Hot air ballooning

Take a hot air balloon ride over Bagan, the Shan state of Inle Lake and soon, over Bhutan. Balloon rides are also available over the magnificent ruins of Palmyra, in the farmlands fringing Buenos Aires as well as over the stunning rock formations and temple paintings of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka. Or float above the Kathmandu valley, taking in the Himalayan panorama or over the Western High Atlas plains of Marrakech.

Paragliding

Go paragliding in Rio, over the Tijuca National Park, take off from Cape Town's Table Mountains or Lion's Head in South Africa or fly over  the Himalayas, in Nepal, India and Bhutan.

For the more exotic (and adventurous), there's parahawking in Pokhara, Nepal, an activity that combines paragliding with falconry, where you take to flight, accompanied by the bird of prey who will guide you through the pockets of warm air that will help you to stay aloft.

 Rafting

 Rafting through the Nam Lang and Malikha rivers in paradaisical Putao or raft past the glorious Punakha dzong in Bhutan, fuelled by the waters from the Pho Chu and Mo Chu rivers. Or use it as a mode of transfer from Kathmandu to Pokhara. Cruise through the Nahuel Huapi National Park in Patagonia at the foothill of the Andes mountains.

Photo courtesy of Vladimir P.