THRILLGROUNDS
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Pick yourground

Some places exist for one reason: to make your pulse climb.

A ground is a place you travel to so you can dare something. For each one we show every thrill on offer – sorted by how much air is beneath you, with real prices, sourced numbers and an honest rating of how hard your heart will pound. Set what you're up for.

1 · the view3 · sweaty palms5 · heart in your throat
The Kanin massif above the Bovec basin in the Julian AlpsGround 01 · Slovenia

1,257m

Soča Valley & Bled

1,257 Paragliding → 200 Učja zipline → 131 Straža toboggan → 12 Sušec canyoning → 0 Soča rafting

day from €326Arenal Volcano rising above the rainforest near La Fortuna, Costa RicaGround 02 · Arenal · Monteverde · Pacuare

656ft

Costa Rica

656 Zipline → 469 Monteverde bungee → 200 Lost Canyon rappel → 148 Místico hanging bridges → 0 Whitewater rafting

day from $372View straight down to the coast from the Cabo Girão viewpoint, MadeiraGround 03 · Portugal

580m

Madeira

580 Cabo Girão skywalk → 320 Ribeira da Janela zipline → 250 Giant swing → 22 Canyoning → 0 Coasteering

day from €258.92Dozens of paragliders soaring above the sea cliffs at Timbis on Bali's Bukit PeninsulaGround 04 · Bukit cliffs · Ubud · Gitgit

225ft

Bali

225 Cliff paragliding → 82 Jungle swing → 66 Canyoning → 49 Aling-Aling cliff jump → 0 Ayung rafting

day from $209.38Ridges of the Great Smoky Mountains in autumn colour seen from Newfound GapGround 05 · Gatlinburg · Pigeon Forge · Sevierville

475ft

Smoky Mountains

475 Goliath zipline → 400 Mountain coaster → 140 Gatlinburg SkyBridge → 60 Treetop Skywalk → 0 Whitewater rafting

day from $260.23Miami Beach, Indian Creek and the Atlantic surf seen from an aircraft at altitudeGround 06 · Biscayne Bay · Everglades · Key West

10,000ft

Miami, Keys & Everglades

10,000 Tandem skydive → 400 Parasailing → 30 Flyboard → 0 Everglades airboat

day from $197.80Turquoise reef and shoreline of an island off eastern Puerto Rico photographed from an aircraftGround 07 · Arecibo · Orocovis · San Juan · Vieques

10,000ft

Puerto Rico

10,000 Tandem skydive → 1,247 Toro Verde ziplines → 90 Sky Bull, San Juan → 0 Bio bay kayak

day from $485.89The Teton Range rising above the flats of Jackson Hole under summer cloudGround 08 · Teton Village · Snake River · Yellowstone

4,139ft

Jackson Hole & Yellowstone

4,139 Tandem paraglide → 1,500 Sunrise balloon → 400 Via ferrata → 0 Snake River whitewater

day from $955The gooseneck of the Colorado River seen from the rim at Dead Horse Point near MoabGround 09 · Arches · Canyonlands · Colorado River

13,000ft

Moab & Southern Utah

13,000 Tandem skydive → 400 Cliff rope swing → 100 Morning Glory rappel → 0 Colorado River rafting

day from $397Looking up out of a cave mouth into sunlit jungle in BelizeGround 10 · Cayo · Caves Branch · Stann Creek

300ft

Belize

300 Black Hole Drop → 250 Antelope Falls rappel → 130 El Castillo → 0 Cave tubing

day from $311.25Reynisfjall rising over the black sand of Reynisfjara with the Reynisdrangar sea stacks offshoreGround 11 · Vík · Bláfjöll · Þingvellir

340m

Iceland

340 Tandem paraglide → 120 Inside the volcano → 15 Mega Zipline → 0 Silfra snorkelling

day from €892Palm Jumeirah and the Dubai coastline photographed from the airGround 12 · Palm Jumeirah · Downtown · the red dunes

4,000m

Dubai & the Emirates

4,000 Skydive the Palm → 452 Burj Khalifa → 219 Edge Walk → 0 Desert safari

day from €765.06A hot-air balloon of Ciel d'Afrique in flight over the plains near MarrakechGround 13 · Marrakech · Agafay · High Atlas

1,000m

Morocco

1,000 Sunrise balloon → 800 Aguergour paraglide → 110 Ouzoud Falls → 0 Agafay quads

day from €127.93Lake Taupō and the Waikato river seen from the airGround 14 · Auckland · Taupō · Rotorua · Waitomo

4,572m

Rotorua, Taupō & the North Island

4,572 Skydive Taupō → 192 Sky Tower jump → 47 Taupō bungy → 7 Tutea Falls → 0 Black water rafting

day from $642.72The limestone cliffs of the West End at Negril with the crowd at Rick's Café watching a jumperGround 15 · Ocho Rios · Negril · Blue Mountains

7,402ft

Jamaica

7,402 Blue Mountain Peak → 700 Mystic Mountain bobsled → 180 Dunn's River Falls → 40 YS Falls canopy ride → 35 Rick's Café cliffs → 0 Bamboo rafting

day from $1,077.35Looking down on the granite dome of the Stawamus Chief from the Sea to Sky Gondola, with Squamish and Howe Sound behindGround 16 · Vancouver · Squamish · Whistler

2,904ft

Whistler & the Sea to Sky

2,904 Summit via ferrata → 2,303 The Chief → 1,430 Peak 2 Peak → 600 Sasquatch zipline → 230 Capilano bridge → 160 Whistler Bungee → 0 Elaho rafting

day from $694.82The town of Banff in the Bow River valley seen from the summit of Sulphur MountainGround 17 · Banff · Lake Louise · Icefields Parkway · Golden

7,402ft

Banff & the Rockies

7,402 Sanson's Peak → 1,181 Norquay via ferrata → 918 Icefield Skywalk → 426 Golden Skybridge → 0 Kicking Horse rafting

day from $453.34Oblique aerial view of Victoria Falls dropping into the Batoka Gorge with the Zambezi winding away beyondGround 18 · Zimbabwe · Zambia · the Batoka Gorge

111m

Victoria Falls

111 Bridge bungee → 110 Gorge abseil → 108 Devil's Pool → 0 Zambezi rafting

day from $609.63A red rotating cable car of the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway climbing above Cape Town with Lion's Head and the Atlantic behindGround 19 · South Africa · Western Cape · the Peninsula and Gansbaai

3,050m

Cape Town

3,050 West Coast skydive → 1,067 Table Mountain → 350 Signal Hill paragliding → 112 Table Mountain abseil → 14 Suicide Gorge → 0 Shark cage

day from $615.34A Loen Skylift cabin hanging from the cable high above the Nordfjord, the fjord and green valley floor far belowGround 20 · Norway · Vestland · Bergen, Voss, Flåm and Loen

4,000m

Fjord Norway

4,000 Skydive Voss → 1,011 Via Ferrata Loen → 820 Voss Gondol → 811 Flåm Zipline → 643 Ulriken, Bergen → 0 Nærøyfjord

day from €339.85A Skyline gondola cabin rising above Queenstown with Lake Wakatipu, the peninsula and the Remarkables behindGround 21 · New Zealand · Otago · Queenstown and Wānaka

4,572m

Queenstown

4,572 15,000-ft skydive → 1,250 Coronet Peak paragliding → 450 Bob's Peak luge → 134 Nevis Bungy → 109 Shotover Canyon Swing → 43 Kawarau Bridge Bungy → 0 Shotover Jet

day from $855.57Tandem paragliders descending over the rooftops of Interlaken with the Bernese Alps behindGround 22 · Switzerland · Bernese Oberland · Interlaken, Grindelwald, Lauterbrunnen

4,000m

Interlaken

4,000 13,000-ft skydive → 2,166 First Flyer → 1,638 Mürren via ferrata → 1,350 Beatenberg paragliding → 134 Stockhorn bungy → 90 Canyon Swing Grindelwald → 0 Lake Brienz

day from €1,247.12

Or compare by activity

The same sourced numbers, sorted across all grounds: the highest bungy jumps, the longest ziplines, the biggest swings, the hardest water.

Next grounds in the making