Ninh Binh, located about 100 kilometers south of Hanoi, offers a landscape shaped by limestone karsts, winding rivers, and flooded rice paddies. Often referred to as “Ha Long Bay on land,” the area is best explored by rowboat. At Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, boat routes pass through caves, ancient pagodas, and valleys surrounded by towering cliffs. Local rowers often use their feet to paddle, an unusual technique that surprises many first-time visitors.
Lower Zambezi National Park is a protected area in eastern Zambia, lying along the northern bank of the Zambezi River opposite Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools. The park covers a broad area of woodland, open grassland, riverine forest, lagoons, and seasonal floodplains. The Zambezi is central to the landscape, providing water for wildlife and shaping habitats along the park’s southern boundary.
Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture is a city where samurai history is tangible. Once a stronghold of the Aizu domain, it played a pivotal role in the late Edo period and the Boshin War.
Situated on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes peninsula between a mountain range and the sea is the small town of Grundarfjordur, Iceland. Though certainly now the most well-known town on the peninsula, its nearby mountain Kirkjufell ("church mountain" in Icelandic) is perhaps Iceland's most famous.
Fatu Hiva, the southernmost of the Marquesas Islands, is a destination that feels like stepping back in time to a world untouched by modernity. This remote island is known for its breathtaking landscapes, where lush, verdant mountains rise dramatically from the deep blue sea.