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Located in Tagaytay in Luzon, just an hour and a half by car from Manila, Taal Volcano has a complex and unique landscape and offers one of the most picturesque views in the Philippines. Taal Lake is a freshwater lake that partly fills the Taal Caldera, a large collapsed area formed during prehistoric eruptions. Within the lake is the nine-square-mile Volcano Island, which is the active part of the volcano and consists of at least 47 cones and craters, including the Binintiang Malaki cinder cone, which looks how you imagine a volcano should. In the center of Volcano Island is the crater lake, which hosts a small rocky island called Vulcan Point. So there is an island within a lake on an island (which is a volcano) within a lake on an island! (Vulcan Point is in the crater lake on Volcano Island, which is in Taal Lake, which is on the island of Luzon.) The volcano has not erupted since the seventies, though there are occasional signs of unrest. Visiting Taal’s crater lake is a great day-trip option: You hop on a boat across Taal Lake to Volcano Island, where you can hike or ride on horseback to the crater lake. Or you can simply take in the great vistas from Tagaytay, enjoying the cool weather and exploring the many places to eat.

From 1903 to 1979, the Panama Canal and an area extending eight kilometers (five miles) beyond it on each side were an unincorporated territory of the United States. The Canal Zone was not only politically but culturally part of America, with towns that could have been plucked out of the Midwest except for the humidity and tropical foliage. Balboa was the administrative capital of the Canal Zone, with American schools, several Protestant churches with services in English and both an Elks Club and a Masonic Lodge. Many of the buildings, like the YMCA and the Panama Canal Administration Building, still stand. After 1979, the Canal was jointly administered by Panama and the United States for 20 years before being returned completely to Panama in 1999.

The conservatory portion of the Como Park Zoo is worth a stop for its various gardens and exotic plants, especially on a cold winter day when you’re craving a pop of green. Start in the Sunken Garden, which hosts seasonal displays of everything from azaleas and tulips to roses and chrysanthemums, then explore the Tropical Encounters exhibition, which is home to an authentic South American rain forest filled with plants and animals. Also on-site is a palm dome, water lily pond, Japanese garden, orchid house, bonsai display, and Enchanted Garden, which attracts hundreds of butterflies every summer with its fragrant selection of plants, trees, and shrubs.

The 17th-century estate where Simón Bolívar died in 1830 is the site of several Bolivar monuments as well as an art museum featuring works by Latin American artists inspired by Bolívar, the hero who freed Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela from colonial rule. The estate serves as the city’s botanical garden, also worth your time for its magnificent, centuries-old trees.

The Mercado de Artesanías 5 de Mayo is best known for crafts such as painted ceramic bowls, woven baskets, textiles and dolls in traditional outfits, though you can also pick up touristy souvenirs. It’s the place to shop for a panama hat in Panama City (even if they are actually imported from Ecuador) or that hammock you’ve always wanted.

Conquistadors built Panamá Viejo, the first European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the New World, in 1519. The original site was abandoned in 1671 after Henry Morgan’s pirates attacked and the residents relocated down the coast. This second settlement, now called Casco Viejo (old town), is the historic district of Panama City. Together, both locations make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At Panamá Viejo, visitors can explore an archaeological site with famous ruins, while Casco Viejo is abuzz with the markets, cafés and nightlife found along its narrow streets and in its classic waterfront buildings.

This is dinner (or lunch) theater like you’ve never experienced before. You’re guaranteed a show at the Miraflores Restaurant, atop the Miraflores Visitor Center, when your table has views of the ships passing through the locks. It may be a touristy spot, but the restaurant gets high marks for its lunch buffet and dinner menu, with the ceviche and fresh grilled fish especially good options.

In reality, the 1,620-hectare (4,000-acre) Barro Colorado Island is a hilltop. Or, at least it was until the creation of Gatún Lake turned it into the largest island in the Canal Zone, one where the Smithsonian Institute operates a research center and gives morning tours. Ships sail tightly past the island, offering the chance to glimpse toucans, iguanas and bats that live among the 1,300 plant species and 381 bird species of this vital tropical woodland.

John Gaw Meem is considered one of New Mexico’s most influential architects—and that fact alone makes this ranch, designed in 1932 by the so-called Father of Santa Fe style, worth a visit. But Meem isn’t the only big name associated with the property: Landscape architect Rose Greeley designed the gardens and artist Peter Hurd painted a mural on the property. The hotel is set on 25 acres of lavender fields, first planted in 1999 and now used for a line of in-house spa products. There are organic gardens, too, which provide the kitchen with Chimayo chilies, casaba melons, big cheese squash, and other seasonal produce. The look here tends toward clean lines, neutral hues, and quiet elegance over fussiness, though the historic rooms tend to have a bit more New Mexico flair—kiva fireplaces, exposed ceiling beams, local art—than the newer farm rooms. The latter are located in 1930s-style dairy buildings, carefully constructed to feel both of the era and of the place.

Colombians from the Caribbean coast, known as Costeños, are immensely proud of their cultural, musical, literary, and historical heritage, all of which are on display at this interactive museum. The country’s famous shore stretches from the jungles bordering Panama up through the historic cities of Cartagena, Barranquilla, and Santa Marta, all the way to the deserts of La Guajira. Multimedia exhibits here offer insight into the region’s indigenous cultures, and into the varied musical expressions that have emerged along the long coastline.

The canal’s descent back to sea level begins at the Pedro Miguel Lock, whose single step is almost quaint in comparison what’s happening in the canal’s other two sets of locks. Yet, so vitally important is it that Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William H. Taft both stopped to inspect excavations and address workers here. The lock is so narrow that you could almost reach out and touch the “mules,” the toylike silver locomotives that guide the ships.

If isolation is the endgame, the 11-cabana Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort in Cambutal, a village 32 miles west of Playa Venao, is the perfect spot. Daily yoga and meditation sessions take place in a thatched-roof rancho facing the Pacific. For beach outings, the staff will fill your cooler with fish tacos or Thai-style Buddha bowls. Surfboards are available for rent, bicycles are complimentary, and secluded, empty beaches await. This appeared in the November/December 2017 issue.

The ire of Mount Kilauea reforges the world before visitors’ eyes. Nicknamed “the World’s Only Drive-In Volcano,” it’s produced serious lava every day since 1983 with no signs of stopping. Pele—the fire goddess who lives here, according to Hawaiian lore—is on a roll. Occasionally the lava flows spill into the sea, releasing stunning plumes of steam. Don’t miss the petroglyphs, lava tube, lush rain forest, and more than 150 miles of trail, including the four-mile Kilauea Iki loop. The drive here from Kona or Kohala can take two and a half hours, a bit of a long day, so consider reserving accommodations in the town of Volcano. You’ll have plenty of time to explore this otherworldly landscape, and even see the lava glowing in the dark!

Since it was built back in 1976, the CN Tower has topped the must-visit list of most Toronto tourists. Until recently, a visit was pretty standard; hop in elevator, shoot up to the observation deck, and ogle the city from a hawk’s vantage point. While this was certainly fine and enjoyable, the since-developed EdgeWalk experience has ramped up the Tower’s bucket-list potential. Thrill-seekers can now do a hands-free, breezy circumnavigation of the tower’s roof, up at 1,168 feet. And, yes, they do perform sky-high weddings complete with elasticized rings and special attire for the big day.