Why is there a beach in China that is colored crimson?
What’s the story behind the giant pink lake in Africa?
Find out in 13 Amazing Places That Really Exist!
#13.
“The Richat Structure”- In the country of Mauritania which lies on the northwest
coast of Africa there is an astounding geological formation that looks like the flattened fossil
of a giant nautilus shell.
This colorful spiral known as the Richat Structure, lies in the Sahara Desert and is believed
to have once been a geological dome that slow eroded and flattened out.
This 30 mile wide wonder is full of beautiful green, blue and red rocks.
With its striking appearance and size, the feature commonly referred to as the Eye of
Africa, was once used by astronauts as a marker to help calculate their locations.
#12.
“Lake Retba”-At first glance Lake Retba, which is just outside the capital city of
Dakar, Senegal, looks like someone filled a lake full of Pepto-Bismol, because of its
milky pink waters.
But this lake is actually full of salt-water which is loved by bacteria called Dunaliella
salina which creates a red pigment in order to help with photosynthesis.
This salt lake actually has a greater amount of salt in it than the famed Dead Sea and
many of the local Senegalese earn a living by harvesting then selling the salt from the
lake.
Despite its odd appearance it is completely safe to swim in, though it may make you feel
like you are on another planet.
#11.
“Wisteria Flower Tunnel”- Pictures of the Wisteria Flower Tunnel look like something
out of an impressionist painter’s daydream, but this beautiful feature of the Kawachi
Fuji Gardens in Kitakyushu Japan is a place that you can really visit in the Land of the
Rising Sun.
The Wisteria Flower Tunnel is a man-made passageway made up of over 150 Wisteria plants.
When Wisterias bloom they put out a beautiful lavender colored flower that line the entire
tunnel which nature lovers can walkthrough and enjoy.
From April 27th to the 29th the garden holds a Wisteria festival to celebrate the peak
of the flowers blooming season.
#10.
“Naica Mine”- Getting in and out of the Naica Mines in Chihuahua, Mexico can be quite
challenging and dangerous for even the most adept cavers but the sights to behold within
are some of the most dazzling on Earth.
In a recently discovered part of the mines called the Cave of the Crystals one can find
millions of gypsum crystals that cover the floor and the walls.
And we aren’t just talking about crystals that you can hold in your hand, some of the
crystals are over 30 feet in height and 10 feet in diameters.
Not only is the cave hard to traverse because of these giants that jut out from every direction,
the cave reportedly can reach temperatures up to 135 degrees fahrenheit with almost 100
percent humidity on top of that.
The geologists that study the caves are forced to limit their time inside to less than ten
minutes to make sure they don’t succumb to the intense heat.
#9.
“Tulip Fields”- When Tulips were first brought to Europe from Turkey in the 1500s,
they quickly became the favorite flower of the royals across the continent.
Because of the Netherland’s rich soil that was ideal for the flower and their trading
expertise, the Dutch became the primary source of Tulips throughout the world.
If you happen to visit the Netherlands the extensive fields in which the plants are grown
are a must-see for anyone who cherishes natural beauty.
Most of these fields or located in the northern part of the country and features billions
of tulips of every color imaginable.
What’s more these colors are often strategically planted in patterns to accentuate their awe-inspiring
appearance.
If you want to see the most artistic use of the flower you can visit the Keukenhof flower
park in the city of Lisse where they are grown to be enjoyed by tourists and locals, not
just as a crop.
Other than tulips you can find gigantic fields of other types of flowers and plants as Holland
is one of the biggest producers of all types of botanic beauty.
#8.
“Waitomo Glowworm Cave”- What type of natural wonder could be created by a carnivorous
maggot that is the larval form of an insect called the fungus gnat?
Well these creatures are also more commonly known as glowworms and their bioluminescence
makes them a mesmerizing sight, especially inside of the Waitomo Glowworm Cave where
there are thousands of them all putting off their bluish white light at once.
The 30 million year old limestone caves in New Zealand are one of the only places in
the world where a person can see this many glowworms in one place, with the other caves
also mostly found in New Zealand or Australia.
If you get the chance to visit taking the boat tour through the various caves of Waitomo
and especially the glowworm grotto is reported to be one of the most amazing experiences
to be had in the Land of the Long White Cloud.
#7.
“Tunnel of Love”-One of the most amazing places in the world actually came to be because
of the former Soviet Union’s desire for secrecy during the nuclear tensions with the
United States.
What was once part of a railway that led to a secret military installation, The Tunnel
of Love in Ukraine has now become a popular tourist destination.
This tunnel isn’t made up of stone or brick rather lush birch trees form the walls and
roof that encase the tracks.
The trains that run the tracks no longer ship military equipment, now they mainly help deliver
plywood from a nearby factory.
People have become enamored with the tunnel as it has come to represent nature overtaking
industry and though it is still somewhat dangerous to walk on working train tracks, they have
been flocking to enjoy the tranquility of the Tunnel of Love for years.
#6.
“Cherry Blossom Avenue”--The town of Bonn, which sits on the banks of the Rhine River
in Germany looks as though it is straight out of one of The Grimm Brothers’ Fairy
Tales.
The town’s history dates all the way back to 12 B.C. and is probably most famous for
being the birthplace of Ludwig Van Beethoven.
However, if you travel the short distance down the cobblestone roads past the centuries
old building you will find one of the most fantastic features in the world.
On Heerstrasse or Cherry Blossom Avenue you will find a road that is completely roofed
by rows of beautiful cherry blossom trees.
This isn’t the only street that has been made into a tunnel of flowers by the city
planners but it is the most famous.
The best time to visit this enchanting street of natural magic is in the month of April.
There is also a festival held around this time every year to celebrate the blooming
trees.
#5.
“Red Beach”-- Every Autumn tourists all over the world take a trip to the Shuangtaizi
River estuary on the outskirts of the Chinese city of Panjin to experience the feeling of
being transported to another planet.
This is where the famed Red Beach is located and the fall is when it earns its namesake
as the flourishing seepweed that makes up most of the wetland area turns from emerald
green to a spellbinding crimson-red.
The seepweed retains the reddish pigment from the large amount of saltwater that mixes within
the estuary from the ocean.
This striking color combined with the blue hue of the river and the gorgeous sunrises
and sunsets that overtake the land is something that you would think only existed in science
fiction films.
If you prefer the color purple to red well you are also in luck, as if you wait only
a few weeks you can see the red seepweed slowly turn to a deep purple.
#4.
“Mendenhall Ice Caves”- You have to be quite ambitious and physically fit in order
to see this next amazing place, as it is only accessible by way of kayaking and then ice-climbing.
However the absolutely stunning Mendenhall Ice Caves are well worth the trek.
Located outside of the Alaskan capital of Juneau these ice-caves are inside of the giant
Mendenhall Glacier in the serene Mendenhall Valley.
After climbing over the glacier itself you will reach the cave entrance and you will
already be able to see why these caves make our list.
The walls and the roof of the caves are made entirely of ice and are full of pockets in
which water bubbles and trickles through giving one the feeling of being underwater without
needing a scuba tank.
The flowing water and melting of the glacier have also created some astounding patterns
within the ice.
One of the things that makes the ice caves so breathtaking is their fleeting nature.
Because of the rapidly changing climate the Mendenhall Ice Caves probably won’t last
the century, if even that long.
#3.
“Chand Baori”-- In Abhaneri, India there is one of the world’s largest stepwells
and its design would have left even the likes of the artist MC Escher’s head-spinning.
Built in the 9th Century, Chand Baori, is considered the deepest stepwell on Earth going
down over 100 feet.
What makes this stepwell so amazing is the intricate design put into its steps.
The particular ornateness of Chand Baori can perhaps be due to its location next to the
Harshat Mata temple.
The well is made up of thousands of symmetrical steps of stairs that form repeating pyramid
and diamond shaped patterns.
These patterns were not only designed this way to revere the gods and look cool though,
as these Indian Architects of the Middle Ages knew that symmetry and the precisely calculated
dimensions of the stairs would allow the stepwell to retain more water for a longer period of
time.
#2.
“Salar de Uyuni”-- There are several amazing qualities about the world’s largest salt
flat known as Salar de Uyuni, that keeps tourists flocking to this isolated location.
The salt flat lies in southwestern Bolivia near the edge of the Andes mountain range
and is over four thousand square miles in in size.
It is also considered one of the flattest places on earth with only slight elevation
dips hear and there that can be measured in millimeters.
Because of its unique attributes the site has been a haven for photographers and nature
enthusiasts for years.
Due to the intense amount of salt and lack of plant-life the area is almost uninhabitable
but that doesn’t stop giant flocks of gorgeous pink flamingos from calling the area home.
One of the most intriguing natural effects in the world can be seen here during the rainy
season as the flatness and salt combine with the water that sits on the ground to create
a mirror effect, where one cannot tell where the land ends and the sky begins.
This bizarre effect is also one of the chief reasons why the salt flat is an ideal place
for calibrating satellites.
Because the area is devoid of construction materials such as wood or stone the locals
have taken to building hotels out of salt in order to house the multitude of tourists
that come every year.
You may also recognize Salar de Uyuni from the recent Star Wars installment ‘The Last
Jedi’ as it was the locale used in the film’s final battle sequence.
#1.
“Door To Hell”-- While searching for oil in 1971 scientists working for the Soviet
Union accidentally created one of the most amazing yet frightening spectacles on Earth.
Just outside the town of Derweze in Turkmenistan the scientists had started a drilling operation
but instead of oil they found substantial quantities of natural gas.
They were excited at the potential resources that the site contained, but when the fragile
ground that was holding up the rig caved in a massive crater formed shooting out hazardous
amounts of the methane gas and could potentially have harmed the local inhabitants.
In order to stop the gas leak they decided to set a fire in the crater but the results
didn’t go as expected.
Instead of burning off the excess gas in a matter of days, the fire continued to burn
for years and still does until this day.
Because of the seemingly infinite nature of the crater’s blaze the location is now known
as the ‘Door to Hell’ and has become a huge tourist attraction.
Though the Mordoresque appearance may be a symbol of man’s destruction of nature, the
crater is still an amazing sight to behold.
Which of these AMAZING places would you like to visit most and why?