Planet Earth has been here since forever and humans have explored pretty much every square inch of the land areas. It is probably safe to say that we have seen all that the world could show, accepted everything the world will give, and taken anything the world provided. Some people have seen natural wonders of the world; even for those who have not, at least they’ve seen pictures or footages documenting the beauties. Everybody knows the “7 Natural Wonders of the World” but there are certainly more than just seven places or phenomenon worth mentioning. Here is the list of the established seven, added with three more.

1. Aurora

More familiarly known as the northern and southern lights (borealis and australis), these shimmering sheets of lights never cease to mesmerize the lucky witnessing eyes all over the world. Of course, the night skies are always sprinkled with billions of blinking stars and occasional beams from comets or meteors, but the auroras are almost at divine level of beauty.

Aurora occurs due to the interaction between particles in solar wind and Earth’s magnetic field. It starts humbly as a faint glow on the horizon yet it gradually develops into drapery-like light shows like nothing else. If you think New Year’s Eve fireworks in London are good, the aurora is million times better. While both the northern and southern auroras are wonderful in their own rights, only the former is considered a natural wonder.

2. Grand Canyon

A Spanish explorer named Garcia Lopez de Cardenas was to first to see the Grand Canyon. He was in a journey to seek the city of gold (present-day Arizona) when he saw the gaping rocky hole as far as his eyes could gaze. In 1869, an American explorer called Major John Wesley Powell spent three hot long summer months travelling down the length of the canyon, and the area has been explored and wandered ever since. In 1919, the federal government established the Grand Canyon National Park.

Colorado River and many of its tributaries have been flowing through the billion-year-old rock formation. They etch their way through the rocks, leaving broad stripes and revealing records of the canyon’s geologic history. For geologist, the walls of Grand Canyon are like notebooks which tell them everything they need to know about the canyon’s age, formation, major, and minor events. Although the canyon is simply known as “Grand”, everybody now knows that it is actually an understatement.

3. Great Barrier Reef

Captain James Cook was the one who mapped and claimed most of the Pacific Ocean for the British Empire. Unfortunately for him, the Great Barrier Reef was invisible from the surface that had to find the reef in the hardest way possible: by running aground on it.

Great Barrier Reef is on the list “7 Natural Wonders of the World” for wonderful reasons as well. It is the world’s longest spanning natural beauty at more than 1,200 miles. It stretches along the northeast coast of Australia and made up of the skeletons of marine polyps. Generation of coral polyps that lived and died underwater eventually created a reef which now also allows diverse organisms to thrive. Current generations of polyps along with numerous species of exotic marine organisms find home in the reef.

4. Harbor of Rio de Janeiro

When you hear the term harbor, the first thing that comes to your mind is a port followed by the idea that it must be a man-made object. That is not the case with the Harbor of Rio de Janeiro. While the infrastructures are indeed engineered by humans, the area itself was created by one of the greatest forces of nature: erosion.
It is surrounded by beautiful mountains including the well-known Sugarloaf Mountain (1,296 feet), Corcovado Peak (2,310 feet), and the hills of Tijuca (2,310 feet). Right in front of the harbor, there are numerous islands to amplify its beauty. In case you don’t remember, the peak of Corcovado is the place where Christ the Redeemer has been standing for more than 85 years now.

5. Mount Everest

When India (then a separate continent) collided and became one with Asia, Himalayas were born. Among the many mountainous formations, one of them stands out from the crowd quite literally: Everest. It is the tallest mountain on Earth standing at more than 29,000 feet. Many people have made successful climbs to the top, and more died trying. Everest is a wonder not only because of the height, but also its mystery and divinity.

It has always been mountaineers dream to reach the top of Everest. This is the utmost destination after spending years of practicing and overcoming challenges in many other mountains all around the globe. Everest is also the ultimate test of endurance, experience, and most important of them all, the willingness to survive. Because when you are standing on the top of Everest, you are standing at the top of the world.

6. Parícutin volcano

It does not matter how you put it, an eruption is one of nature’s most devastating forces. Imagine the picture of hot ashes and rocks filling up the sky followed by the flow of hot melting volcanic materials, and then you get the idea of how enormous the power is. It is a demonstration of brute life-threatening force by the nature. An active volcano is a serious concern, but you may get a different perspective if you know how it forms, why it explodes, and what happens to it afterward; this is why Paricutin Volcano is a natural wonder of the world.

Paricutin presented the first full documentation of the life cycle of a volcano for modern science. During its relatively short 9 years of development since the day it was formed to the eruption until the drop of its last speck of dirt, scientists made all the necessary documentations and compiled the data including sketches and photographs. Paricutin has helped scientists to understand volcanic activity even better than ever, and now it sits quietly as remembrance that sometimes it takes enormous explosions for humans to learn something.

7. Victoria Falls

Although Victoria Falls is neither the widest nor the tallest in the world, it still is the largest based on the area covered. The combined width of more than 5,600 feet and height of 354 feet makes it the largest sheet of water in one place. To put it to perspective Victoria Falls is about twice the width of Horseshoe Falls and twice the height Niagara Falls. The indigenous Tonga name is Mosi-oa-Tunya, which translates to The Smoke that Thunders. There have been development of modern amenities and facilities around the area such as bridges, hotels, and trails, but the raw power of the water makes even modern technologies into shame.

8. Table Mountain

At 600 million years old, the Table Mountain remains pristine and iconic landmark of Cape Town. One thing that makes the mountain unique is its flat top plateau that stretches to about 2 miles wide. Every edge of the plateau comes to an end only by steep cliffs all around the top. Part of the Table Mountain national Park, it is one of the major attractions; you cannot really say that you have visited Cape Town until you stand on the top of the mountain.

The plateau is flanked by Lion’s Head to the west and Devil’s Peak to the east. It does not matter where your exact position is at the top, you can count on unbelievable sight of Cape Town. One of the best things is that you can reach the mountain either by cable way or travelling through the harder hiking path.

9. Ngorongoro Crater

Seen from above, Ngorongoro Crater is like a piece of haven created by the nature for wildlife. It would bring out all the superlatives you can spell: mesmerizing, bewildering, breathtaking, astonishing, and so on. When you finally come down and experience the feeling of just being in it, you run out of more superlatives to say. Some of the highest concentrations of lions and other predators in Africa find home in the crater; they live with large herbivores such as buffalos and hippopotamus too. Ngorongoro Crater is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inhabited by more than 25,000 large animals including but not limited to blue wildebeest, Grant’s zebra, common eland, Grant’s gazelles, and Thomson’s gazelles. Although the entire area looks like an enclosure, many animals actually migrate from and to the areas during different seasons. Buffalos and elands come during the rains, while wildebeest and zebras do the opposite.

10. Galapagos

With all the wildlife diversity (both flora and fauna), human’s existence in Galapagos seem to be nothing but an annoyance. In ideal world where destructions of natural habitats do not exist, people have no business in Galapagos. That being said, Galapagos has had its share of bad times due to human interventions by introducing foreign species and general over exploitation of natural resources. On the other hand, people have the power to protect the island and prevent further destructions.

Many animals and plants in Galapagos are not found anywhere else on Earth. Galapagos Islands are basically isolated group of land areas in the Pacific Ocean, and therefore many species are endemic. You don’t have to be a researcher or scientist to love and appreciate the biological diversity or just be mesmerized with the beauty of the islands. This is another kind of safari you will not get from any other country or national park.

Conclusion

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but people have to agree that natural wonders of the world are not the things to be argued about. There can be different opinions in determining which one is best indeed, merely because each of the aforementioned places has distinguishable characteristics, delivers unique sense of beauty, and entices the mind into distinct temptations.

Planning to travel to Florida? Wondering about the best places to visit in Florida? Here are some of the must visit destinations that you should not miss.

Seaworld Orlando

In Orlando there are many different attractions to choose from and one of the more popular ones is SeaWorld. It has a mix of them park type rides as well as animal and fish shows and so is appealing to many people.

If you are visiting when it is hot, then it can be a good idea to go to the Shamu stadium because the first twenty rows are known as the soak zone and you will get splashed with cooling water as the killer whales perform for the crowd. For fun with dolphins, the Dolphin Cove will give you the opportunity to feed them as well as watch them, if you would rather not get that close. It can be good ideas to take a waterproof camera with you though as there are so many ‘wet’ events and you want to be able to capture them all on film. You certainly do not want to risk ruining your camera.

If you want a quiet retreat for a while, away form the noisy rides then there is an area near the Clydesdale Hamlet which has a beer school where you can sample some brews. This is especially good if you have left your children behind on the thrilling rides.

If you do not like queuing, then it can be a good idea to find out when all the main animal shows are on. The day’s events are all listed on a map provided when you enter the park with all the times of the attractions. These shows will be busy and popular and will mean that other areas will be quieter and so it can be a good time to queue for food or drink as you will not be waiting for so long. There is a large selection of restaurants and kiosks selling food for all budgets and tastes.

If you are with children, there are opportunities to learn things about the animals all over the park. There are interactive stations which make things fun for them and they will learn things without even realising it.

So if you are visiting Orlando SeaWorld, make sure that you take notice of these tips so that you can have the most enjoyable trip possible.

Magic World

The Magic Kingdom is part of Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. It is full of fun and there are seven main areas to see, Main Street USA, Fantasy Land, Adventure Land, Mickey’s Toontown Fair, Liberty Square, Tomorrow Land and Frontier Land.

The park was started in 1967 and was a project that Walt Disney had been planning but he died before work started on it. It was built very much based on the California Disneyland but bigger and improved. It was built over tunnels which meant that cast members could move around the park without being seen by guests. They were actually built above the ground, because of the location being prone to flooding and so the whole park is a storey up in the air. They raised the ground using the soil that was dug out of the Seven Seas Lagoon. It opened in 1971 and has 23 attractions then, twenty which were copies of rides at Disneyland and three new ones. There were six themed lands, five copies and a new one called Liberty Square.

Disney Land Park was often called Magic Kingdom until Walt Disney Resort was built. The Magic Kingdom is referred to as The Most Magical Place on Earth. It was called Magic Kingdom in 1994 to stop it being confused with Disneyland.

Guests will be able to take a tram from the parking area to the ticket area and then they can get transport to whichever parts of the park they want to visit. To get to magic Kingdom they can take the monorail or ferryboat and buses can go to other places. There is lots to see and so it is important to allow lots of time so that you get your moneys worth.

The Universal Studios

Within Universal Studios there are two parks, Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure. The Islands contain the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which feels like a theme park on its own, without all of the other attractions. There is even the CityWalk which is a great place for night life where there is lots of entertainment to be had such as bars and clubs as well as restaurants and it is a very popular area. There is a great food and live music to be enjoyed at the same time. There are even karaoke events as well as live band performances at cocktail bars.

Universal is one of the famous three theme parks in Orlando, which also include SeaWorld and Disney World. It offers on site accommodation, the hotels are Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and Loews Royal Pacific Resort. The hotels cater to different budgets and requirements even though they are all good quality. They have their own individual themes and have many leisure activities to keep guests entertained and whichever you stay at, you can enjoy what the others have to offer.

Both parks are part of the whole Universal experience and you can buy tickets which allow you entry in to either or both for the duration of your stay. Many do worry that staying on site will be too expensive, but it does mean that you will get a great experience and you will get some extra privileges which could make it work out to be great value for money. You will often get a free water taxi from hotel to park and early admission to the park as well as quick queuing.

Both parks have some great things to experience. There are live shows and rides. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is one of the newest additions and is well worth visiting and trying out the Forbidden Journey ride. There are also many rides which can scare you such as the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket where you choose song to play while you ride and you will be filmed. Then you can watch it back and see yourself going upside down and down vertical drops. There are many exhilarating rides such as Spider Man, The Incredible Hulk, Dragon Challenge and Doctor Doom’s Fearfall. There are also very wet rides such as Popeye and Bluto’s Blige Rat Barges.

The Horror Make Up show is a popular event, where even those not interested in behind the scenes things have fun.

Disney Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom is one of the Disney resorts. It not only has animals on display but information about them and how to protect them. There are safari rides and walking tours where you can see many animals up close and experience an African like safari without having to travel to Kenya. The park does not just have animals though. There are a selection of rides such as rapids and roller coasters which can be fun.

The Dino Land USA has replicas of dinosaurs and fossils and it is educational with information on how the dinosaurs came about. The Rafiki’s Planet Watch area is where guests can find out all about conservation. There are hands on exhibitions as well as information which will help people to understand about the animals in the world and illustrates how much Walt Disney cared about the planet.

There are also some great shows. With the musical of Finding Nemo and The Lion King available to watch, there is certainly no shortage of fun and entertainment, so alongside the seriousness of animal conservation, there is also great thrills and attractions to be experienced too, meaning a great experience for everyone.