Smithsonian Lists

The Smithsonian Life List

From Iguazu Falls to the Outer Hebrides: 43 places to see this lifetime

Top EvoTourism Destinations

The best places to see the wonders of evolution

Editors' Picks

Defending the Rhino

As demand for rhino horn soars, police and conservationists in South Africa pit technology against increasingly sophisticated poachers

Seeing Dubai Through a Cell Phone Camera

At a shopping mall in Dubai, Joel Sternfeld documents the peak of consumer culture with his iPhone

The Sport of Camel Jumping

In the deserts of Yemen, Zaraniq tribesmen compete to leap camels in a single bound

Abu Camp elephants

The Joys and Dangers of Exploring Africa on the Back of an Elephant

Renowned travel writer Paul Theroux journeys through Botswana’s spectacular, wildlife-rich wetlands
April 2013 | By Paul Theroux

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Coffee is black and bitter—but global travelers find a surprisingly wide range of forms of the world's favorite hot beverage
March 15, 2013 | By Alastair Bland

For the first time in their lifetimes, these teenagers got to enjoy the thrill of a fresh layer of snow
February 25, 2013 | By Caroline Lacey

New research shows that lions are quickly disappearing across Africa's once-thriving savannahs due to human population growth and massive land use conversion
December 07, 2012 | By Rachel Nuwer

A new citizen science project lets you in to the beautiful world of Serengeti National Park
December 12, 2012 | By Colin Schultz

Conservationists announce good news for mountain gorillas, but the species is not out of the woods just yet
November 15, 2012 | By Rachel Nuwer

Good, locally made wines can now be found in such unlikely locales as equatorial Kenya, the Texas Hill Country, and temperate and rainy Japan
October 17, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

With venom so potent it can kill a person in just 30 minutes, the black mamba is a snake to avoid—while others are worth learning about before you cast your judgment
October 03, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

Few places let you get as close to the raffish birds—many of which are endangered—as South Africa’s Robben Island
May 2012 | By Charles Bergman

Set deep within the Russian subcontinent, Baikal is the deepest, oldest and most voluminous of all lakes
August 07, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

The tombs and cultural relics of Timbuktu, a key trade and social center of the ancient world, are being destroyed by an armed group known as the Ansar Dine.
July 03, 2012 | By Colin Schultz

It takes $6,000 to shoot a leopard in Botswana. And if you cough up $1,200, you can shoot a crocodile. Short on cash? There's always baboons, which go for $200 a pop
April 24, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

Africa's wildebeest migration pits a million thundering animals against a gantlet of perils, even—some experts fear—climate change
May 2010 | By Robert M. Poole

Dangling from a paraglider with a propeller on his back, photographer George Steinmetz gets a new perspective on Africa
January 2009 | By Abigail Tucker

Today the area is often perceived as a murky and dangerous blur on the map. But how unsafe, really, is this area for tourists?
October 23, 2012 | By Alastair Bland

The dusty village where Barack Obama’s father was raised had high hopes after his son was elected president. What has happened since then?
May 2012 | By Joshua Hammer

In Egypt's Western Desert, evidence abounds that before they were the kings of the ocean, whales roamed the earth on four legs
January 2012 | By Abigail Tucker

The world's greatest source of hominid fossils is among dozens of caves just hours from Johannesburg
January 2012 | By Erin Wayman

High above Cape Town, this craggy wildlife preserve provides sprawling views and thrilling hikes
July 28, 2011 | By Karen Larkins

At Cape Coast Castle, visitors walk in the footsteps of African slaves
May 18, 2011 | By Randy B. Hecht

The author returns to Fez to explore the stubborn animal's central role in the life of this desert kingdom
September 2009 | By Susan Orlean

Despite many travel delays, Smithsonian Secretary Clough arrives in Kenya ready to study the African wildlife at the Mpala Ranch
June 16, 2009 | By G. Wayne Clough, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution

Once located in the midst of high-volume shipping lanes, a forgotten city with multiple European influences could be lost forever without an intervention
March 2009 | By Helen Starkweather

The rapidly expanding Sahara Desert threatens a medieval trading center that also carries importance for Sunni Muslims
March 2009 | By Jeanne Maglaty

The 1,700-year-old basilica, believed to mark the birthplace of Jesus Christ, has survived invasions, rebellions and earthquakes
March 2009 | By Abigail Tucker

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