Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Ugandan jungles are perpetually choked by thick mists
Dense foliage and heavy mist can make it hard to see what lies ahead in Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.
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Egyptian riverboats stubbornly reject motors
Their sails rely on the Nile's breeze, giving passengers a slower ride than they would get in a motorboat.
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One lake became a cichlid evolution factory
Lake Malawi holds hundreds of cichlid species, many found nowhere else. Closely related fish have split into specialists with different diets, colors, and…
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The islands where sand dunes rise from the sea
On the Bazaruto Archipelago, huge dunes meet turquoise water—a striking contrast to the usual image of deserts far inland.
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Todra Gorge, where the sky nearly disappears
The limestone walls rise hundreds of feet, leaving the path squeezed into a narrow, shadowy passage.
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The canyon that looks like a jungle
Its lush vegetation makes South Africa's Blyde River Canyon one of the world's largest heavily vegetated canyons.
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The trees that bleed dark red resin
When cut, Dragon’s Blood Trees on Socotra secrete dark red resin that looks like blood.
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The black trees of Namibia's white salt pan
Deadvlei's dead, blackened tree trunks stand starkly against a white salt pan and bright orange dunes, creating a landscape that looks almost staged.
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Angel Falls disappears into mist before it lands
Water plunging from Venezuela's tabletop mountain breaks into mist before it reaches the bottom, so the falls seem to vanish in midair.
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New Zealand fjords were aggressively carved by ice
Moving glaciers carved Milford Sound’s towering cliffs, leaving dark rock walls that rise straight from the water.
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In Mongolia, some herders ride reindeer
In some nomadic communities, herders ride reindeer across harsh terrain instead of relying on sleds.
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Venezuelan tabletop mountains feature sheer drops
Mount Roraima is ringed by vertical cliffs about 400 meters high, giving the tabletop mountain its abrupt, flat-sided appearance.
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The hills that look like giant chocolate drops
The Chocolate Hills are more than a thousand dome-shaped mounds. Their grass turns brown when it withers, making the hills look like giant drops of chocolate.
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The salt flat where you can walk for days
The Makgadikgadi Pan's dried salt crust stretches so flat and far that you can walk for days without seeing a tree or even a small rise.
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Victoria Falls has a name that describes what reaches you first
Mosi-oa-Tunya means 'the smoke that thunders.' The Zambezi drops into basalt gorges, throwing up spray that resembles a rising cloud while producing a…
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Madagascar's trees look upside down
The Avenue of the Baobabs is lined with trees whose massive cylindrical trunks and small crowns of branches give them an upside-down appearance.
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Vietnamese waterfalls awkwardly straddle borders
Ban Gioc Falls straddles the Vietnam–China border, so both countries share the same dramatic, multi-tiered cascade.
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Namibian ravines plunge drastically into arid earth
The Fish River Canyon cuts more than half a kilometer into dry terrain, forming a winding abyss.
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Kenyan plains host chaotic stampedes of wildebeest
During the migration, enormous herds run across rivers in the Masai Mara, creating a spectacle with little resemblance to orderly traffic.
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Why a giant hand rises from Chile's desert
It’s the Hand of the Desert, a giant sculpture rising from the sand. Its outstretched pose makes it look as if it’s reaching for help.
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Swazi granite domes are incomprehensibly massive stones
Sibebe Rock is a single exposed mass of granite and one of the world’s largest bare rocks. Its surface can be difficult to climb without slipping.
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Egypt’s desert is filled with giant chalk mushrooms
Wind carved the White Desert's chalk into stark formations that look like giant mushrooms against the yellow sand.
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Why Mars rovers are tested in Chile's Atacama Desert
The Atacama is so dry and barren that its harsh terrain offers engineers a place to test rovers designed for Mars.
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Madagascar’s stone forest can shred skin and clothes
Tsingy de Bemaraha is a jagged limestone landscape of sharp pinnacles, where a misstep can slice skin or tear clothing.
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