Understand
How to read Machu Picchu beyond the postcard
Terraces, water and stone reveal an achievement larger than the famous view.
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Stories beyond the list
The Wonders
Journal.
Ideas for seeing more, understanding more and making better journeys. Richly illustrated reading for curious travellers.
20 features · history, ideas, travel craft and the journeys still ahead
Understand
Why the great waterfalls feel so different
Iguazú, Victoria Falls and Niagara make three distinct arguments for wonder.
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Understand
A reef is more than its colours
A short guide to seeing relationships beneath the surface.
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Understand
How to look at a temple when you know very little
A practical method for finding meaning without memorising a dynasty chart.
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Ideas
Can an entire city count as one wonder?
Why Sydney, Rome and Sicily need clearly stated boundaries.
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Ideas
The Stonehenge question
What a famous omission reveals about the difficulty of choosing only 100.
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Ideas
Would you swap a wonder for Yosemite, Fuji or Niagara?
Three different ways a personal list can change direction.
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Wonders with children: plan for curiosity, not endurance
How to create a memorable visit without turning it into a test of stamina.
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Bring home a story, not just the famous view
A simple photographic sequence for any wonder.
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How to find a quieter encounter with a famous place
Better timing helps, but the route and your expectations matter too.
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The hotel decision that changes the whole trip
Choose a location for the journey you want to make.
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Travel craft
What a wonders trip really costs
A budget that includes the parts a headline price leaves out.
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Understand
Volcanic wonders: look for the process
From Yellowstone to the Azores, the landscape is still being made.
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Travel craft
Wildlife without a checklist
How to choose encounters that are better for the animals and more rewarding for you.
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The remaining 15
Four unfinished chapters in South America
A planning essay for Patagonia, the Atacama, Uyuni and Easter Island.
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The remaining 15
Desert, delta and mountain
A thoughtful way to approach three remaining southern African wonders.
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The remaining 15
Gorillas and Madagascar deserve different journeys
Two remaining wildlife goals with very different planning questions.
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Future journeys
Reef, river town and rice terraces
Planning Raja Ampat, Luang Prabang and the Philippine Cordilleras without rushing between them.
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The remaining 15
Antarctica, Tibet and Cappadocia: three kinds of distance
Why the final places on a list should shape the journey rather than the other way round.
Read the story →Archive
Then, now and the space between
Archive images of Giza, Sydney and Venice, with interactive comparisons.
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