Secret Marvels of the World: The 21 travel marvels of the world you've never heard of

CALIFORNIA'S LOST COAST, CALIFORNIA, US

California's Lost Coast, is a 100-kilometre stretch of tantalisingly undeveloped shoreline in northern California, where the legendary Route 1 abruptly parts company with the Pacific Ocean, heading inland to avoid a series of rugged coastal cliffs and giving way to a sketchy tangle of unpaved logging roads.

Here, find Sinkyone Wilderness State Park – a sleepy piece of paradise straddling spectacular bluffs above the storm-tossed Pacific, the windswept beaches of King Range National Conservation Area, the Lost Coast Trail's mesmerising landscapes of old-growth redwoods and the dizzying coastal views from Anderson Cliffs.

To reach the Lost Coast, leave US 101 at Garberville and head west toward Shelter Cove.

NINE MILE CANYON, UTAH, US

Tucked away in the sandstone mountains of rugged Utah is one of the world's largest – and oldest – outdoor art galleries. Nine Mile Canyon (which is actually 74 kilometres long), contains thousands of ancient petroglyphs, carved by the native Fremont and Ute tribes between AD 600 and 1300. The easily accessible scenes depict everything from war and sacrifice to animal husbandry and family dynamics.

Grab the free brochure from the Carbon County Visitors Centre in Price.

Nine Mile Canyon is accessible from Price, south-east on US Route 6 then north on to Soldier Creek Rd.

THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD, EASTER ISLAND, CHILE

One of the most isolated places on Earth, tiny Easter Island is blessed with an extraordinary array of archaeological sites. Apart from the iconic moai (giant statues) that are scattered amid an eerie landscape, you'll also be mesmerised by the so-called Navel of the World, a perfectly round-shaped stone that lies on the island's north coast. The legend claims that king Hotu Matua himself brought this stone here, symbolising the navel of the world. It's magnetic – when a compass is placed on the rock it loses its direction.

Get here by bike, car or scooter from the island's main town, Hanga Roa.

SANTUARIO DE LAS LAJAS, NARINO, COLOMBIA

This Roman Catholic edifice, 100 metres above the Guaitara River canyon, is rooted in miracles. According to legend, a local Amerindian woman and her deaf-mute daughter were caught in a storm here in 1754. They saw the image of the Virgin Mary in the stone, and the girl was cured. When a blind man later regained sight here too, pilgrims in search of healing followed and, in 1949, the humble chapel built around the image finally became a church.

The church is two kilometres outside Ipiales; take a taxi, then a steep 10-minute walk downhill.

PIG BEACH, BIG MAJOR CAY, THE BAHAMAS

The Bahamas, while currently severely affected by Hurricane Irma, is an ideal place to bask in the bright Caribbean sun or snorkel with rainbows of fish. Turns out it's also the best place in the world to hit the sands with some rather unusual local beach bums: swimming pigs. The southernmost beach on the uninhabited Big Major Cay, part of the Exuma Cays, is a porcine paradise, home to a gaggle of wild pigs that love nothing more than to take a daily ocean dip.

The Exumas, 60 kilometres south of Nassau, can be accessed via flight or ferry . See bahamasferries.com

DECEPTION ISLAND, ANTARCTICA

Deception Island is in the remote South Shetland Islands archipelago skimming the northern edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. Deceptive in more ways than one, its secret harbour is ensconced in the caldera of a "restless" volcano, always threatening to blow. Sail through the narrow opening to enter the horseshoe-shaped bay surrounded by black sand beaches and slopes of ash-covered snow and ice, which hide chinstrap penguin rookeries. And don't forget to pack your swimsuit, since you can take a plunge into the island's heated geothermal currents.

Reach Deception Island on an Antarctic cruise. See deceptionisland.aq

See also: Deception Island - a crazy place to go swimming

PARQUE NACIONAL DOS LENCOIS MARANHENSES, MARANHAO, BRAZIL

This 1500-square-kilometre expanse of cinematic sandscapes is a protected park of white sand dunes only broken up by the inviting cerulean lagoons between March and September. From the air, the sweeping landscape gives the appearance of rolling bed sheets (lencois in Portuguese), pitching across the world's most picturesque bed. From the ground, a no-filters-required desert-scape unravels into the horizon in every direction.

Cisne Branco runs buses from Sao Luis to Barreirinhas, the gateway to the park. The best way to see it is a private tour. See cisnebrancoturismo.com.br

ITALIAN CHAPEL, ORKNEY, SCOTLAND

In 1942, Italian prisoners of war were brought to work on causeways linking Orkney to the southern islands. When Italy capitulated in 1943, they were prisoners no more. They lobbied for a place of worship, and were soon using every spare hour to line the chapel's walls, paint frescoes, and mould a font out of concrete. The chapel's elaborate decorations are all the more remarkable considering wartime constraints on building materials.

Lamb Holm is a short drive from Orkney's capital, Kirkwall. The chapel is open daily, but hours vary. Call ahead before visiting (+44 (0)1856 781580).

THE MARTYRED VILLAGE OF ORADOUR-SUR-GLANE, HAUTE-VIENNE, FRANCE

Not a single burned-out car was removed after the 1944 Nazi massacre of the villagers of Oradour-sur-Glane. The remains of this French village, where 642 inhabitants were murdered during World War II, are memorialised as a warning to future generations.

After the war, Charles De Gaulle announced the rebuilding of Oradour-sur-Glane northwest of the original village. The charred rubble of the martyred town would be preserved, making it unique among destroyed villages in Europe. A sign at the entrance reads simply "Souviens-Toi" ("Remember").

Oradour-sur-Glane's memorial and village is 20 kilometres northwest of Limoges. See oradour.org

HUNDERTWASSERHAUS, VIENNA, AUSTRIA

Leafy roofs, uneven floors, and a tapestry of powder blue, coral and gold … This apartment block, designed with expressionist panache by Friedensreich Hundertwasser, couldn't be more different from Vienna's stately baroque churches and grey multi-storey blocks. Never a man to colour within the lines – much less to draw them straight – artist and architect Hundertwasser created a fairytale complex of flowing, organic shapes, where tree branches billow from the windows. Hundertwasser decreed that every tenant had the right to personalise the area outside their window, following their own unique tastes.

It's at Kegelgasse 37-39 with a museum nearby. See hundertwasser-haus.info

KUBU ISLAND, BOTSWANA

Rising from a remote corner of the world's largest network of salt flats, the Makgadikgadi pans of the Kalahari Desert in northern Botswana, Kubu, were, just five centuries ago, the shallows of a vast inland sea.

The white that stains the boulders overlooking the void is fossilised guano left by avian sentinels that rested here between fishing expeditions on what was once a real island. There's even a stone semi-circle and stone tools left by peoples now vanished from the earth, as if to deepen the mystery.

There's a community-run campsite (kubuisland.com ) on Kubu. Get here by 4WD with reliable GPS.

PIGEON TOWERS, IRAN

Pigeon poop was big business in 17th-century Iran. It was used as fertiliser, and in an area such as Isfahan, where melon-farming was widespread, enormous quantities of it was required. To meet the huge demand, farmers needed pigeons to excrete en masse in a location where their nitrogen-rich droppings could be collected.

The solution was to build huge dovecotes – towers designed for pigeons to land, rest and deposit their droppings. This innovation was not unique to Iran, though its pigeon towers might be the most impressive. A few hundred pigeon towers remain in Iran, several visible from roads out of Isfahan.

LAKE KAINDY, TIAN SHAN MOUNTAINS, KAZAKHSTAN

Spears of spruce rise up from the water at this pristine lake, where a forest was drowned when the 1911 Kebin earthquake triggered a landslide in the Tian Shan mountains, creating a natural dam that eventually brought this glassy, 400-metre lake into existence. At 2000 metres of altitude, close to Kazakhstan's border with Kyrgyzstan, it glows an unearthly shade of turquoise and backed by forest-clad mountains, the sunken forest adds to the mystique of this tranquil place and has made it a hit among divers.

Reach Lake Kaindy by car. From Almaty, it's about a 280-kilometre drive.

ZHANGYE DANXIA NATIONAL GEOPARK, ZHANGYE, CHINA

Bands of colour from vermilion to pale green cover a mountainous 500-square-kilometre site in Gansu province, where more than 20 million years of geological movement have pressed the sandstone into a multi-coloured layer cake. Over centuries, the sandstone was weathered into pillars, while extreme desert temperatures split the rock to form creeks and cliff faces hundreds of metres high.

The hills flame scarlet and gold during sunrise and sunset, so photographers should rise early.

Take a train to Zhangye (30 kilometres from the information centre) or fly via Xi'an. See zydanxia.com

KBAL SPEAN, NEAR SIAM REAP, CAMBODIA

Around 45 kilometres from Angkor Wat, this 150-metre stretch of the Stung Kbal Spean River is lined with phallic symbols, along with carvings of Hindu deities. The setting is as exhilarating as the art, with waterfalls tumbling down mythic scenes.

It is thought that hermits began sculpting in the riverbed during the 11th century, though some historians argue 200 years earlier. The site was rediscovered in 1969 by an ethnologist, Jean Boulbet.

Kbal Spean is 50 kilometres north of Siem Reap by road. It's a slippery, uphill trek; a guide is recommended.

OLKHON ISLAND, SIBERIA, RUSSIA

Lake Baikal's biggest island is a place that quickly dispels all the stereotypes of Siberia as a place of icy Slavic cruelty. The island is a special place for both adventurous travellers and the local Buryats – ethnic Mongolians who inhabit Siberia's east. It's home to a horde of shamanist spirits but mostly uninhabited by humans. Dramatically barren in the south, the north is a place of thick sandy-floored larch forest where the spirits dwell. Every rock, spring or oddly shaped tree is hung in colourful, wind-ragged cloth signifying the place as an oboo, home to a benevolent spirit.

Olkhon Island is a tough seven-hour bus ride from Irkutsk.

LONGYOU CAVES, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA

Generations of locals thought Longyou's ponds were bottomless, but discoveries in 1992 revealed something far more interesting: 36 hand-carved caves. More than 30,000 square metres of manmade grottoes have been discovered so far. Archaeologists' best guess is that the caves date to just before the Qin Dynasty, approximately 200BC, though no written record of their construction or meaning has yet been unearthed.

Five chambers have been opened for tourism, allowing visitors to marvel at symbols etched in the stone – fish, birds and animals.

Jinhua, 55 kilometres east of the caves, is an ideal springboard to visit Longyou. See longyoushiku.com

JIGOKUDANI HOT SPRINGS, JIGOKUDANI, JAPAN

Jigokudani was named Hell Valley because of its steaming springs and saw-edged cliffs. But there is nothing infernal about the sight of Japanese macaques (or "snow monkeys") lolling in the naturally hot pools, particularly during the four months of the year when the valley is coated in snow. Japanese macaques are the most northerly primates in the world. Bathing isn't their only human-like habit: scientists have seen them washing food before eating it, and even making snowballs.

Bathing macaques are only guaranteed in winter. Buses run between Nagano rail station and the car park, a 30-minute walk from the springs. See en.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp

LAKE HILLIER, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

At Middle Island, part of Australia's little-known Recherche Archipelago, is Lake Hillier. Scientists aren't entirely sure how the lake got so pink. It stands in stark contrast to the deep blue waves of the Southern Ocean just metres away. Unlike most coloured lakes, Hillier's hue is neither a reflection of the lakebed nor influenced by the dye of seasonal bacteria. As such, it retains its pink colour even when placed in a bottle.

Middle Island is part of a wilderness area that's off-limits to tourists, but you can still view Lake Hillier on a two-hour helicopter tour from Esperance, Western Australia.

BIG PINEAPPLE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA

Australia has a plethora of ridiculously oversized roadside attractions designed to attract passing traffic and distract kids from asking "are we there yet?" on long road trips. Sure, they're kitsch, but that's part of the fun. The Big Pineapple has been visited by the British Royal Family – if it's good enough for royalty, it's good enough for you.

The Big Pineapple is a 20-minute drive from Maroochydore in Queensland. The free observation deck is open from 9am to 4pm daily.

Reproduced with permission from Secret Marvels of the World, © 2017 Lonely Planet, lonelyplanet.com Extract edited by Julietta Jameson.