Stories mapped place by place
Follow novels, films, games, myths, real expeditions and historical events place by place — with sources and honest notes on how precise each location is.
Real Journeys
In 1970 Thor Heyerdahl sailed the papyrus boat Ra II from Safi in Morocco to Barbados, with reed from Lake Tana, builders from Lake Titicaca and a finish in Barbados. Today the boat sits in the Kon-Tiki Museum in Oslo. The route follows the boat from its materials and builders to the departure, the landfall and the museum. Most stops are approximate: sources name the lakes, the port and the island, not exact docks.
Krishna's legend is set across northern and western India: born in Mathura, raised around Gokul, Vrindavan and Govardhan Hill, then his city of Dwarka in Gujarat, the battlefield of Jyotisar and his last place at Bhalka. The seven stops follow the story from birth in a prison cell to his death by a hunter's arrow. Most sites are traditional identifications, so the labels say how firm each pin is.
Saint Nicholas, the early Christian bishop of Myra, was born at Patara, served at Myra (modern Demre) and now rests in Bari, with more relics in Venice. This route follows his legend from Lycia to Nicaea, Gemiler Island and Apulia. Historians know little of the real man, so the route follows the traditional story and the journey of his bones. It ends in 1087, when sailors carried them across the sea, and in the Venice church that holds more.
Japan's legendary prince Yamato Takeru rides east from Ise Grand Shrine, escapes a burning plain at Yaizu, crosses Ashigara Pass and meets his end on Mount Ibuki. His sword ends up at Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya. The route follows the legend, told in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki chronicles, through five places. Several are traditional identifications, so the pins mark shrines and mountains tied to the tale, not proven battlefields.
Momotarō, Japan's peach-born ogre-slayer, is tied to Okayama through the legend of the ogre Ura, Mount Kijo's fortress, Kibitsu Shrine and Megijima, the island of caves linked to Onigashima. The route follows the Ura legend from the hilltop fortress to the shrines of Prince Kibitsuhiko, then the island of ogres and the statue at Okayama Station. The Okayama link to the tale is modern, and some stops are traditional identifications.
1.Pick a story
A novel, a film, a game, a myth, an expedition or a historical event — each route follows one of them across the map.
2.Follow it place by place
Read every stop in order, with dates and sources. A label tells you whether the spot is exact, approximate, speculative or fictional, and whether you can visit it.
3.Map your own
Anyone can draft a route in Studio. Sign in to submit it, and a moderator reviews it before it goes public.