When you arrive at the Instituto Inhotim, you will be handed a map so you can pick your route through this gigantic open-air contemporary art center. A dizzying array of artwork is surrounded by 500,000 acres of botanical gardens in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.

The Hudson River Valley is not the least likely place to be watched by Mother Earth, but the appearance of her 19-foot-tall plaster head overlooking the Taconic State Parkway still takes many by surprise. Gaea, the Greek Mother Earth is just one of many sculptures in Roy Kanwit’s Taconic Sculpture Park and Gallery.

In a field behind the workshop of giant-building firm Fiberglass Animals, Shapes, and Trademarks (FAST) is an eerie collection of molds left over from nearly every job the company has ever done. There are hundreds of old, mostly unpainted forms scattered across the lot, from massive skulls and colossal dogs to oversized Santa Clauses and giant mice.

Sprinkled throughout the small town of Borrego Springs are over 130 meticulously crafted metal sculptures created by the artist Ricardo Breceda. Elephants, raptors, mammoths, sloths, and saber-toothed tigers prowl the desert, each rust-colored sculpture filled with intricate detail.

Over the past 30 years, entrepreneur and art collector Alan Gibbs has hired renowned sculptors from around the world to construct towering abstract sculptures atop the rolling hills of this 1,000-acre estate on New Zealand’s North Island.

Some of the National Gallery of Australia's biggest attractions are scattered around patches of grass, concrete, and bushland on the southern banks of Lake Burley Griffin.

Not far from Samcheok City, this park is filled with dozens of sculpted phalluses that stand erect in defiance of an old folk curse. The collection ranges from hanging arrangements to three-meter-tall trunks of wood, all sculpted by Korean artists. The park's small museum showcases phallic art throughout the ages, as well as the history of the local fishing community.

Towering stone figures fill this forested area in the Chinese province of Guizhou. Though the rocky creations look like they could be ruins of an ancient civilization, they’re actually relatively new. Yelang Valley is the work of Song Peilun, an artist, cartoonist, and former professor who has spent more than 20 years designing the sprawling stone village.

Built in secret over a period of 36 years, this palatial sculpture park is the work of self-taught artist Nek Chand. The garden spans more than 30 acres, connected by walled passages and trails. Along with the jubilant sculptures, a series of waterfalls provides a lush atmosphere that makes the garden feel like a living, breathing jungle community.

In the 1970s, German artist Nani Croze settled in the desert near Nairobi National Park. There were few trees, so she began making sculptures to create shade. Today, the Kitengela settlement is a community, a glassworks, a hotel, and a sculpture garden that's something like a cross between the splendorous architecture of Antoni Gaudí and a Hobbit village.