Imagine the wonderment of the ancient Khmer as they entered Angkor Wat for the first time: crossing the vast moat, peering up at the 180ft (55m) central tower, gazing at intricately carved bas-reliefs. The process is more obvious here than elsewhere on Earth, since animals that otherwise look alike diverge subtly from island to island, depending on their environment. That's only one of the brain-bending experiences you'll have visiting these 4085 sq miles (10,582 sq km) of salt, high in the Bolivian altiplano. But for adventurous souls who can handle a 4WD and don't mind camping, there are affordable options within the delta's Moremi Game Reserve. The iconic Treasury, looming 128ft (39m) high is most visitors' first sight of the city, reached after a winding journey through a narrow water-etched slot canyon.

Once nearly lost to the outside world, the sandstone city is now one of the most loved places on the planet, voted in as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World by popular ballot in 2007.Lonely Planet waxes lyrical about the cathedral's "stunning location on the bucolic banks of the River Alun, on the wild Pembrokeshire coast where Wales looks across the Celtic Sea to Ireland" drawing attention to the dusky purple hue of its sandstone.

Join me on this iconic New Zealand adventure, looking for glowing larvae in an underground wilderness. Nepal offers golden temples, charming hill villages, jungle wildlife watching, and the incredible walk around Nepal's Annapurna massif, which has long been considered one of the world's great treks. Lonely Planet says: Look down at two billion years of geologic time and you’ll see why the mile-deep, 277-mile-long phenomenon is nature’s cathedral. This is like North America's answer to an African safari, although here the Big Five creatures are bison, bighorn sheep, elk, bear and wolf. Fiordland National Park (New Zealand) — Carved by ancient glaciers and riven by towering cliffs that feature countless waterfalls, Fiordland makes the list despite, no doubt, stiff competition from New Zealand's dozen other national parks.The islands are famed, of course, as the place where Charles Darwin developed his ideas on evolution by natural selection. It's still decades away from completion, but the Sagrada Familia is still considered one of the world's top attractions.