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Haida Gwaii named 'Top 20' trip for 2015 by National Geographic

The B.C. island area is one of the best places to visit in the world this New Year, along with Medellin, Taipei, and Buddhist Japan.
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A view of Skidegate Inlet from a BC Ferries' Queen of Prince Rupert

B.C.'s Haida Gwaii has been named one of the 20 must-see destinations for 2015, honoured by National Geographic in its 'Best Trips' list for the New Year.

The reason for the distinction? The call of the wild, which is rather mute, apparently.

"The quiet is what strikes people here most on Haida Gwaii," reads the mag's excerpt on the region, written by April Orcutt. "In this 180-mile-long archipelago off the coast of British Columbia, labyrinthine coves snuggle up to dense forests with towering cedars. Beneath the ground, scientists have found evidence of human habitation stretching back 12,000 years."

National Geographic recommends visiting Haida Gwaii in the summer, between May and September. For a place to say, eat, and drink, it recommends the Haida House at Tllaal. It also recommends the Haida Heritage Centre at Kay Linagaay.

Recommended read: The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed, a profile piece on activist Grant Hadwin by author John Vaillant.

Other destinations included in the list are:

Corsica: "Two hundred years after Napoleon Bonaparte suffered his final military defeat, Corsica, his birthplace, stubbornly resists its own cultural Waterloo."

Corsica panorama

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author Greudin)

Medellin, Colombia: "Call it the Medellín miracle. Colombia's second city still has its vices, but the world's former cocaine capital has been rehabbed."

Medellin Colombia

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author SajoR)

Koyasan, Japan

Koyasan Japan

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author 663highland)

Maramures, Romania

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Oklahoma City - Oklahoma

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author Mr Accountable)

Tunis, Tunisia

Tunis, Tunisia

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author BishkekRocks)

Choquequirao, Peru

Choquequirao Peru

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author JohnManuel)

Sark, Channel Islands

Sark Channel Islands

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author L.m.k)

Hyderabad, India

Hyderabad India

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author Lomita)

Port Antonio, Jamaica

Port Antonio - Jamaica

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author Chaoleonard)

Taiwan

Taipei - Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author Wdshu)

Zermatt, Switzerland

Zermatt Switzerland

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author Chensiyuan)

The Presidio, San Francisco

The Presidio - San Francisco

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author BenFranske)

Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar

Sea Islands, South Carolina

Mont St. Michel, France: "Total isolation was the point, and pilgrims had to wait for the tide to recede to make their way across the flats to the abbey."

Mont St Michel

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Esteros del Ibera, Argentina

Argentina photo

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author Anto Giacomel)

National Mall, Washington, D.C.

National Mall - Washington DC

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author O'Dea)

Mornington Peninsula, Australia

Mornington Peninsula - Australia

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons, author Boticario)