Jbel Toubkal is the highest mountain in Morocco and the highest peak in North Africa, rising to 4,167 meters in the High Atlas Mountains. It stands within Toubkal National Park, south of Marrakech, above valleys and Amazigh villages including Imlil. The mountain is surrounded by steep ridges, rocky slopes, high-altitude valleys, and seasonal snow.

Cardigan sits on the west coast of Wales, where the River Teifi reaches the wide sweep of Cardigan Bay. At the heart of town stands Cardigan Castle, where battlements and gardens overlook the Teifi. The castle’s history includes the first recorded National Eisteddfod in Wales, a cultural competition of music, poetry and performance that still inspires events across the country.

Tsavo East National Park is one of Kenya’s largest protected areas, covering about 13,747 square kilometres in the country’s southeast. Its landscape is largely semi-arid, with open plains, scrub, rocky outcrops, and river corridors shaped by the Tsavo, Athi, Galana, and Voi rivers. The park is particularly associated with its dust-red elephants, whose appearance comes from the animals coating themselves in the park’s distinctive red soil.

Imagine standing in complete stillness as thousands of tiny lights blink in perfect harmony around you. Every spring in Congaree National Park, this bioluminescent ballet plays out under the forest canopy. This is nature’s very own light show, and it lasts only two magical weeks. Time your visit right, and you’ll be part of a glowing experience few ever witness.

Quetzaltenango, often called Xela by locals, is Guatemala’s second-largest city and a hub of indigenous culture, colonial history, and highland landscapes. Surrounded by volcanoes, including the towering Santa María, the city sits at over 7,600 feet above sea level, giving it a crisp mountain climate that contrasts with the country’s tropical lowlands.