Machu Picchu stands 2, 430 m above sea-level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting.

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Placing a seemingly incongruous space-age pod on a mountain top in the middle of the Alps is something Lovegrove has no qualms about doing.

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Today, we expect and demand such services whether we are on a mountain top or in the middle of an ocean.

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To experience the best leg of Via's cross-country service, take the Snow Train, which runs from Vancouver's grand beaux arts railroad station through a series of stunning snowbound mountain ranges to the hamlet of Jasper in the middle of 4, 200-square-mile Jasper National Park (home to some of the world's best, least-crowded skiing, at Marmot Basin).

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