SINGAPORE, 9 November 2026: Winter is almost upon Asia, and with it the part of the calendar travellers look forward to \u2014 frozen lakes, steaming open-air baths, and towns that come fully alive once the snow settles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Winter trips are shifting away from the big-name resorts, where lift queues and lodging have both grown steeper, toward smaller places where the snow still feels like it belongs to the locals first. Digital travel platform Agoda spotlights five spots across Asia where travellers can take in the season\u2019s sights, from fire festivals to frozen lakes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zao Onsen, Japan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Up in Yamagata, freezing wind and snow coat the conifers until they stand like hooded figures across the slopes \u2014 the juhyo (snow monsters). On winter evenings they\u2019re lit from below, turning an ordinary ski field into something closer to a dream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Taebaek, South Korea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Away from the Olympic crowds of Gangwon\u2019s better-known towns, Taebaek hosts a late-January snow festival built around hand-carved snow and ice sculptures, sledging hills, and mountain trails that lead to some of Korea\u2019s most reliable early-season powder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gulmarg, India<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n High in Kashmir, Gulmarg rides one of the world\u2019s loftiest cable cars up into wide, lightly tracked bowls. Mornings bring tea sellers and the smell of woodsmoke; afternoons bring long, quiet descents that few travellers outside the subcontinent have discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kanas, China<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Tucked into the far north of Xinjiang near the Altai Mountains, Kanas turns almost silent in winter: a long glacial lake freezes over, snow piles onto the roofs of the old Tuvan villages, and smoke curls from log cabins where families still see out the season in the traditional way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sapa, Vietnam<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sapa is proof that snow in Southeast Asia isn\u2019t a myth. When cold air drops over the Ho\u00e0ng Li\u00ean Son mountains, frost and the occasional dusting settle over the rice terraces, and the hill-tribe markets carry on trading in the mist, blankets and all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWinter in Asia has so much to offer travellers willing to look a little further afield,\u201d said Agoda Regional Director, North Asia Jay Lee. \u201cFrom a snowy mountain village to a warming soak in an outdoor onsen, these destinations offer different ways to enjoy the season and experience local life. With Agoda\u2019s wide range of stays, travellers can find a base that suits their budget and make a winter escape their own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Agoda)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SINGAPORE, 9 November 2026: Winter is almost upon Asia, and with it the part of the calendar travellers look forward to \u2014 frozen lakes, steaming open-air baths, and towns that come fully alive once the snow settles.\u00a0 Winter trips are shifting away from the big-name resorts, where lift queues and lodging have both grown steeper, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":276029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4257,4170],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-276027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-asia-pacific","category-destinations"],"yoast_head":"\n