In the far northwest of the United Kingdom, where jagged mountains slice through clouds and mists cling like secrets, there’s a place that feels almost too magical to be real. The Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye are a string of small, impossibly clear waterfalls and blue-green pools, tucked into the foot of the Black Cuillin mountains.

Picture this: colossal sand dunes stretching toward the sky, their golden ridges rippling in the wind, with a backdrop of snow-dusted Rocky Mountains that look like they belong in a different universe. Welcome to Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern USA — a natural mashup of desert and alpine that feels almost too surreal to be real.