Experience the chorus of camel snorts and people at Pushkar camel fair in India. Photo / Lonely Planet Expand

Experience the chorus of camel snorts and people at Pushkar camel fair in India. Photo / Lonely Planet

Treat yourself to a day in the shade, as Lonely Planet says 2010 is going to be a stellar year. Here are some suggestions for the 10 best things to do and places to be.

1. The total eclipse from Easter Island

Sunday July 11 next year will see a total eclipse of the sun, visible from a corridor that traverses the southern Pacific Ocean.

About halfway through, the path will cross over one of the world's most extraordinary and isolated places, Easter Island, punctuated by its huge, ancient statues. This is going to be the best possible place to observe the eclipse, with the darkened sun lingering above the northwestern horizon.

It's hard to beat the incredible cocktail of a shadowed sun, a Polynesian island, and 887 giant monumental statues (moai).

Only two flights per week serve this tiny outpost, 4 hours from Santiago de Chile - lan.com, return from US$2100.

2. The Peking to Paris motor race

The 2010 Peking to Paris Motor Challenge is a wacky races-style epic adventure, featuring classic cars rattling across the Old Silk Route. It starts in Peking (Beijing) on September 11, passes the Great Wall of China, then crosses Mongolia and the Gobi Desert, all the'stans, Iran, Turkey, Greece and Italy, before finishing in Paris. Most participants drive vintage cars, many of which are pre-1922. The first race took place in 1907, the second in 1997 - this will be the fourth extravaganza. Suspension and sockets permitting, they should cover the distance (14,119km) in around five weeks.

Budding adventurers with deep pockets should contact pekingparis.com for entry information.

3. The Fifa World Cup, South Africa

In 2010, the Fifa World Cup is coming to Africa. South Africa's premier soccer venue is the FNB Stadium (Soccer City), in Johannesburg, which has been enlarged to 94,700 seating capacity for 2010. Rumours have run rife that Fifa had a "plan B" for the World Cup, in case South Africa seemed ill-prepared. Nevertheless, it seems to be going full steam ahead, so let's hear it for plan A! Check the website (fifa.com) now or face being left with the dregs.

4. The Burning Man festival, Nevada, US

The Burning Man, in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, is a city that lasts a week. The site is vast and flat, edged by bony hills - the perfect place for "did I really see that?" mirages. There are no spectators, everyone is there to participate. It's not about commerce either, the only things for sale are coffee and ice. For seven magical days in summer, strange, fantastical shapes dot the desert. It's all evidence of what happens if you let your imagination run wild in the hot sun. On Saturday night, the man (a big wicker one) is burnt.