Places happilylost Wants to Go

The lovely lake that was naturally dammed, then naturally destroyed, then unnaturally saved.

This sprawling market is a one-stop shop for traditional Kazakh foods, from mare’s milk to sheep’s head.

A brilliant turquoise lake in the mountains.

This retro, UFO-like structure is a remnant of the Soviet-era circus.

This mysterious complex of abandoned yurts and fading murals was meant to be a center of science and spirituality in Kyrgyzstan.

This village was once a thriving Soviet uranium mining center, but is now semi-abandoned and desolate.

Extremely isolated Silk Road caravanserai in the middle of nowhere.

Once a bustling fishing port, this semi-ghost town is now more than 90 miles away from the shore.

A stunning blue-green lake located in the Terskey Alatau mountain range.

A boulder carved into the shape of the cosmonaut's head.

Witness traditional silk production in the Uzbek city that's been a hub of sericulture for over a thousand years.

Once a luxurious flagship of the Soviet Union, this Brutalist structure remains a landmark of Tashkent’s communist past.

An underground world of gorgeous, palatial metro stations designed as a nuclear shelter complex.

The heartbeat of modern Uzbekistan’s thriving market culture.

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

The Avenue of Mausolea is a series of grand palatial tombs.

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

A man-made island fort that has housed soldiers, scientists, and ravers.

These tiny cabins on a cableway have been carrying visitors at a Baltic resort down to the beach since 1912.

Inside the world's largest seed bank, WWII botanists elected to starve to death rather than compromise their collection.

Palace where the nearly un-killable Rasputin was murdered.

A little church on a tiny island looks like something from a fairy tale.

The gorgeous entrances into the city's underbelly look more like grand halls than subway stops.

Dr. Strangelove-esque tours reveal the inside a bunker once reserved for Stalin himself.