Horse riding in Uruguay

Uruguay is "the perfect horse riding destination" – sparsely populated, ravishingly beautiful and largely as flat as a pancake, says Kate Kellaway in the Observer. Guided by "amiable" gauchos, you can ride for hours along its wide, deserted Atlantic beaches, saluted by whales and passing occasional crowds of basking sea lions. Inland, the country is luscious but "sinister", scattered with palm trees and shot through with rivers "like threads of mercury"; vultures often hover overhead, and armadillos bustle by the wayside. Nights can be spent in "comfortable" working farmhouses (estancias), where visitors participate in herding cattle – daunting, perhaps, but immense fun for the novice.
Ride World Wide (01837 82544) offers an eight-night Atlantic Coast Ride for $2,400 excluding flights. ·