Places Egao Wants to Go

This cavernous swimming spot doubles as a home to the largest known colony of bats in Central Asia.

Few people have ever heard of, let alone visited, one of Turkmenistan’s most impressive natural attractions.

A cave covered with bizarre stalactites of cloth.

A fiery crater has been burning in the Karakum Desert since 1971.

Beautiful palace stands tall over the Fergana Valley.

Touching displays of wishes for peace from the Cold War era.

The ruins of an ancient Zoroastrian Tower of Silence believed to be the earliest example of the traditional funerary practice.

These "50 Fortresses" have been unearthed in the ancient oasis of Khwarezm.

Former island in the Aral Sea used to be a top-secret Russian bio-weapons facility.

Ancient barriers wrap around what was once an important stop along the Silk Road.

This dark, damp, perilous tunnel is the only passage from north to south Tajikistan.

The remains of an ancient city-state along the Silk Road.

This ancient Silk Road outpost overlooking the Wakhan Valley is miraculously still standing.

The largest dam in the world and the site of a potential disaster.

At 72 feet below sea level, it's the lowest commercial airport in the world.

A statue of traditional Kazakh dancers adds some beauty to this Soviet-era mining city.

This 100-foot tall tombstone memorializes victims of 40 years of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan.

Local lore says this 700-year-old tree has sacred and medicinal properties.

A Stalinist prison camp for the wives and children of men accused of betraying the Soviet state is now a memorial museum.

A collection of Lenin busts and other Soviet Era statues sit idly behind the Semipalatinsk Hotel.

In Kazakhstan, a colorful cathedral with many lives once survived the most powerful earthquake in the region.

Avenue of trees planted by cosmonauts before their space departures.

An entertainment center in a huge transparent tent.

The remains of a monument in the remote Kazakhstani desert dedicated to the only men to die in outer space, the crew of the Soyuz 11 rocket.