PHOTOS

Best Places You've Never Heard Of

Friday, Jun 4, 2010, 9:52 AM | Subscribe to the magazine

Source Article: Scouting Report: Westman Islands, Iceland

Lago Todos los Santos, in the Lakes District of Chile, marked by chute-type waterfalls and dramatic black basaltic rock. (Courtesy Cruce Andino)
Boat rides are a popular way to explore Lagos Todos los Santos, Chile. (Courtesy Cruce Andino)
The catch of the day at Lago Todos los Santos. (Courtesy Cruce Andino)
Playa Koralia, a laid-back resort named after the beach on which it's set on Colombia's Caribbean coast. (Ondina Rosch/Courtesy Playa Koralia)
Guests are encouraged to unplug while at Playa Koralia resort and instead enjoy the koi pond, sea views from porch-side hammocks, and the full-service spa. (Ondina Rosch/Courtesy Playa Koralia)
One of 19 thatched bungalows scattered between palm trees at Playa Koralia. (Ondina Rosch/Courtesy Playa Koralia)
The white-sand beaches and hiking trails of Tayrona National Park are a 15-minute drive from Playa Koralia. (Courtesy Steve Frode Nabseth)
The charming Austrian town of Dürnstein, skirted by the Danube River and backed by steep mountains complete with a crumbling castle fortress. (Gregor Semrad/courtesy Durnstein Hotel)
Cycling through Dürnstein and other small towns in Austria's Wachau valley. (Michael Guerriero)
Dürnstein's winding cobblestoned streets and homes with steep, red-tiled roofs and window flower boxes look plucked out of a fairy tale. (Courtesy Aryeh Goldsmith/Flickr)
The rapidly modernizing tourist town of Zhongdian, China, is the entry point to the stunning mountainous region of Shangri-La. (joSon/Getty Images)
Snowcapped peaks, Alpine lakes, and deep gorges characterize Shangri-La, the northwestern area of China's Yunnan province, near the Tibetan border. (Travel Ink/Getty Images)
One of the many enchanting Byzantine churches in Ohrid, Macedonia. (Courtesy Kalamita/Flickr)
In the summer, there's a party atmosphere along Lake Ohrid, in Macedonia. (Courtesy AnDarko/Flickr)
A stroll through Ohrid, one of Europe's oldest human settlements, reveals layer upon layer of history, from 5th-century tombs to the mazelike Old Bazaar. (metaltraveller.com)
The Swiss town of Binn lies in a small, secluded Alpine valley at the base of zigzagging peaks sporting countless shades of green. (Switzerland Tourism-BAFU/swiss-image.ch/Lorenz Andreas Fischer)
Binn's Hotel Ofenhorn dates back to the late 19th century, when a young Winston Churchill slept there. (Courtesy Onno de Wit/Flickr)
Trinity, a historic harbor town on the island of Newfoundland in Canada, whose primary-colored wooden houses punctuate the rolling hills. (Radius Images/Corbis)
Trinity, population 350, sits at the edge of a bay with crystal-clear blue water that sparkles in the sunshine. (Courtesy Artisan Inn)
The sleepy town of Trémolat, France, on a horseshoe-shaped bend in the Dordogne River. (Courtesy Janice Bowen)
Les Volets Bleus, one of the charming farmhouses available for rent around Trémolat. (Courtesy Janice Bowen)
Stalls selling food and crafts line Varkala's Cliff Walk, a prime spot for viewing the southern Indian town's riotous red-and-orange sunsets. (Courtesy Emmanuel Dyan/Flickr)
Fishermen along a Varkala beach haul in their nets. (Bennett Dean/Corbis)
Cinnamon-red laterite cliffs overlook the Arabian Sea in Varkala. (Michele Falzone/Getty Images)
Havelock, New Zealand, sits at the head of the wide, startlingly clear Pelorus Sound, surrounded by dark-green mountain peaks. (Courtesy Trevor Dennis/Flickr)
Flavorful, large green-lipped mussels are Havelock's big claim to fame. (Courtesy leografie/Flickr)
Heimaey, the only inhabited island in the wild volcanic archipelago of the Westman Islands, Iceland. (Catherine Karnow/Corbis)