Iragna Inferior, Ticino, Switzerland

After some incredible aquatic waterfalls, playful jumps in plunge pools, and water park quality boggans into crystal clear water, the sentiment that dragons do fly and the shire should be just around the corner feels as real as the witch trials that the community of Iragna went through in the 17th century.

We floated under a stone bridge made of granite from hundreds of years back — the earliest known documentation of the village is 1210. A few more jumps later and one last boggan slide dropped us directly into the oasis grotto where the locals greet your arrival in their best form.

Houses made of stone surround a blue pool of water and hand-crafted cobble roads connect the village of Iragna back into the world. We leave the oasis and a bistro covered with lush vines with ripe purple and green grapes dangle from wooden structures as we sit on granite furniture made from the mountain across the valley. It's a weekday afternoon in Switzerland's canyon country and the local seasonal wine of Ticino has just started to pour.