Top Ten Travel Wonders of South America

Image : http://www.flickr.com

South America holds an extraordinary collection of travel wonders including both natural and cultural experiences. With the world's greatest rain forest, the world's most spectacular waterfall, the world's highest waterfall, the world's greatest river and sophisticated historic cultures, there is something in this great continent for everyone.
It isn't possible to nominate a top ten travel list without omitting a number of key sights. Here is my list. How many have you seen?

1. Machu Picchu and Inca Trail (Peru)
Bordered by thick forest, accessed by a famous trek and perched on a mountain top, the exceptional Incan stonework and the richness of its religious sites makes Machu Picchu a truly cultural experience in the most beautiful of settings..

2. Iguazu Falls (Argentina / Brazil)
The sheer dimension of this natural miracle and its 250+ cascades thundering over an eighty yard cliff ensures that Iguazu Falls are the most mesmerizing waterfalls in the world.

3. Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
Darwin's laboratory with the unusual varieties of wildlife including a flightless cormorant, giant tortoises and iguanas that have adapted to this volcanic barren land offers one of greatest wildlife shows on Earth.

4. Amazon River and Rain Forest
Roughly the size of the continental United States, spending time on the river or walking the forest trails of the Amazon basin is one of most treasured experiences in life.

5. Easter Island (Chile)
In testament to an isolated past civilization on this remote Pacific island, the moai (stone statues) stand proudly and majestically in groups around the island.

6. Patagonia / Torres del Paine (Argentina / Chile)
Vivid blue lakes, tumbling cascades and saw-edged mountain peaks provide an uplifting, almost spiritual outdoor experience in the far south of the American continent.

7. Andes
The backbone of the South America continent with its jagged snow-capped mountains are the second highest mountain range in the world and offer some great hiking and climbing.

8. Angel Falls (Venezuela)
These falls tumble over half a mile into remote Venezuela forest. The journey there is as adventurous as sighting the falls themselves.

9. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
The golden beaches, the raucous Carnaval fiesta and the glorious panoramas from the Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugar Loaf mountain makes Rio the most popular city in South America.

10. Nazca Lines (Peru)
Mysterious giant animals (100 to 200 yards across) including a spider, a hummingbird and a condor, along with unusual geometric designs were marked into the dry and dusty Peruvian desert by an ancient culture. They are best explored in a small plane.
South America has a rich selection of travel wonders and experiences from superb natural settings of forests, glaciers and waterfalls to culturally-rich and expressive cities. Travel with an open mind and enjoy this fascinating and diverse continent.

Mark H is the widely-traveled author of the popular travel blog http://www.travel-wonders.com (Travel Wonders of the World) where he reviews and shares his experiences, stories and photos of traveling to many of the world's great locations over twenty years of travel.

10 Wonders of the World

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We are all curious about the Wonders of the World
except my friend, Roger Fundab, who isn't interested in anything but hunting and fishing.

I've tried to get Roger interested by sending him to: [http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/other.html] where all of the wonders are listed as I've shown below.

At: [http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders/other.html] you can click on any of these wonders and learn what there is to know about them. I'll leave that process up to you.

Roger said he had no interest in Wonders, yet I learned that he
actually has his own list tacked to the wall above his bunk at the Drake Lake Advanced Hunters Club. I've added it to the end of the Official Wonder Lists.

Forgotten Wonders:

Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt

Angkor Wat in Cambodia

The Aztec Temple in Tenochtitlan (Mexico City), Mexico

The Banaue Rice Terraces in the Philippines

Borobudur Temple in Indonesia

The Colosseum in Rome, Italy

The Great Wall of China

The Inca city of Machu Picchu, Peru

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy

The Mayan Temples of Tikal in Northern Guatemala

The Moai Statues in Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile

Mont-Saint-Michel in Normandy, France

The Throne Hall of Persepolis in Iran

The Parthenon in Athens, Greece

Petra, the rock-carved city in Jordan

The Shwedagon Pagoda in Myanmar

Stonehenge in England

Taj Mahal in Agra, India

The Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico

Modern Wonders

The Channel Tunnel

The Clock Tower (Big Ben) in London, England

The CN Tower in Toronto, Canada

Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

The Empire State Building in New York City, USA

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, USA

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA

The High Dam in Aswan, Egypt

Hoover Dam in Arizona/Nevada, USA

Itaipú Dam in Brazil/Paraguay

Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota, USA

The Panama Canal

The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Statue of Cristo Redentor in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Statue of Liberty in New York City, USA

The Suez Canal in Egypt

The Sydney Opera House in Australia

Natural Wonders

Angel Falls in Venezuela

The Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Canada

The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia

Iguaçú Falls in Brazil/Argentina

Krakatoa Island in Indonesia

Mount Everest in Nepal

Mount Fuji in Japan

Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania

Niagara Falls in Ontario (Canada) and New York State (USA)

Paricutin Volcano in Mexico

Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe

Roger Fundab's List

The Blue Skies of Montana

The Great Lakes

Marilyn Monroe

The Flowers in Sage Brush Canyon in the Tetons

Joe Montana

John F. Kennedy

Cabelas

Wall Drug Store in South Dakota

The Corn Palace in Nebraska

The Drake Lake Advanced Hunters Club

Copyright©John T. Jones, Ph.D. 2005

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com), a retired college professor and business executive, Former editor of an international engineering magazine. To learn more about Wealthy Affiliate University go to his info site. If you desire a flagpole to Fly Old Glory, go to the business site.

More info: http://www.InternetBusinessToolCenter.com

Business web site: http://www.AAAFlagpoles.com

Top Ten Travel Wonders of South America

Image : http://www.flickr.com

South America holds an extraordinary collection of travel wonders including both natural and cultural experiences. With the world's greatest rain forest, the world's most spectacular waterfall, the world's highest waterfall, the world's greatest river and sophisticated historic cultures, there is something in this great continent for everyone.
It isn't possible to nominate a top ten travel list without omitting a number of key sights. Here is my list. How many have you seen?

1. Machu Picchu and Inca Trail (Peru)
Bordered by thick forest, accessed by a famous trek and perched on a mountain top, the exceptional Incan stonework and the richness of its religious sites makes Machu Picchu a truly cultural experience in the most beautiful of settings..

2. Iguazu Falls (Argentina / Brazil)
The sheer dimension of this natural miracle and its 250+ cascades thundering over an eighty yard cliff ensures that Iguazu Falls are the most mesmerizing waterfalls in the world.

3. Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
Darwin's laboratory with the unusual varieties of wildlife including a flightless cormorant, giant tortoises and iguanas that have adapted to this volcanic barren land offers one of greatest wildlife shows on Earth.

4. Amazon River and Rain Forest
Roughly the size of the continental United States, spending time on the river or walking the forest trails of the Amazon basin is one of most treasured experiences in life.

5. Easter Island (Chile)
In testament to an isolated past civilization on this remote Pacific island, the moai (stone statues) stand proudly and majestically in groups around the island.

6. Patagonia / Torres del Paine (Argentina / Chile)
Vivid blue lakes, tumbling cascades and saw-edged mountain peaks provide an uplifting, almost spiritual outdoor experience in the far south of the American continent.

7. Andes
The backbone of the South America continent with its jagged snow-capped mountains are the second highest mountain range in the world and offer some great hiking and climbing.

8. Angel Falls (Venezuela)
These falls tumble over half a mile into remote Venezuela forest. The journey there is as adventurous as sighting the falls themselves.

9. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
The golden beaches, the raucous Carnaval fiesta and the glorious panoramas from the Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugar Loaf mountain makes Rio the most popular city in South America.

10. Nazca Lines (Peru)
Mysterious giant animals (100 to 200 yards across) including a spider, a hummingbird and a condor, along with unusual geometric designs were marked into the dry and dusty Peruvian desert by an ancient culture. They are best explored in a small plane.
South America has a rich selection of travel wonders and experiences from superb natural settings of forests, glaciers and waterfalls to culturally-rich and expressive cities. Travel with an open mind and enjoy this fascinating and diverse continent.

Mark H is the widely-traveled author of the popular travel blog http://www.travel-wonders.com (Travel Wonders of the World) where he reviews and shares his experiences, stories and photos of traveling to many of the world's great locations over twenty years of travel.