Top 10 Most Beautiful Places In The World

1.Glen Canyon, USA

Glen Canyon Nation Recreation Area, established by Congress in 1972, is the home of Lake Powell. The area is comprised of 1.25 million acres with the lake occupying only 13%, or 161,390 acres, of the total area, which leaves a lot to be explored by four-wheel  drive or on foot. Lake Powell is named for Civil War veteran Major John Wesley Powell, who explored the Green and Colorado rivers in 1869 down through Grand Canyon. In August, 1869, Powell and his eight companions passed through the site of present day Glen Canyon Dam. Extending nearly one-third of a mile across from canyon rim to rim, the dam created the reservoir known as Lake Powell. The lake, which lies partly in Arizona and mostly in Utah, is more than 500 feet deep in places. While Utah has the lion’s share of Powell’s crystal clear water, Arizona lays claim to the most important part—the dam. It took 17 years, from march 13, 1963 to June 22, 1980, to fill to the planned level of 3,700 feet above sea level. Lake levels fluctuate depending on the spring runoff from the mountains and the releases needed to produce electricity from the dam’s eight generators.(via 1)

2.Athabasca Falls, Canada

The Athabasca Falls is a recreation and sightseeing destination located south of the community of Jasper, Alberta, Canada in the Jasper National Park. The highlight of the Athabasca Falls Trail is the viewpoint over looking the waterfall measuring 23 metres.

The waterfall lookout is situated on the high cliffs of the Athabasca River. However, the falls are not known for their height but are best known for being powerful. The large volume of water surges through a narrow gorge creating plenty of white water and river currents of fury. The Athabasca Falls attraction is one of the more popular waterfalls in the park because it is easily accessible. Often during in the mid day hours during the peak summer months the falls are busy with people, and at times very crowded. To avoid crowds view the falls in the early morning hours. During the winter months the trails located near Athabasca Falls are converted to cross country ski trails. In the summer months white water rafting tours and river kayakers launch just down stream from the waterfall on the Athabasca River.(via 1)

3.Crater Lake, USA

Crater Lake was formed after the collapse of an ancient volcano, posthumously named Mount Mazama. This volcano violently erupted approximately 7700 years ago. That eruption was 42 times as powerful as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The basin or caldera was formed after the top 5000 feet of the volcano collapsed. Subsequent lava flows sealed the bottom, allowing the caldera to fill with approximately 4.6 trillion gallons of water from rainfall and snow melt, to create the seventh deepest lake in the world at 1,932 feet. Today, Crater Lake is widely known for its intense blue color and spectacular views. During summer, visitors may navigate the 33-mile Rim Drive around the lake, enjoy boat tours onthe lake surface, stay in the historic Crater Lake Lodge, camp at Mazama Village, or hike some of the park’s various trails including Mount Scott at 8,929 feet. Diverse interpretative programs enhance visitors’ knowledge and appreciation of this national park, 90% of which is managed as wilderness. The winter brings some of the heaviest snowfall in the country, averaging 533 inches per year. Although park facilities mostly close for this snowy season, visitors may view the lake during fair weather, enjoy cross-country skiing, and participate in weekend snowshoe hikes.(via 1)

4.Jeongbang Waterfall

Jeongbang Falls is only water fall in Asia that falls directly into the ocean. On the wall of the water fall, there is an inscription written “Seobulgwacha”, referring to Seobul passing by this place. Seobul was a servant of the Chinese Emperor Jin (BC 259~210) who was ordered by the Emperor to find the substance that would make him immortal. Seogwipo is also said to have gotten its name to mean Seobul headed back west. Jeongbang Waterfall is situated by a high cliff by the sea, and an old evergreen stands there leaning back as if it would fall into the ocean. Go east for about 300 meters and you will see another waterfall called Sojeongbang Waterfall. It is a great place to relax during the summer. There is an observatory at the top of the cliff, from which you can command a fine view of the sea. A legend states that Emperor Jin of China sent a servant, Seo Bul, to fetch the magical herbs of eternal youth from Mount Halla. Though he failed to find the herb, he encountered Jeongbang Falls on the way and he left his autograph, Seobul Gwaji, on the cliff wall, where it no longer remains. The waterfall is one of the three famous waterfalls of Jeju, the other two being Cheonjiyeon Waterfall and Cheonjeyeon Waterfall. A smaller waterfall, Sojeongbang Waterfall is 300 m to the east.(via 1,2)

5.Taj Mahal, India

Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the eight wonders of the world. It is built entirely of white marble by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of the full moon. On a foggy morning, the visitors experience the Taj as if suspended when viewed from across the Jamuna river. Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim, Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the memory of his dear wife and Queen Mumtaz Mahal at Agra, India. It was constructed over a period of twenty-two years, employing twenty thousand workers. It was completed in 1648 C.E. The architectural design uses the interlocking arabesque concept, in which each element stands on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and symmetry of architectural elements. Its refined elegance is a conspicuous contrast both to the Hindu architecture of pre-Islamic India, with its thick walls, corbeled arches, and heavy lintels, and to the Indo-Islamic styles, in which Hindu elements are combined with an eclectic assortment of motifs from Persian and Turkish sources.

6.Torres del Paine National Park-Chile

Torres del Paine is probably the world’s most spectacular national park. An unrivalled landscape of mad jagged peaks, impossibly blue lakes, deserted pampas and iceberg-loaded rivers, it has at its center, the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, a sea of ice the size of Hawaii. In fact, this is one of the largest sources of temperate-zone glaciers in the world. The gateway to Torres del Paine is Puerto Natales, a waterside town 120km to the South, and BlueGreen’s base. The waters of Torres del Paine National Park come mainly from the defrosting of the glaciers that exist in the area of the South Ice Field, located within the National Park Towers of Paine. Due to the vicinity of the South Ice Field, the Park Torres del Paine National Park has innumerable rivers, lagoons and lakes that owe its formation to defrosting of the glaciers that compose it. Between the lakes are emphasizes the Sarmiento, Nordenskjold, Pehoe, Grey, Paine and Dickson; and an endless number of the varied lagoons of so large: Verde, Azul and Holanda, among others.

7. Westman Islands-Iceland

The Westman Islands are a group of fifteen islands, situated just off the south coast of Iceland. The mainisland, Heimaey, has a population of about 5,000. No port in Iceland registers bigger catches than this one and the island is simply buzzing with life. Here, there are some truly spectacular sights. The islanders have made their living from the sea from the days of the first settlers, the perfect natural harbour and tall cliffs tenanted by multitudes of puffin, fulmar and guillemot being two important factors in this community’s prosperity. To this day local men hop expertly from ledge to ledge collecting eggs, attached to a lifeline held by an anchor man at the top of the cliff. A boat trip round the islands with their sheer basalt cliffs and eroded arches rising out of the deep sea explains to the visitor why only one island is inhabited. At 2am on the night of january 23rd 1973, a massive eruption began in the eastern part of Heimaey. Almost all of the 5,000 inhabitants were safely evacuated to the mainland. The eruption lasted for over 5 months and caused extensive damage to the town, burying houses under lava and ash. Only a few weeks after the eruption ended, the population had returned to clean up and continue their lives.(via 1)

8.Mt. Saint Michel, France

Mont St. Michel is a small quasi-island, separated by approximately one kilometer of waves from the mainland at high tide. It is about one kilometer in diameter and about 80 meters high, jutting defiantly above the ocean. At low tide, however, it is separated from the mainland by approximately one kilometer of sand. Before a causeway was built in 1879, the only approach to the Mont was by foot over this land bridge. This was never a casual stroll, however. The tides here are among the greatest in France, with a swing of up to 14m between the high and low water marks. The unwary pedestrian could easily be drowned by the sudden onslaught of high tide. Furthermore, the force of those terrible tides shifts the sands about unpredictably, leading to unchartable quicksand fields. (The Bayeux tapestry bears the mention that Harold the Saxon and William the Conquerer, visited Mont St. Michel. Hic Harold dux trahebat eos de arena, it says, “Harold pulled them out of the quicksand.”) Pilgrims needed great faith to visit Mont St. Michel! Modern pilgrims can drive above the water, bypassing quicksand and irresistible tides. When they arrive, they will find an edifice nearly as impressive as its geographical location.(via 1)

9.The Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA. The northern end is at the Liard River in northern British Columbia. Five national parks are located within the Canadian Rockies, four of which interlock and make up the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage site. These four parks are Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho. The national park not included in the World Heritage Site is Waterton, which does not interlock with the others (it lies farther south, along the international boundary). The World Heritage site also includes three British Columbia provincial parks that adjoin the four national parks: Hamber, Mount Assiniboine and Mount Robson. Together, all these national and provincial parks were declared a single UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 for the unique mountain landscapes found there, comprising peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves as well as fossils (e.g. the Burgess Shale, once a World Heritage Site in its own right, is now part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks World Heritage Site). Numerous other provincial parks are located in the Canadian Rockies.(via 1)

10.Cappadocia, Turkey

Cappadocia, once at the crossroads of the trading world, ancient “Katpatuka” (as it is referred to in antique texts) has evolved itself and now stands at a different meeting point. Where once it hosted the caravansaries of traders from the East and West, it now greets the caravans of the devout and the curious seeking to step back in time.  Strabon, a writer of antiquity, describes the borders of the Cappadocian Region, in his 17-volume book, “Geographika” (Geopraphy-Anatolia, vol. XII, XIII & XIV), written during the reign of Roman Emperor Agustus. Cappadocia was described as a very large plateau area surrounded by the Black Sea coast and Pontic Mountains in the north to the Taurus Mountains in the south, and by Aksaray and Lake Tuz in the west to Malatya and the coveted Euphrates valley in the east. Present day Cappadocia is now the triangular area formed by the city provinces of, Aksaray-Nevsehir, Kayseri and Nigde. The smaller and surreal rocky region of the Cappadocia today is the area around Uçhisar, Göreme, Avanos, Ürgüp, Derinkuyu, Kaymakli and Ihlara.(via 1)