Places Sputnicktatorship Wants to Go

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

The hidden lair of an alchemist rediscovered in a 2002 flood.

A vortex fountain that seems to rise out of the ground.

This space-age looking obelisk rises over a city in the rainforest, meant to resemble the local castaña tree.

Thousands of volcanic rocks carved 1,000 years ago.

These overlooked ruins give an intimate look at the Inca Empire's urban planning prowess.

A circle of stones on a hilltop in Peru’s high jungle, aligned with the winter solstice and largely ignored by archaeologists.

Built on the remains of one the Incas’ most important gathering spots, this square keeps the spirit of a fallen empire alive.

Enormous array of antennae fill a desert valley.

These ruined Incan mausoleum towers still bear carvings of sacred animals on their blocks.

An Inca spa, military outpost or maybe… both?

Mystic Incan rock piles three miles above sea level.

The Incas turned this ancient Wari aqueduct into an imposing defensive gate.

This geometric feat is a testament to the Incas' mesmerizing architectural abilities.

A paradisical gorge with rapids, waterfalls, and wildlife whose raw beauty is the stuff of CGI movies.

Pre-Incan aqueduct amidst a stone forest in Peru.

This metal tower in the desert provides views of a handful of Nazca geoglyphs.

This unimaginably large pile of sand near Nazca is one of the tallest dunes in the world.

A pretty park of over 1,600 olive trees that grew from just three saplings brought over from Spain.

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

A fascinating little museum all about the rich history of Peru’s famous plant.

This stone complex marks the urban center of a lost civilization.

An Archaeological Wonder of Peru, and the largest stone ruin site in the New World.

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