Ninety minutes' flight south of Hong Kong, the island's forest-covered mountains descend gently to palm-fringed beaches bordering a blue South China Sea.

Europe's southernmost fjord is dotted with a succession of sleepy, picture-perfect villages cradled by forest-covered mountains, none more idyllic than Perast.

It overlooks the forest-covered mountains and the delta at the mouth of the Nyang River.

The headlights, at each turn, lit either the wall of a forest-covered mountain or the frightening gap of a precipice.

Planted among forest-covered mountains, Rio de Janeiro is a magnificent introduction to Brazil, with a great music scene, alluring beaches and heady festivals.

Two-thirds of the island is dominated by forest-covered mountains, hills and natural vegetation.

There is some tourism potential, with archaeological remains of the colonial era and scenic forest-covered mountains.

"I cannot believe that in terms of grandeur and majesty there can be found anything in the world to rival Dominica's succession of forest-covered mountains," Alec Waugh wrote in 1948.

For some out-of-staters this bucolic region of undulating, forest-covered mountains and picturesque farmland is still synonymous with Borscht-belt family resorts.

Uturoa is situated between the small pass of Tahaa and the forest-covered mountains of Raiatea.