Places Added by Max Cortesi

Strange, gentle beasts resembling goat-cow hybrids roam within this patch of forest.

This sacred, circular cave is lined with pools so clear and still that it's hard to tell where the water begins.

Stretching almost 2,000 feet, this painting is one of the longest pieces of Buddhist artwork in the world.

These sacred totem houses connect the Fatakulu people with the spirits of their ancestors.

This ancient structure is widely thought to be the oldest intact pyramid in the world.

Robot jockeys ride their humped mounts to victory as part of a 21st-century twist on an ancient desert sport.

This small uninhabited island offers Galapagos-like biodiversity.

People have been scribbling on this massive chunk of granite for more than 1,500 years.

This Javanese-Hindu temple from the 15th century is unmissable for anyone with even a passing interest in erotic art.

An ancient fortified mound raised over the millennia from settlements built one on top of the other.

Villagers have recycled bomber fuel tanks from the Vietnam War and turned them into very, very strong boats.

The sacred shrine of the Yazidis.

Elaborate patterns adorn the city's disappearing traditional architecture.

This remarkably well-preserved Incan city managed to survive the conquistadores.

The ancient abodes are a testament to human ingenuity amid harsh climates.

This impressive system of tanks was used to store drinking water as long as 2,000 years ago.

No one is quite sure of the origins of these idyllic natural hot springs at an abandoned mountain resort.

This likeness of the famous revolutionary is entirely made of recycled scraps of metal.

The fight to make Bengali an official language started in this stunning university hall.

A boat ride through utter darkness, lit only by headlamps, reveals an emerald green pool locals believe is sacred.

This doorless 20th-century elevator doesn't stop or slow down.

A mesmerizing landscape of 18th-century cellars carved out of the land.

Mongolian Buddhists believe this monastery in the Gobi desert to be the center of the world's spiritual energy.

This odd museum/art gallery embraces the physiological, zoological, and ethnographic side of sex.