North America

The Big Country – a place of vast skies and limitless space, of great lakes and rivers, and mountain ranges that go on for ever. The USA and her northerly neighbour, Canada, are so rich in natural wonders you’d be forgiven for believing that the divine had taken a hand in their interior design.

It all starts off very differently, with the first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty or Golden Gate Bridge, or the bustle of an LAX or Miami airport, but soon enough the cities are left behind and horizons expand. The Rocky Mountains, Great Lakes, Grand Canyon, Florida Everglades, Mississippi Delta, Badlands of Arizona, and the Panamerican road that runs from the Arctic conditions of Alaska down to the sultry southern border of California: these are all names that trip off the tongue and must surely feature on everyone’s dream trip itinerary.

Across the border in Canada, human populations dwindle and natural canvasses become even broader. From the suburban pleasures of Vancouver – the favourite city of everyone who has visited – the possibilities really do open up as you venture into the wilds of British Columbia. This is an adventurer’s paradise, with skiing, snowboarding, hiking, biking and kayaking all second to none and waiting to be enjoyed. The less active can simply drive through it, stopping along the way to simply gaze in awe at all this fantastic scenery. Further north takes us into the wilds of the Yukon, a name synonymous with the very essence of frontier travel, and one that harks back to the days before European settlers. Here is the chance to experience nature at its most raw and glorious – much in the same way as this nation’s first inhabitants must have done.