Who would have thought, back in the tumultuous coup and counter coup days of the 1970s, that Burkina Faso would become the cultural darling of West Africa? Unlikely as it seems, Burkina Faso has become the Utah of West Africa, hosting a biennial film festival that rivals the Sundance Film Festival for cultural clout. When it's not hosting film festivals, it's busy organizing its other biennial cultural festival.

Darjeeling sits along a ridge in the eastern Himalaya, shaped by colonial history and long-standing ties to the surrounding hills.

Mbabane, the capital of Eswatini, sits high in the Mdzimba Mountains, offering visitors fresh air, rolling green hills, and a relaxed pace of life.

Wick’s location at the mouth of the River Wick provides a dramatic coastal setting, with cliffs, sandy beaches, and the North Sea stretching into the horizon.

Hidden in the northern region of Costa Rica, the Celeste River (Río Celeste) winds through Tenorio Volcano National Park with a color so vivid it seems unreal. The river’s striking turquoise hue is caused by a natural chemical reaction between two mineral-rich streams, Quebrada Agria and Río Buena Vista, which merge at a point known as "El Teñidero." This one-of-a-kind phenomenon creates the illusion that the water has been dyed blue, even though no pigments are present.