This ancient Hindu temple is covered in thousands of colorful statues and has a long mythological history.

This abandoned fort is said to be the most haunted place in India, so much so that entry is prohibited after sunset.

A complex of six forts embedded in the Rajasthan hills.

This peaceful Sikh gurudwara serves around 50,000 free meals every day within its gilded walls.

This magnificent stepwell is designed as an inverted temple and adorned with 1,500 sculptures.

The remains of what was, not so long ago, the world's largest city.

The second-longest continuous wall on the planet protects a hidden secret in the deserts of India.

This otherworldly palace-mausoleum complex is the stuff eternal dreams are made of.

A mecca for India's Jains.

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.

More than half of this Indian palace is drowned but it looks all the more spectacular for it.

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

Thousands of exquisitely carved stone water storage wells, hundreds of stone steps fill this exquisite medieval stepwell.

One of the biggest Buddhist stupas in Europe, hidden from most locals.

The only natural cave bath in all of Europe.

Ruins of a 13th-century fortress perched above a breathtaking Mediterranean bay.

This 13th-century monastery chiseled into the side of a mountain is equipped with a bridge that can be lifted to protect against raids.

The hermits of Karoulia protect their asocial lifestyles by living on the vertical face of a treacherous precipice.

The ruins of this monumental city founded by the first Roman Emperor are strangely overlooked by most travelers.

The ruins of an abandoned medieval city where the last Byzantine emperor was crowned.

Perched on a spindly rock spire in a Greek archipelago, this lighthouse would make a perfect wizard's tower.

Hidden in a secluded Greek cove is a pristine beach marred only by the rusting smuggler's hulk stranded on its shores.

A spectacular cave and a beguiling lake.

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.