There are seven natural wonders in the world, and while each one — from the Grand Canyon to Mount Everest — is spectacular, we’ve been oversaturated with images of them.
But there are lesser known sites that are equally stunning.
We’ve found the 17 most otherworldly landscapes on the planet — you won’t believe they’re real.
Socotra Island, off of Yemen, is home to the weird-looking Dragon’s Blood Tree. In fact, a third of its plant life isn’t found anywhere else on the planet.
Socotra Island off of Yemen.Wikipedia
Expansive fields of sulfuric ponds make the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia one of the most inhospitable places for human life on the planet.
The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia.Shutterstock/Aleksandra H. Kossowska
The ominous Tianzi Mountains in China actually inspired Pandora’s floating mountains in “Avatar.”
Tianzi Mountains in China.Wikipedia
Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway consists of 40,000 super symmetrical volcanic rock columns — the extraterrestrial-looking result of an ancient volcanic eruption.
The Giant’s Causeway in Ireland.Shutterstock
Deadvlei in Namibia is an eerie, bone-dry expanse littered with dead, skeleton-like, Acacia Trees.
Deadvlei in Namibia.Pexels
China’s brightly colored Zhangye Danxia mountains were formed by 27 million years of red sandstone erosion.
The Zhangye Danxia mountains in China.Shutterstock
The Richat Structure in Mauritania, also known as “The Eye of the Sahara,” is a 25-mile-wide dome that is thought to be the result of erosion… not an alien crash landing.
The Richat Structure in Mauritania.Wikipedia
New Zealand’s ancient Waitomo Glowworm Caves are brightly lit thanks to ceilings covered in thousands of tiny glowworms.
The Waitomo Glowworm Caves in New Zealand.Courtesy of Spellbound Glowworm Cave Tours
Red Beach in China is a sprawling wetland that gets its distinct hue from Sueda seaweed, which turns a vivid shade of crimson in the fall.
Red Beach in China.Shutterstock
Aptly named, the Door to Hell in Turkmenistan is a gaping, 226-foot-wide hole that was created in 1971, when a Soviet drilling rig collapsed into a natural gas cavern. It’s been burning ever since.
The Door to Hell in Turkmenistan.Shutterstock/Lockenes
The Devils Tower in Wyoming is a 1,267-foot-tall rock formation that was fittingly the site of alien thriller “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
The Devils Tower in Wyoming.Wikipedia
The bright red Wadi Rum desert in Jordan often doubles as Mars in movies, like in the recent blockbuster film “The Martian.”
Wadi Rum desert in Jordan.Wikipedia
The eerie, azure-colored Marble Caves in Chile are carved into a peninsula of solid marble in a glacial lake that spans the Chile-Argentina border. They are the result of 6,000 years of wave erosion.
The Marble Caves in Chile,Flickr/Javier Vieras
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is, at 4,000 square miles, world’s largest salt flat. When it rains, its surface essentially turns into a giant mirror.
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia.Shutterstock/Benedikt Juerges
The Cave of the Crystals in Mexico is 980 feet below-ground, and features some of the largest natural crystals ever found. Temperatures in the cave can reach a balmy 136 °F.
The Cave of the Crystals in Mexico.Wikipedia
Arizona’s Antelope Canyon is a surreal sandstone canyon formed by flash floods and monsoons over the course of millions of years.
Antelope Canyon in Arizona.Shutterstock
Chocolate Hills in the Philippines are grass-covered limestone mounds that turn brown during the dry season. Hence the name, Chocolate Hills.
Chocolate Hills in the Philippines.Shutterstock
Discussion1 Comment
Amazing list, love the places in this list.