"World class" monuments to visit in April

Question

I am trying to plan a month long backpacking trip in April, such that:

It has either rich cultural heritage or natural beauty. I am after "world class", breath-taking monuments (so for instance I wouldn't consider Armenia - ignoring the fact that its in Europe - even though it has a couple of really nice monasteries). I know its subjective criterion, but I don't really know how to phrase it any better.
April is a reasonable month to visit (I am thinking mainly about climate)
Is malaria-free
Is at altitude <3000m (I will be traveling with small children)
Is reasonably safe (e.g. I wouldn't consider Syria at the moment)
Is "exotic" for an European (so I rule out the whole of Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand)

I would also like to exclude countries we have visited recently: Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia.

I will be traveling from London. Budget is a secondary issue, but we probably can't afford super expensive countries, e.g. Japan.

Hopefully I gave enough criteria to make this question interesting.

I think you should be more specific what you are looking for. As it stands, there are probably at least 50 countries to choose from, not even counting regions within each one. — mindcorrosive, Dec 19 '11 at 15:04
Hi Grzenio, thank you for making the effort to try and list criteria. However, the criteria that you have specified - as mindcorrosive points out - is too vague. What is 'exotic' for you, what weather do you consider reasonable, what budget you have, where you're flying from et al. All this matters! — Ankur Banerjee, Dec 19 '11 at 15:10
You may also want to check Where can I find and book plane tickets on date not on destination? — Ankur Banerjee, Dec 19 '11 at 15:12
@Grzenio: Strange, SE inbox did not flag your comments up for me on your previous question. I've merged the two now FYI. — Ankur Banerjee, Dec 20 '11 at 14:28
I think it's definitely an interesting question but for me it's just too open and subjective for what the SE people tell us they want. — hippietrail, Dec 20 '11 at 19:49

score 11 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 20 '11 at 16:24

11

The question is pretty broad, so here is a broad answer:

Choose from Unesco's World Heritage List

Look through the list and if you find a country that has enough sites you are interested in and meet your other criteria, go there.

All the sites on the list I've been to (and there are many) are well worth visiting.

answered Dec 20 '11 at 16:24

Peter Hahndorf

2

Yeah, I usually do that. Unfortunately it doesn't filter based on the weather and malaria issues. – Grzenio Dec 20 '11 at 21:09

score 6 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:18

6

Spring is the best season for visiting Iran, with all flowered gardens and medium temperatures.

Of course there are many world class sites to visit: Isfahan, Shiraz, Persepolis, Yazd and probably many others that I don't remember currently.

edited Jun 16 '20 at 10:18

Community

answered Dec 20 '11 at 14:50

mouviciel

I always wanted to visit Iran. Is it safe though? And is it possible to get a visa in London? – Grzenio Dec 20 '11 at 21:02
With current news, there may be issues with British citizen. Safety should not be a problem as long as you behave as a normal tourist, taking photos of only world-class sites (e.g., American embassy in Tehran is not a world-class monument). – mouviciel Dec 20 '11 at 21:21
Luckily we have Polish passports. I was just wondering if the Iranian consulate in London still operates. – Grzenio Dec 20 '11 at 21:25

2 Answers2