Off the Road

These Northern California abalone divers have bagged their limits and are out of the water again safely. On some "ab" dives, tragic accidents happen.

The Most Dangerous Game: Chasing a Sea Snail?

Abalone divers die of exhaustion, heart attacks, or becoming entangled in kelp. The fear of being eaten by a great white shark is persistent and haunting

A pre-flood view of Vernazza

Springtime Comes to the Flood-Damaged Cinque Terre

The future is looking brighter for the cliffside Italian villages ravaged by last fall's rains

A farmer in the Congo harvests jackfruit, the largest tree fruit in the world.

More Fruits Worth a Voyage Around the World

Pawpaws are scarcely cultivated and even more rarely sold in markets, so pack a machete and a fruit bowl and get thee to the backwoods of Kentucky

Here is the finished Last Supper float, carried by members of the Brotherhood of the Turchinis, one of the confraternities that traditionally participates in the procession.

Good Friday Festivities on Procida

The Mysteries of the Dead Christ procession begins at Terra Murata on the island of Procida

Starchy staple of the tropics, the breadfruit is often fried or baked and eaten like potatoes.

Exotic Fruits to Eat Locally When Traveling Globally

The crimson fruits occur by the millions, and fishermen, tequila-sipping cowboys, and even a few tourists take to the desert to pursue the pitahaya

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Sicilian Easter Sweets

On the Italian island, marzipan figures—pears, plums, Paschal lambs—are a favorite holiday treat

A margarita at Margaritaville in Key West

A World of Cocktails

Unmixed feelings about mixed drinks, from the Singapore Sling to the Spritz con Aperol, courtesy of a thirsty traveler

El Capitan, as seen here from the floor of Yosemite Valley, was once considered almost unclimbable.

A Short Talk With a Legend of Rock

"Climbing without risk isn't climbing," says Yvon Chouinard, American rock climbing pioneer and founder of Patagonia

In northern Spain, pouring apple cider from bottle to glass is a sport requiring dexterity and skill, as demonstrated by this barman in La Calzada, Asturias.

More Brews and Booze from Around the Globe

Ignore everyone and beware of liquid that looks like water—because it's probably chacha, and in the Republic of Georgia, locals will make you drink it

Mahanoy Mountain shows the scars of strip mining.

A Short Trip to Coal Country

The Great Blue Hole of Belize was named by Jacques Cousteau as one of the world's top diving sites.

The Greatest Diving Sites in the World

The vertiginous void of the Great Blue Hole offers divers the feeling of facing off with the edge of the world

If you figure out a way to politely turn down baijiu, China's favorite hard liquor, please let us know.

Booze Cruise: The Best Local Liquors to Try While Traveling

Fermentation has been replicated independently in nearly every region of earth, and many of the drinks various cultures brew are well worth a journey

The author and his bike stand about 850 feet above San Francisco on Conzelman Road. Repeated 10 times, this little hill amounts to a world classic of climbing.

The World’s Best Uphill Bike Rides

Long, steady climbs on a bicycle are the holy grail of athletic conquests. We hill climbers measure the worth of a landscape by its rise over run

Cloud, sea and sun create a morning sky as spectacular as it is serene as Matt Rutherford enters another day on his solo voyage around the Americas.

Will Matt Rutherford be First to Circumnavigate the Americas Solo?

"Basically, I either fail and everyone thinks I'm crazy, or I succeed and I'm a hero," says the sailor, who is on the homestretch of a one-year journey

An ocotillo flower

Wildflower Hunting in the California Desert

March is the traditional time to view the fab flora in Joshua Tree National Park

Few landscapes have inspired the author quite like the Picos de Europa of northern Spain.

Why Do You Travel?

What is it we look for over mountains and across oceans? Answer our survey and we'll publish responses in the May issue of Smithsonian

17,000 feet

More Great Walks of the World

Which hikes are the best in the world, and which ones did we miss?

Meadows, lakes, snow and granite are the enduring elements of California's John Muir Trail, which leads through 211 miles of some of the world's most beautiful alpine wilderness.

Great Walks of the World

The fact that people opt to walk today tells us there is something virtuous and irresistible in the plodding of one foot forward after the other

This scene from Lake Wanaka captures much that is great about New Zealand, like the Southern Alps and the country's many gleaming lakes.

New Zealand: What’s Hot and What’s Not

From Stewart Island in the south to the Surville Cliffs in the north, New Zealand is a country almost as geographically diverse as the United States

Caravans cram this campground in Akaroa in a scene typical of New Zealand. Cyclists and hikers, when camped among such fleets of vehicles, may wish for a patch of privacy somewhere in the nearest forest—if only there were access.

Free Camping in New Zealand: Don’t Bank on It

Wild camping isn't just a pleasure; it's a necessity for many cyclists

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