Remote, windswept, and bursting with wildlife, South Georgia is a sub-Antarctic island that surprises nearly everyone who steps ashore. Though uninhabited by civilians, the island hosts a small British research station and welcomes visitors via expedition cruises. What draws people here is not luxury or convenience, but the scale of its wildness.

Tucked between Jordan's sandstone cliffs in the southwestern desert, Petra was carved directly into rose-colored rock more than 2,000 years ago. Visitors approaching through the narrow gorge known as the Siq are rewarded with their first glimpse of Al-Khazneh, the Treasury, a towering facade that seems to appear from another world.

Oslo, Norway’s capital, stands at the crossroads of Nordic history and forward-thinking design. Originally founded over a thousand years ago by Viking King Harald Hardrada, the city has evolved from a medieval trading hub into one of Europe’s most modern capitals. Visitors can explore its layered past at the Akershus Fortress, a 13th-century stronghold still standing guard over Oslofjord, or walk through the preserved wooden homes of Damstredet.

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.

Stretching over 4,200 kilometers along the southwestern coast of South America, Chile is a country of dramatic contrasts and hidden surprises. From the world’s driest desert in the north to the icy fjords of Patagonia in the south, Chile offers a landscape that constantly reinvents itself. Visitors can walk through the Atacama Desert, where NASA tests Mars rovers, or gaze at the clearest night skies on Earth from the high-altitude observatories near San Pedro de Atacama.