In the heart of Nagano, where winter drapes the land in quiet white, lies a lake that carries a divine footprint—or at least, that’s what generations of believers have whispered. Every January or February, when the surface of Lake Suwa freezes just right, something extraordinary happens. Great cracks zigzag across the ice, rising like a frozen wave from shore to shore.

Imagine a place where the mountains seem to breathe, where turquoise lakes shimmer like spilled paint, and where wildlife roams like it's still 10,000 BC. Welcome to Banff National Park — Canada's first, and arguably most jaw-dropping, national park. Set in the heart of the Canadian Rockies in Alberta, this is not your average postcard destination. It’s wild, weirdly peaceful, and packed with natural wonder.