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CONTENTSIn which we encounter disappearing islands, boats hewn from pumpkins

and a one-eyed troll lurking beneath a bridge

In which we encounter mysterious moving rocks, a cave of giant crystals and a museum at the

bottom of sea

In which we encounter an island teeming with snakes, a shimmering pink lake and the world's biggest

mud-brick structure

In which we encounter a grove of singing trees, a town being subsumed

by the desert, and a hill of 100,000 crosses

In which we encounter rats worshipped as gods, a golf course laid on an airport runway and a

secret gnome hideout

In which we encounter coffins clinging to a cliffside, a cow up a tree, and a cave illuminated by

glowworms

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INTR

OIf you think you know about the world’s most amazing sights, it’s time to look again. This book celebrates under-the-radar places, from the

mysterious and the mesmerising to the downright bizarre. In these pages are rainbow eucalyptus trees, a stomach-churning cocktail, ghost towns, a bridge made of trees, an underwater museum, a town called Hell and a band of Caribbean swimming pigs.

Some of these marvels are entirely man-made – Nebraska’s eye-popping replica of Stonehenge made entirely from vintage cars (page 47), for example, or Indonesia’s so-called ‘Chicken Church’ (page 249) – while others are a curious accident of human endeavour, such as Ohio’s eerie abandoned ghost ship (page 55). Some needed no intervention from us whatsoever – take the Mexican cave filled with gargantuan, glistening crystals (page 49) or the disappearing island of Fonuafo’ou (page 9), which prove that this planet produces astounding phenomena without a hint of fanfare, while most of us are busy elsewhere, snapping selfies in front of their better-known cousins.

Because these marvels don’t pay much attention to country borders, nor have we: the places in this book are arranged not by continent or country, but loosely by their line of longitude. It’s a hat-tip to the way our planet resists attempts to impose order upon it, with the most surprising and wonderful of results.

In a time when technology has given us a better understanding than ever before of the hows and whys of life, these places show us we don’t know the half of it. As the human race strives above all towards profitability and efficiency, there is a delight to be found in those marvels made by human hands not to chase success or increase the bottom line, but for the simple joy of it. It’s a life lesson we could all learn from: taking time out from hectic schedules to appreciate the mysteries and wonders our planet has to offer.

But first, of course, we need to know where to look for them. Fortunately, wherever you are in the world, there will be a sight to enthrall you nearby. These pages are filled with a few hundred ideas of where to start. Happy marvelling!

Move over, Grand Canyon. Au revoir, Eiffel Tower.

See you, Sydney Opera House. Angkor what?

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‘Along gravelled walkways, irregular steps and cinder-strewn paths, this stumble in the dark enlightens you to famous and infamous interments’

The Cemetery is 2.5km north of Metro North’s Tarrytown Station on the Hudson Line. The walk from there takes 30 minutes. Tours take place in November (www.sleepyhollowcemetery.org).

Archbold’s resting place is neo-modern – he covered all bets with a dash of Celtic, Russian, Greek and even Persian (peacock) iconography which vie for the attention of varied gods, ensuring a measure of sanctity, somewhere. Just up the road, the ‘queen of mean’, hotelier Leona Helmsley, interred with husband Harry, snarls behind stained glass – but without the dog to whom she bequeathed $12 million.

Pop icons of the past perambulate – the Ramones were briefly buried on a rolling hilltop here while recording a video for the film adaptation of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary (the band are truly dead today); vampire Barnabas Collins of television’s Dark Shadows conspired in a crypt which in real life served as a holding vault for stiffs when New York winters froze the ground solid (Mrs William Rockefeller waited two years here while the family’s condo-crypt was being built.)

Wild creatures stalk the 90 acres of nooks and crannies:

The rolling hills between the Hudson and Pocantico Rivers hum with history and hobgoblins. Lantern in hand, heart in mouth, you may confront these spirits of New York and New Amsterdam past on a walking tour of Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, terminating on the site where fictional Ichabod Crane met his demise at the hands of the legendary Headless Horseman.

Along gravelled walkways, irregular stone steps and cinder-strewn paths, this stumble in the dark (the 10pm to midnight Lantern Walk) enlightens you to some famous and infamous interments: the Rockefeller family’s two-storey, Vermont-granite, Greek-themed mausoleum stands in stark contrast to Scottish steel magnate Andrew Carnegie’s austere Celtic cross. Carnegie’s philanthropic legacy is repaid with flowers, coins and notes left on his headstone; the Rockefellers’ site remains bare.

Rockefeller’s Standard Oil rival-cum-partner John Dustin

coyotes and foxes scamper in the shadows of this hardly disturbed wilderness, and screech owls linger in overhanging Linden branches. Twisted elms and tulip trees reach out for the unsuspecting hiker.

The tour concludes where the new Sleepy Hollow Cemetery – founded by Washington Irving himself – is separated from the old Dutch Burying Ground by a ribbon of horse-carriage path. Irving, a veteran of the War of 1812, gets a place of honour adorned with an American flag. Don’t tarry in Tarrytown, however, because just beyond a copse of pines, in the graveyard of the Dutch Reformed Church, lies a certain decapitated Hessian mercenary, still prepared to ride out into the moonlit night. By Brian Kluepfel

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‘From the air, the sweeping landscape gives the appearance of rolling bed sheets pitching across the world’s most picturesque bed’

Cisne Branco runs buses from Saõ Luís to Barreirinhas, the gateway to the park (www.cisnebrancoturismo.com.br).

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Parque Nacional dos Lençóis MaranhensesAt first glance, it seems a mirage. A translucent, postcard-perfect lagoon – blue as blueberries, clear as crystal – surrounded by towering sand dunes as far as the eye can see. But then the splashdown reveals this otherworldly landscape is far from fantasy. As I dip below the surface of what some might say is the most refreshing pool of water imaginable, the cool and calming sensation is a travel moment – those minutes of elusive

wonderment we all seek as we traverse the globe – and it feels like everything but an optical illusion. It’s a glorious baptism.

Brazil’s Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses, a 1500 sq km expanse of cinematic sandscapes, is a natural treasure. Located in the far northeastern state of Maranhão, it is the kind of place travel dreams are made of, a transcendental protected park of blanketing white sand dunes only broken up

by the inviting cerulean lagoons that pepper the sandy hills between March and September (there is almost no vegetation whatsoever). From the air, the sweeping landscape gives the appearance of rolling bed sheets (lençóis in Portuguese), pitching across the world’s most picturesque bed. From the ground, a no-filters-required desertscape unravels into the horizon in every direction.

Lençóis Maranhenses is

reached from the nearby town of Barreirinhas, a five-hour drive from the Unesco World Heritage–listed city of São Luís, from where open-sided 4WD bus tours routinely hit some of the park’s biggest lagoons, Lagoa Azul (Blue Lagoon) and Lagoa Bonita (Beautiful Lagoon). Needless to say, this is not the best way to experience the park. I have opted instead for a private tour with Buna, a gentle beast of a character who owns and

operates Rancho da Buna in the charming sand village of Atins, a 90-minute boat ride along the Rio Preguiças from Barreirinhas, the park’s most picturesque village to bed down in.

Everywhere you look, the landscape is alarmingly similar, yet Buna knows the park backwards and forwards (a trusted guide is a must for navigating within the park). Thus it is Buna who has carted me off to a series of secluded lagoons,

far, far away from the tour buses and tourists on day trips from Barreirinhas, and afforded me the opportunity to immerse myself in this aquatic Eden once mistaken for a mirage. When I re-surface, I’m lost, surrounded by nothing and no one. Paradise found. By Kevin Raub

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Death is confusing and mysterious, and so are these stone circles and burial mounds found across Senegal and The Gambia. Eerie and beautiful, sitting quietly and unobtrusively amid the region’s grasslands, the monuments consist of monolithic, laterite pillars arranged in a circle around a burial plot, with one or more frontal stones to the east. Although there are a lot of them – about 17,000 spread across 33,000 sq km – and although they were made continuously for about 2,000 years, surprisingly little is known about the circles’ origins.

Archaeologists aren’t sure when the first circles were made or who made them. They don’t know what the arrangements mean, how the burial practices functioned in the culture, or how they fit in with Islam, which arrived in the region during the height of stone circle production. The burial style is

The Gambia’s Wassu Stone Circles are the easiest to visit and have a museum on-site. Take a day trip from Janjanbureh, about 25km away; hotels can arrange tours.

a total conundrum: bones and skulls were arranged within the circles in elaborate patterns – a quasi-fence of bones set vertically in the earth, leg bones laid out in a design, a layer of jawbones covered with upside-down pots – and no one has any idea why. Oh, and locals say that stones occasionally light up at night. No big deal.

Maybe because of these mysteries (or maybe because it’s a burial ground, where larger mysteries prevail), the fields of stones feel magical, as if they’re a liminal place between worlds. And the sites are still living monuments: Gambians don’t practice what we would call funerary or religious rituals there, but they visit – on their way to work, the market, home – to place a small stone or vegetable atop a monolith, take a moment to reflect, and make a wish.

Quinta da Regaleira is open daily; it’s located 700m west of central Sintra.

Carvalho Monteiro, burrow two wells. But there’s no water: these hidden tunnels were once used in secretive Masonic initiation rites. One has nine moss-rimmed levels, hinting at Dante’s nine circles of Hell and Heaven, across its 27m height. The other has straight staircases, with steps numbered according to Masonic principles, descending to a huge Knights Templar cross.

The spiral staircases of these towers aren’t just forbidding, they represent a journey from death to rebirth. Hints at dark alchemy are scattered around the Unesco-protected estate of Quinta da Regaleira – a flamboyant blend of Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance architectural styles – especially around its showy gardens. Beneath this lavish residence, commissioned by coffee tycoon António

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‘As a great cloud of sulphurous steam drifts across us my eyes start to sting. The island belches and burps, hisses and spits, grumbles and roars’

White Island (Whakaari) is 50km offshore from Whakatane, and can only be visited with a registered tour operator.

On the boat on the way to White Island we are issued with hard hats and gas masks.

‘This is an active volcano and eruptions can occur at any time with little or no warning,’ we’re told. ‘Stick to the paths. In some places the crust is very thin and you don’t want to fall into scalding mud and boiling water.’

The biggest surprise is that we step from the boat directly into the volcanic crater, the sharp rock walls rising above us to the crater’s rim: we’re actually inside the volcano. We’re surrounded by a desolate, otherworldly landscape of bald grey rock, with blooming vivid patches of yellow sulphur crystals but not a speck of vegetation. The crater lake – its water more corrosive than battery acid – is milky jade, the hot surface glimpsed through billows of steam. I follow the

guide step-for-step as we edge past piles of ash and cinder, stepping gingerly over acid-steeped streams and peering into pools of furiously boiling viscous grey mud. Sherbet-yellow fumaroles, like melted candles dripping down the neck of a wine bottle, spurt steaming gas. As a great cloud of sulphurous steam drifts across us, my eyes start to sting, and at the back of my tongue I taste the bitter tang of a struck match. The island belches and burps, hisses and spits, grumbles and roars. There’s a sense of barely-contained menace; it’s disquieting to be close enough to see, hear and smell the Earth’s potential for destruction.

Moving away from the lake, we come to face to face with grim evidence of what happens when that pent-up energy blasts

out. Destroyed buildings, rusted machinery, corroded cogs and wheels are all that’s left of a once busy sulphur mine. In 1914 a terrific explosion occurred, killing all ten miners. It’s thought that the force of the eruption blasted the miners and their quarters over the 50-metre high crater into the sea. Only the camp cat, Peter the Great, survived.

Later, we hear grim tales of life as a sulphur miner on White Island, including that the miners had to clean their teeth three times a day to stop them going black. Back on the boat I surreptitiously check my teeth – all good – but my silver necklace is sooty black. By Tracy Whitmey

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INDEXAAbandoned Ghost Ship 55Actun Tunichil Muknal 52Afghanistan 220Albania 174Albania’s Concrete Bunkers 174Albergo Burchiant 189Alsos House 180Am Phu Cave 248Angola 154Aniakchak National Monument 10animals

Assateague Island’s Feral Horses 69Bat Migration 201Buffalo Beach 250Caicos Conch Farm 80Cat Island 278Creepy Crawly Market 238Giant Pink Slugs of Mount Kaputar 281Jigokudani Hot Springs 277Karni Mata Temple 222Nara Deer Park 276Pig Beach 68Postojna Caves 160Red Crab Migration 241Snake Island 109Tombs of Bat 214Waitomo Glowworm Caves 294Wild Horses of the Namib Desert 171

Antarctica 99Antogo Fishing Frenzy 125Aokigahara Forest 277Argentina 88, 92, 96, 101, 104, 106, 211art

Ecce Homo 126Fremont Public Sculptures 30Fusterlandia 60Guinea Pig Last Supper 80Lake Ballard 261Punta Pite 81Sarajevo Roses 169

Aruba 83, 86Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Temple 235Asen’s Fortress 196Assateague Island’s Feral Horses 69Australia 147, 207, 241, 242, 251, 252, 253,

261, 264, 230, 272, 274, 276, 279, 280, 281, 284–287

Australia’s Big Roadside Attractions 284–287Austria 158, 171

B Bahamas 68Balanced Rock 147Balancing Rock of Mahabalipuram 144Band-e-Amir Lakes 220Bat Migration 201Battery Park 157Bay Islands Underwater Museum 54Bayterek Monument 221

beachesCalifornia’s Lost Coast 24Hidden beach 47Hot Water Beach 295Plastic Beach 22Playa de Gulpiyuri 120Star Sand Beaches 265

Beinhaus Hallstatt 158Belarus 198Belgium 134, 156, 189, 269Belize 52Beneficial Microbes Museum 263Benin 136Berlin Square 156Berlin Walls Around the World 156Bhutan 227Big Banana 287Big Golden Guitar 284Big Lobster 287Big Ned Kelly 287Big Pheasant 287Big Pineapple 284Billionth Barrel Monument 250Bizarre Bulgarian Road-Trip 195Bocksten Man 211Bolivia 83, 90, 92Bosnia & Hercegovina 169, 173Botswana 183, 192Brazil 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 146Broad Street Water Pump 131Brunei 250Buffalo Beach 250Bulgaria 157, 182, 183, 195

c Caicos Conch Farm 80California’s Lost Coast 24Cambodia 238, 240Campanile di Curon 151Campanópolis 106Canada 22, 23, 39, 99, 147Cape Leeuwin 252Cardrona Bra Fence 289Carhenge 47Casa Dracula 190CasAnus 189Castell de Púbol 139Catacombes de Paris 138catacombs

Catacombes de Paris 138Catacombs of the Monasterio de San Francisco 63

Catacombs of the Monasterio de San Francisco 63

Catedral de Sal 74Cat Island 278Cave of the Crystals 49caves

Actun Tunichil Muknal 52Am Phu Cave 248Cave of the Crystals 49Christmas Island Grotto 242Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument 78Dobsinská Ice Cave 173Drotsky's Cave 183Gruta do Lago Azul 107Ice Phallus of Amarnath Cave 224

La Cueva del Esplendor 65Les Grottes Petrifiantes 134Longyou Caves 256Postojna Caves 160Ra Paulette's Sandstone Caves 46Sinca Veche 193Waitomo Glowworm Caves 294

Cayman Islands 59Cementerio de Trenes 83cemeteries

Cementerio de Trenes 83Merry Cemetery 185Sleepy Hollow Cemetery 76

Center for Disease Control Museum 58Cerro Rico 90Chao Mae Tuptim Shrine 230Chernobyl Exclusion Zone 208Chicken, Alaska 20Chile 44, 71, 74, 78, 81Chimi Lhakhang 227China 229, 233, 234, 253, 254, 256, 261,

264, 267, 268, 269Chiricahua National Monument 147Christmas Island Grotto 242Church of Santa Maria 159Citerne Portugaise 119Cliff Dwellings of the Dogon People 122Cocos Islands Golf Club 230Colombia 64, 65, 69, 70, 74, 75Coloso 104colours

Aniakchak National Monument 10Giant Pink Slugs of Mount Kaputar 281Lac Rose 115Lake Hillier 264Lake Kaindy 225Merry Cemetery 185Rainbow Eucalyptus Trees 17Rainbow Village 260Red Crab Migration 241Zhangye Danxiá National Geopark 229

Conch Republic 207Convento dei Cappuccini 158Coober Pedy’s Grassless Golf Course 274Cook Islands 16Coral Castle 62Costa Rica 57, 58Cow up a Tree Sculpture 279Creepy Crawly Market 238Croatia 161, 170Crooked Forest 169Cross Bones Graveyard 131Cuba 60Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument 78Czech Republic 158

d Dallas Hilton Anatole 157Darvaza Crater 217Dashain 233Deadvlei 164Deception Island 99Democratic Republic of the Congo 199Denis Severs House 128Denmark 143, 151, 153, 207Devils Marbles 147Diquís Spheres 57

Divided Church 16Dobsinská Ice Cave 173Dock of Souls 74Douaumont Ossuary 159Drina River House 173Drotsky's Cave 183Dude Chilling Park 22

e Easter Island 44East Side Gallery 156Ecce Homo 126Ecuador 59Egungun Voodoo Ceremony 136Egypt 159, 203Ein Hod 157Eisenhower Air Raid Shelter 131Electrum 293El Peñón de Guatapé 70Elvis Toilet 269England 128, 131, 131, 204Ephesus Toilets 268Estonia 186European Parliament 156

f Fairy Circles 164Fake Houses of Leinster Gardens 131Féis An Eilein 99Felled Golden Spruce 23Ferrowhite 101festivals 232–233Fiji 8

Taveuni 8Finland 147, 177Fonuafo’ou Disappearing Island 9Forest Guitar 92France 134, 135, 138, 142, 159, 207Freetown Christiania 207Fremont Public Sculptures 30Frenchman’s Pass 86Fusterlandia 60Futuro House 280Fuxian Lake 234

GGambia 116Gereja Ayam 249Germany 148, 156Ghana 127ghost towns

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone 208Hashima 270Houtou Wan 264Oradour-sur-Glane 135Villa Epecuén 96

Giant Koala 287Giant Pink Slugs of Mount Kaputar 281Giant Pumpkin Regatta 29Glass House 39Global Seed Vault 168Gloucester Tree 253Gnomesville 252Golden Gumboot 287Grande Mosquée 121Greece 178–181Greenland 210

Grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mary 50Gruta do Lago Azul 107Guanajuato Mummies 211Guinea Pig Last Supper 80Gumbez of Manas 224Gunung Padang 244

h Haenyeo 266Ha'iku Stairs 9Hanging Coffins 262Hang Nga Guesthouse 248Haputale 225Harbin Ice Sculpture Festival 233Hashima 270Haw Par Villa 236Heaven Lake 267Heladería Coromoto 82Hell 59Henley On Todd Regatta 272Henn na Hotel 189Hidden beach 47Hill of Crosses 184Hiroshima Shadows 272Hokitika Wildfoods Festival 292Holi 232Honduras 54Hong Kong 250Hotel Cecil 189Hotel Viru 186, 204, 284Hot Water Beach 295Houtou Wan 264Hoxton Street Monster Supplies 131Hue Festival 233Hundertwasserhaus 171Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai 9Hutt River Principality 207

iIceland 114Icelandic Phallological Museum 114Iceman Ötzi 211Ice Phallus of Amarnath Cave 224India 222, 224, 227, 232, 144Indonesia 244, 245, 249Iran 210, 212, 213islands

Deception Island 99Féis An Eilein 99Snake Island 109

Israel 157Italian Chapel 123Italy 151, 155, 158, 166, 206, 211

j Jamaica 156Jamaica Military Museum 156Japan 189, 232, 265, 269, 270, 272, 273,

276, 277, 278Jigokudani Hot Springs 277

k Kaleto Fortress 182Kanamara Matsuri 232Kane Kwei Coffins 127Kaplica Czaszek 159Karni Mata Temple 222

Karosta Prison 189Kazakhstan 221, 225Kbal Spean 240Kelpies 122Kijk-Kubus Museum-House 140Kiribati 14Kiritimati 14Kjeragbolten 146Kolmanskop 162Korean Demilitarized Zone 265Kostnice v Sedlci 158Kubu Island 192Kummakivi 147Kyaiktiyo Pagoda 229Kyrgyzstan 224

l Lac Rose 115La Cueva del Esplendor 65Lake Ballard 261Lake Hillier 264Lake Kaindy 225lakes

Band-e-Amir Lakes 220Fuxian Lake 234Heaven Lake 267Lake Ballard 261Lake Hillier 264Lake Kaindy 225

Land Divers of Pentecost Island 290Laos 231Latvia 189Le Morne Brabant 216Le Palais Idéal 142Les Archives du Coeur 273Les Grottes Petrifiantes 134Lima Witches’ Market 66Lithuania 177, 184, 206Living Fires 193Llullaillaco Children 211London’s Strangest Sights 128Longyou Caves 256Loopgraafbrug 141Lost City of Thonis-Heracleion 203Lunchbox Museum 58Lund Nasothek 154Lyngstoylvatnet 142

M Malaysia 230, 232, 235Mali 121, 122, 125Mandalay-Yangon Expressway 226Man Meets the Sea 143Manneken Pis 269Marshall Islands 281Maslenitsa 233Matobo National Park 201Mauritius 216Mausoleum of Mao Zedong 253Meghalaya Tree Bridges 227Memorial to UTA 772 154Mercury Mine 161Merry Cemetery 185Mexico 47, 49, 211Micronations 204–207Micronesia 273Miniatur Wunderland 148

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Monastery of San Francisco 159Mongolia 233, 234Montserrat 93Monument of Hugh Glass 47Moomin World 177Moonhole 98Moray 79Morgan Island Aruba Waterpark 83Morocco 119, 120Mr Toilet House 268Mt Tâmpa 190Mumin Papa Cafe 269Museo del Cerebro 65Museum Dr Guislain 134museums

Bay Islands Underwater Museum 54Beneficial Microbes Museum 263Center for Disease Control Museum 58Ferrowhite 101Icelandic Phallological Museum 114Kijk-Kubus Museum-House 140Lunchbox Museum 58Lund Nasothek 154Museo del Cerebro 65Museum Dr Guislain 134Tequendama Falls Museum 75Unclaimed Baggage Center 51Walmart Museum 51

Myanmar 226, 229, 233My Son 245

n Naadam 233Namibia 162–165, 171Nara Deer Park 276National Library of Belarus 198National Palace of Culture 157Nature’s Time Post 147Nave Espacial de Varginha 110Navel of the World 44Nazca Lines 72Nepal 233New Caledonia 288New Zealand 289, 292, 293, 294, 295,

297, 298Nicaragua 56Niger 150, 154Nigeria 141Nine Mile Canyon 43North Korea 186, 267North Korean Submarine 267Norway 142, 146, 147, 168Nyiragongo 199

o Old Car City 56Olkhon Island 246Oman 214Oradour-sur-Glane 135Osun Sacred Forest 141Owl House 193

p Pakistan 220Palácio de Ferro 154Palatul Voievodal Curtea Veche 190Palermo’s Sleeping Beauty 211

Pamukkale-Hierapolis 202Parque Cretácico 92Parque Francisco Alvarado 58Parque Nacional dos Lençóis

Maranhenses 112Pause-Rest-Worship Chapel 42Pedra da Gávea 146Peru 63, 64, 66, 72, 79, 80, 82, 159Pet Cemetery 131Philippines 232, 262, 263Pig Beach 68Pigeon Towers 212Pindos Gorge 180Plague Pit of St Paul’s 131Plain of Jars 231Plastic Beach 22Playa de Gulpiyuri 120Plitvice Lakes National Park 170Poland 159, 169Porcelain Palace 268Portugal 117Portuguese Settlement 230Postojna Caves 160Preikestolen 147Prince Philip Movement 290Princess of Hope 220Principality of Hutt River 251Principality of Sealand 204Principality of Seborga 206Puerto Rico 87Punta Pite 81Pu’upiha Cemetery 18

q Q’eswachaka Rope Bridge 82Qilakitsoq Mummies 210Quinta da Regaleira Wells 117

r Rabjerg Mile 153Racetrack Playa 36Rainbow Village 260Rai Stones 273Ra Paulette’s Sandstone Caves 46Real Dracula Trail 190Red Church 196Red Crab Migration 241religious sites

Actun Tunichil Muknal 52Arulmigu Sri Rajakaliamman Temple 235Catacombs of the Monasterio de San Francisco 63

Catedral de Sal 74Chao Mae Tuptim Shrine 230Chimi Lhakhang 227El Peñón de Guatapé 70festivals 232–233Gereja Ayam 249Grande Mosquée 121Grotto of the Blessed Virgin Mary 50Hill of Crosses 184Ice Phallus of Amarnath Cave 224Italian Chapel 123Karni Mata Temple 222Kbal Spean 240Kyaiktiyo Pagoda 229Meteora 178–181

My Son 245Olkhon Island 246ossuaries 158Pause-Rest-Worship Chapel 42Prince Philip Movement 290Pu’upiha Cemetery 18Salvation Mountain 40San Joaquin Church 263Santuario de las Lajas 64Telles Family Shrine 42The Divided Church 16Wooden Churches 176

Republic of Molossia 207Republic of Užupis 206République du Saugeais 207Rock Arch, Spitzkoppe 164Rock Paintings of Parque Nacional Serra da

Capivara 111rocks

Diquís Spheres 57El Peñón de Guatapé 70Gunung Padang 244Kyaiktiyo Pagoda 229Navel of the World 44Princess of Hope 220Racetrack Playa 36Rai Stones 273Senegambian stone circles 116Stob Pyramids 183Weeping Rocks 245Zelízy Stone Devils 161Zhangye Danxiá National Geopark 229

Romania 185, 190, 193Royal Republic of Ladonia 207Runit Dome 281Russia 210, 233, 246, 283Ryugyong Hotel 186

s Salt men 210Salvation Mountain 40San Joaquin Church 263San Juan de Dios 56Santuario de las Lajas 64Sarajevo Roses 169Scotland 122, 123sculpture

Car Henge 47Coloso 104Coral Castle 62Cow up a Tree Sculpture 279Dock of Souls 74Electrum 293Forest Guitar 92Fremont Public Sculptures 30Hang Nga Guesthouse 248Kelpies 122Lake Ballard 261Man Meets the Sea 143Memorial to UTA 772 154Osun Sacred Forest 141Owl House 193Solar System Trail 279Witches’ Hill 177Zelízy Stone Devils 161

Sea Organ 161See Uey Sae Ung 210

Senegal 115, 116Senegambian Stone Circles 116Serbia 158Shoe Tree 29Sinca Veche 193Singapore 236Singing Dunes 164Singing Trees 151Sinulog 232Skull Tower 158Sleepy Hollow Cemetery 76Slovakia 173, 176Slovenia 160, 161Snagov Island Monastery 190Snake Island 109Soho Noses 128Solar System Trail 279Sombrero of Celendín 64Soufriere Hills Volcano 93Sourtoe Cocktail 22South Africa 157, 172, 183, 193South Korea 156, 265, 266, 267, 268Spain 120, 126, 139, 159Sri Lanka 225SS Ayrfield 282Star Sand Beaches 265St Catherine of Siena 211St Catherine’s Monastery 159Steampunk HQ 292St George’s Mall 157St Leonard’s Church 159Stob Pyramids 183strange buildings

Bayterek Monument 221Campanópolis 106Castell de Púbol 139Catedral de Sal 74Citerne Portugaise 119Cliff Dwellings of the Dogon People 122Drina River House 173Ferrowhite 101Futuro House 280Glass House 39Grande Mosquée 121Gumbez of Manas 224Hundertwasserhaus 171Italian Chapel 123Kaleto Fortress 182Le Palais Idéal 142Moonhole 98Palácio de Ferro 154Pause-Rest-Worship Chapel 42Pigeon Towers 212San Joaquin Church 263San Juan de Dios 56Santuario de las Lajas 64Steampunk HQ 292Tequendama Falls Museum 75Upside-Down House 261Winchester Mystery House 32Wooden Churches 176Yazd Towers of Silence 213

Stromboli 166St Vincent & The Grenadines 98Sweden 154, 207, 211Swing at the End of The World 59Switzerland 142

tTaiwan 260, 263Tanks of Flamenco Beach 87Tank Town USA 59Taumata Hill 297Tazaungdaing Festival 233Tektite Underwater Habitat 95Telles Family Shrine 42Temple of Mithras 131Tequendama Falls Museum 75Thailand 210, 230Thaipusam 232The Bahamas 68The Big Merino 287The Big Rocking Horse 287The Bridge to Nowhere 295The Giant Flag 183The Heart of Voh 288The Lost City of Thonis-Heracleion 203Theopetra Cave 180The Stanley Hotel 189Thiksey Gompa 268Thracian Burial Mounds 196Toilet Fountain 269toilets 268–269Tombs of Bat 214Tonga 9Toto Museum 269towns

Chernobyl Exclusion Zone 208Chicken, Alaska 20Fuxian Lake 234Hell 59Lyngstoylvatnet 142Taumata 297Villa Puerto Edén 71

Tree of Ténéré 150trees

Aokigahara Forest 277Crooked Forest 169Felled Golden Spruce 23Forest Guitar 92Gloucester Tree 253Meghalaya Tree Bridges 227Osun Sacred Forest 141Shoe Tree 29Singing Trees 151Tree of Ténéré 150

Tremendous Toilets 268–269Triftbrucke 142Turkey 202, 268Turkmenistan 217Turks & Caicos 80

u Ukok Princess 210Ukraine 208Unclaimed Baggage Center 51Underwater Post Office 288Unsettling Hotels 186Upside-Down House 261USA 9, 10, 13, 18, 20, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30,

32, 36, 40, 42, 43, 46, 47, 50, 51, 55, 56, 58, 59, 69, 76, 95, 147, 157, 189, 207, 269

Ushuaia Time Capsule 88

v Vale da Lua 108Valley of Geysers 283Valley of the Roses 196Vanuatu 288, 290Vatican City 157Vatican Gardens 157Venezuela 82Via Appia Antica 155Viaduct Petrobras 110Vietnam 233, 245, 248Villa Epecuén 96Villa Puerto Edén 71Virgin Islands 95Volcán de Lodo El Totumo 69volcanoes

Aniakchak National Monument 10Fonuafo’ou Disappearing Island 9Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai 9Nyiragongo 199Soufriere Hills Volcano 93Stromboli 166Valley of Geysers 283Volcán de Lodo El Totumo 69White Island 298

w Waitavala Water Slide 8Waitomo Glowworm Caves 294Walmart Museum 51Water Clock 120waterfalls

Kbal Spean 240La Cueva del Esplendor 65Plitvice Lakes National Park 170Weeping Rocks 245

Wave Organ 28Weeping Rocks 245Whispering Wall 276Whistler Train Wreck Site 26White Island 298Wild Horses of the Namib Desert 171Winchester Mystery House 32Witches’ Hill 177Wolfberg Arch 172Wooden Churches 176World’s Largest Maze 13World’s Steepest Street 289wrecks

Abandoned Ghost Ship 55SS Ayrfield 282Whistler Train Wreck Site 26

y Yazd Towers of Silence 213Yolyn Am 234

z Zambia 201Zelízy Stone Devils 161Zero Aldwych 269Zhangye Danxiá National Geopark 229Zhengbei Tower 254Zimbabwe 201