Ask a global traveler to name his favorite place in the world, and the answers will run the gamut from a world-class city to a specific guestroom in a favorite hotel, from the corner table in a tiny bistro to a landmark destination or even the familiar lounge chair in the living room at home. The world is rich in wonders, and global travelers are fortunate to personally experience many of them.

Ask a global traveler to define the term epic destination and the answers will be similarly varied and individual. Are we talking Wonders of the World? If so, natural or man-made? Ancient or modern? Clearly the world is full of great and wonderful places. Here are a few of our favorites.

Pyramids of Giza
Mysterious giants stand watch silently over the Cairo landscape.
By Paris Permenter and John Bigley

Like others in our generation, we’d both grown up with dreams of visiting the Egyptian Pyramids. Our first view of them, no doubt, would be across the sands of the desert, maybe`from atop a camel or, at the very least, horseback.

In all our Lawrence of Arabia fantasies, we never imagined our virgin glimpse of the Pyramids of Giza would come as we drove through the suburbs of Cairo.

Fresh from a visit to the Cairo Museum, we made our way in a van through horrific traffic to the city’s edge. We’d toured the museum-to-end-all-museums as far as Egyptian artifacts go and couldn’t wait to see the three structures that symbolize a mysterious civilization that still has the power to mesmerize a 21st century world.

Then suddenly, from the middle of a crowded road, through a curtain of smog and dust, we saw on the horizon the shapes that had burned in our minds since childhood. And, ’burbs or no, the Pyramids were no less spectacular than we’d always hoped.

The Pyramids sit on the outer edge of Cairo and are the most visited attraction in the region. At the top of the list is the Great Pyramid, the tomb of Khufu (Cheops) and the largest pyramid in Egypt. It is the only surviving member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Nearby stands the Pyramid of Khafre, son of Khufu, a slightly smaller structure but, because it’s built on higher ground, similar in appearance. Off to one side stands a much smaller pyramid, one belonging to the grandson of Khufu, and nearby rests the still mystifying Sphinx, with the head of Khafre and the body of a lion.

Early visitors once scaled these rocky summits, but today climbing the Pyramids is strictly prohibited. Instead, travelers stroll the grounds, look up at the sky, and all ask the same question: “How’d they do that?” Licensed tour guides are happy to explain the theories behind the construction of these stone temples, the most popular being that ramps, veritable hills, were constructed beside each pyramid as it was built. A whole city of laborers (many modern Egyptologists believe 20,000) worked on the Great Pyramid alone, hoisting the blocks, each weighing at least 2 tons, up the ramps to build the colossal structures.

As spectacular as the outer construction is, the mysteries of the Pyramids continue inside. For a small fee, visitors can go inside and venture down narrow, hot corridors, not recommended for claustrophobic travelers. (Most of the journey requires a huddled posture.) Dark passageways lead to small burial chambers, each unadorned. The Great Pyramid contains the most complex array of slanted corridors, secret passages, and even small shafts through the thick rock that some speculate were aligned with celestial constellations.

Exiting the Pyramid of Khafre, we were greeted by both fresh air and a setting sun, which tinted the ancient limestone of the structures as gold as a pharaoh’s riches. Taking a few final photos, we stepped away from the Pyramids for a panoramic view but were soon met by one of Giza’s vendors offering a camel ride. Although we might have spotted the monuments from an air-conditioned van in the suburbs, now it was time t o fulfill the rest of our pyramid fantasy. OK, how do you tell a camel to “giddyup”?

Great Wall of China
This crumbling stone dragon links China’s past and present.
By Rob Rogers

To the American eye, there are two Chinas. The first is the storybook country of mandarins, Marco Polo and gilded pagodas rising from the mist. The second is the somewhat frightening superpower that has somehow managed to become the world’s most dynamic economy while remaining a communist nation.

The Chinese, of course, will point out — sometimes politely, sometimes forcefully — that there is only one China. And to many Chinese, there’s no better symbol of that unity than the Great Wall, a crumbling stone dragon whose 4,163 miles of rock and rubble brought the country together in 221 B.C. and remains a link between China’s past and present. By any standard, the wall is a magnificent achievement. Visiting it, however, can be a bewildering reminder to the Western tourist that, at least for the moment, the two Chinas are alive, well and inexorably intertwined.

The best places to visit the Great Wall are just outside the capital city of Beijing, the entry point into China for most foreign visitors. The section of the Wall closest to Beijing is at Badaling, 40 miles northwest of the city. Badaling has been restored, widened and commodified for the benefit of tourists, and tourists have responded by showing up in numbers that stagger the imagination.

Viewed from a distance, Badaling looks like the Great Wall of the movies, a series of stone towers like castle battlements scaling the side of a mountain. When you’re actually there, however, Badaling can make you feel like a salmon swimming upstream. Ascending its steep stone staircase is a lot like walking up the down escalator at a major metropolitan subway station during rush hour. The Chinese don’t seem to mind, and it’s a little intimidating seeing old men, young children and women in cocktail dresses with 4-inch heels going up and down the stairs as if they did this every day of their lives. There’s almost always an American tourist somewhere near the top, drenched in sweat, waiting for the crowd to thin out a bit before he heads back down. It never does.

Those willing to venture a little farther afield will find an entirely different wall at Simatai, about 70 miles northeast of Beijing. Much of the wall here remains as it was during the days of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), and some of it slopes up or down at a 70-degree angle. A wrong step can send the unwary traveler 1,500 feet down the side of a mountain. As one guidebook declared, “There are also sheer precipices on both sides, which will make you tremble with fear and lose the spirit of hero.”

Still, a little fear is a small price to pay for the experience of walking, alone, on 500-year-old brick, with the ghost-gray morning mist swirling around your feet and the sound of a rooster crowing somewhere in the farms and bamboo forest below. The view from the top of Simatai is unbelievable: You can watch fishing boats pass on the river below, or look across to the horizon and imagine yourself back to a time when the wall was the dividing line between China and the restless hordes of Mongolia. There are still reminders of the other China, of course: A few postcard sellers manage to find their way to the top of the wall, and there are signs that the government is planning to bring the handrails and paved paths of Badaling to Simatai in the near future. For the moment, however, the Great Wall is still a place where any visitor can find both the China they’d hoped to see and the China that’s beyond anything they’d imagined.

Ephesus
Time stands still in the ancient city of Ephesus.
By Lisa Matte

Recognized as one of the best — if not the best — preserved ancient city in the world, Ephesus is believed to have been founded sometime between 1500 and 1000 B.C. Accessible to the Aegean Sea, the ancient city enjoyed a long and prosperous reign as a key trade gateway between the European and Asian continents.

Today the site offers visitors, many of whom arrive by boat at the port of Kusadasi on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast and travel 10 miles inland to reach the much-revered ruins, a glimpse into the daily lives of the ancient peoples who inhabited Ephesus through the ages. At its height, sometime around the first century A.D., the bustling port city was home to 300,000 inhabitants. But, a s nature took its course and the city’s harbor filled with silt, merchants turned to other stops on the trade route, and Ephesus fell into decline. Ironically, the city’s decline is what accounts for its preservation. All but abandoned, it held no interest for invading marauders and so was spared the looting and pillaging that destroyed many other ancient cities.

A stroll through Ephesus today amounts to a walk through ancient history. Believed to have been the city where the Virgin Mary resided late in her life, Ephesus was also home for a time to St. Paul, who preached to the Ephesians in the city’s enormous amphitheater. Other well-preserved ruins include the regal Library of Celsus, the magnificent column-lined Arcadian Way (which once led down to the port), the Gate of Hadrian and Roman terrace houses.

Easter Island
Mystery shrouds this isolated island landscape.
By Allan Seiden

It was Thor Heyerdahl’s marvelous ’50s adventure, Aku Aku: The Secret of Easter Island, that introduced me to Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, as the Polynesian natives call this most isolated of islands. Against all odds it rises, alone, from the depths of the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbor, tiny Pitcairn (of Mutiny on the Bounty fame) is 1,300 miles to the west. Twenty-two-hundred miles to the east lies Chile, of which the Isla de Pasqua, as the Chileans call it, is an incongruous part. About three times the size of Manhattan, its 3,800 people are settled in Hanga Roa, the island’s one village.

Sky-gazing moai, giant stone monoliths, dot the island landscape, enigmatic reminders of a lost civilization that flourished 1,000 years ago, centuries after a Polynesian people settled Rapa Nui, arriving from the Marquesas, 2,100 miles to the west. It was Heyerdahl’s still unproven contention, but one with which I personally agree, that South American influence helped define the island’s unique culture.

Getting here is difficult — a fact that has allowed Rapa Nui to retain an aura of mystery. Even as the 21st century begins, isolation limits the number of daily arrivals.

Accommodation options include low-priced residencials ($15-$50 per person, per night, including some meals and kitchen use). Residencial Mahina Taka Taka Georgia (tel 100 452) is one of these. Hotels ($140 to $180) like Taha Taha (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

) offer ocean views, air-conditioned rooms and pools. Taha Taha is also home to one of the dozen or so restaurants in Hanga Roa. Bookings and transfers can be made upon arrival at the airport, where representatives of residencials greet arriving flights.

The most blessed result of an annual tourist count of just 20,000 is that Rapa Nui remains a place to be privately discovered, either on your own (four-wheel-drive rentals are recommended, although most sites are accessible by car) or by tour, all of which can be booked in Hanga Roa. Kia Koe (tel 100 852) and Haumak Archaeological Guide Service (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

) are two good tour options. Motorbikes are available, as are horses (rented for a full eight-hour day). Riding is easy thanks to the rolling, grass-covered landscape.

Moai, the monumental carved-stone statues with their god-searching eyes, remain Rapa Nui’s claim to fame, and justifiably so, both for the esthetic workmanship and its spiritual impact. Worshipped by the islanders, they were likely ancestor figures that linked each clan to its ancestry and the gods.

For me, the most impressive site was the quarry on the slopes of Raru Ranaku, one of the island’s extinct volcanic craters. It was here that the great statues were carved into and cut from the rock, to be carried miles overland to sites around the island, many of which have been restored.

The summit of the Rano Kau crater is another highlight. It was here that the island’s clans once gathered, performing ceremonies in underground rooms before setting out in an annual competition that decided which clan would rule in the year ahead. Their sanctuaries lie on the crater’s narrow rim, providing grand vistas that take in much of the island.

My visit fulfilled my expectations, offering authenticity and spiritual intensity, and charg ing every one of the seven days I spent here amid travel’s most generous rewards, thankful that such a place still exists in an ever-shrinking world.

Petra
The sands of time serve to enhance Petra’s natural beauty.
By Lisa Matte

Strolling through the towering chasm, or siq, en route to the ancient city of Petra, I was stunned by the natural beauty of the immense sandstone walls rising toward the deep blue sky on both sides of the narrow passageway. Each turn revealed a subtle shift in texture and color more dramatic than the one before. Snapping photos at each twist and turn, I couldn’t imagine anything more spectacular. That’s when my guide took my hand and led me to a spot in the center of the chasm. Following his gaze, I caught my first glimpse of the Khazneh. It’s a view recorded by photographers the world over. Still, seeing it in person for the first time was a breath-taking experience.

Carved from a wall of muted orange sandstone, the Khazneh is fronted by towering pillars supporting an impressive portico. Fans of pop culture may remember it best for its role in the Harrison Ford film classic Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It was here that Ford, as Indiana Jones, “discovered” the Holy Grail — an appropriate setting for the scene since the structure’s name, Khazneh, means “treasury.” Historians, however, continue to debate its function. Some believe it was a tomb, while others believe it was a temple of some sort.

Beyond the Khazneh, Petra opens to a main street paved with cut stone and lined with columns. En route to the amphitheater, visitors pass an open market, a public fountain and myriad tombs and cave dwellings. Highlights include Qasr al-Bint Firaun, or Castle of Pharaoh’s Daughter. The freestanding yellow sandstone structure has undergone extensive restoration. Continuing into the city, visitors pass by the Temple of Winged Lions and the Temple of Dushara before reaching a towering stairway leading up a rock wall to a fort established by Crusaders in later centuries.

Located several hours south of Amman, Jordan, Petra sits on the edge of Wadi Araba, a mountainous desert on the border separating Jordan from Israel. Established by the Nabataeans in the sixth century B.C., Petra initially served as a stop on ancient caravan trade routes. The city remained in the hands of the Nabataeans for four or five centuries, until the Romans claimed it sometime around A.D. 100. Through the ages, various regimes left their marks; the Romans are notably credited with carving a huge amphitheater into the landscape. Personal dwellings carved into the towering sandstone walls remained inhabited by local Bedouins into the 20th century. It’s easy to spend a day — or more — exploring the city’s nooks and crannies. In fact, so much remains untouched — and so little is off-limits to tourists — it’s easy to imagine the city in its heyday. Even today, Bedouins — many in traditional garb — venture into the ancient city daily to peddle handicrafts, lending an air of authenticity to the site, which remains under excavation.

Machu Picchu
Lost in the Andes — and history.
By Janice Viola Hall

My sister made me do it. She said that neither of us had taken a decent vacation in years, and as we live on opposite coasts — she in California and I in Connecticut — the trip would provide a wonderful opportunity for us to spend time together. A few months later, under the auspices of WildernessTravel.com, we found ourselves in Lima, Peru, waiting for the small plane that would carry us to Cusco. Little did I know what an adventure lay ahead.

Cusco’s altitude — 11,000 feet above sea level — can pose a challenge for even the hardiest traveler. The local solution is a tea made from the coca plant that is supposed to help alleviate the symptoms of altitude sickness. We had the privilege of staying at the Monasterio, a relatively new four-star hotel where room service includes bottled oxygen for those guests suffering from the altitude. On our short climbs I did come up a bit short of breath, but not enough to go scurrying for an oxygen fix or start thinking I should have stayed home. We enjoyed a local festival at which residents wore colorful Incan costumes, shopped for crafts and jewelry and bought alpaca sweaters at very low prices.

Discovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, who went on to be first a senator and then a governor of Connecticut, the ruins of Machu Picchu remained hidden — “lost” in the jungle — for more than 500 years (although, natives are sure to have known where it was) until Bingham found the site while mountain trekking. We rode the Hiram Bingham train from Cusco to Machu Picchu, a steep three-hour climb up the mountainside. We arrived around lunchtime and settled into the Sanctuary Lodge, the only hotel at Machu Picchu. The Sanctuary was expensive but well worth the cost for the one night we were actually there. Our room had a spectacular vista overlooking the mountains with their precipitous 2,000-foot cliffs.

Words can scarcely describe my first sighting of the magnificent ruins — huge, spread over the mountains, with llamas grazing on terraces. The entire complex was built without mortar, the stones cut and fit with absolute precision. At its height, the Incan empire stretched over 2,500 square miles, across much of South America. Machu Picchu was built between 1460 and 1470 by Pachacuti, considered the “Alexander the Great” of the Incas. What was its purpose? No one really knows. Perhaps a summer retreat for an aging ruler or an Incan university. Theories abound. One thing is certain. It was a sacred place for the Incas. However, they abandoned it when Spanish explorers arrived set on collecting gold to enrich the coffers of Spain and on bringing Christianity to the Incas.

The buildings at Machu Picchu are spectacular. Most are residences, but there are public spaces, storage buildings and temples. The most striking, the temple of the sun god, is perfectly situated so that at the summer solstice, around June 22 each year, the rising sun aligns perfectly with the structure and shines through a large aperture at the top of the temple. There are 3,000 steps at Machu Picchu; we climbed them all.

Medain Saleh
A remarkably well-preserved link to an ancient civilization.
By Francis X. Gallagher

Saudi Arabia may not be the first country that comes to mind when you consider epic destinations, but it is chock-full of stunning archaeological sites, many seldom seen by Western travelers. Madain Saleh, built between 100 B.C. and A.D. 100 and featuring huge tombs carved into solid rock, is one of the most impressive. Like Petra in Jordan, this site was developed by the Nebataeans, ancient traders and caravan travelers (the first business travelers?), as they journeyed from Jordan to Mecca. Although the tombs in Petra are more ornate, the monoliths here are made of harder rock and are in a better state of preservation. Impressive too is the way the gigantic three- to 10-story boulders rise from the sand like gigantic fungi from the soil.

When the Romans claimed the region, Madain Saleh was all but abandoned. The Romans reconfigured the trade route to the Red Sea, effectively cutting off Madain Saleh. More than 100 tombs of various size, shape and importance dot the landscape. About 40 of them bear Aramaic inscriptions that give some indication of their history. I was fortunate to be traveling with an historian of antiquities affiliated with the British Museum who was able to translate many of the inscriptions.

As you tour the site, and many other sites in Saudi Arabia, you’ll notice a repetitive “step” design on the tombs. This is a trademark of the Nebataeans. The five steps represent the five Nebataean deities. Additionally, you’ll notice a preponderance of pyramidal shapes (also seen at the ruins of Dir’iyyah, outside Riyadh (see “A Wealth of Possibility,” Global Traveler, November 2004). Tombs are also adorned with images of animals. It’s interesting to note that any likeness of a living being is represented without a head — to ensure the images would not be worshipped as gods. You’ll also find quite a few unfinished tombs. Carvers, who took years to complete a tomb, would abandon the work if at any point in the process they discovered an imperfection in the stone.

At Qasr Al-Saneh, the most detailed tomb, you can see all the basic elements of the architecture. Note the large interior with shelves to hold the corpses. At Al-Khuraymat, where about 20 tombs are carved into the massive rock face, you can see the images of griffins and animals that adorn the tombs (sans heads) and the columns, which show a Greco-Roman influence. Diwan, a ritual site with a carved altar, is where Nebataeans offered sacrifices to the gods. Qasr Farid is the largest and most photographed tomb, yet not the most beautiful. The tomb, stunning at sunset, is carved from a lone rock.

I stayed at the Sheraton Medina, which actually lies outside the city of Medina. (Non-Muslims cannot enter the city.) From the hotel, it was a three-hour bus ride to the site. Along the way, I saw a camel caravan and enjoyed the beautiful desert landscape.

Chichen Itza
Remnants of an ancient Mayan civilization buried deep in the Yucatan jungle.
By Lydia Moss

Mexico is blessed with a wide range of relaxing attractions, yet for travelers seeking the sights beyond its beautiful beaches, the amazing ruins at Chichen Itza, deep in the Yucatan jungle, stand alone. Shrouded in mystery, the magic of the ancient Mayan civilization lives on in this incredible architectural landscape. Its name, Chichen Itza, is derived from the Mayan words chi meaning “mouth” and chen meaning “well.” Itza is the name of the tribe that once lived here and built this 6-square-mile metropolis piece by piece between the 7th and 13th centuries. About 30 buildings remain from among hundreds of remarkable structures constructed without the benefit of modern tools. Ornate colonnades and carvings of serpents and Mexican gods adorn many of the buildings. Most impressive is the Pyramid of Kukulkan (also known as El Castillo), a square-based structure that shoots 75 feet into the air and is believed to have been a Mayan base for the study of astronomy.

The Maya were the most prominent of the classical civilizations that inhabited Mesoamerica, in what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize and western Honduras. They were well known for their decorative ceremonial architecture and were skilled farmers; they cleared dense jungle to build underground reservoirs, which stored rainwater, and to open trade routes. The Mayans were also scientists and artists who created the calendar, mapped the heavens and developed hieroglyphic writing. The fact that they seemed to just disappear off the face of the earth, taking many of their secrets with them, continues to lure curious visitors to this remote area.

While Chichen Itza can be easily navigated in a day, it’s best to stay overnight to be ready to enter the archaeological zone early in the day — before tour buses arrive from Cancun and Merida. The site opens daily at 8 a.m., an ideal hour to climb the Pyramid of Kukulkan and view other ruins from that high vantage point. Just two sides of this great pyramid are restored, leaving the original condition evident on the other two. Inquire about visiting the old temple at the top of the pyramid through an ancient passage where a magnificently preserved carving of a red jaguar with jade eyes awaits. View the Great Ball Court, which long ago was the site of “games” designed to settle disputes or make offerings to the gods. (Being chosen to play and then be sacrificed was considered a great honor.)

Staying overnight also gives you time to experience a light-and-sound show staged at the site each evening. The best route to Chichen Itza is via Merida, the capital of the Yucatan about 80 miles away. Spend the night at the Hotel Mayaland (tel 52 9 851 0071), the world’s first hotel located within an archaeological site. The hotel has its own entrance to the temples. Rooms in the main house have views of the ruins, while thatched-roof Mayan-style bungalows are set amid acres of tropical gardens. There is a swimming pool and a good restaurant featuring Mayan specialties. For the best experience, hire a private guide.