Here are some interesting pieces you can drop into travel scenes in a roleplaying game.
Carvanserais
A caravanserai is a special kind of roadside inn or tavern that travelers can rest at and replenish their mounts. Historically, they were found in Asia, North Africa, and southeastern Europe.
Any remote area would make a good place for a caravanserai. A party should be able to feed or replace their mounts, meet up with other travelers, and buy supplies. There will likely be other travelers staying at the caravanserai. A caravanserai can offer protection for the night from bandits, but a well-armed group may feel that a caravanserai that is hosting a merchant train is too good of a target to pass up.
Guidestones
Guidestones are large stones that dot the landscape. They are large and smooth, and can be found at major intersections, along roads, and sometimes in valleys and forests. They are large stones that were aparently cut or milled from larger stones but no quarries have ever been found. No one seems to know who placed the guidestones, or if they were part of a larger structure.
They are large enough that a small group of travelers can find shelter from the weather or the hot sun. Some travelers tell stories of wizards and arcanists who know secrets of the guidestones and their creators; they can lay a hand on the stone and with a few whispered words of power, they can tell the directions of, and distances to, the next two nearest guidestones.