Lonely Planet's inspirational series of park guides feature in-depth research and advice on the best sights, hikes and camping grounds. Perfect for everyone, from the road-tripping family, to the serious outdoor enthusiast.

There’s nowhere in the world quite like Greater Yellowstone. From its raging geysers to howling wolf packs, the land stands alone as one last pocket of a wild, primeval America.

The Grand Canyon warrants any hyperbolic language it inspires. Its vastness and staggering beauty are amazing, astounding and awesome - and its many-layered splendour isn't mere metaphor.

Home to ancient rainforests, tropical islands, rugged mountains and the stunning Great Barrier Reef, this state harbours some of Australia’s best sites for outdoor adventure. The hardest part is deciding where to begin…

Life in Tokyo moves at a well oiled clip, with an energy that borders on mania and an obsession with newness.

If you want a city break with a supersized serving of glamour, Shanghai's got your number. Think gleaming sci-fi skyscrapers and tree-lined boulevards, superb shopping and riverside drinks on the Bund.

The Sydney Encounter guide gives you twice the city in half the time. Sydney's a photogenic feast - wild coves and brilliant beaches, sparkling restaurants, wisteria-draped inner-city lanes and yes, that famous harbour. Hungry?

Got your shopping out of the way? Great! Now it's time to explore Singapore's less consumerist pleasures. Like the Botanic Gardens, Little India or the exuberantly tacky Sentosa - all washed down with a Singapore Sling, naturally.

Obscure records on Haight Street, clubs in SoMa, eco-movies in Japantown and pirate supplies in the Mission - San Francisco's got what you're looking for.

What's your pleasure in South Africa? Hiking and biking over open plains? Watching a spectacular desert sunset?

Beijing will make your head spin. What do you head for first? The contemporary art or the ancient Forbidden City? The fascinating hutongs or a plate of Peking duck? Our advice – all of the above.

This vast, varied region is home to some of the world's great treks, with trails that take you through pristine forests to the rims of glaciers, under granite monoliths and over rickety suspension bridges, well beyond the crowds.

In the end, everything revolves around New York City. In a region that offers a veritable cornucopia of American life, history and culture, it stands supreme, lending any visit the impression that one has also seen the world.

Enjoy the high passes, breathtaking landscapes and exhilarations of trekking in Nepal with Lonely Planet.

Discover the city that holds more secrets than the CIA - bars in shipping containers, designers in underground lairs, galleries winking from disused office blocks.

Whether you're into mystical, Mayan jungle pyramids watched over by howler monkeys and toucans, or bustling, jostling cityscapes, Mexico awaits with a huge variety of options for adventure.

Morocco exudes Maghrebi mystique, with medina lanes leading to souqs and riads, camels disappearing into the Sahara and Berber villages perched in the High Atlas. Grab a mint tea and enjoy the show.

Which island paradise is the one for you? For this 7th edition we walked barefoot along every dazzling white beach, dipped our toes in every aquamarine lagoon, and checked the view from dozens of beachside pools.

Cuba is a continuing education. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, it confounds you with another brow-beating riddle. That essentially is its underlying attraction.

Beautiful heritage and stunning modern architecture, delicious streetside meals, masses of markets and malls, and an engaging mix of cultures wait to be discovered in Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Penang.

Whether that’s whitewater rafting down the Río Reventazón, sunbathing in laid-back Montezuma, quetzal-spotting in the Monteverde Cloud Forest, or swaying to reggaetón at an open-air bar in Cahuita - you decide.

This guide will have you checking out the chic boutiques and bars of Seoul, watching the spectacular Mass Games, dining on Busan seafood, hiking to volcanic craters and recuperating from it all on the island paradise of Jeju-do.

This urban oasis of calm, culture and conviviality is packed with some excellent museums, art galleries and unique monuments, as well as plenty of enchanting, historic streets and other beguiling areas that are perfect for a stroll and a gawp.

Sun, surf, rum, reggae...yes, the Caribbean clichés are all true - and who are we to argue? We like a beachside mojito as much as the next traveller.