Melan Mag Reveals Top 20 Lowkey Travel Destinations Worth Checking Out

Credit: Joy Joses

Featured Image: @marcrepublic

Are you the type of traveler that likes to visit destinations that none of your friends have been to before and who avoids the usual tourist traps? If you are, you’re in luck, a new study has identified 20 under-the-radar travel secrets, with locations spanning the globe, from tiny towns to palm-flecked beaches.

This article originally appeared on Melan Mag.

If you’ve never heard of Jaffna in the North of Sri Lanka, El Nido Pangalusian Island in the Philippines and the ancient Mayan city of Yaxchilan in Mexico, there’s good reason, as they’ve all been named as some of the world’s best-kept travel destinations, in a list compiled by worldwide travel experts Kuoni.

A spokesperson for Kuoni, Rachel O’Reilly, says:

While the Grand Canyon, the Great Wall of China and the Taj Mahal attract thousands of visitors per year between them, a generation of travellers are now seeking more secluded beauty spots.

Beyond the main tourist attractions the world has so much to offer and we’re seeing a trend for people looking for alternative places and experiences away from the famous well-trodden hotspots.”

El Nido Pangulasian in the Philippines – Hidden Gems.

Just one per cent of the UK has heard of Indonesia’s Gili Meno Island, selected by Kuoni due to its pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters. While its neighboring island Gili Trawangan is now a hotspot for backpackers, the island of Gili Meno remains firmly off the beaten track. A minuscule 0.1 per cent of the nation know about the tranquil garden complex of Mehtab Bagh, on the banks of the Yamuna River in India, just behind the Taj Mahal.

O’Reilly continues:

People’s traveling lifespan has expanded too – from a very young age people are used to traveling to new places with their families and continue to explore the world as they seek new experiences well into their seventies and eighties – so people want fresh perspectives and new inspiration which, is what our new list is all about.”