Hidden gems worth the trip

Croatia

A village built on top of waterfalls, 30 minutes before Croatia's most famous lakes.

Japan

1,015 stone steps through the snow, to a temple on the edge of a cliff.

Norway

A rock ledge hanging 700 metres above a lake. Would you sit on the edge?

Greece

Monks once reached these cliff-top monasteries by rope and net. Would you dare?

Japan

Only a few hundred people left — and one fire could erase it all.

USA

A hole in the rocks that swallows the Pacific Ocean.

Georgia

A tiny church on a 40-metre rock tower. Visitors can only watch from the base.

Montenegro

An island in the sea, built by hand, one rock at a time.

Taiwan

An old gold-mining town in the mountains that lights up red after dark.

Faroe Islands

A village that was cut off from the world until 2004.

Italy

People lived in these caves until the 1950s.

China

A forest of stone pillars that creates its own weather.

Indonesia

A short boat ride from Bali, but a completely different world.

Cambodia

Skip Thailand: this island next door has the same beaches, lower prices and almost no crowds.

Iceland

A moss-green canyon up to 100 metres deep, still under the radar.

Italy

The 'dying city' is slowly crumbling into the valley. See it while you still can.

Curaçao

A lighthouse and old shipwrecks on an island where nobody lives.

Philippines

A river that runs through a cave and flows straight into the sea.

Morocco

A whole city painted blue, and locals still repaint it every year.

USA

A canyon carved by flash floods, where light beams cut through solid rock.

Austria

So perfect China built a copy. The 7,000-year-old original is still better.