Rio de Janeiro

                                                    "Christ the Redeemer," Rio de Janeiro

From atop Corcovado Mountain, "Cristo Redentor," or "Christ the Redeemer," watches over the city of Rio de Janeiro, sprawled against the backdrop of Sugarloaf Mountain and Guanabara Bay. Visitors can climb by taxi or cog railway to gain this unparalleled view of the city.

                                                                    Iguazu Falls
                              
One of the world's greatest cataracts shatters the Iguazu River between Argentina and Brazil. Ancient lore has it that a deity planned to marry an aborigine woman, but when she fled with her lover in a canoe down the Iguazu, the angry god sliced the river and damned the lovers to an eternal fall.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Mostar's Ottoman bridge is a hopeful link between Croats and Muslims on opposite sides.

The shattering interethnic violence that came hard on the heels of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia, sadly, is what comes to mind for many contemplating this ancient land of soaring mountains, steep valleys, and plunging Adriatic coastline. • Peace in hand, Bosnians have returned to their old ways—generous, engaging, and welcoming. • A visitor to the capital, Sarajevo, will find fine dining and good shopping at great prices. • From the seaside to the mountains, despite the obvious vestiges of war, this land offers an endless tableau of spectacular scenery.

Azerbaijan

                           The harbor of Baku, the capital, is known as the finest on the Caspian Sea.

Armenia

                    The Khor Virap monastery stands before the snowcapped flanks of Mount Ararat.

El Salvador

                      El Salvador's highest peak, the Santa Ana (Ilamatepec) Volcano, erupted in 2005

The smallest and most densely populated nation in Central America sits at the edge of the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. • Beautiful beaches and a sizzling nightlife top the list of attractions, but serious surfers have begun descending in ever larger numbers. • Unlike some of its neighbors, El Salvador doesnít rely on ecotourism but instead emphasizes its dollar-denominated economy, ease of getting around, and warm, welcoming people.
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Bahrain

                   This island state is a leading financial and communications center for the Persian Gulf.

Croatia

                               Rovinj is a historic port on the western coast of the Istrian Peninsula

It was annexed by Napoleon in the early 1800s, became part of Yugoslavia after World War II, and today, after the most violent epoch in recent European history, stands a free and prosperous state, offering visitors natural and historical bounty. • Horseshoe-shaped, bounded by Serbia, Slovenia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia casts its eyes beyond the breathtaking fortress city of Dubrovnik across the Adriatic toward Italy. • Once again vital and energized, it's a miracle of resurrection.
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Philippines

                   Life revolves around the sea on many of the 7,100-plus islands of the Philippines.
The more than 7,000 islands in this vast archipelago east of Vietnam between the Pacific Ocean and the South China Sea offer a stunning range of natural gifts and splendors. • A former colony of Spain ceded to the United States after the Spanish-American War, the islands were occupied by the Japanese during World War II, but democracy thrives today. • Sitting astride a global typhoon belt, the islands typically endure as many as a half dozen cyclonic storms a year. • Poverty and deforestation mar the islands' many charms.
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Macedonia

              The church of St. John the Theologian–Kaneo perches on the rocks above placid Ohrid Lake.

Nicaragua

                              Nicaragua's remote Miskito Cays were once a popular pirate hideout.

The largest country in Central America, bounded by Honduras to the north, Costa Rica to the south, the Caribbean to its east, and the Pacific to its west, has a long history of political tumult but is rich in natural attractions. • It boasts one of the world's largest freshwater lakes, home to the only known species of freshwater shark. • Volcanoes, many still active, litter the landscape. • Unspoiled beaches, new ecotourism opportunities, and evocative colonial architecture in cities like LeÛn and Granada draw visitors in record numbers.
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Liechtenstein

                                            Tiny Liechtenstein boasts outsized views of the Alps.

This alpine microstate bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and Austria to the east is a fastidiously clean and well-ordered principality. • It’s also one of only two (the other is Uzbekistan) “doubly landlocked” nations, that is, bordered entirely by other landlocked nations. • An often overlooked winter-sports destination but a not so often overlooked tax haven, it’s the smallest German-speaking country in the world and the only one that doesn’t share a border with the fatherland.
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Japanese Maple, North Carolina

The lacy leaves and wandering branches of a Japanese maple lend drama to the grounds of the Biltmore Estate near Asheville, North Carolina. Built in 1895 by George Washington Vanderbilt, the Biltmore is the largest private residence in the United States and includes more than 75 acres (30 hectares) of manicured gardens.

Red maple leaves and gold on a cottonwood announce the arrival of fall in the pink sandstone canyons of Zion National Park in Utah. Both tree species hug water sources in this arid land of high plateaus and rock towers.

Suspension Bridge, Savegre River

Thrill-seeking kayakers negotiate a perilous suspension bridge soaring over Costa Rica’s Savegre River, near Manuel Antonio National Park. Snaking through a lush rain forest filled with tropical birds and pristine waterfalls, the Savegre is a spectacular stretch of coastal white water.