NEW YORK -- The Rough Guides travel book series is celebrating its 25th birthday this year with the publication of 25 pocket-sized books that feature "25 ultimate experiences."

Some of the books are focused on destinations: Africa, Australia, Britain & Ireland, Canada, China, Eastern Europe, Europe, France, India, Italy, Mexico and Central America, Middle East, New Zealand, South America, Southeast Asia, Spain and the United States. Others are themed on topics like "Adventure Travel," "Ethical Travel," "Islands," "Wonders of the World," "World Food," "Places to Stay," "Journeys," and "Wildlife Adventures."

The books recommend unique and classic travel experiences around the world, from riding an elephant in Thailand to cruising the Panama Canal, seeing the Northern Lights in Alaska and walking around Uluru in Australia's Outback.

The China guide includes suggestions for getting lost in the Forbidden City, losing your shirt in the casinos of Macau, walking to the summit of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, visiting the terracotta warriors in Xi'an, seeing pandas in Sichuan, and strolling the Shanghai Bund.

Rough Guides has published more than 300 guide books, maps and phrase books since its publishers, Mark Ellingham and Martin Dunham, met in Greece in 1982, when Ellingham was researching the first "Rough Guide to Greece." That book featured hand-drawn maps and was put together on a portable typewriter. It is now in its 11th edition. The company's bestselling guide is to Italy, with guides to India, Guatemala and New York also among its top titles.

The "25 ultimate" books are being published in a limited-edition print run and cost $5.99 each. Visit http://www.roughguides.com for details. The Web site also features content on hundreds of destinations, along with message boards where readers can ask and answer questions and share their experiences.