Satisfy your thirst for armchair exploration with the Maptia website

Storytellers, photographers, conservationists and adventurers come together to share thought-provoking stories.

Name: Maptia.com

What it does: More than 200 contributors work with the Maptia team to produce stories from more than 100 countries to cultivate awareness of social, environmental and cultural issues.

What’s hot: This website might change your ideas about what online travel content can be. Readers who crave more than a family vacation itinerary or a quick city guide to hot spots will find that Maptia satisfies a thirst for armchair exploration. I was mesmerized by “A Gathering of Giants” by Tony Wu, a professional underwater photographer who recounted witnessing a social gathering of hundreds of sperm whales in the Indian Ocean. Delve into Maptia through four main features: “Journeys” takes you on a mini-adventure with seven stories emailed to you over seven days; “Places” links to select stories by country or continent; “Channels” allows you to follow stories that matter most to you; and “Editors’ Picks.”

What’s not: There’s little to complain about. If pressed, I’d mention that the tags that accompany the stories such as “thought provoking,” “heart-warming,” “adventurous” and “remarkable” got my attention. If I liked a story, I wanted to click on those tags and be taken to similar stories, but they weren’t links.