Surrounded by ash fields in Iceland, an impossibly verdant valley looks like something out of a fairytale.

If a glacial river suddenly diving into a sheer chasm via a dramatic, multi-stage waterfall isn't peak Iceland, it's certainly close.

This valley of hot springs and boiling mud pots is home to the record-holding "Geysir," which originated the English word.

This eye-popping Icelandic crater lake is surrounded by red volcanic rock.

A geothermal paradise with bubbling mud pools and bright blue hot springs.

A winding, blood-red tunnel of hardened lava navigable by foot.

Climb right into the heart of this colorful Iceland volcano.

Is this 200-meter-wide nature reserve the smallest desert in the world?

The loneliest plant in the world resides at the Durban Botanic Gardens...mostly.

Tiny pyrophyllite spheres from 3 billion years ago.

A beautiful viewpoint on the Garden Route overlooking a naturally-occurring outline of Africa.

Environmentally crucial raptors like eagles and vultures are kept and protected in this massive sanctuary.

Mined to a depth of 240 meters with a perimeter of about 1.6 km, the largest hand-dug excavation in the world.

An ancient impact crater on the outskirts of Pretoria.

Home to some of the oldest hominid fossils ever found.

These otherworldly caverns form Earth's oldest known cave system.

Haven for Cape Fur Seals, until the Ring of Death of jumping Great White Sharks arrives.

Raging waters have created a strange geological site that looks like something off of a progressive rock album cover.

This African beach is home to thousands of rare mainland penguins that are known for their annoying voice.

One of the last refuges of the endangered eastern lowland gorilla.

The most biologically diverse protected area in Africa is also the most dangerous.

The world's only facility where orphaned mountain gorillas are cared for.

Home to pygmy hunter-gatherers, hundreds of animal and bird species, and the strange okapi, or forest giraffe.

Mount Nyiragongo has erupted at least 34 times since 1882 and is home to the world's largest lava lake.