Places Sporadicus Wants to Go

Extraordinary sculpture garden created by an eccentric English poet.

These azure waters were thought to lead to the Mayan Underworld.

An Aztec snake god has taken the material form of an apartment complex.

A scenic canyon with thick forests and historic ruins.

This abandoned fishing settlement may well be the greenest village in the world.

Despite sitting firmly in the global cradle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this Hare Krishna temple is host to one of the largest color festivals outside India.

Houses are tucked between, on, and underneath giant boulders.

A stone circle on the slopes of a Caribbean volcano commemorates the leader of an anti-slavery uprising.

This palatial spiral staircase was so unusual the name "snail" was given to the noble family who built it.

The palace window through which Protestant nobles flung two Catholic regents, thus sparking the Thirty Years' War.

The eclectic observatory castle of a 19th-century astronomer and explorer.

The wartime boat shelter now doubles as an underground concert hall where musicians play on rafts along the waterway.

A blend of art, antiquities, and Americana fill this museum, surrounded by whimsical, enchanting gardens.

A dark Victorian well house now plays host to mystical waters and pagan shrines.

Where the Great Wall of China meets the sea.

Walk in the footsteps of the gods and straddle two tectonic plates.

This whimsical statue dumps water on its head to symbolize knowledge flowing into his brain. Or maybe booze.

Visitors flock to see this church tower's unintended feature: It happens to resemble a giant chicken from multiple points of view.

World's largest cave was only discovered in 1991, and now offers tours to the public.

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

This lovely little burbling creek is actually a deadly waterway that has dragged down everyone who ever set foot in it.

This strange moor has a song written about it, Bronze Age carvings, and an alien sighting.

The floor-to-ceiling collection in an old factory is a unique alternative to stuffy galleries.

At 705 feet high, Brazil's "House of Stone" is the largest cave mouth in the world.