Kinabalu National Park is a protected mountain area in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, centered on Mount Kinabalu and the surrounding highland forests. The park covers a wide range of elevations, creating distinct habitats from lowland rainforest to montane vegetation and alpine areas.
Badami is a historic town in Karnataka’s Bagalkot district, set among red sandstone cliffs and rocky hills in the northern Deccan. Once an important Chalukyan capital, the town is now best known for its rock-cut temples, carved directly into the sandstone surrounding Agastya Lake. The compact setting brings together ancient monuments, a reservoir, rocky outcrops, and narrow valleys, creating a landscape closely tied to the region’s architectural heritage. Badami also forms part of the important
Agdz is a small town in Morocco’s Drâa Valley, positioned between the High Atlas Mountains and the long oasis corridor leading toward the Sahara. The town sits beside the Drâa River, where irrigated gardens and dense stands of date palms contrast with the surrounding dry hills. Agdz has traditionally served as a stopping point along routes crossing southern Morocco, and its location still makes it a useful base for exploring the valley.
Nestled along the Basque coast in southwestern France, St-Jean-de-Luz is a picturesque fishing town that exudes a unique blend of French elegance and Basque charm. Known for its beautiful sandy beaches and its well-preserved old town, St-Jean-de-Luz is a gem of the French Basque Country.
Folégandros is a small Cycladic island in the Aegean Sea, known for its steep cliffs, dry hills, whitewashed villages, and traditional stone architecture. Its main settlement, Chora, sits more than 200 metres above sea level and extends around the medieval Kastro, a fortified district built near the edge of the cliffs.
Photo Credit: Photo by Osman Yunus Bekcan on Unsplash
Photo Credit: Photo by rusyena on Unsplash
Photo Credit: Photo by Hande B. on Unsplash
The city of Canakkale lies at the narrow, 1,200 meter entrance to the Canakkale Strait that connects the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. To honor the 500,000 soldiers who lost their lives at Gelibolu (Gallipoli), the peninsula was made into Gelibou Historical National Park.
Other Popular Destinations in Turkey
Istanbul
Istanbul is a city built on layers of empire. Spanning two continents, it was once the capital of three major empires: Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman. Visitors walking through the Sultanahmet district can witness this timeline firsthand, from the Roman-era Hippodrome to the Byzantine mosaics of Hagia Sophia, and the towering minarets of the Blue Mosque. At nearby Topkapi Palace, rooms still display the jeweled swords, ceremonial robes, and handwritten Qurans once used by Ottoman sultans.
Cappadocia
The ancient region of Cappadocia lies in Central Anatolia, between the cities of Nevsehir, Kayseri and Nigde. Here, the traveler finds one of the most fantastic landscapes in the world. Wind and weather have eroded the soft volcanic rock with hundreds of strangely shaped pillars, cones and "fairy chimneys", often very tall, and in every shade from pink through yellow to russet browns.