THIS ARTICLE IS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND BOSNIAN. Tucked away in a quiet northwest corner of Bosnia-Herzegovina lies one of the last untouched natural ecosystems in Europe. You would be hard pressed to find more unspoiled countryside than that around Banja Luka, where lack of easy access and limited infrastructure once halted the usual tourist swell to this region.

Set against the deep blue waters of the Adriatic Sea, Podgorica, Montenegro, is home to some of the most stunning gorges, peaks, rivers and valleys in Europe, if not the world. Even better, thanks to its relative distance from the tourist track, its centuries-old culture and traditions have remained largely intact.

To many, the Maldives, with its islands scattered in a swirl of diamonds, is a heaven on earth. Its language, culture, history and its peaceful way of life are unique to the island-nation. Picture the scene: You’re sitting on the slowly cooling sands, watching as the sun’s last rays of the day paint the sky with a beautiful range of colours and tones. The waves of the Indian Ocean gently lap at your feet and a soft breeze blows.

A rather odd gait for a giraffe! This photo was taken in Murchison Falls National Park, one of two parks in Uganda where you can spot an abundance of these graceful creatures. But that’s not all that’s on offer in what is fast becoming Uganda’s most popular park. Covering an area of 3,840 square kilometres, the area is characterised by open plains, dotted with exotic Borassus Palms and Ugandan Kob, and host to a parade of elephants, lions, waterbucks, buffaloes and warthogs.

If you too are still a little peeved by the summer washout and aren’t yet ready to batten down the hatches in preparation for another gruelling winter, fear not! There are still plenty of places to replenish that flagging vitamin D. And better yet, you won’t have to break the bank or fight tooth and nail for your patch of sand. Bliss! Here we check out which whl.travel (www.whl.travel) destinations have the best beach-break ability to blow away those autumn cobwebs.