Amazing Natural Places in the World

1. Across the roughly 60 million square miles of land covering this breathtaking planet, there are a lot of exceedingly beautiful places. From serene and stirring to surreal and sublime, trying to list them all would be an impossible task; and of course beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But that doesn t mean we can t do our best to give a shout out to some of the places that showcase the amazing accomplishments that Mother Nature sometimes wit .....

The Maldives

2. Like one of Mother Nature s emoticons, this lovable heart shaped island can be found in the Republic of the Maldives, a country that is spread out over 35,000 square miles in the Indian Ocean, 250 miles southwest of India. The nation is comprised of 1,190 coral islands formed around 26 natural atolls, each of which is made of a coral reef circling a lagoon. While the Maldives is one the world s most geographically dispersed countries, it is the s .....

Rice terraces of Vietnam

3. While the terraces pictured here are located in Lao Cai province of Vietnam, equally mesmerizing scenes can be found throughout Southeast Asia where people have been doing the seemingly impossible for millennia: growing rice which requires a flat surface and a lot of water in mountainous areas. The trick? Terraced paddy fields that not only yield substantial crops of the widely consumed staple, but are also a gorgeous sight to behold. Agricul .....

Hampi

4. Located in the northern state of Karnataka in India, the ruins of Hampi represent the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire, which was in power for several hundred years starting in the 14th century. The bewitching, crumbling remnants of temples, palaces, aquatic structures, ancient market streets, royal pavilions, military forts and municipal buildings are among the more than 500 monuments scattered amid a wild landscape of giant boulders, p .....

Salar de Uyuni

5. At 4,086 square miles, Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia holds the record for the largest salt flats in the world. In fact, so flat are the flats that the U.S. Geological Survey found that elevation variations across the entire area were less than one meter. It is the flattest place on the planet, and it is so stunningly featureless that you can see the curvature of the Earth there. Needless to say, this provides an opportunity to create what m .....

Los Glaciares

6. Located in southwest Argentina along the border of Chile, Los Glaciares National Park offers 2,807 square miles of rugged mountains, large lakes and a lot of you guessed it ice; the Patagonia ice field occupies nearly half of the park and represents the largest ice mantle outside of Antarctica. It contains 47 glaciers, along with another 200 smaller glaciers not included in the main field. Mount Fitz Roy (pictured here) is in the northern par .....

Blue Lagoon

7. Iceland is a place of stunning wonders, like glaciers, volcanoes, geysers, fjords and beautiful lagoons filled with healing geothermal seawater not to mention the 13 different kinds of elves that inhabit the country, according to Icelandic folklore. (And given the enchanted beauty of the country, is it any wonder that people believe it s rife with sprites?) The Blue Lagoon falls under the healing geothermal seawater category; its namesake, bl .....

Pamukkale

8. The 17 hot water springs that fill the travertine terraces of Pamukkale in southwestern Turkey have been providing soothing mineral soaks to bathers for thousands of years. But beyond the health benefits, the area is a geologic wonder that occurs when calcite is deposited by the water as it pours over the edges of the pools. The result is an expansive cliff covered in white sparkling cascades of stone; petrified waterfalls that look like the work .....

Antelope Canyon

9. Located just outside of Page, Arizona, the dreamlike landscape of Antelope Canyon is one of the most bizarre and beautiful in the country. The Navajo name for Upper Antelope Canyon is Tse bighanilini, which means the place where water runs through rocks. And indeed, Antelope Creek, which flows into nearby Lake Powell, forms two sections of slot canyons, the diligent work of water and time carving otherworldly formations into stone that n .....

Cave of the Crystals

10. Hidden nearly 1,000 feet beneath the ground in Naica, Mexico, is an implausible scene, one that could serve as the natural world s testament to the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. Most of us have held crystals in our hands, but here in the subterranean Sistine Chapel of crystals, the translucent selenite specimens measure up to 36 feet in length and weigh up to 55 tons, making them some of the largest crystals known to man. The magic .....

Yangshuo China

11. In southern China is Yangshuo County, an area that offers a captivating mix of karst pinnacles, caves, lush vegetation, traditional Chinese architecture, rice fields and the inexorably picturesque Li River, which many believe is the most beautiful waterway in the world. The mountains in the region are an irresistible magnet for climbers from all over the globe, while other tourists enjoy biking through the villages or taking a bamboo raft ride do .....

Sossusvlei

12. Located in the southern part of the Namib desert in the Republic of Namibia, Sossusvlei is a treasure trove of sand dunes of staggering size and cinematic splendor. The pristine mountains of sand were built by the air, having been pushed and shifted by the colliding easterly winds from the Atlantic Ocean and the westerly winds from the Naukluft Mountains. They are believed to be 60 to 80 million years old and represent the highest sand dunes in t .....

Neuschwanstein Castle

13. Princess Aurora, are you in there? While this fairytale castle perched atop a hill in the Bavarian Alps never actually housed a royal family King Ludwig II of Bavaria who commissioned it died before its completion in 1886 it was the inspiration for Disneyland s Sleeping Beauty castle. We ve selected this photo because it shows a castle floating in the clouds, but the dreamy mist obscures the picturesque view of the rugged peaks and magnificen .....

Giant Forest

14. Nestled in California s incredible Sequoia National Park is the colossal Giant Forest, where you can find trees that would have felt right at home during the Jurassic period. Named in 1875 by John Muir, the forest is a stand of more than 8,000 towering sequoia trees many of them thousands of years old. The Giant Forest is where you can find five of the 10 largest living trees on the planet, including the General Sherman, which is recognized as .....

Northern lights Norway

15. While it s possible to witness the completely crazy phenomenon known as the aurora borealis from any number of locations positioned far enough north, we re picking Norway as the bucket list destination. Why? Because it s Norway. There are fjords, islands, glaciers, whales, moose and polar bears! But also because Norway just so happens to be a particularly wonderful spot to see the magical light show that occurs when highly charged electrons from .....

Meteora

16. The meaning of Meteora is variously defined as middle of the sky, suspended in the air or in the heavens above, and indeed, all three seem to apply. Built on barely accessible sandstone pinnacles that rise 1,300 feet from the Peneas valley in Greece, 24 of these Greek Orthodox monasteries originally perched atop the geological columns. Intrepid pilgrims were lifted up the cliffs by nets; supplies were hoisted by ladders and baskets. Talk ab .....

Lake Baikal

17. With an impressive age of 25 million years, Lake Baikal in southeastern Siberia is the oldest lake in the world; with depths reaching nearly 5,400 feet, it is also the deepest lake on the planet. In fact, it contains 20 percent of Earth s total unfrozen freshwater reserve. But beyond its impressive stats, it is a marvel of nature and beauty. Known as the Galapagos of Russia, Lake Baikal is one of the most biodiverse places anywhere, thanks to i .....

Cappadocia

18. It s possible that the only way you could improve upon the stunning spectacle of the fairy chimney pinnacles found in central Turkey s Cappadocia region is by enhancing the already surreal scene with some hot air balloons. But balloons or not, G?reme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia as the area is officially called is a marvel. Located on the Central Anatolia plateau, the volcanic landscape has teamed up with the forces of ero .....

Great Barrier Reef Australia

19. The largest living structure on the globe, the Great Barrier Reef is comprised of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands; it stretches more than 1,400 miles long the Coral Sea off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Within its 133,000 square miles, the array of life is almost hard to fathom. Amongst the tangle of colorful reefs, more than 600 types of coral reside along with more than 100 species of jellyfish, 1,625 types of fish, 133 variet .....

Fairy Pools

20. Off the west coast of Scotland travelers can find the Isle of Skye, an island dominated by the dramatically dark and jagged Cullins mountain range, which provides for an abundance of geologic nooks and crannies. At the foot of the mountains between the Glen Brittle Forest and the Glen Brittle Beach are the magical Fairy Pools that lure visitors from across the globe. As the River Brittle dances and shimmies to the sea, it creates waterfalls, stre .....

Yosemite

21. I have seen persons of emotional temperament stand with tearful eyes, spellbound and dumb with awe, as they got their first view of the Valley from Inspiration Point [pictured here], overwhelmed in the sudden presence of the unspeakable, stupendous grandeur, said Galen Clark, the first European American to discover Yosemite in eastern California s Sierra Nevada mountains. And we can thank Clark for pushing legislation that led to the Yosemite .....

Galapagos Islands

22. Anywhere you land in the Galapagos archipelago will be fascinating; the islands and their aquatic environs made famous by Charles Darwin form a national park and a marine reserve, all within the Ecuadorian province of which they are a part. Of the 18 main islands, San Cristobal Island (pictured here) is the easternmost, and the oldest as well. It was formed by the fusion of several volcanoes and it is where Darwin first set foot on the island .....

Lavender fields of France

23. For this one we re also considering the olfactory component, because fields of vibrant flowers in Provence, France are one thing; but add waves of heady lavender fragrance to the setting and it s a slam dunk in the beautiful places department. We can thank the Romans for bringing lavender to France, which they did more than 2,000 years ago. The hillsides and plateaus provided the perfect place for wild lavender to flourish and throughout the Midd .....

Angkor Wat

24. Nestled in the jungles of Cambodia s northern province of Siem Reap, Angkor Wat comprises 155 square miles of what UNESCO calls one of the most important archaeological sites of Southeast Asia. The site was the capital of the Khmer Kingdom, and with its beautifully ornamented temples, hydraulic structures and urban planning, it represents an impressive range of Khmer art from the 9th to 14th centuries. But beyond the beauty of the monuments in ge .....

Big Island

25. While most people associate Hawaii with the perfect beaches and palm trees brand of beauty, we re taking another tack here; we re adding Big Island to the list for its otherworldly planet turning itself inside out appeal. Pristine Pacific paradises are one thing, but the opportunity to see active volcanoes oozing and spewing lava is a humbling sight. Between 1983 and 2002, lava flows added 543 acres of land mass to the island; how incredible .....

Antarctica Southern Ocean

26. The stark frigid atmosphere of the southern tip of the globe may not be all that hospitable, but its beauty is sublime. Antarctica holds the title as the coldest, windiest and driest continent, with nearly 98 percent of it covered in very deep ice. This all conspires to create stunning landscapes of pure white snow mingling with blue ice in structures of architectural magnificence. Striking as it is though, the land is so forbidding that the sea .....

Victoria Falls

27. Although 19th century explorer David Livingstone named the magnificent waterfall which separates Zambia and Zimbabwe in honor of Queen Victoria, the indigenous (and much more poetic) name Mosi oa Tunya, which means the smoke that thunders is commonly used and is thankfully recognized by the World Heritage List. While this chronically rainbow creating waterfall is neither the highest nor the widest in the world, it is still considered the wo .....

Tunnel of Love

28. Ukraine s Tunnel of Love located near the town of Klevin may not be the most dramatic spot on our list, but for the tree loving romantic, it may steal the show. Fortunately, someone decided that train tracks and forests need not be mutually exclusive, and thus, a towering tunnel through the trees has been maintained to allow travel of a train that makes its way through the fairytale passage three times a day. The rest of the time, this arboreal a .....

Taktsang Palphug Monastery

29. Also known as the Tiger s Nest, the Taktsang Palphug Monastery can be found near the city of Paro in Bhutan, the small eastern Himalayan country nestled between India and China. The monastery, which is perched on a cliff at an elevation of over 10,000 feet, was built in 1692 at the site of the cave where a guru by the name of Padmasambhava meditated (as the story goes) for three years, three months, three weeks and three hours back in the 8th cen .....

Mount Fuji

30. While many of the world s most notable mountains are famed for their imposing drama, Japan s Mount Fuji is a departure from the norm. It doesn t brood; it s serene and contemplative which isn t to say that it doesn t have some personality. At 12,388 feet it is Japan s highest mountain; and although it hasn t erupted since 1707, it is still considered an active volcano. Yet it somehow manages to exude a sense of calm. And if ever a mountain were .....

The night sky

31. This is the most democratic of destinations, one that everyone can visit as Earth spins us around offering a perfect 360 degree view. All you need to do to enjoy the splendors of the night sky is to find some darkness and tilt back your head. The sights are many, from stars and galaxies to satellites and planets. Gazing at the moon all night might be enough, but add in eclipses, meteor showers, star clusters, nebulae and constellations ... and al .....

The Door to Hell Turkmenistan

32. In a story that recalls the creation of the Fly Geyser, the Door to Hell in Turkmenistan s Karakum Desert has been burning brightly for over 40 years, ever since geologists tried to burn off natural gases discovered when drilling at the site. .....

Cted Albtre France

33. You ve heard of the White Cliffs of Dover, but how about the White Cliffs of Normandy ? The chalk white Alabaster Coast stretches for 80 miles are rises in cliffs up to 100m high, forming odd structures like the arch at ?tretat. .....

Bryce Canyon USA

34. There is of course the much more famous Grand Canyon, but Bryce Canyon, sitting at over 2000 meters above sea level in Utah, is very much a wonder of the world with its pyramid like rock formations. And it s not actually a canyon... .....

Salar de Uyuni Bolivia

35. Do not adjust your set. The largest salt lake in the world (covering 10,582 square kilometers, to be precise) resembles a mirror smooth frozen lake, making possible perception perplexing photos like this. .....