Henan Province, China

Switzerland

Trinidad & Tobago

San Francisco, California, USA

Colombia

Manchester, England

Choquequirao, Peru

New Zealand

Utah, USA

Austria

Revillagigedo National Park, Mexico

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