When it comes to great outdoor vacations, one could hardly do better than escaping to the European wilderness areas overseen by PAN Parks. The PAN Parks foundation provides support to 11 parks in Europe, encompassing some of the continent’s most spectacular natural habitats, from mist-shrouded bog lands, thunderous waterfalls and raging rivers to towering snow-capped peaks. One of the most strikingly beautiful and undisturbed of these parks is Peneda-Gerês National Park, which lies in Portugal’s extreme northwest.

Mongolia’s long history owes much to a certain gentle beast of burden – the horse. Contemporary tourism has not been blind to the appeal of horses in Mongolia, which outnumber humans almost seven to one. Cultural activities such as overnight stays with nomadic herdsman are popular among travellers, while horse races capture the imagination of locals and foreigners alike. Of course, the pristine landscape of vast steppes, dunes and mountains is heaven on horseback for anyone looking to get away from it all.

These days, untouristed beaches are few and far between, so we can all see the appeal of a story like ‘The Beach,’ which follows a utopian community on a remote Thai island untouched by tourism. The real-life inspiration for Alex Garland’s best-selling book, however, was the undeveloped paradise of Ang Thong National Marine Park, a stunning 42-island archipelago off the east coast of southern Thailand and most easily reached from the laidback island of Koh Samui.

Where will you head when the wild calls? Where should we look for tour operators eager to join forces to make a positive impact on their surroundings through community development and environmental conservation projects? For inspiration, we turned to the Adventure Tourism Development Index.