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Five beautiful places that Donald Trump would never visit (but you really should)

Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras - This content is subject to copyright.
Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras - This content is subject to copyright.

As far as comments from figures in high places go, to be described as a "s***hole country" is probably not the most ideal of recommendations.

Certainly, the words which reportedly spilled from Donald Trump's mouth at the end of last week during a fractious discussion about child immigration into the United States are unlikely to appear on any billboards soon, pinned to tourism campaigns for emerging destinations.

Various accounts have said that the US President directed his scorn at Haiti, Honduras, El Salvador and Africa as a whole - although he has since denied using the more inflammatory language which has swept across social media posts in the last few days.

Still, as the old adage goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity. And if you've looked at any of the places listed above and thought "hmmm, they can't be that bad", here is a selection of natural wonders to prove that even "s***holes" can have their splendours.

For point of reference, all countries mentioned here are deemed safe to visit - assuming the usual heed to common sense - by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

1. La Visite National Park, Haiti

Haiti has had its quota of problems in the last few years - not least an earthquake in 2010 which deposited it onto front pages across the planet. But it has its fair share of beauty too. Notably La Visite National Park - a protected expanse which sits at the east end of the south-westerly Tiburon Peninsula, where the country thrusts a long arm out into the Caribbean Sea. This is a place of peaks and troughs in the Massif de la Selle mountain range - some of it above 2,000 metres in elevation, some of it defined by broad strokes of pine forest and grassland. Some 44 square miles of land, the park provides a breezy contrast to the cacophony and commotion of the busy Haitian capital Port-au-Prince - yet it is also readily accessible from it, lying just 15 miles to the south.

La Visite National Park is a picturesque part of Haiti - Credit: getty
La Visite National Park is a picturesque part of Haiti Credit: getty

How to see it

The park features in the 11-day "Haiti: The Undiscovered Caribbean" group tour offered by Wild Frontiers (020 3930 4256; wildfrontierstravel.com) - from £2,995 per person (not including flights).

2. Pico Bonito National Park, Honduras

Another safeguarded space of high ridges within hiking distance of Caribbean shores, Pico Bonito National Park lurks in the north of Honduras, reaching a top elevation of 2,480 metres in the "beautiful peak" which gives it its name. Part of its purpose is to protect the rainforest that lies within its boundaries, although it is also open to active tourism. Visitors can go walking, kayaking or rafting within its 217 lush square miles. It also offers surprising levels of luxury in the form of the Lodge & Spa at Pico Bonito (picobonito.com), an eco-retreat where intrepid travellers can escape from the world.

Visitors can go walking, kayaking or rafting within its 217 lush square miles - Credit: getty
Visitors can go walking, kayaking or rafting within its 217 lush square miles Credit: getty

How to see it

Both park and lodge are included in "Signature Honduras: Jungle, Islands and Mayan Ruins" - an 11-day trip sold by Journey Latin America (020 3733 5701; journeylatinamerica.co.uk). From £2,289 per person (flights extra).

3. Ruta de las Flores, El Salvador

Hidden between Honduras and Guatemala, El Salvador is one of the smallest and least-known segments of Central America. Its remote prettiness is, however, enshrined in the "Route of the Flowers", a 25-mile driving route in the north-west of the country, near the Guatemalan border, which meanders through coffee plantations and highland towns with evocative names such as Ataco, Nahuizalco, Juayúa and Apaneca. In terms of travel, it is often coupled with El Tunco, a coastal outpost on the lip of the ocean where palm fronds whisper and surfers run into the water to tackle long Pacific waves.

Chorros de la Calera waterfalls, on the Ruta de la Flores - Credit: TRAVELPHOTOS - STOCK.ADOBE.COM
Chorros de la Calera waterfalls, on the Ruta de la Flores Credit: TRAVELPHOTOS - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

How to see it

Intrepid Travel (0808 274 5111; intrepidtravel.com/uk) offers an eight-day "Best of El Salvador" group break, aimed primarily at millennial tourists, that ebbs from San Salvador to El Tunco via the Ruta de la Flores. From £830pp, flights extra.

19 incredible places where you'll find heaven on Earth
19 incredible places where you'll find heaven on Earth

4. Mana Pools National Park, Zimbabwe

The supposed slur directed at "Africa" did not venture into specifics - although it was enough for South Africa to issue a diplomatic protest to the USA on Monday - but Zimbabwe needs little introduction as a place with a recently troubled past. Mana Pools National Park, however, probably requires a little more explanation. Set in the north of the country, where the Zambezi forges the border with Zambia, its 848 square miles of terrain are a wetland wonder - a delightfully damp destination whose waters rise and fall according to the whim of the river, leaving oxbow lakes and drinking holes where animals gather to hydrate. "Mana" means "four" in the local Shona language, and refers to the quartet of permanent pools which shape the landscape here.

Mana Pools National Park - Credit: STOCK.ADOBE.COM/DAVID.VERBOSSCHE
Mana Pools National Park Credit: STOCK.ADOBE.COM/DAVID.VERBOSSCHE

How to see it

Expert Africa (020 3405 6666; expertafrica.com) sells an 11-day "Nyala Safari" which spends four nights at the luxury Ruckomechi Camp in Mana Pools National Park. From £6,934 per person, including flights from the UK.

5. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

Over in east Africa, Uganda is slowly developing as a tourist destination, and has a natural gem in the form of this gloriously named swathe of forest. The perceived warning in its title - that the park cannot be accessed - does not bear fruit in real life. The unusual moniker comes from its bamboo trunks, densely packed in amid the dominant hard-wood treescape, giving a visual impression of impenetrability. Yet in fact, visitors can venture inside for encounters with the rare mountain gorillas within.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park - Credit: Alamy
Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Credit: Alamy

How to see it

Cox & Kings (020 3504 4345; coxandkings.co.uk) sells an 11-day "Uganda Wildlife Odyssey" which features time in the park. From £2,890 per person, including international flights and gorilla-trekking permits.