You could say that I have a serious case of wanderlust. My urge to travel about and see new things has been there since practically birth. I would spend hours online looking up all of these beautiful places that I plan to visit one day. I know there are tons of people out there just like me who dream of traveling to faraway places and seeing the things we could only dream of. So, here is a list of five of the most beautiful places in the world.
1. Salar de Uyuni: Daniel Campos, Bolivia
In Bolivia’s flat southwest lies the world’s largest salt flat, a whole 3,800 square miles. The environment here can be tough with the desert like dryness and freezing night temperatures but that does not mean it is void of life. There are flamingos, rare cacti, and even rare hummingbirds. During the wet season, this area is turned into a salt lake, which causes the lake to mirror the sky exactly.
2. Grand Prismatic Spring: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
The grand prismatic spring in Yellowstone national park is the largest hot spring in the United States and the third largest in the world. It’s about 121 feet deep and also is about 160 degrees. The color comes from pigmented archaea in the microbial mats that grow around the edges of the mineral right water. The colors range from green to red but the mats tend to be red or orange. The blue of the center comes from the lack of archaea that is in that depth of water.
3. The Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is the most northern of the five major circles of latitude. The position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed and depends on the earth’s axial tilt. Very few people live in the Arctic Circle due to the severe weather but many indigenous people still inhabit here. Here you can see the northern lights and experience extreme weather.
4. Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu is a 15th century Inca citadel situated 7,970 ft. above sea level. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built for the Inca emperor Pachacuti. Machu Picchu is tucked away high in the Andes mountains, about 50 miles from the Inca capital Cusco. You can travel to Machu Picchu by a four-hour train ride accompanied by a ride on a winding mountain road, or by a three to six-day hike on an Incan trail.
5. The Great Barrier Reef: Queensland, Australia
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world. The reef is a breeding are for humpback whales, and also the habitat for a few endangered species such as large green sea turtles. Not only is it the largest reef system, it can also be seen from space! Over 1,500 fish species call the reef home as well.
