Uyuni, in southwestern Bolivia, is best known as the gateway to the world’s largest salt flat, Salar de Uyuni. Once a humble railway town, Uyuni has grown into a base for travelers drawn to this surreal landscape, where an ancient dried-up lake has left behind a vast expanse of glistening salt crust.

Kyle of Lochalsh, located on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands, serves as a gateway to the Isle of Skye via the Skye Bridge, but the village itself deserves more than a passing glance. Once the terminus of the Highland Railway, the town still welcomes visitors by train on one of the UK’s most scenic routes. The line from Inverness to Kyle passes through remote glens, past lochs and mountain ranges, ending just steps from the waterfront.

Located southwest of India and Sri Lanka, this small yet dense island capital is the cultural center of the Maldives.

Fort James Beach, just outside St. John’s in Antigua, is a long stretch of soft white sand framed by calm, turquoise waters. The beach takes its name from nearby Fort James, a historic 18th-century British stronghold built to guard the harbor.

Charyn Canyon National Park is a protected area in southeastern Kazakhstan, east of Almaty, centered on the dramatic Charyn Canyon carved by the Charyn River. The park covers a landscape of deep gorges, dry valleys, cliffs, and semi-desert plains at the edge of the Tian Shan. Charyn Canyon is the park's best-known feature, with layers of sedimentary rock exposed along steep walls shaped by erosion.