Guyana

Guyana is South America's best-kept secret and its most unusual country. It's the only English-speaking nation on the continent, culturally more Caribbean than Latin American, and over 80% covered in pristine rainforest that most people will never see. The country sits on the northeast shoulder of South America, bordered by Venezuela, Brazil, and Suriname, yet its cultural heart beats to the rhythms of the Caribbean — cricket, rum, Carnival, and a population descended from African slaves and Indian indentured laborers brought by the British.

The crown jewel is Kaieteur Falls, one of the most powerful waterfalls on Earth — five times the height of Niagara and virtually unvisited. The interior is a vast expanse of untouched rainforest, savannahs, and rivers accessible only by small aircraft or days of river travel. Georgetown, the capital, is a faded wooden colonial city on the Atlantic coast with one of the largest wooden cathedrals in the world. In 2015, ExxonMobil discovered massive offshore oil reserves, and Guyana is now one of the fastest-growing economies in the world — a transformation that's reshaping this tiny nation of under 800,000 people.