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Country Singapore Singapore is a city-state, a country that is also one city, on an island at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is small but crowded: about 6.21 million people lived there in 2026, and its port is one of the busiest in the world.
Natural wonder Chitwan National Park Chitwan National Park, in the lowlands of southern Nepal, was Nepal's first national park. Its sal forests, tall grasslands and rivers are home to the second-largest population of greater one-horned rhinoceroses in the world, 694 in 2021, and to Bengal tigers, 145 counted in and around the park in 2026.
Natural wonder Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga National Park lies beside the great Brahmaputra River in Assam, in northeastern India. Every year the river floods parts of the park, keeping its tall grasslands, marshes and pools alive. It is home to the world's largest population of greater one-horned rhinoceroses, more than 2,600 in 2024, which grew from only a handful about a hundred years earlier.
Natural wonder Pantanal The Pantanal is one of the world's largest freshwater wetlands, mostly in Brazil and reaching into Bolivia and Paraguay. Each rainy season its rivers overflow and flood the lowlands, making shallow lakes and marshes; in the dry season the water slowly drains away. This rhythm feeds an amazing number of animals, from jaguars and giant otters to about 600 kinds of birds.
Natural wonder Sundarbans The Sundarbans is a vast mangrove forest where the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers meet the Bay of Bengal. It is shared by Bangladesh and India. Twice a day the tides flood its muddy islands, and its trees are made to live in salty water. It is one of the last homes of the Bengal tiger, and both countries protect it as a World Heritage Site.
Country Sierra Leone Sierra Leone is a country on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. Its name comes from Portuguese words meaning Lion Mountains, after the hills around Freetown's huge natural harbor. Rainforests, rivers and mangrove swamps are home to chimpanzees and pygmy hippos, and the 2021 census counted about 7.5 million people.
Landmark The Great Sphinx The Great Sphinx at Giza, Egypt, is a lion with a human head, carved out of the solid rock about 4,500 years ago. It is about 73 meters long and 20 meters high, one of the largest sculptures in the world. Most experts think it shows the face of King Khafre.
Landmark Mycenae Mycenae, in southern Greece, was the richest and most important palace city of Bronze Age Greece, more than 3,000 years ago. Its people built huge stone walls, a palace, a gate topped with two carved lions and great round tombs. Archaeologists have found gold masks, cups and jewelry there, and clay tablets with an early form of Greek writing.
Country Honduras Honduras is a mountainous country in Central America, with the Caribbean Sea to the north and a short Pacific coast to the south. Its forests are home to jaguars and macaws, the Maya city of Copán stands in the west, and about 10.2 million people live there (official 2026 estimate).
Country Mozambique Mozambique stretches along the Indian Ocean coast of southeastern Africa. The great Zambezi River cuts through its middle, its beaches face the island of Madagascar, and parks like Gorongosa are home to elephants and lions. About 35.6 million people lived there in 2025, and Portuguese is the official language.
Natural wonder Serengeti National Park Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania protects 14,763 square kilometers of grassy plains and woodlands. Each year more than a million wildebeest, with zebras and gazelles, travel a great loop across the Serengeti and into Kenya in search of grass and water, followed by lions and other predators.