Sitting off Chile’s rugged west coast, Chiloé Island is the archipelago’s largest jewel — a place where folklore breathes through colorful myths and weathered wooden churches rise like stories carved in timber. Here, houses perch on stilts above the tides, fields hold heirloom potatoes in astonishing variety and a patchwork of forests, wetlands and coastline shelters wildlife at every turn. Chiloé feels less like a destination and more like a living tale, where tradition and nature mingle in quietly unforgettable ways.

Sunsets, sandboarding, lagoons and dune buggy rides. Huacachina is a tiny village and desert oasis west of Ica in southwestern Peru. Its center is filled with emerald green waters of the Huacachina Lagoon, thought to have therapeutic properties.