Copacabana is a lakeside town in western Bolivia, situated on the shores of Lake Titicaca near the Peruvian border. Its setting between the lake and the surrounding hills gives it a distinctive highland landscape, with views extending across the deep blue waters toward the distant mountains. Copacabana is one of Bolivia’s main gateways to Lake Titicaca and serves as a starting point for boat trips to Isla del Sol and nearby islands.
Oia is a historic village on the northern tip of Santorini, built along the steep rim of the island’s volcanic caldera. Its whitewashed houses, cave dwellings, blue-domed churches, and narrow pedestrian lanes follow the contours of the cliffs above the Aegean Sea. The village developed a strong maritime identity through its captains’ houses and seafaring families, many of which are preserved among its traditional buildings.
Itea is famous for its honey and olives. That said, it is the perfect little town to stay in as a starting point for day trips to such places as Delphi, one of the most popular and interesting archaeological sites in the world, and Amphissa, the capital of prefecture. Itea is also host to many festivals in the winter and summer months.
The 300 square mile Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve is reached by taking the Georgeville turnoff at mile 65 of the Western Highway. After going through miles of tropical jungle you will be in a forest of tall pines growing amongst wildflowers and grasses. The area has whitewater rivers, waterfalls and cave systems.
Tjoritja / West MacDonnell National Park lies west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, extending for about 161 kilometres along the rugged West MacDonnell Ranges. The park is known for red quartzite ridges, steep-sided gorges, dry riverbeds, and permanent waterholes that provide important refuges for plants and animals. Its landscapes are part of a much older geological setting shaped by erosion and changing climates.
Zion National Park, located in southwestern Utah, is known for its massive sandstone cliffs, narrow slot canyons, and unique desert ecosystems. Established in 1919, it was Utah’s first national park and continues to attract visitors with its dramatic elevation shifts and striking rock formations. The park’s most iconic feature, Zion Canyon, stretches for 15 miles and reaches depths of up to 2,640 feet, carved over time by the Virgin River.
Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon, tucked into the high plateaus of southern Utah, offers one of the most unusual landscapes in the American Southwest. It’s not actually a canyon but a series of natural amphitheaters carved into the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. What makes Bryce unique is its dense collection of hoodoos which are tall, thin spires of rock formed over millions of years by frost-wedging and erosion.