Banff on National Geographic Traveler's top 21 destinations list for 2017

Banff National Park is one of the world's 21-must see places for 2017, according to National Geographic Traveler magazine.

"With its rugged peaks, meadowed valleys, and turquoise-blue lakes, Banff offers everything from mountain hikes and horseback excursions to hot spring soaks and luxury accommodations," this month's issue says.

Canada's first "and arguably best" national park is "an ideal destination for the 2017 celebration of our northern neighbor's 150th anniversary of nationhood."

• Plan ready for Banff traffic spike with free admission in 2017, Parks Canada says

The destinations were all chosen by the magazine's editors and fall into one of three categories: cities, nature and culture. 

Banff park is the only Canadian entry on the list, which also advises readers to visit Mexico's Baja California peninsula, the cloud forests of Ecuador and the Via Dinarica trail in the Western Balkan states.

In a feature-length article that accompanies the list, travel writer Norie Quintos chronicles her visit, which included a two-day horse-back excursion through the dense backcountry of Lake Louise.

"Everywhere I turn I see Instagrammable moments, as the piney woods, glacier-fed lakes, snow-covered passes, and pointed peaks assemble themselves in permutations of perfect," she writes.