A giant bronze monument to Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il is one of the most sacred sites in North Korea.

A plaque marks the site directly below the mid-air detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima.

Clap your hands at the base of the pyramid, and the song of a sacred Mayan bird will echo through the air.

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

The capital of the Cayman Islands is a center of offshore banking, but gets battered by blistering hurricanes.

Fenced off in a garden cemetery in Honduras lies the grave of the most notorious American filibuster.

This historic square in Nepal is home to temples dating back to the third century.

Towering at a height of over 30 meters, this turn-of-the-18th-century landmark is the tallest temple in Nepal.

The highest monastery in the world operates a tiny guesthouse with doors open to all.

It might not be as impossible to reach as its name would imply, but just about.

The world's most remote permanent settlement on an active volcano.

Final resting place of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton.

This mysterious but iconic tapered tower appears in many Azeri fairytales and legends.

Dozens of snakes are housed and worshipped within the walls of this Vodun temple.

This communist behemoth is the heaviest building in the world and a legacy of a brutal regime.

A small part of Russia that does not touch any other part of Russia.

One of Western Africa's oldest mosques, this Timbuktu icon has stood for nearly 700 years.

Mysterious Incan ruins on a tiny island in Lake Titicaca.

Every equinox this Maya pyramid puts on a spooky ancient light show.

Sacred Buddhist home of some spiritual monkeys.

Mortarless walls that stretch for miles are a lovely solution for creating grazing land in the harsh terrain of the Aran Islands.

This small 16th-century church in Athens is almost entirely surrounded by a modern building.

Ancient barriers wrap around what was once an important stop along the Silk Road.

An Irish town has built a statue to a silent film actor simply thanks to the holidays he once spent there.