Looking for a challenging way to start off your quest to get to the end of the game? Try to Escape the Flaming Forest. 

The map itself: You spawn in the middle of an island in a plains biome, surrounded by a leafy forest that is blocking out most of the sunlight. Off in the distance you see high, rugged mountains and a few lava lakes. By nighttime, the lava lakes will have caused a massive forest fire, making the map a challenge on both your mental speed and your computer speed. 

The goal: Escape the island! It's quite a challenge if you're not the quickest person. I was able to do it my first life, boat and everything. 

Notes: The terrain in the map was created using MCEdit. The trees and lava lakes were placed using WorldEdit. 
Also, there's most likely a Water Temple on the map, as I saw a very strange chunk made of water after previewing the map. 
I recommend planning the escape using creative mode. It's really hard to get out without catching on fire or getting shot by a skeleton! 
I also recommend playing on Easy or above, as the map really loses something without a skeleton shooting at you while you're trying to make a boat. 

Installation Instructions: Extract the folder from the .zip provided, place in .minecraft\saves like any other map. If you're new to custom maps, click here for additional instructions.