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Nature

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What to Eat—or Not—in Peru

The ceviche carts and meat grills are colorful pieces of scenery, but eating a cherimoya or a sweet and starchy lucuma could be the truest taste of Peru

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How to Win Inauguration Weekend: There’s an App for That

One man won the election, but with free tours and insider information, you can still win the weekend. Plus hours, eating spots and where to rest your feet

Accompanied by a mat of long brown hair, these broken bones on the side of the highway most likely belonged to a woman.

Braving the Pan-American Highway of Death

Along the roadway in Peru, hand-built memorials to accident victims occur almost as regularly as the kilometer markers themselves

Astrophysicist Lawrence Krauss is in the house on Monday to explain why our understanding of physics in the past 50 years has been based on a particle whose existence we couldn’t prove.

Events January 14-17: Higgs Boson, Up “Close” with President Obama, Modern Origami and Shiny Pots

This week, learn why the Higgs Boson particle matters, see a huge portrait of President Obama, discover modern origami and stand in DC’s most opulent room

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No Place Compares to the Unrelenting Lifelessness of Peru’s Sechura Desert

From tropical mountains, we descended into a landscape of flailing-armed cacti, spiny succulents like giant artichokes and sand dunes as high as mountains

The miserable sprawl and slums of north Lima make a poor first impression for tourists fresh out of the airport. Here, the author’s brother, Andrew, is shown 15 kilometers north of Lima, on the way to the mountain town of Canta.

From the Slums of Lima to the Peaks of the Andes

After unpacking and assembling his bicycle at the airport terminal, the author heads north on the Pan-American Highway toward the mountain town of Canta

Peru’s mountainous terrain is the landscape of dreams for climbers, hikers and cyclists.

A Short Bike Ride in the Peruvian Andes

The author kicks off 2013 with a 1,100-mile cycling journey through the Andes from Lima, Peru, to Ecuador’s lofty capital of Quito

Welwitschia mirablis

Photos of the World’s Oldest Living Things

Among the organisms documented by photographer Rachel Sussman are 80,000-year-old aspen trees and 600,000-year-old bacteria

The Anacostia Community Museum has organized the exhibit “Reclaiming the Edge: Urban Waterways and Civic Engagement.”

Spotlight

The lodge at Bolivia’s Chacaltaya Glacier was once the world’s highest ski resort—until the glacier melted away almost entirely in just 20 years. The lodge closed its ski facilities in 2009 and stands today amid a rocky, almost snowless moonscape.

As the World Warms, the Future of Skiing Looks Bleak

Climate change is delivering serious wounds to the winter sport all over the globe

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Should Trophy Hunting of Lions Be Banned?

Some argue that tourist safari hunts generate important money for African nations—but can lions afford the loss?

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Where to Watch the Biggest Waves Break

From Waimea Bay to “Mavericks,” here are some superb sites to watch surfers catch the biggest breakers in the world this winter

Move over Hope Diamond! The Dom Pedro obelisk, a Beryl variety aquamarine, is in the house.

World’s Largest Cut Aquamarine Gives the Hope Diamond a Run for its Money

A dazzlingly blue obelisk comes to the Natural History Museum after a long journey from the mines of Brazil to the stone cutting capital of Europe

Photography by Diana Zlatanovski. Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology malacology collection.

Collecting the World’s Collections of Small Oddities One Day at a Time

A Q&A with Diana Zlatanovski on how she came to collect collections, what they say about design, and how to be a collector without becoming a hoarder

It took many, many long sea voyages and much tedious charting to produce the first crude maps of the world. Today, travelers are increasingly abandoning even the best maps in favor of electronic navigation devices.

Have GPS Devices Taken the Fun out of Navigation?

With the rise of the digital age, the fascinating skills of map reading and celestial navigation are becoming lost arts

Panama is the ideal site for the BioMuseo (Museum of Biodiversity), due to open next summer.

Frank Gehry’s BioMuseo, New Science Museum in Panama

Over 43,000 square feet of exhibit space will tell the story of the isthmus and the diverse species who live there

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Spidernaut Returns Home From Space

After a 99-day at the space station, a red-backed jumping spider comes to the Natural History Museum

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The Meals That Starving Travelers Dream Of

Daydreaming of food is a tradition as old as the saga of man versus wild. What would you wish to eat if you were starving in a tent or a dinghy at sea?

The Sant Ocean Hall at the Natural History Museum is just one of the many attractions to be enjoyed this holiday weekend.

Insider Visitor Tips for the Holiday Weekend

Must-see exhibits, little known facts and veteran visitor wisdom for your Thanksgiving weekend at the Smithsonian

Ed Heseltine, a British traveler currently living in the Dordogne, shows the first of two beers that he found stashed months earlier by the author of “Off the Road.”

Breaking News From France: My Hidden Beers Discovered!

Six containers of lager remain hidden in remote crevices and crannies in the French countryside. If you wish to find them, read these instructions

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