Places Sputnicktatorship Wants to Go

An ancient instrument used to measure the waters of the Nile so Egyptian farmers would know whether to expect famine or flood.

An alien landscape of chalk-rock in the Egyptian desert.

A massive work of modern art that appears to be a crop circle in the middle of the desert.

The largest prehistoric ruins south of the Sahara, once a powerful center of international trade.

A deserted Bedouin village lines the shores of this stunning desert oasis.

Landscape of bizarrely shaped desert mountains and innumerable rock carvings.

Water-powered gadgets whirr to life in this quirky eco park.

Edoras, capital city of Rohan in Lord of the Rings, once sat atop this isolated New Zealand mountain.

The platform atop this verdant volcano was built with the help of a royal elephant.

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

The glacier tucked within a New Zealand rainforest.

The most southerly spot on New Zealand's South Island is home to surreally shaped, permanently mangled trees.

The Dalai Lama named this New Zealand landscape the "Spiritual Center of the Universe."

Some of the clearest water anywhere in the world.

This electric green sulphur lake in New Zealand looks like a cartoonish radioactive dump site.

A perfect turquoise lake colored with glacier dust.

Tubing through a cave lit with glowworms is a magical underground experience.

Dolphins, ancient clams and hundreds of waterfalls make this one of the world's top tourist destinations.

This sheep farm has been forever transformed since being built for “The Hobbit” film series.

A massive concentration of algae is responsible for this lake's pink hue.

A huge stone pyramid built for fun.

After much poking and prodding, this island is decidedly not a magnetic anomaly, but it sure is pretty.

Granite rocks that concentrate waves into powerful jets.

A series of eerie metal stick figures are spread out over four square miles on the bed of a huge salt lake in the Australian Outback.