Waitomo Glowworm Caves
Beneath Waitomo, blue-green lights belong to hungry fungus-gnat larvae fishing with sticky silk.
Photo: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner · CC BY-SA 2.0
The world deskNo. 016 · Sunday, October 25, 202616 finds · 15 countries
Gerewol Festival, Niger16.786° N, 6.934° E
Gerewol Festival
Painted faces and tall feathers draw the eye; overlapping lineage songs give Wodaabe gatherings their intricate musical life.
Painted faces, feathers and bead strands mark the dancers’ dress in Niger, 1997. Dan Lundberg · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0
From the notebook
Latest dispatches
Día de los Muertos
In Oaxaca, flowers, food and paper offerings turn remembrance into a welcome — part of Mexico’s living Día de Muertos traditions.
Photo: Thayne Tuason · CC BY 4.0
Mount Nyiragongo
Nyiragongo’s lava lake has filled, drained and returned above Goma — a volcanic landscape whose history reaches far beyond its glowing crater.
Photo: Cai Tjeenk Willink · CC BY-SA 3.0
Ōkunoshima
Rabbits share a Seto Inland Sea island with the ruins of a secret chemical-weapons complex and a museum that keeps its history visible.
Photo: Lance Cpl. Carlos Jimenez (U.S. Marine Corps) · Public domain
Meteora
Monasteries crown Thessaly’s rock towers, where centuries of prayer meet an extraordinary landscape of cliffs, bridges and winding steps.
Photo: Bernard Gagnon · CC BY-SA 4.0
Lake Natron
A salt-rich Rift Valley lake shelters an extraordinary flamingo nursery — and gives rise to a misleading legend about animals turning to stone.
Photo: Richard Mortel · CC BY 2.0
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Seven ways to wander
LandmarkStructures that stop you in your tracks.1 dispatch
HistoryPlaces where the past is still standing.First dispatch soon
GeologyThe planet, caught in the act.6 dispatchesCultureTraditions, crafts and ways of living.First dispatch soon
FestivalDays when a whole town turns out.2 dispatchesNatureLiving landscapes found nowhere else.2 dispatchesOddityBeautifully strange, hard to explain.5 dispatchesOn Instagram
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