You can delve deeper into an unfamiliar culture when you are able to gain access to places, events, and people that are normally off-limits. Below are 50 examples of such extraordinary opportunities worldwide, ranging in price from $80 to $30,000. This list is not exhaustive: The very act of publicizing some rare opportunities offered by the most well-connected travel firms would burn the bridges that make them possible. Furthermore, many of the options described on these pages include special features that we are forbidden to divulge but that will surely enrich your trip. Because of the nature of such experiences, they are of course subject to change and even cancellations. Most cannot be booked à la carte but only as part of a larger itinerary. (Note that prices quoted are estimates for two people.)

Click here for Wendy Perrin's introduction to the "Fabulous 50."

Africa
Botswana
1. Among Bushmen (History, Local Traditions, Politics)
Meet the spiritual leaders of one of the last surviving groups of Bushmen—the oldest indigenous peoples on earth—who still practice aspects of their traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle. During your time with the Bushmen, you'll watch a sacred healing-trance dance and also learn about their present-day struggles: While this particular community remains on its ancestral land near the Namibian border, the Botswanan government has forced some of those inside the Central Kalahari Game Reserve off their land and placed them in resettlement camps. Cost: $3,600 for three nights. Source: Cherri Briggs, Explore, Steamboat Springs, Colorado (888-596-6377; info@exploreafrica.net; www.exploreafrica.net).

2. In the Company of Lions (Wildlife)
Do research on lions and track leopards in the Kwondo Reserve. Scientists with the African Predator Conservation Research Organization are studying the health and long-term viability of these carnivore populations. Each night, you will help dart lions, collect DNA samples, and closely observe the immobilized animals. Cost: $2,000 donation. Source: Cherri Briggs (888-596-6377; info@exploreafrica.net; www.exploreafrica.net).

Egypt
3. Museum After-hours (The Arts, History)
Dr. Zahi Hawass, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, will personally escort you through the Egyptian Museum's pre-eminent collection of artifacts for two to three hours, presenting the kingdom's broad and complicated history in layperson's terms. If Cairo is your entry point to a larger Egypt itinerary, he can focus on relics from the regions you'll later visit. Cost: $8,000. Source: Ryan Hilton, Admiral Travel, Sarasota, Florida (941-951-1801; africa@admiraltravel.com; www.admiraltravel.com).

4. Inside Nefetari's Tomb (History)
The most beautiful and colorful crypt in all of Egypt and has been closed to the public for the past three years, and even before then was limited to only 150 visitors a day. Following years of water damage, its multiple chambers have been restored to their original splendor. Unlike Luxor's other tombs—which are so crowded that the guides can't be heard over the din—this one is eerily quiet and will be all yours for a private visit. Cost: $4,240. Source: James R. Berkeley, Destinations & Adventures International, Los Angeles (800-659-4599; jberkeley@daitravel.com; www.daitravel.com).

5. Alexandria's Sunken Wonders (History)
Explore the underwater treasures of the ancient port, now buried under its modern counterpart. You'll dive 40 feet to view the ongoing excavation of relics of the city as it existed 2,000 years ago, and of Greco-Roman wrecks from the fifth century A.D. Once you're back on the surface, one of the site's archaeologists will show you blocks from the Alexandria Lighthouse at Pharos—one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World—and the remains of what was probably Cleopatra's Palace. Cost: $540. Source: Haytham Atwan, Abercrombie & Kent, Cairo (20-2-394-7765; hatwan@abercrombiekent.com.eg; www.akegypt.com).