Adrenaline junkies get ready. If you’re hooked on feeling that flutter in your stomach, you won’t want to miss the big thrills awaiting you at these top adventure destinations. Mountain biking, white water rafting, skiing, trekking and mountain climbing all abound in these extreme environments.

Explore caves and encounter elephants as you hike and bamboo-raft through the mountains surrounding Chiang Mai. Get down and dirty with Cape Town’s raucous rugby lovers. Pass Indiana-Jones-esque waterfalls as you ascend the 1,444 meters of Yosemite’s Half Dome. Mountain bike through the time-carved terrain of Canyonlands National Park, and scale up the Rockies at Boulder’s The Flatirons, a mountain-climbing mecca. Dodge grizzly bears as you ski the Canadian Rockies, and lava spurts as you hike up the Big Island’s volcanoes. Hike the fabled Appalachian Trail in Asheville, or take one of the world’s greatest treks in Cusco.

And it’s not just outdoor thrills that beckon. Witness cultures intermingling in Cape Town, and live that mountain lifestyle in Asheville. Glimpse into history in Chiang Mai and Cusco. Get after-hours kicks in the casinos of Lake Tahoe. From white-water rafting to high-altitude hiking, these pulse-racing destinations are certain to supply the adrenaline fix you crave.