The Hand of the Desert, Chile
The 36-foot-tall Hand of the Desert was made by Chilean sculptor Mario Irarrazabal. It's 46 miles south of the city of Antofagasta, and symbolizes human suffering. This unnerving sculpture is practically in the middle of nowhere, and has an uncanny power to invoke feelings of loneliness, seclusion and helplessness.
Panjin Red Beach, China
18 miles southwest of Panjin city lies this unique red beach. Suaeda salsa is plant that grows in saline-alkali soil. In the month of autumn these plants bloom red, turning the Panjin Red Beach, well, red! Autumn is the best month to see it in action, and a small section of this beach is open for the tourists.
Lencois Maranhenses National Park, Brazil
Just outside the Amazon basin lie 386 square miles of flooded desert. Lencois Maranhenses National Park is one of the most unique places in the world. With white silky sands regularly intercepting the cool, turquoise lake water, it's a sight to behold.
Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
This acid pool is located between Lake Assal and the volcano Dallol. At 330 feet below sea level, it's one of the lowest places on Earth. Don't be decieved by its appearance. What might seem to be land are in fact brittle crusts of salt and sulphur. Stay away, or be thoroughly cautious while visiting.
Caño Cristales, Colombia
This 62-mile-long river can be found in the Serrania de la Macarena National Park. The best time to visit the Caño Cristales is in the summer when the riverbed is covered by different species of colorful plants, but seeing this mysterious phenonmenon is no easy feat. After flying to the nearest village, you have to take a boat ride and finally hike a bit to see this multicolored marvel for yourself.
Koekohe Beach, New Zealand
Abnormally large boulders dot the eroded Otago coastline along a stretch of Koekohe Beach. Scientists are unable to explain the phenomenon behind these giant, spherical rocks on the sand.
Ruby Falls, USA
This 145-foot-high underground waterfall in Tennessee is the tallest underground waterfall open to the public. It's illuminated to give it a purple-red hue, and it attracts tourists from all over the world.
Mendenhall Ice Caves, Alaska
12 miles from downtown Juneau in the Tongass National Forest lie the stunning Mendenhall Ice Caves. The blue shades of ice crystals inside the caves are an incredible, but unexplained natural phenomenon. To visit the place, be willing to kayak and then climb over the glacier!
Jellyfish Lake, Palau
On the Pacific island of Eil Malk in Palau, you can snorkel will millions of harmless jellyfish.
Tunnel of Love, Ukraine
This tunnel of greenery can be found between Klevan and the town of Orzhiv on the Kovel-Rivne rail line in Ukraine. The train line splits in two near Orzhiv, and one section goes to a secret military base. It's said that this base is from the time of the Cold War, and thus trees were planted along the railroad tracks to hide its location. Today, this stretch of railway is called the Tunnel of Love, and it's one of Ukraine's most famous tourist attractions.
Dead Vlei, Namibia
The dead marsh or the Dead Vlei is located in Namib-Naukluft National Park near Sossusvlei in the Namib Desert. It's a white clay pan submerged in sand dunes, and the dead trees here are between 700 and 800 years old.
The Doorway Railway of Hanoi
Every day at about 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., a train passes inches away from the doorsteps of the residential Old Quarter of Hanoi on its way to Ho Chi Minh City.
Die Rakotzbrücke (Devil's Bridge), Germany
Located in Kromlauer Park in eastern Germany is a 19th-century bridge, and its reflection in the water beneath it causes it to form a perfect circle. View it from anywhere, and you'll see an excellent example of its accurate construction. Just remember, crossing the bridge is prohibited.
Dead Sea, Jordan
This one you must have heard of. The Dead Sea is a salt lake that helps you float without any effort! You don't have to know how to swim in order to enjoy a dip in the water here. Due to its high salt content, nothing can live in the Dead Sea, hence the name. But paradoxically, its high concentration of minerals is actually good for your skin and overall health!
Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia
You may have heard that this is the largest salt pan in the world, but did you know that when covered with a thin film of water, it also becomes the world's largest natural mirror? It's a well-loved destination among photographers and thrill-seekers alike.
Lake Retba, Senegal
The salty Lake Retba will catch your eye thanks to its vivid pink hues. The dunaliella salina bacteria is the reason for its pink color, but don't let the word bacteria turn you off. The dry season from November to June is your best chance to see this rose-colored lake, and it's perfectly safe for swimming.
Goblin Valley, USA
Lying 216 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, Utah, this valley is worth a visit for its eerie, goblin-shaped rock formations. Over the years, the soft sandstone has succumbed to wind and water erosion, leading to these strange natural structures.
Chocolate Hills of Bohol Island, the Philippines
These 1,700 symetrically-placed conical hills can easily be mistaken for a man-made creation due to their precision and accuracy. But they're actually a result of rainwater erosion, a completely natural phenomenon. They're called the Chocolate Hills due to their transformation from lush green during the rainy season to dark brown during the dry season.
Glass Beach, USA
This is a living example of the evils done to the Earth by humans. This beach in California was once covered with everything from electrical appliances to bottles and cans. Over time, the waves broke these appliances into varying shapes and colors of sea glass and debris, and today they remain a major tourist attraction.
Big Sheep and Big Dog, New Zealand
In the small New Zealand town of Tirau, you'll see two giant, man-made structures. Initially, the information center for the local farming industry was built in the form of a giant sheep. The structure attracted tourists, which led to the construction of another building made in the shape of a giant dog.
Kolmanskop, Namibia
What was once a thriving mining settlement is today a ghost town. The city of Kolmanskop in the Namib Desert is full of abandoned buildings that are slowly being taken over by sand dunes.
Door to Hell, Turkmenistan
A fire has been burning for 44 years inside a natural gas crater in Turkmenistan. This relentless burning hole is a sight to behold, but be wary as it gets pretty hot! The best time to see this spectacle is at night.
Bone Church, Czech Republic
The Sedlec Ossuary or the "Bone Church" is known for its decorations using human skeletons. There are chandeliers, candelabras, and pyramids all made with bones. Over 40,000 human skeletons have been used to give the church its unique look.
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, USA
This allegedly haunted nature preserve in central Idaho is home to strange, rugged terrain, full of thousand-year-old crusted lava, and many underground caves that are open for visitors to explore. You can hike here, but don't forget that there's no natural water source to be found in and around the Craters of the Moon.
Palais Ideale, France
In 1879, a mailman named Ferdinand Cheval started building his “Palais Ideale.” He made it using pebbles, unique stones, cement, lime and mortar. It took him over 20 years to complete his dream palace, which is full of tiny sculptures. He also made his own mausoleum nearby, which took him eight years to complete.
Les Machines de l'Ile, France
A tribute to the city of Nantes' industrial heritage, the Machines de l'Ile is home to “living machines”: a massive automated elephant that can hold 49 passengers, a Marine Worlds Carousel, a walkable Heron Tree, and a number of other automated creepy crawlies. It's a unique amalgamation of art, theater, culture, and technology.
Moai, Easter Island
Moai are the giant, unique statues that can be found on this Chilean territory. Carved by the Rapa Nui people sometime between the 1200s and the 1500s, most people have heard of these incredibul sculptures. But did you know that they're meant to embody the Rapa Nui people's ancestors?
The Bermuda Triangle
This is allegedly the Devil's Triangle where aircraft and ships have mysteriously disappeared without a trace. It lies in the northwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Great Blue Hole, Belize
This is the world's largest marine sinkhole, and your travel-destination-to-be. It's perfectly circular in shape, and it's the only aquatic sinkhole that can be seen from space.
The Champagne Pool, New Zealand
Formed 900 years ago by a hydrothermal eruption in New Zealand, this hot spring is a beautiful display of colors, but it's not meant for swimming. Full of carbon dioxide and with a temperature of 163° F (72° C), this pool should be enjoyed from a distance.
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