Santa Fe, New Mexico, with its adobe-style architecture, vibrant arts scene, and unique blend of Native American, Spanish, and Anglo influences, is a destination like no other. Known as "The City Different," Santa Fe stands apart with its rich history and cultural diversity. A fun fact about Santa Fe is that it is the highest state capital in the United States, sitting at an elevation of 7,199 feet.
Lapu-Lapu City occupies much of Mactan Island in Cebu Province, Philippines, and is connected to Cebu City and the mainland by bridges across the Mactan Channel. The city combines a busy urban environment with beaches, resorts, coastal communities, and a major international airport. Mactan Island is also known for its coral-rich waters and long association with fishing and maritime trade.
Periyar is a forested highland destination in Kerala’s Idukki district, centered on the Periyar Tiger Reserve and the town of Thekkady. Set within the Western Ghats, the region combines wooded hills, evergreen forests, grasslands, streams, and the large Periyar Lake. The tiger reserve covers about 925 square kilometres and supports an extensive range of wildlife. Its landscape is particularly associated with Asian elephants, Bengal tigers, gaur, sambar deer, wild dogs, and rich birdlife.
Poros, a small island in the Saronic Gulf of Greece, is known for its pine-covered hills, neoclassical architecture, and laid-back charm. Just an hour by ferry from Athens, it feels worlds away from the bustle of the capital, offering a slower pace and picturesque scenery.
Chilean Patagonia is a vast southern region extending from the fjords and forests of Aysén to the mountains, steppes, and channels of Magallanes. Rather than a single destination, it encompasses remote towns, national parks, glaciers, islands, and long stretches of sparsely settled landscape. The Carretera Austral provides one of its main overland routes, linking places such as Coyhaique, Puerto Río Tranquilo, and Villa O’Higgins through forests, rivers, mountains, and fjords.
Photo Credit: Photo by Bernd 📷 Dittrich on Unsplash
Qingdao, also Tsingtao or Ch'ing-tao, Shandong Province, eastern China. It is a major naval base, an industrial center, and a port on the Yellow Sea at the entrance to sheltered Jiaozhou Bay. The port, which rarely freezes over, serves the industrialized northern China Plain and was expanded in 1976 to include an oil terminal for large tankers on Huang Island. The leading manufactures of the city include textiles, railroad equipment, rubber goods, fertilizer, and chemicals.
Tsingtao beer, brewed here since Germany leased (1898-1914) Kiaochow territory, is marketed internationally. Shandong Oceanography College is located here.
Other Popular Destinations in China
Beijing
Beijing, the capital of China, is a city where history and modern life intersect on a grand scale. Ancient landmarks like the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Temple of Heaven reflect centuries of imperial heritage, while the Great Wall lies just outside the city, offering views of one of the most famous engineering feats in the world.
Xi'an
Xi’an, located in central China’s Shaanxi Province, served as the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and was the capital of 13 imperial dynasties. Its long history is most famously represented by the Terracotta Army, an underground army of life-sized warriors discovered in 1974. Each figure has distinct facial features, hairstyles, and armor, designed to protect Emperor Qin Shi Huang in the afterlife.