In the arid inland regions of the Pilbara, in Western Australia, water is a precious resource. Permanent bodies of water are rare, and many creeks flow only during short annual rainy seasons. In this unique ecosystem, water sources are carefully guarded to maintain the delicate balance that enables this land and the life within it to thrive.
The term “Bushmen” may bring to mind a romanticized image of the African people living harmoniously in the vast desert, hunting and gathering as their ancestors did for millennia.
Rising above East Africa’s Rift Valley, the verdant hills of the Gamo people abound with sacred sites—a testament to the long presence and enduring traditions of the Gamo community.
For over 1,000 years, the people of Japan have walked pilgrimage routes that wind through the densely forested slopes of the Kii Mountain Range.
For the indigenous peoples living on the steep slopes of Colombia’s Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, sustaining the balance of the spiritual and ecological world is their sacred task.
In March 2001, the world watched helplessly as Taliban forces in Afghanistan methodically dynamited two of the largest standing Buddha figures in the world. Located in the imposing Bamiyan Valley, the figures, standing 125 and 180 feet, had been carved out of sheer sandstone cliffs
Bulgaria’s Rila Monastery is a symbol of national identity representing the persistence of Bulgarian culture and faith despite centuries of foreign rule. The land surrounding it is protected as the Rila Monastery Nature Park
Emerging from the mist that covers the island of Borneo, the otherworldly appearance of multi-peaked Mount Kinabalu mirrors the reverence the indigenous Kadazan have for it. They call the mountain akina-balu, resting place of the ancestral spirits
Throughout the famed Himalayan mountains are large, hidden valleys known as beyul, places of peace and refuge revered by Tibetan Buddhists. These secret lands of legend have drawn Buddhist seekers for centuries
From many places in northern Arizona, the horizon is dramatically marked by three 12,000-foot volcanic peaks that rise out of the Colorado Plateau south of the Grand Canyon and north of Flagstaff.