Here are some of the great wonders of the world, created by man and nature.

Wonders of Man’s Creation

(1) The Colosseum in Rome, Italy
This is a symbol of an entire civilisation and an ancient capital’s greatest architectural legacy. Used by the Romans for gladiatorial combats, fights of wild beasts, and other spectacles.

(2) Machu Picchu in Peru, South America
Mysterious niches long hidden in cloud forests high in the Andes. Located at a high altitude on a ridge between two peaks, about 600m (about 1950 ft) above the Urubamba River, the ruined city covers above 13 square km (about 5 square miles) of terraces built around a central plaza and linked by numerous stairways. The city was discovered in 1911.

(3) The Great Wall in China
The well-known Great Wall is a gigantic stone line snaking across the Asian landscape. Fortification along the northern and north-western frontier of China, running from Jinwangdao (Chinwangtao) on the Gulf of Chihli (Bo hai or Po Hai) on the east to the vicinity of Gaodai (Kaotai), Gansu (Kansu) Province, on the west, with an inner wall running southward from the vicinity of Peking almost to Handan (Hantan). The largest portion of the wall was erected by Shih Huang Ti, first emperor of the Ch’in dynasty, as a defence against raids by nomadic people.

(4) The Kremlin in Russia
Protecting the grand churches, cathedrals and palaces of the aristocracy.

(5) Versailles in France
Lavish luxury amid the world’s most stunning palace and gardens.

(6) The Statue of Liberty in New York, U.S.A.
A modern-day colossus symbolising the American dream. Originally called Liberty Enlightening the World, colossal copper and iron sate on Liberty Island, formerly Bedloe’s Island, at the entrance to New York Harbour. The statue, the island, and nearby Ellis Island were declared a national monument in 1924. The statue was given by the French people to the U.S. to commemorate the centennial of American independence. The statue is of a proud woman in flowing robes and with a spiked crown, who holds a torch aloft with her right arm and carries in her left arm a book inscribed “July 4, 1776”. The broken chains of slavery are at her feet. The figure is formed of copper sheets riveted to a iron framework and is bolted to a star-shaped stone base. It rises 93 m (305 ft) from the bottom of the pedestal to the tip of the torch. The figure alone is 42.05 m (151 ft 1 in) high and weights 204 metric tons. The status is conceived as a grand and lasting gesture of international freedom.

(7) The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France
A remnant of Old World elegance that forever altered Parisians’ view of their world. The Eiffel Tower was built for the Paris World’s Fair of 1889.

(8) Mount Rushmore National Monument and Chief Crazy Horse Monument in South Dakota, U.S.A.
Etched in stone, enduring tributes to a nation’s heritage.

Wonders of Nature Creation

(1) The Grand Canyon in Arizona, U.S.A.
Intricate layers of rock reveal the story of life on earth. The Grand Canyon is about 349 km (about 217 miles) long, 6 to 29 km (4 to 18 miles) wide, and more than 1.6 km (more than 1 mile) deep. The Canyon cuts steeply through an arid plateau region that lies between about 1,525 and 1,745 m (about 5000 and 9000 ft) above sea level.

(2) The Serengeti in Kenya/Tanzania, East Africa.
Hundreds of thousands of animals in a death-defying migration unchanged since the dawn of man.

(3) The Sahara Desert in Niger, West Africa.
A waterless sea of sand where one wrong turn can prove fatal. The entire desert, the largest in the world, is about 1,610 km (about 1,000 miles) wide and about 5,150 km (about 3,200 miles) long from East to West. The total area of the Sahara is more than 9,065,000 square km (more than 3,500,000 square miles), of which some 207,200 square km (some 80,000 square miles) consist of partially fertile oases.

(4) Iguazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil, South America
The world’s most spectacular waterfalls, with myriad rainbows appearing and Then vanishing in the mist. The crest of the falls is more than 60 m (200 ft) high; the water falls partly in a large double drop and partly in a series of cataracts. In the dry season two crescents of water are formed, each 732 m (2,400 ft) wide. In the wet season the two merge into one vast fall more than 3 km (2 miles) wide.

(5) The Amazon River in Brazil/Peru, South America
Largest rainforest on the globe, sheltering half of the genetic heritage of life on this planet. This is the world’s largest river, in terms of watershed area, number of tributaries, and volume of water discharged. It measures about 6,275 km (about 3,900 miles) from source to mouth, it is the second in length only to the Nile among the rivers of the world. It is estimated that the Amazon River discharges between 34 to 121 million litres (9 and 32 million gallon) of water per second and deposits a daily average of 3 million tons of sediment near its mouth. The annual outflow from the river accounts for one-fifth of all fresh water that drains into oceans in the world.

(6) Ayers Rock in Australia
This is an enormous island of stone, its colours ever-changing in the rays of the moving sun.

(7) The Himalayas in Nepal
An awesome sanctuary where peaks seem to touch the heavens. Comprising of a series of parallel and converging ranges and forming the highest mountain region in the world. More than 30 peaks of the Himalayas rise to height of 7,620 m (25,000 ft) or more, and one of these, Mt Everest (8,848m or 29,028 ft), is the world’s highest mountain.

Wonders Sacred and Mysterious

(1) Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain, England
Enigmatic stone sentinels create the world’s most mysterious prehistoric site.

(2) The Great Pyramids in Giza, Egypt
The first – and last – of the original Great Wonders of the ancient world.

(3) Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey
Celebrating the glories of two great empires and the faiths that inspired each.

(4) Borobudur in Java, Indonesia
Intricate “books” carved in stone to be “read” by the faithfully.

(5) St. Peter’s Basilia in Vatican city
Glorious testament to a simple fisherman whose extraordinary faith changed the world.

(6) The Taj Mahal in Agra, India
This is one of the word’s most beautiful buildings – inspired by a timeless love story. A must see if you go to India.