Canada Day
On July 1, Canada celebrates its national day, marking the events of 1867, when the British North America Act (now called the Constitution Act, 1867) united three British colonies into one Dominion.
On July 1, Canada celebrates its national day, marking the events of 1867, when the British North America Act (now called the Constitution Act, 1867) united three British colonies into one Dominion.
At the Temple of Esna, south of Luxor, Egypt, visitors enter a vivid world devoted to Khnum, the ram-headed god believed to have moulded humanity from Nile clay. Built mainly during the Ptolemaic and Roman eras, the temple"s surviving hall is supported by 24 towering columns, each carved with intricate reliefs and ritual texts honouring various deities.
In Okayama Prefecture, when humid air settles over a stream, hotaru—Japan"s fireflies—begin signalling. On warm, windless evenings, they often start glowing about two hours after sunset under favourable conditions, inviting silence beside water.
On July 4, the Tour de France begins in Barcelona—perfect timing to spotlight northeastern France and the Alsace village of Kaysersberg. Set along the Weiss River, about 12 kilometres northwest of Colmar, this historic town lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges Mountains.
In southeastern France, on the Valensole Plateau, summer arrives in waves of purple and blue. Valensole—one of the largest plateaus in the region—lies in the Verdon Regional Natural Park between the Durance and Asse valleys, near the Gorges du Verdon and its lakes. From mid-June to early July, depending on altitude and weather, lavender and lavandin bloom and transform the landscape into one of Provence"s most recognisable sights. The air carries a sharp, dry and unmistakably Mediterranean scent.
Founded by Greek settlers from Corinth around 734 BCE, the Italian city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, grew into one of the ancient Mediterranean"s great powers and is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, "Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica." It is forever linked to Archimedes, whose genius still shapes its identity, and to Plato, who came to Syracuse hoping philosophy might shape political life. That layered past still feels tangible at Castello Maniace, a seafront fortress built for Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II in the 13th century, which can still be admired today.
A bill like a multitool and plumage full of colour—the plate-billed mountain toucan is one of the Andes" most distinctive birds. It lives in the humid mountain forests of Ecuador and southwestern Colombia, perfectly adapted to life high in the canopy.
Set in Guatemala"s western highlands, Lake Atitlán fills a vast volcanic caldera. Its deep blue waters are framed by steep crater walls and the cone-shaped volcanoes Atitlán, Tolimán and San Pedro. Wooden piers stretch into the still lake, emphasising the contrast between its calm surface and the rugged terrain shaped by volcanic activity.
Sunlight cuts through drifting clouds and settles on the terraced slopes of Sapa, where rice fields cascade down the mountainsides like a living staircase. Located in Vietnam"s Lào Cai province, this highland region is shaped as much by human hands as by nature. Generations of farmers from local ethnic communities such as the Hmong have carved and maintained these terraces for centuries, guiding water across steep hillsides to sustain each growing season.
Some places are best introduced with one word: Yoho. It is a Cree expression of wonder, which is exactly the reaction most people have. Established in 1886, Yoho National Park protects part of the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia. Visitors can stop at Takakkaw Falls, where water plunges more than 370 metres, or explore the world-famous Burgess Shale fossil sites. These rocks preserve the remains of marine animals that lived more than 500 million years ago.
At Boneyard Beach within Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina, United States, the first thing you notice is the trees. Then comes the question: why are bleached trunks and exposed roots scattered across the sand like a scene paused midway through collapse? Since the 1980s, Hunting Island has experienced major beach erosion, with some of the highest rates along the US East Coast—reaching up to 9 metres per year in certain areas.
If you"re looking for Maine at its most untamed, this is it. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument stretches across more than 350 square kilometres of the rugged North Woods, where quiet ponds mirror the sky and dense forests seem to swallow sound.