I'm sure I'm missing a lot of places here. This is somewhat off the cuff. One of them probably doesn't even qualify. But anyway, I'm listing the best outdoor sites I've visited. By outdoor, there's no museums, or pieces of art, or temples/buildings or things mostly built for the interior or exterior decoration.
In most cases, these are just natural landmarks and beauty. In some cases, they are basically that. In some cases, they are definitely man-made. Most of these I've visted recently (as in the lifetime of this blog). I'm definitely forgetting many places that encompass the years of travel I did before this.
10.) Big Cottonwood Canyon (Salt Lake City, Utah)
I feel bad listing this as my only US destination. The USA has some of the best natural beauty of any country, my only issue is that it is more incredibly high floor and high, but not otherworldly high, ceiling. I don't remember enough of Alaska, and definitely don't remember the Grand Canyon. Anyway, the views in Big Cottonwood Canyon, particularly the trail past Lake Mary, Lake Martha and Lake Catherine, with incredible views up, around, and most impressively, below, with wide valleys, green trees, and beautiful hues of blue everywhere. Then there's Donut Falls, and Twin Peaks, and so many other incredible trails that I'm sure provide equally incredible skiing during the winter months. I loved every part of Salt Lake City, but the exquisite natural, All-American, beauty was the real lasting impression that will stay with me.
9.) Phang Nga Bay (near Phuket, Thailand)
Most of my spots will be connected to the beautiful land we walk on. Phang Nga Bay is the only one that is purely about the open water, and the amazing landscapes that can rise above it. Phang Nga Bay is an incredibly picturesque series of inlets and small conical islands near Phuket. There were a couple Holy God moments during the boat tour. First was taking a canoe into a slight cave, with incredible stalagtites and the like, opening up to an internal bay that housed small, cute monkeys. Second was seeing thin islands and jagged rocks extending 20-40 feet right out of the bay, green canopy trees in all directions. I'm not usually a beach going type (and definitely found the 2-3 hours at the end of the tour which was just time for all of us to lay on the beach to be the most boring) but when the scenery that surrounds you, the mix of blue in each direction but up, was amazing.
8.) Machu Picchu (Machu Picchu, Peru)
My Mom has a particular issue with Machu Picchu. In reality, it is a sensible one. The Incas that built Machu Picchu lived about 500-600 years ago. The level of modernity in their buildings are far behind what some other civilizations were building 1000+ years before Machu Picchu was built. That's all fine and good. But I'm here to say, remove any ruins, and the sightlines from Machu Picchu - and more distinctly the Haryuana Picchu mountain above it, and this is still just a staggering work of art. Deep inside the Inca Valley, in the Andes, with lush greenery and mountain peaks in all directions, this little plateau, with the steep peak overlooking it all, is one of more magical sites in the world. It is the sad ruins that make it notable enough to attract millions, but again, to me the ruins don't really add anything. The stunning natural beauty of this little hamlet of Peru is more than enough on its own.
7.) Lake Plitvice (near Pula, Croatia)
There are so many variations of blue in our normal world, be it the sky or water or everything else. But as many blues as I've seen in my life before going to Lake Plitvice, the number increased by an unmeasurable amount. Lake Plitvice is a series of lakes, streams, waterfalls and reservoirs deep within Croatia, and one of the truly mesmerizing days in nature of my life. It starts somewhat tame, with a a boat taking you across a river that was a nice Caribbean-esque shade of blue, but nothing out of this world. Then you get off, go up a few steps and start on a wooden path, and then the world of blues open up to you in quick, strong force. The best might have been the two or three waterfall-filled lagoons that we passed on the way, or the one climb up to an overlook over a blue-as-sky reservoir, or really any part of the walk. Lake Plitvice is a must do in Croatia, even if it is somewhat difficult to get to. But a lot of the best natural beauty on earth requires some effort to locate and experience - Plitvice is as high as anything else on that reward for the effort.
6.) Petra (Wadi Musa, Jordan)
Ok, so I have to admit a lot of what makes Petra special is man-made, but in this case it is literally carving intricate temples and amphiteaters into the rock, into the earth, into the cliffs. The whole palce is also famous due to the ravine siq that leads up to the main areas. Petra is already special during the 10-15 minute walk down the siq with its mix of reds, but when you get to The Treasury, and see that three-level temple cut literally into the cliff, you get a sense of how special this place is. It only gets better once you hike up to the monastery, with the incredible Jordan valley extending in every direction, and a larger, more impressive, more amazing temple carved into another cliff. Petra was a workout, but each time you hiked or climbed up, you get paid back ten fold with amazing photos and incredible scenes deep in Jordan. There is still an incredible amount of excavation going on in Petra, and future years only plan to reveal more secrets in the Lost City, and I can't wait to return one day to see what new temples and carvings they've uncovered.
5.) The Great Pyramids of Giza (Giza, Egypt)
So, this is the one that is probably a cheat on my part. The Pyramids of Giza is not a ntural structure. They were very much built by humans. But their staggering age and size almost makes the fact they were built buy humans (admittedly, mostly slaves) into a mythical, impossible to comprehend creation story befitting of a mountain. These three pyramids of 4200 - 4400 years old. Machu Picchu, which I had ranked at #8 was built a good 3600 years after the Pyramids. I love that Giza itself isn't really built out too much, so these Pyramids are still grandly arising from the hot golden sand. These perfect triangles, perfect structures, so impressive. Going inside one truly was like going into a cave, a seemingly prehistoric mine shaft into the center of 23rd Century BC religiousity. The Ancient World had seven wonders. Only one remains. It will remain for centuries more, a true impressive testament to how advanced the old world was in its time.
4.) Wadi Rum Desert (near Aqaba, Jordan)
There's some recency bias in these rankings, but Wadi Rum was truly a mindblowing experience. I had to some degree experienced the Sahara, but this was something different, it was a perfect encapsulation of a desert. Mounds of sand with every reddish/yellowish hue known to man. Such perfect mountains and rocks growing upwards. It was the landbound version of Phang Nga Bay, but somehow more mystifying. Walking up those rocks, strutting down sand dunes, being led by Beduoin nomads in a surreally simple setting. From the first drive out from teh town past those giant rocks, to the sight of people snowboarding in the sand, to the arches and narrow passageways, to the simple fire-cooked meal in the middle of the desert, to the final images of drinking tea while the sun sets majestically, leaning on one rock seeing it go down between two others, Wadi Rum was perfect.
3.) Torres del Paine National Park (near Puerto Natales, Chile)
For sheer number of picture opportunities, other than maybe the site coming next, nothing compares to Torres del Paine park, and we probably saw less than half of what the park had to offer, on a cloudy day that obscured the top of the main peaks in the center of the Park. Didn't matter. Torres del Paine was staggering in every way, able to show you small pleasures like whirpools and waterfalls, and open landscape with vacunas and sheep, to fields of flowers, to of course the size of the mountains and glaciers and things that make you feel so small in the giant world. The best stops for me were the few lakes that had the glimmer of those in Salt Lake, but with giant mountains arising behind them. And of course Lago Grey, with its glacier peeking out from the side of the Cuernos peaks that are the middle of the park. It is hard to describe Torres del Paine and do it justice. It is just picture perfect spot after picture perfect, something that starts in teh valleys leading to and from the park, to every waking moment inside it.
2.) Table Mountain + Associated Trails (Cape Town, South Africa)
I've talked about my love for Table Mountain, both how it looks from the ground, and how Cape Town looks from it, many, many times, over the three different trips I made to Cape Town. I'll probably go many more times to come, and Table Mountain is never not amazing. I honestly don't know what the best aspect of Table Mountain is. There's the view from the ground, or from Signal Hill, or from the base camp, or from the various strands around the mountain that you can hike, be it Kirstenbosch (which is probably like #11 or #12 by itself), or from the South End down to Camp's Bay. Table Mountain as one encompassing site, is about as good as the World has to offer, especially given all of this is within 30 minutes (if not left) of a world class city. Table Mountain deserves the standard trip up the cable car and the hikes that you can do at the top, but it deserves constant watching, because each angle is as staggering, as beautiful. When I think of Cape Town, I think of the site of Table Mountain holding court in front of that amazing city, time and time again. This most recent I learned more about how special the mountain is itself, with its trails down to Kirstenbosch on one side, and down towards the Cape of Good Hope on the other side, and the mystery of the top. It's all great, it's all special, it's all unforgettable.
1.) Perito Moreno Glacier (El Calafate, Argentina)
Natural beauty; man-made beauty; inside; outside; combine it all, and the most perfect single day of sightseeing in my life may have been our day at (and on) Perito Moreno Glacier. Much like Table Mountain, the Glacier is both incredible looking at it from the cantilevered steps across the way, and when you go on it, crampon shoes stuck on your feet, and play around in our earth-bound version of Hoth. Perito Moreno Glacier was played up prior to when I went, and I had the truly highest of expectations, and it somehow was better than even I expected. The glacier first appears about halfway on the drive into the park, and as you get closer its incredibly deep blue shade becomes more and more prsent. And when you finally reach, and go to the steps across the glacier, and the blue becomes overwhelming, and you exerperience a few deafening cases of ice calving, it becomes a truly special cocktail. Had our trip ended there, Perito Moreno Glacier probably is around #8 or so. Of course, it didn't end there. We got to go on the glacier, experiencing ravines, cliffs, ice-bound cracks and canals and waterfalls, and so much incredible blue ice in all directions, truly shrouded on the glacier, lost to the world outside of the glacier. It was an entrapping, incredible experience.
In most cases, these are just natural landmarks and beauty. In some cases, they are basically that. In some cases, they are definitely man-made. Most of these I've visted recently (as in the lifetime of this blog). I'm definitely forgetting many places that encompass the years of travel I did before this.
10.) Big Cottonwood Canyon (Salt Lake City, Utah)
I feel bad listing this as my only US destination. The USA has some of the best natural beauty of any country, my only issue is that it is more incredibly high floor and high, but not otherworldly high, ceiling. I don't remember enough of Alaska, and definitely don't remember the Grand Canyon. Anyway, the views in Big Cottonwood Canyon, particularly the trail past Lake Mary, Lake Martha and Lake Catherine, with incredible views up, around, and most impressively, below, with wide valleys, green trees, and beautiful hues of blue everywhere. Then there's Donut Falls, and Twin Peaks, and so many other incredible trails that I'm sure provide equally incredible skiing during the winter months. I loved every part of Salt Lake City, but the exquisite natural, All-American, beauty was the real lasting impression that will stay with me.
9.) Phang Nga Bay (near Phuket, Thailand)
8.) Machu Picchu (Machu Picchu, Peru)
My Mom has a particular issue with Machu Picchu. In reality, it is a sensible one. The Incas that built Machu Picchu lived about 500-600 years ago. The level of modernity in their buildings are far behind what some other civilizations were building 1000+ years before Machu Picchu was built. That's all fine and good. But I'm here to say, remove any ruins, and the sightlines from Machu Picchu - and more distinctly the Haryuana Picchu mountain above it, and this is still just a staggering work of art. Deep inside the Inca Valley, in the Andes, with lush greenery and mountain peaks in all directions, this little plateau, with the steep peak overlooking it all, is one of more magical sites in the world. It is the sad ruins that make it notable enough to attract millions, but again, to me the ruins don't really add anything. The stunning natural beauty of this little hamlet of Peru is more than enough on its own.
7.) Lake Plitvice (near Pula, Croatia)
There are so many variations of blue in our normal world, be it the sky or water or everything else. But as many blues as I've seen in my life before going to Lake Plitvice, the number increased by an unmeasurable amount. Lake Plitvice is a series of lakes, streams, waterfalls and reservoirs deep within Croatia, and one of the truly mesmerizing days in nature of my life. It starts somewhat tame, with a a boat taking you across a river that was a nice Caribbean-esque shade of blue, but nothing out of this world. Then you get off, go up a few steps and start on a wooden path, and then the world of blues open up to you in quick, strong force. The best might have been the two or three waterfall-filled lagoons that we passed on the way, or the one climb up to an overlook over a blue-as-sky reservoir, or really any part of the walk. Lake Plitvice is a must do in Croatia, even if it is somewhat difficult to get to. But a lot of the best natural beauty on earth requires some effort to locate and experience - Plitvice is as high as anything else on that reward for the effort.
6.) Petra (Wadi Musa, Jordan)
5.) The Great Pyramids of Giza (Giza, Egypt)
So, this is the one that is probably a cheat on my part. The Pyramids of Giza is not a ntural structure. They were very much built by humans. But their staggering age and size almost makes the fact they were built buy humans (admittedly, mostly slaves) into a mythical, impossible to comprehend creation story befitting of a mountain. These three pyramids of 4200 - 4400 years old. Machu Picchu, which I had ranked at #8 was built a good 3600 years after the Pyramids. I love that Giza itself isn't really built out too much, so these Pyramids are still grandly arising from the hot golden sand. These perfect triangles, perfect structures, so impressive. Going inside one truly was like going into a cave, a seemingly prehistoric mine shaft into the center of 23rd Century BC religiousity. The Ancient World had seven wonders. Only one remains. It will remain for centuries more, a true impressive testament to how advanced the old world was in its time.
4.) Wadi Rum Desert (near Aqaba, Jordan)
There's some recency bias in these rankings, but Wadi Rum was truly a mindblowing experience. I had to some degree experienced the Sahara, but this was something different, it was a perfect encapsulation of a desert. Mounds of sand with every reddish/yellowish hue known to man. Such perfect mountains and rocks growing upwards. It was the landbound version of Phang Nga Bay, but somehow more mystifying. Walking up those rocks, strutting down sand dunes, being led by Beduoin nomads in a surreally simple setting. From the first drive out from teh town past those giant rocks, to the sight of people snowboarding in the sand, to the arches and narrow passageways, to the simple fire-cooked meal in the middle of the desert, to the final images of drinking tea while the sun sets majestically, leaning on one rock seeing it go down between two others, Wadi Rum was perfect.
3.) Torres del Paine National Park (near Puerto Natales, Chile)
2.) Table Mountain + Associated Trails (Cape Town, South Africa)
I've talked about my love for Table Mountain, both how it looks from the ground, and how Cape Town looks from it, many, many times, over the three different trips I made to Cape Town. I'll probably go many more times to come, and Table Mountain is never not amazing. I honestly don't know what the best aspect of Table Mountain is. There's the view from the ground, or from Signal Hill, or from the base camp, or from the various strands around the mountain that you can hike, be it Kirstenbosch (which is probably like #11 or #12 by itself), or from the South End down to Camp's Bay. Table Mountain as one encompassing site, is about as good as the World has to offer, especially given all of this is within 30 minutes (if not left) of a world class city. Table Mountain deserves the standard trip up the cable car and the hikes that you can do at the top, but it deserves constant watching, because each angle is as staggering, as beautiful. When I think of Cape Town, I think of the site of Table Mountain holding court in front of that amazing city, time and time again. This most recent I learned more about how special the mountain is itself, with its trails down to Kirstenbosch on one side, and down towards the Cape of Good Hope on the other side, and the mystery of the top. It's all great, it's all special, it's all unforgettable.
1.) Perito Moreno Glacier (El Calafate, Argentina)
Natural beauty; man-made beauty; inside; outside; combine it all, and the most perfect single day of sightseeing in my life may have been our day at (and on) Perito Moreno Glacier. Much like Table Mountain, the Glacier is both incredible looking at it from the cantilevered steps across the way, and when you go on it, crampon shoes stuck on your feet, and play around in our earth-bound version of Hoth. Perito Moreno Glacier was played up prior to when I went, and I had the truly highest of expectations, and it somehow was better than even I expected. The glacier first appears about halfway on the drive into the park, and as you get closer its incredibly deep blue shade becomes more and more prsent. And when you finally reach, and go to the steps across the glacier, and the blue becomes overwhelming, and you exerperience a few deafening cases of ice calving, it becomes a truly special cocktail. Had our trip ended there, Perito Moreno Glacier probably is around #8 or so. Of course, it didn't end there. We got to go on the glacier, experiencing ravines, cliffs, ice-bound cracks and canals and waterfalls, and so much incredible blue ice in all directions, truly shrouded on the glacier, lost to the world outside of the glacier. It was an entrapping, incredible experience.
