Photography

Stone closes, castles, and mist over the hills. Edinburgh in the rain feels moody and atmospheric, perfect for cafés, pubs, and bookshops.

Coast, forest, and small towns. The Garden Route is drive-and-stop beauty.

Khor Al Adaid, Qatar — a rare inland sea where towering desert dunes meet the Persian Gulf directly, with no coastline in between, a UNESCO-recognized natural phenomenon found in only a few places on Earth.

White travertine terraces and a Roman spa town. Pamukkale is geology and ruins in one place.

Cobblestone streets and stone houses on a bluff above the St. Lawrence. Québec City feels like a slice of Europe in North America.

Canyon-edge trail dubbed the Grand Canyon of Oman, with villages clinging to rock.

Layered blue ridges, misty mornings, and dense forests. The Smokies are all about rolling mountains and quiet valleys.

Huge reserve with self-drive safaris and Big Five. Kruger is a classic African wildlife trip.

A deep fjord cutting into Quebec’s north shore. Saguenay is cliffs, whales, and quiet villages.

Milford Sound, New Zealand — fiord of sheer cliffs and waterfalls in Fiordland, reached by road or flight.

Glacier National Park, USA — going-to-the-Sun Road and alpine lakes in Montana.

Desert town and otherworldly landscapes. San Pedro is geysers, salt flats, and stars.

Skardu, Pakistan — gateway to the Karakoram's giant peaks, and launchpad for the Deosai Plains, a vast alpine plateau nicknamed the "Land of Giants" for its scale and wildflower summers.

Smoke that thunders from the Zambian side, with microlight flights and devil's pool.

Dragon’s blood trees and otherworldly landscapes. Socotra is an island like no other.

San Marino Mount Titano, San Marino — oldest republic on a limestone peak with three towers.

Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria — the medieval capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, its houses stacked up a river gorge below the ruined Tsarevets Fortress.

Steep valley of waterfalls and alpine meadows under big cliffs.

Lake Sevan, Armenia — one of the world's largest high-altitude lakes, its cold blue water ringed by mountains and watched over by two ancient monastery churches on a former island.

Pokhara Lakeside, Nepal — gateway to the Annapurnas with a lake, paragliding, and mountain views.

Shipwreck Beach, turtles, and green hills. Zakynthos is Ionian sun and dramatic coves.

High altitude lagoons with flamingos and volcano backdrops. This is the quiet, thin-air side of the Atacama.

Cataracts in the jungle. Iguazú is raw power and rainbows.

Mountains, villas, and water. The Lecco arm of Como is slightly quieter but just as stunning.