désert – BIG

Although Las Vegas is best known for its gambling and stage shows, the city also has plenty to offer the adventurous traveler looking to explore the great outdoors.

Once off the Strip – the main tourist drag that is home to the casinos and hotels – the desert city opens onto an outdoor playground with a wide array of challenging activities for hikers and bicyclists.

Bootleg Canyon, located about 30 minutes outside of town, features a huge network of mountain bike trails with scenic views of Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam.

Bicyclists and hikers will also want to check out Red Rock Canyon, located in the heart of Wilson Cliffs, about 20 minutes from Vegas. Hikers have 21 different walking trails to choose from, and mountain bikers face the challenging Big Wilson trail, an 80 km ride that takes an entire day to complete.

More information about activities is available on the Scenic Las Vegas Outdoor Recreation website.

Situated in the middle of Australia’s desert, Uluru, better known as Ayers Rock, is an immense red rock which has been one of the strongest symbols of the country. The government has recently lifted restrictions that were implemented in honour of the Aboriginal belief that the site is sacred.

The huge rock is 348 metres high with a circumference of around 9.4 kilometres. Located in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, the formation is an important location for the rituals of Aboriginal culture. The site’s popularity among tourists, along with the freedom they took to climb to its summit, shocked the native people, which in turn convinced the government to prohibit climbing the landmark. Ayers Rock was visited by 350 000 visitors annually, and roughly 100 000 of them were climbing the rock each year, half of them being from abroad.

However, pressure from the Australian tourism sector, which is already weakened by the global economic crisis, has resulted in a temporary lift of the ban.

Peter Garrett, Australia’s Environment Minister and former Midnight Oil frontman, will impose regulations to minimize the number of authorised climbers in the meantime.