The best 32 villages in the world to visit as a tourist have been revealed, including popular holiday spots such as Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.
Each year the World Tourism Organisation publishes a list of the finest, most-sustainable and most intriguing small settlements to visit across the globe.
The award schemes looks to highlight places that are a little off the beaten track and buried in the countryside, yet have managed to embrace tourists while preserving the environment and its community's values.
A total of 32 villages from 18 countries across the five world regions were awarded this year.
One village to make the grade was Dazhai in China's Guangxi region.
The settlement is built in an area with various ethnic groups and terraced fields of around 66 square kilometres that have a history stretching back more than 2,300 years.
Each year tens of thousands of people visit the village where a small group of homes are built into the hillside across from terraced fields.
Dazhai has a significant place within Chinese culture, having been held up by Mao Zedong's as a model agricultural village which others should model themselves off.
The terraced fields and exotic culture of the Yao ethnic group and their unique architecture attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
Stories of how hard and diligently the villagers of Dazhai had worked to build the village, its crops and engineering marvels including a reservoir and aqueduct were propagated across the country.
Chinese tourism figures show that 32,000 people visited the village in 2004, compared to 798,000 in 2019.
Another entry on the list is Rupit, which is halfway around the world in Spain.
The village is situated deep in the Pyrenees mountains in Osona, where visitors are transported back to a simpler, rural way of life.
The small medieval Spanish village is filled with stone walkways and beautiful river views, while a nearby waterfall spills out into a pool.
The village has become a popular day trip from Barcelona and can be accessed via a two hour drive.
World's best villages - full list
- Zell am See, Austria
- Wagrain, Austria
- Puqueldón, Chile
- Dazhai, China
- Jingzhu, China
- Choachí, Colombia
- Aguarico, Ecuador
- Angochagua, Ecuador
- Choke Mountains Ecovillage, Ethiopia
- Mestia, Georgia
- Kfar Kama, Israel
- Sauris-Zahre, Italy
- Isola del Giglio, Italy
- Umm Qais, Jordan
- Creel, Mexico
- El Fuerte, Mexico
- Ksar Elkhorbat, Morocco
- Moulay Bouzerktoune, Morocco
- Lamas, Peru
- Raqchi, Peru
- Castelo Novo, Portugal
- Pyeongsa-ri, Republic of Korea
- Rasinari, Romania
- AlUla Old Town, Saudi Arabia
- Bohinj, Slovenia
- Rupit, Spain
- Alquézar, Spain
- Guadalupe, Spain
- Murten, Switzerland
- Andermatt, Switzerland
- Birgi, Türkiye
- Thái Hải, Vietnam
What destinations are on your travel wishlist? Let us know in the comments below.
