A tunnel dug through the side of a mountain by hand provides convenient yet death-defying access to a small village in China.

This complex of vertically-excavated Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu monolithic temples in India's Maharashtra providence illustrates a spirit of tolerance characteristic of ancient India.

Highly unusual subterranean stupa and adjacent cave monastery.

Splashes of blue in an otherwise monotonous lunar landscape.

Once an impressive link to Afghanistan’s Buddhist past, now a sad reminder of intolerance towards other cultures.

Rock-cut chamber at top of an outcroup, reached by a mountain stairway of forty steps.

Crystal clear lake with a shoreline of travertine located in a Colorado canyon.

Extremely isolated Silk Road caravanserai in the middle of nowhere.

A newspaper editor turned this abandoned island into a tortoise nature preserve that's now the world's smallest national park.

Each year melting snow turns these Austrian hiking trails into scuba zones.

An exquisite tunnel of cascading flowers.

Submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake.

This historical theme park celebrates all things noodle.

A fifth-century temple improbably built into the side of a cliff.

An Escher-inspired library dedicated to the wonders of the human mind, yet closed to the public.

This floating cinema brings new meaning to the phrase "going out" to the movies.

The 953 windows undoubtedly make this the world's most beautiful screened porch.

The real life Hobbiton, this sheep farm has been forever transformed since being built for The Hobbit film series.