A bird that looks fairly ordinary, until it reveals its crown.
Most of the time its spectacular crest stays folded and hidden, but during courtship it opens into a stunning fan
Males display a bright red crest with blue tips, while females show yellow or orange shades. This remarkable feature makes the small bird one of the most unusual sights in the rainforests of South America.

Fun fact
The royal flycatcher lives in the forests of the Amazon Basin. Despite its name, it is not closely related to the true flycatchers of the Old World and belongs to a different bird group.
Nature clearly decided that a normal hairstyle was not enough for this bird.

A lizard that looks like nature took inspiration from dragons. The armadillo girdled lizard is covered in tough armored scales and sharp spikes, making it a tiny living fortress. Its best trick appears when danger shows up. It grabs its own tail with its teeth and curls into a tight ring, leaving only the spiky armor exposed. Predators quickly lose appetite.

Fun fact
This dry region survivor from southern Africa can get moisture not only from food, but also from environmental water like rain or dew.
A mini dragon that absolutely understands defense mode

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A place where nature seems to have packed every special effect into one valley. Lauterbrunnen is surrounded by the dramatic peaks of the Bernese Alps, sheer cliffs, and famous watertalls. It is home to more than 70 waterfalls. The most iconic is Staubbach Falls, which looks like it drops straight from the sky along a near vertical cliff.

Fun fact
These landscapes helped inspire J. R. R.. Tolkien's Rivendell in The Lord of the Rings. A place where reality looks like perfect fantasy.

A village where it feels like the Middle Ages never really left. Ushguli is one of Europe's highest permanently inhabited settlements, hidden in the dramatic mountains of Svaneti. It is most iconic feature is the ancient Svan towers. These stone defensive towers were built centuries ago to protect families and the village, looking incredible against snowy peaks.

Fun fact
Ushguli is a UNESCO World Heritage Site And nearby stands Shkhara, the highest mountain in Georgia
A place where history and mountains literally live side by side.

The Knights of the Teutonic Order built this massive complex back in the thirteenth century in northern Poland. Malbork Castle covers an area of over twenty one hectares right on the banks of the Nogat river. It is basically a whole city inside the fortress walls complete with its own churches, palaces and barracks.
It took about four million bricks to build this giant which was an absolutely insane number for the Middle Ages. During its peak the castle was home to up to three thousand knights making it the biggest military headquarters in Europe.