Places Kris McCracken Wants to Go

Perched atop the highest hill in Cartagena, this 17th-century convent offers spectacular views of the city.

This Bogotá museum houses the world's largest collection of pre-Columbian gold relics.

The world's tallest palm trees look like the whimsical kind of plant you'd find in a Dr. Seuss story.

Former drug lord’s manor, now a theme park. Watch out for the hippos.

An unusual and beautiful form of mass transit serves the city's steepest neighborhoods.

This elegant Colombian fortress was one of the torture headquarters for the Spanish Inquisition.

Cathedral carved out of salt, located a mile below the Earth's surface.

A little known Colombian theme park of giant curiosities.

A 10 million-ton rock once worshiped by the Tahamies Indians, accessed by an astounding staircase.

An ancient city hidden in the heart of the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Colorful lights and mirror-like brine pools create trippy illusions within the historic mine.

The caldera of this mini-volcano has been turned into a naturally heated mud bath.

Enchanting cave with a river crashing through the roof.

Unparalleled stargazing, one of Colombia's best observatories, and a swimming pool can all be found in the middle of this ancient tropical forest.

The Andean town where every single building is decorated with a brightly colored frieze.

This picturesque mansion has gone from opulent ruin to nature museum.

A dangling church built over a Colombian gorge.

An explosion of natural color known as "the river that ran away from paradise."

This cemetery of rusting Soviet-era steam locomotives and train cars offers an apocalyptic glimpse into a bygone era.

Beautiful portraits of the artist's children and his amazing stained glass windows in the Art Nouveau style.

An inverted staircase above the entrance to the Bethnal Green Underground Station functions as a memorial for people who lost their lives during the worst civilian disaster in the U.K. during World War II.

A memorial dedicated to the 29,000 Istrian freedom fighters of World War II.

This reconstructed castle was once the base of the “Devil King” who almost united the feudal warring states.

In the upscale neighborhood of Miraflores in Lima, a pretty little park is home to dozens of cats.