Atlas of Improbable Places: A Journey to the World's Most Unusual Corners (Unexpected Atlases)

Inspiring urban explorers and armchair travellers alike to consider a new way of understanding the world we live in, this unique atlas shows you the modern world from surprising new vantage points.

Hidden lairs beneath layers of rock, forgotten cities rising out of deserted lands and even mankind's own feats of engineering eccentricity lie in the most unusual of destinations. Go in search of the obscure and bizarre, the beautiful and estranged, taking in the defiant relics of ancient cities such as Ani, a once thriving metropolis lost to conquered lands, and the church tower of San Juan Parangaricuto, that miraculously stands as the sole survivor of a town sunk by lava. Through the labyrinths of Berlin and Beijing — underground realms dug for refuge, espionage and even, as Canada's Moose Jaw, used as the playground for gangsters trading liquor and money over cards — never forgetting the freaks and wonders of nature's own unusual masterpieces: the magical underground river shaped like a dragon's mouth in the Philippines and the floating world of Palmerston.

With beautiful maps and stunning photography illustrating each destination, Atlas of Improbable Places is a fascinating voyage to the world's most incredible destinations. As the Island of Dolls and the hauntingly titled Door to Hell — an inextinguishable fire pit - attest, mystery is never far away. The truths and myths behind their creation are as varied as the destinations themselves. Standing as symbols of worship, testaments to kingships or even the strange and wonderful traditions of old and new, these curious places are not just extraordinary sights but reflections on man's own relationship with the world around us.

Also in the Unexpected Atlas series: Atlas of Untamed Places,Atlas of the Unexpected, Atlas of Vanishing Places.

• Atlas of Vanishing Places: The lost worlds as they were and as they are today (Unexpected Atlases)
• The Phantom Atlas: The Greatest Myths, Lies and Blunders on Maps (Historical Map and Mythology Book, Geography Book of Ancient and Antique Maps)
• An Atlas of Countries that Don't Exist: A Compendium of Fifty Unrecognized and Largely Unnoticed States (Obscure Atlas of the World, Historic Maps, Maps Throughout History)
• Atlas of Cursed Places: A Travel Guide to Dangerous and Frightful Destinations
• Nowherelands: An Atlas of Vanished Countries 1840-1975
• Atlas of the Unexpected: Haphazard discoveries, chance places and unimaginable destinations (Unexpected Atlases)
• Atlas of Untamed Places: An extraordinary journey through our wild world
• Atlas of Remote Islands: Fifty Islands I Have Never Set Foot On and Never Will
• Unruly Places: Lost Spaces, Secret Cities, and Other Inscrutable Geographies
• Atlas of Lost Cities: A Travel Guide to Abandoned and Forsaken Destinations