World Heritage Day Apr 18, 2026

Today, on World Heritage Day, attention turns to places that tell humanity"s shared story—protected for their exceptional cultural or natural value. One of them rises from volcanic stone on Easter Island, Chile. At Rano Raraku, the slopes of an extinct volcano became the workshop where nearly all of the island"s famous moai were carved. The image captures this remarkable quarry, where half-finished figures emerge from the rock, frozen mid-creation.

© Gavin Hellier/Alamy

palette

Today in History

A mountaintop cultural wonder
Apr 18, 2024International Day for Monuments and Sites
Apr 18, 2025International Day for Monuments and Sites

More Desktop Wallpapers:

May 24, 2024Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Huesca, Spain
May 3, 2024The Sonoran Desert, Arizona, US
Nov 4, 2023American bison
Dec 7, 2025A pine forest in Alsace, France
40 years of recovery
Feb 10, 2026Es Vedrà and Es Vedranell, Ibiza, Spain
Jan 9, 2025Sossusvlei sand dunes, Namib desert, Namibia
Mar 27, 2024Amber Fort, Jaipur
Oct 8, 2023World Octopus Day
Where are these spectacular peaks?
What can you see from this tower?
Who’s the wisest of them all?
Sep 11, 2025Butterfly Beach in Canacona, South Goa
Where the buffalo roam
When just a pinch of salt won’t do
Jul 26, 2024Kargil Vijay Diwas
Where is this historical bridge?
Feb 18, 2024Sperm whale pod surfacing
Jul 22, 2025Badlands National Park, South Dakota, United States
Oct 14, 2023Ring of fire solar eclipse
Oct 27, 2023Sligachan Old Bridge, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Jan 27, 2025Zoroaster Temple, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, United States
Nov 14, 2023Russell lupines, Lake Tekapo, New Zealand
May 24, 2025Jotunheimen National Park in Norway
May 27, 2025Mona Vale rockpool, Sydney, Australia
Pretty in pink
Sep 15, 2025Black-winged stilts, France
Blue hues and ceramic scenes of Porto
Sep 11, 2024Swaminarayan Akshardham, Delhi
Sep 30, 2025Koala in the Great Otway National Park, Australia