Places Mortuarism Wants to Go

It took 160 years to complete the most ornate church in Ecuador.

A mummified Spanish monk found in the walls of an Ecuadorian church, alongside a mummified mouse.

One of the most historic cemeteries in Quito is an eclectic mix of architectural styles and famous tombs.

This 12-inch-tall wooden sculpture of a winged Virgin Mary has inspired much devotion and countless replicas.

This museum’s collection includes rescued birds, fine art, and a collection of shrunken heads.

This research hub in the Amazon Rainforest is perched amid one of the world's most biologically diverse landscapes.

This Ecuadorian cemetery is home to a jaw-dropping topiary wonderland.

A turquoise lake within a volcanic crater.

A house once used to feed orphans of a brutal conflict now serves as a museum honoring its victims.

Stroll among dozens of statues depicting pre-Columbian kings, gods, and supernatural beings.

This bullring in Lima is the oldest in the Americas and the second-oldest in the world.

Bathe in these natural hot springs located high in the Andes Mountains.

Peru’s only toy museum houses everything from pre-Inca whistles to lead soldiers and terrifying dolls.

This small oxbow lake has rare giant river otters and some Seussian-sounding birds.

The shockingly unspoiled Peruvian tomb of the Lord of Sipan was once guarded by a footless warrior.

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

This Peruvian bone silo lined with hanging human skeletons and hundreds of skulls is topped with a remarkable Michelangelo replica.

Situated on a sacred Inca site, this 16th-century cathedral took nearly 100 years to build.

The highest tropical mountain range in the world is in Central Peru, home to a vast array of exotic and quirky plants and animals.

One of the most remote lodges in the Amazon offers rare wildlife encounters and undisturbed views of the Peruvian rainforest.

Now containing the bones of the actual conquistador, instead of someone else.

A colorful Peruvian city of the dead.

Tucked behind the Institute of Neurological Science down a decrepit street resides the largest display of human brains in Latin America.

A jungle cave in Peru of unknown depths, otherworldly sounds, and strange nocturnal birds that navigate by echolocation.