Places Edited by Samir S. Patel

Mexico's largest collection of masks is found in the ruins of an abandoned convent.

This incredible college library is a visual masterpiece of mosaic art. It also looks kind of like a giant boombox.

Hidden inside a hotel is a museum of miniature models depicting the traditions and history of Mexico.

The quirky collection includes treasures like Elvis' underwear, Bob Barker's toothbrush, and hundreds of sock monkeys.

This "City of Books" holds a museum, library, and the complete personal book collections of five of Mexico's greatest thinkers.

The story behind the mysterious symbol painted in front of the historic university's famous Rotunda.

A monument to the Mohawk people stands along an old Native American trade route.

This 1830s store is believed to be the site of Harriet Tubman's first stand.

The fake World Cup prize was secretly created after the first one was stolen in 1966.

When waves crash onto this section of beach, the rocks sing a song.

At night, bats patrol this magnificent 18th-century space in search of book-eating pests.

Just a man taking his prehistoric pet for a stroll.

At this hidden studio, the dying art of taxidermy is alive and well.

This sculpture gallery is home to magnificent beasts made of scrap metal and found objects.

A galaxy of glowworms—larvae of a gnat—hides deep in the belly of these caves.

The wreckage of a World War II bomber is hidden high in the Colorado wilderness.

Play everything you see at a museum dedicated to a town's historic organ industry.

This First Nations monument is a peaceful spot with vast views of the Calgary prairie.

An unassuming nature trail winds through dozens of tiny houses built for the wee people.

This beacon for pre-radar pilots once guided Charles Lindbergh to a safe touchdown in Tulsa.

The remains of the wrecked steam trawler can be found on the beach at low tide.

A small museum full of giant effigies of Bali's demons and monsters.

The modest, restored home of the legendary ragtime musician John William "Blind" Boone.

A museum dedicated to an incredible woman who founded a pioneering school for rural Black students.