If tombs could talk, the Valley of the Kings would never stop whispering. Tucked into the arid cliffs west of the Nile in Luxor, this haunting necropolis has held the secrets of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs for over three thousand years. Here, in a sun-scorched landscape carved by time and devotion, lie the eternal homes of rulers who once believed they'd live forever.

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.