Baños de Agua Santa is a small city in Ecuador's Tungurahua Province, set in a narrow valley on the eastern slopes of the Andes. The city sits beneath the active Tungurahua volcano and is surrounded by steep, green mountains, waterfalls, and forested hills. Its full name refers to the thermal springs that have long been associated with the town. Baños also marks a transition between the high Andes and the warmer Amazon basin, giving the surrounding landscape a mixture of mountain and subtropical

M’Hamid El Ghizlane sits deep in southeastern Morocco’s Sahara, where the paved road ends and endless sands begin. Travelers often arrive from Zagora, taking in the wide palm groves fed by ancient irrigation channels that show how people have sustained life here for centuries. At sunrise and sunset, the dunes glow with waves of gold and copper, offering unforgettable views few places on earth can match.

Nature is never far in Helsinki. Locals swim in the sea, walk forested trails, and gather mushrooms or berries all within city limits. One popular local habit is heading to the sauna, and the city offers several open-to-the-public options. Löyly, located on the waterfront, combines traditional wood-burning saunas with a sleek, modern design. In winter, visitors can even pair a sauna session with a quick dip through a hole cut in the ice for an experience both shocking and strangely calming.

Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan, set against the wooded slopes of the Margalla Hills in the north of the country. Planned as a purpose-built capital, the city is organized around broad avenues, landscaped sectors, parks, and green belts, giving it a different character from Pakistan’s older cities. The Faisal Mosque is its most recognizable landmark, with its tent-shaped design and prominent position beneath the hills.

Isalo National Park lies in southern Madagascar near the town of Ranohira, protecting about 81,540 hectares of sandstone massifs, deep canyons, grasslands, forests, and rocky plateaus. Its landscape has been shaped by erosion into unusual cliffs, ridges, gorges, and isolated rock formations. The park's semi-arid climate creates strong contrasts between dry open slopes and greener canyon floors, where streams support pockets of vegetation.