Bucket list? Zzzz. But this list of 25 spots -- from caves to critters to Cuba -- crackles with energy

By Mary Forgione

Aug. 28, 2015 8:15 AM PT

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You won't find India's Taj Mahal or San Francisco's Alcatraz on Smithsonian magazine's list of 25 top new places to travel in its September issue. It approaches destinations as a place to learn and experience rather than just snap a photo.

Smithsonian calls it a life list -- more about living than kicking the bucket. And it's geared toward the 21st century traveler. Four U.S. destinations make the list, and five sites don't even exist yet.

Check out Smithsonian's "21st Century Life List: 25 Great New Places to See" by Jamie Malanowski.

Here are the 25 that made the cut.

1. Hang Son Doong cave, Vietnam

Hang Son Doong cave in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park in Vietnam.

(Doug Knuth / Wikimedia Commons)

The cave, believed to be the largest in the world, has been open to tourists for the past two years. Its entrance was only discovered in 1991, was then lost and then rediscovered. A river runs through this massive cave whose chambers can be as much as 450 wide and 600 feet deep. It's about five miles long, so go with a guide.

2. CERN Laboratory, Switzerland

The ATLAS calorimeter as it was being installed at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. In 2015 the world's largest particle accelerator turns back on with double the amount of energy. Credit: CERN

A calorimeter being installed at the large hadron collider at CERN. (CERN)

Its big claim to fame is being the place where experiments led to the discovery of the Higgs bosun or God particle. And if you don't get particle physics, brush up before you go. The center, known by its acronym for Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire (European Organization for Nuclear Research), only occasionally schedules open days for the public to visit. It's located in Meyrin, north of Geneva.

3. Spaceport America, New Mexico

Guests stand outside the new Spaceport America hangar Monday, Oct. 17, 2011 in Upham, N.M. British billionaire Richard Branson dedicated the newly completed terminal Monday where his Virgin Galactic is slated to begin his commercial space tourism venture from the remote patch of desert in Sierra County. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Opening of Spaceport America in 2011. (Matt York / Associated Press)

If you want to take a $250,000 commercial flight into outer space, this is probably where you'll take off and land -- with a little bit of weightlessness on your return. Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space travel venture chugs on in Mojave, Calif., despite the setback of a fatal pilot crash last year. Spaceport offers daily tours at the site about 55 miles north of Las Cruces.

4. Mountain gorilla treks, East Africa

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PETER MARTELL A photo taken on August 1, 2015 shows a young mountain gorilla in the jungle at Bukima in Virunga National Park, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Surrounding misty forests in green hills of the vast park -- stretching for 7,800 square kilometres (3,010 square miles) -- are home to a quarter of the world's critically endangered mountain gorillas. In 2011, over 3,000 visitors came to Virunga, but violence forced the park shut the next year, and only fully reopening in late 2014. The tourists are vital: the income they bring funds the park's survival. AFP PHOTO / PETER MARTELLPETER MARTELL/AFP/Getty Images ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

(Peter Martell/AFP/Getty Images)

Travelers see the big animals close up on these treks in Congo and Rwanda. It's the close contact that makes this experience list-worthy. Smithsonian offers this tip on how to act when you see one: "Speak quietly; stay at least 20 feet from the animals; if one charges, crouch down slowly, avoid eye contact and wait for the animal to pass. In other words, act as if you were taking your tween daughter to a One Direction concert." Cost is about $400 a day in Congo and $750 in Rwanda, the magazine reports.

5. ALMA telescope, northern Chile

Part of the antenna cluster at Atacama Compact Array.

(European Southern Observatory)

It's the clearest view of the night sky you'll ever get. That's because this array of telescopes sits above the Atacama Desert, one of the driest places on the planet. Formally called the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, the telescope sits at 16,570 feet above sea level. Parts of the site are open to tourists -- and don't forget to stand still at night and just look up.

The rest of the best ...

6. Mendenhall Ice Caves, Alaska

Ice caves at Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska.

(Gillfoto / Wikimedia Commons)

The ice caves exist under the Mendenhall Glacier (which is melting) in Tongass National Park.

7. Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi

(Aziz J. Hayat / Wikimedia Commons)

The theme park boasts the world's fastest roller coaster -- 0 to 60 mph in 2 seconds and a top speed of 149 mph in five seconds.

8. Cayman Trench, Caribbean Sea

You can dip 2,000 feet below the sea aboard a submarine operated by the Roatan Institute of Deepsea Exploration.

9. Museum of Islamic Art, Qatar

I.M. Pei designed this museum with textiles, manuscripts, ceramics, jewelry and more in Doha.

10. NOMA restaurant

A dish from the restaurant Noma in Copenhagen ~"White asparagus with poached egg yolk and sauce of woodruff

White asparagus with poached egg yolk and sauce of woodruff. (CycloneBill/Wikimedia Commons )

Quite simply the world's best restaurant, located in a warehouse in Copenhagen. Chef Rene Redzepi forages and creates extraordinary dishes -- in the kitchen and on the plate.

11. Havana

HAVANA, CUBA -- FRIDAY, APRIL 24, 2015: The dome of El Capitolio, the National Capitol Building, right, punctuates the skyline in Havana, Cuba, on April 24, 2015. Prior to the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the Cuban Congress was housed in the building. The Cuban government is restoring the building for use once again as the home of Cuba's National Assembly. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times )

"Go, baby, for the love of God go!" the Smithsonian list says. Go for the time capsule aspect of visiting Havana before it all vanishes.

12. Leicester, England

(FILES) A file picture taken on February 4, 2013 shows Leicester Cathedral in the city of Leicester in central England. Britain's High Court ordered on May 23, 2014 that king Richard III should be buried in a cathedral in Leicester, the city where his remains were found under a car park two years ago. Descendants of the infamous ruler, who died in battle in 1485, had fought for his remains to be buried in York Minster, in the northern city that gave its name to Richard's royal house. But the court ruled that there was no reason that Richard, who was immortalised as one of Shakespeare's greatest villains, should not be buried in Leicester, eastern England. AFP PHOTO / ANDREW COWIEANDREW COWIE/AFP/Getty Images ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

(Andrew Cowie / AFP/Getty Images )

This is all about Richard the III, killed in 1485 and whose body was recently discovered. See the Leicester Cathedral, above, where his bones were reinterred last March, below, the Bosworth Battlefield Heritage Center and the King Richard III Visitor Center.