The most famous location in China was home to whole dynasties worth of imperial rulers.

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

This vertical pinnacle in China was the inspiration for the floating mountains in the movie “Avatar.”

A part of the world's largest marsh seems to be growing bright red Martian grass.

One of the last surviving ancient Buddhist sites in the region, it escaped the brunt of several Hun invasions thanks to its remote location.

Highly unusual subterranean stupa and adjacent cave monastery.

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

Originally a leper colony, the island is now an Armenian monastery that's home to an incredible manuscript library and eclectic museum.

An abandoned desert hamlet swallowed up by sand.

This abandoned fishing settlement may well be the greenest village in the world.

Shipwrecks, ruins, and turtles are all that remain on this haunting Caribbean ghost island.

An ancient capital city that dates back 3,000 years old and harbors many surprises.

The largest earthwork effigy in the world.

A mysterious monument meant to be a guide into "an Age of Reason" was destroyed after an apparent bombing.

The flower-shaped temple in Virginia aims to transcend the boundaries of the world’s religions.

The most complete statue of this Aztec god sits a top a throne carved with images of hallucinogenic plants.

The etchings on this narrow channel between two islands bear witness to maritime travelers who have passed through since the Middle Ages.

A little-known sculpture park of contemporary environmental art in a Lapland forest.

Finnish lake, and scene of an infamous murder mystery.

Rent out a glass igloo to watch the Northern Lights like you live in the future.

A saintly relic hidden in a Prague church basement.

Countless grotesque faces stare out from this eerie Prague art wall.

Walk through Czech history in Prague's largest graveyard.

The hidden lair of an alchemist rediscovered in a 2002 flood.