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Very special places around the world

304 Places

McMurdo Dry Valleys

One of the most extreme deserts in the world, these snow-free valleys harbor life, despite the hostile environment.

Rachel

Added by Rachel

Blood Falls

Natural time capsule containing an alien ecosystem.

matthewwarrenlee

Added by matthewwarrenlee

Timanfaya National Park

Visit a surreal landscape so otherworldly NASA actually used it to train the Apollo 17 crew.

Kookaracha

Added by Kookaracha

The Ceremonial South Pole

Naked scientists race around the pole in the frigid cold to try to join Antarctica's exclusive 300 Club.

Kerry Wolfe

Added by Kerry Wolfe

Esperanza Base

The birthplace of the very first human resident born in Antarctica.

Rachel

Added by Rachel

Grindavík, Iceland

Blue Lagoon

Medicinal spa created from the mineral-rich runoff of a geothermal power plant

Allison

Added by Allison

Steingrímsfjörður, Iceland

Drangsnes Hot Tubs

A trio of hidden hot tubs takes advantage of Iceland's natural geothermal vents.

EricGrundhauser

Added by EricGrundhauser

Tassili n'Ajjer

The abstract sandstone rock formations at this Algerian national park are rich with prehistoric art.

Added by waiki92

Aguas Calientes, Peru

Machu Picchu: The Lost City of The Inca

The intricate stonework of Machu Picchu serves as a testament to Incan engineers.

Added by LongNow

Antelope Canyon

Most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.

leiris

Added by leiris

Schwangau, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle

The fairy tale castle of the “fairy-tale king,” this was also the inspiration for Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty.”

michelle

Added by michelle

Kutna Hora, Czechia

Sedlec Ossuary ‘Bone Church’

A church of bones, decorated with 40,000 human skeletons.

Prypiat, Ukraine

Abandoned City of Prypiat

The ghost town left by the worst nuclear disaster of all time is being taken over by nature and urban explorers.

Added by Delireus

Petra District, Jordan

Petra

An ancient capital city that dates back 3,000 years and harbors many surprises.

Added by LongNow

Mont Saint-Michel, France

Mont Saint-Michel

This 1,300 year old monastery built atop a single rock was once only accessible depending on the whims of the tide.

Added by IanWhalen

Svartifoss

The unique waterfall in Iceland's south features a backdrop of geometric black lava columns.

Dampo

San Francisco, California

Alcatraz Island

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

AllisonEng

Added by AllisonEng

Santa Maria della Concezione Crypts

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."

Dylan

Amesbury, England

Stonehenge

Famously misunderstood wonder of the ancient world

Claymore

Added by Claymore

Bushmills, Northern Ireland

Giant’s Causeway

Northern Ireland's Brobdingnagian stepping stones.

michelle

Added by michelle

Kalabaka, Greece

Meteora

Monasteries on rock pillars, once accessible only by frayed ropes.

stanestane

Added by stanestane

Daniel Campos, Bolivia

Uyuni Salt Flat

A seemingly endless landscape of pure salt stretches far across Bolivia.

Dylan

Winslow, Arizona

Meteor Crater

This 4,000-foot-diameter hole is touted as "the most well known, best preserved meteorite crater on Earth."

Rachel

Added by Rachel

Aksaray, Turkey

Cappadocia

In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.

Added by jessiedevin

Capuchin Monastery Catacombs

Thousands of well-dressed mummies below a monastery.

Added by CPilgrim

Ercolano, Italy

Herculaneum

Pompeii's less famous neighbor is still revealing her secrets.

Annetta Black

Added by Annetta Black

Groom Lake, Nevada

Area 51

In the middle of an extremely unforgiving and desolate high desert is the most secret military facility in the world.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Grand Prismatic Spring

The largest hot spring in the United States is, as the name suggests, a stunning show of natural color.

nintendoocho

Added by nintendoocho

Berlin, Germany

Pergamon Museum

The most visited, and possibly most controversial, museum in Germany.

Dampo

Mammoth Cave, Kentucky

Mammoth Cave

The world's longest known cave system.

Added by urk1971

Giant Crystals of Naica

A gargantuan crystal kingdom.

Dylan

Trolltunga

Walk 2,300 feet above the ground on the "Troll's Tongue."

stanestane

Added by stanestane

Roswell, New Mexico

International UFO Museum and Research Center

A museum dedicated to the alleged Roswell Incident.

Added by CPilgrim

Berlin, Germany

AquaDom

The largest free-standing aquarium in the world resides in a hotel lobby in Berlin.

Dzitnup, Mexico

Cenote Xkeken

These azure waters were thought to lead to the Mayan Underworld.

serflac

Added by serflac

Gruyères, Switzerland

H.R. Giger Museum

The bizarre visions of H.R. Giger, tucked away in a Swiss medieval city.

Added by danomar

Bryce Canyon

Giant, natural amphitheaters made of delicate geological formations called "hoodoos."

Added by CherrieGRuth

Aksum, Ethiopia

Obelisk of Axum

Massive stele returned to Ethiopia after 70 years in Rome.

serflac

Added by serflac

Lalibela, Ethiopia

Bete Giyorgis of Lalibela

An Ethiopian "Jerusalem" featuring a church hewn out of a single rock.

The Temple of Abu Simbel

Ozymandias’ time-keeping temple.

emdrichardson

Added by emdrichardson

Dandarah, Egypt

Dendera Light

Ancient Egyptian relief, claimed to depict an electrical light.

Added by Tawsam

Acacus Mountains

Landscape of bizarrely shaped desert mountains and innumerable rock carvings.

Added by Tawsam

Al-Khums, Libya

Leptis Magna

Magnificent Roman ruins lie vulnerable to destruction on the edge of the Mediterranean.

Rachel

Added by Rachel

Great Mud Mosque of Djenné

The central mosque of this Mali town is entirely built from mud.

Allison

Added by Allison

Preikestolen

This "preacher's pulpit" once used for pagan ritual, is home to a new, and dangerous ritual.

stanestane

Added by stanestane

Diquís Spheres

These mysterious ancient stone spheres were created by a civilization lost to time and are now mostly lawn ornaments.

Josh

Rapa Nui, Chile

‘El Gigante’ and the Moai of Rapa Nui

The largest stone moai on Rapa Nui.

Added by LongNow

Tamarugal, Chile

The Nitrate Towns of Chile

Towns with a resource known as "white gold," valuable enough to fight a war over, now stand ghostly and empty.

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