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THE OKAVANGO GIVES UP ITS SECRETS • For more than a decade, a team of intrepid researchers have been exploring the river systems of southern Africa, one paddle stroke at a time. Only now is the full picture of what they’re discovering coming into view.

A QUEST FOR HIDDEN WATER • In southern Africa, 11 major rivers trace their headwaters to Angola, providing a consistent source of water for communities and wildlife throughout the region. After years of exploration, scientists with the Okavango Wilderness Project have mapped their origin: The Angolan highlands hold more than 100 trillion gallons of water in spongelike marshes called peatlands, a discovery that’s prompted further protection.

THE STRATEGIC WAY TO PACK • To survey one of the largest freshwater ecosystems in Africa, the Okavango Wilderness Project team first had to figure out how to carry up to 500 pounds of scientific and camping gear in one small boat. Here’s how they stow it all in a 20-foot mokoro.

Can These Rainbow LIZARDS TEACH US ABOUT EVOLUTION? • The technicolor reptiles offer a fresh glimpse into a biological mystery.

HOW SAGRADA REACHED FOR HEAVEN • The Barcelona church, already among the world’s most famous basilicas, is also now the planet’s tallest. As Spain marks a hundred years since the death of Antoni Gaudí, here’s how the celebrated architect’s magnum opus—144 years in the making—is finally nearing completion.

THE ART of DEVOTION • Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí dedicated the final stage of his life to the Sagrada Família, the capstone to his visionary career. In this special section, get an inside look at the design and construction of the Barcelona basilica, and the ingenuity, technology, and projects along the way that enabled its rise.

JOURNEY TO THE SAGRADA • Over a 47-year career, Gaudí designed more than 200 projects. Many aspects of his most significant structures can be seen in the famous basilica.

DECONSTRUCTING THE DESIGN • A visitor can’t fully appreciate the Sagrada Família without a close look at the details and symbolism that Gaudí embedded in it. Here’s a guide to the architect’s vision, and the work that remains.

One of Italy’s MOST LEGENDARY CHEESES Has a Secret Ingredient: MAGGOTS • A generation after casu marzu was banned across Europe, artisanal cheesemakers in Sardinia still elevate the controversial technique into a culinary art form.

THE SEARCH FOR THE INCA’S LOST CITADEL • For centuries, a vanished Inca fortress called Ancocagua existed only in lore. Now, at a mountaintop complex in the Peruvian highlands, scientists think they’ve found the long-lost site–and a trove of treasures that could reshape what we know of the empire’s last days.

REALM OF THE INCA • As the Inca conquered territories, they connected existing roads to form a network across 25,000 miles. The “Inca Road” linked some 12 million people and accelerated the exchange of ideas and resources between sites like Machu Picchu and T’aqrachullo.

THE MAKING OF A SACRED SITE • T’aqrachullo served as a ceremonial hub where the Inca elite gathered for rituals, as well as where they lived and were buried. Recent excavations have led scholars to believe that these ruins could be the lost fortress of Ancocagua, described by conquistadores in the 1500s as a religious center and the location of a pivotal battle with the Spanish.

Where Did All These CROP CIRCLES COME...