Best Trips 2019
By Maryellen Kennedy Duckett
WHY GO NOW: Because it’s good to be in the badlands
New Mexico’s Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness is one of those off-the-map places that adventurers purposefully seek, not fortuitously find. Hidden in the remote high desert about 160 miles northwest of Albuquerque, the wilderness area protects 41,170 acres of lunarlike badlands outside the eastern edge of the Navajo Nation reservation. The area’s name comes from the Navajo, or Diné, language: Bisti (“a large area of shale hills”) and De-Na-Zin (“standing crane”). With no roads or marked trails, it’s easy to roam free—and get lost—in Bisti. Says Ingrid Gilbert, of the nearby Farmington Convention & Visitors Bureau, “The vast landscape of sand and stone will have you feeling as if you are the only living organism for miles.”
HOW TO GO: Book the five-hour Navajo Tours USA Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Adventure (offered year-round) for an in-depth look at the area’s landscape, legends, and Navajo culture.
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READ FULL ARTICLE: Best places to travel in 2019. (2018). Nationalgeographic.com. Retrieved 22 December 2018, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/features/best-trips-2019/
Photo credit: DPK-Photo/Alamy Stock Photo
