Wild adventure with Anantara

Walking with elephants has to be one of the best travel experiences in Thailand. In the country’s lush northern mountains, you can join one of these gentle giants on its daily mahout-led walk through the jungle, at a sanctuary for rescues from the logging and tourist trades. Learn about pachyderms’ unique dietary needs from their vet, then prepare some food for them and watch them bathe and play in a tranquil river.

Where to stay: Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort immerses you in the verdant forests of Chiang Rai, on Thailand’s northern border. After waking up to green valley views from your suite, head to the Elephant Camp next door, where you can get up close to these majestic creatures while supporting their continued care. For the ultimate elephant experience, stay overnight in a Jungle Bubble at the camp and watch its residents at home in their wild habitat.

Swimming with manta rays for many is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, one that often coincides with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Maldives. No matter where you go in this oceanic wonderland, you’ll spot incredible marine life – and in certain areas you’ll see manta rays gliding all year round. Around South Malé and Ari Atolls, the months of August through December bring the best chance of sighting one and getting the opportunity to swim alongside it above spectacular coral reefs.

Where to stay: the adults-only Anantara Veli Maldives Resort is an intimate retreat in paradise, where you can spot manta rays on journeys through the seas. Then there’s the house reef shimmering in a turquoise lagoon, with baby black-tip reef sharks, rays, turtles and more. It’s rare to see such incredible marine life at all, much less right outside your overwater villa – but at Ananatara Veli, all sorts of impossibilities become reality.

Free-roaming wildlife grazing right outside your door is one of those rare sights that might make you think you’re dreaming. In Zambia, on the thundering edge of Victoria Falls, this vision can be a daily occurance. Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, bordering the falls and the Zambezi River, is the habitat of zebra, gazelles and giraffes (and other animals), which are free to wander in and out of the park’s resorts, nibbling the grass shoots of hotel lawns and finding shade in their manicured gardens.

Where to stay: to wake up to the sight of free-roaming wildlife in your ‘front yard’, stay at The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Zambia Hotel by Anantara. Sit on your terrace and watch zebras and giraffes graze, or join a Zambezi River safari to see hippos, crocodiles, and – in the Zambian winter – elephants. From the hotel, it’s just a short walk to the Victoria Falls viewing platform, where you can admire the grandeur of one of the world’s largest falls.

Diving with giants is another bucket-list experience for nature-lovers. Sail Rock, in the Gulf of Thailand, gives you the chance to dive with barracudas, rays, tuna, groupers, turtles and even whale sharks. Aside from drifting with these giants of the sea, you can explore the unique reef and rock formation of Sail Rock, home to a kaleidoscopic array of hard corals, anemones, nudibranchs and more.

Where to stay: from the laid-back, bohemian isle of Koh Phangan, Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villas offers direct speedboat dive trips to the waters of Koh Tao and Sail Rock. Certified divers can join a guided tour through the rock or explore crystal-clear seas in the other direction, with an expedition to Ang Thong Marine National Park. On land, there’s just as much beauty to be spellbound by: deserted white-sand beaches, calm gin-coloured bays, lush jungle-covered mountains and hidden waterfalls.

Camel trekking in the desert is a fairytale adventure that evokes ancient Arabian history and legend. Wake up at dawn for a sunrise expedition through the golden valleys of the Empty Quarter, in the footsteps of Bedouin tribes across the centuries. Learn about the native flora and fauna of the desert and unravel its secrets with the stories of a knowledgeable guide.

Where to stay: check into a palatial suite with panoramic views of the Empty Quarter, at Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara. From here, the dunes are your playground, with camel trekking, Bedouin camping experiences, Liwa cultural immersions, and adrenaline-pumping thrills like fat biking and dune bashing. Delve into local traditions like falconry and archery, then refresh with an Arabian Desert Rose Ritual or a hammam treatment at the spa.

Sailing with dolphins in the Maldives brings you the twin delights of a Maldivian cruise experience plus proximity to some of the planet’s most charismatic creatures. Head out from your Maldivian resort in a luxury yacht, to sail amongst frolicking spinner dolphins, who seem to relish the attention of visitors. Clink Champagne flutes on the way back to your resort, then watch the tides roll in from your luxury bungalow.

Where to stay: the waters surrounding Anantara Dhigu Maldives Resort in South Malé Atoll are home to a pod of playful spinner dolphins – you might even catch sight of them from your villa. When you’re not out exploring beyond the horizon or lazing in an overwater hammock, snorkel the resort’s reef for more close encounters or level up your underwater adventures with PADI accreditation on-site.