Think Canada’s capital is just about politics and paperwork? Think again. Ottawa is a city where gothic towers touch the sky, winter turns a UNESCO World Heritage canal into the world’s longest skating rink, and peace towers over the heart of a nation—literally.

You don’t just arrive at the Zone of Silence. You’re led there—by curiosity, by rumor, or by something stranger. The last gas station fades behind you. The road turns to dirt. Your phone goes silent. Then, somewhere between the dust and the heat haze, you realize you’ve entered a place that doesn’t care much for the laws of physics.