Some lakes invite swimming. Some invite photography. But Lake Usori? It whispers. It beckons. It waits. Nestled in the caldera of an ancient volcano at the foot of Mount Osore in Aomori, this eerie, otherworldly lake has long been believed to be a gateway to the afterlife.

From the outside, it might look like a jumble of random boulders scattered across a hill—but step a little closer and you’ll find yourself walking through an ancient, rocky time capsule. Welcome to Stone Garden in Padalarang, West Java—a surreal limestone landscape perched high above the city, right beside the mysterious Goa Pawon, a cave that once housed prehistoric humans.