I happen to have one of my high school teachers on Facebook. Weird? I know… but not really. We bickered and somewhat argued, but he probably was my favourite teacher, or up there anyways. He kind of influenced me to teach as well, not intentionally though; I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know that either… He’s one insane photographer though, and he loves to travel as well. Ring any bells? I know right! Anyways, he went to Europe last summer, for the millionth time it seems, and took heaps and heaps of pictures. Really made me jealous, but I’m still young I guess… He happened to go to a place on the west coast of Italy called Cinque Terre. Seriously, it might be the most beautiful place I’ve never actually seen! Some of his pictures below… Well, I added it to my ever growing list of places to go and also did some further research on the place. I read that it is a World Heritage Site and that intrigued me. I’ve seen the UNESCO World Heritage Site title before, like on the Angkor Temples I visited last year in Cambodia, but I wanted to see the whole list. There are heaps and heaps of places on the list, so many in fact that it is slightly overwhelming because there is no way I can make it to all of them… I’ve also noticed that there are some places I’ve heard of that aren’t on the list….. Well, the list is split into Natural Sites and Cultural Sites, so are the ten that peaked my interest the most. It was actually very difficult to narrow it down to ten, and to put those ten into order of the most interesting.
-Michael Enns
10. Sutsey, Iceland
UNESCO: Surtsey, a volcanic island approximately 32 km from the south coast of Iceland, is a new island formed by volcanic eruptions that took place from 1963 to 1967. It is all the more outstanding for having been protected since its birth, providing the world with a pristine natural laboratory. Free from human interference, Surtsey has been producing unique long-term information on the colonisation process of new land by plant and animal life. Since they began studying the island in 1964, scientists have observed the arrival of seeds carried by ocean currents, the appearance of moulds, bacteria and fungi, followed in 1965 by the first vascular plant, of which there were 10 species by the end of the first decade. By 2004, they numbered 60 together with 75 bryophytes, 71 lichens and 24 fungi. Eighty-nine species of birds have been recorded on Surtsey, 57 of which breed elsewhere in Iceland. The 141 ha island is also home to 335 species of invertebrates.
Looking at other pictures, it looks like Sutsey is just a big rock floating in the ocean. Looking at pictures also shows you the raw power of nature. I recommend you Google Sutsey and see for yourself the billows of smoke rising miles; the overflowing lava, spewing about, and the freakish lightning storms that were a common occurrence way back when. The desire to go there is more for the region though. The typical terrain you see in Ireland and the UK as well; the terrain illustrated in Sigur Ros’s amazing ‘Glósóli’ video. Iceland has always been beckoned my name and Sutsey just adds to that.
9. Pirin National Park, Bulgaria
UNESCO: Spread over an area of over 27,000 ha, at an altitude between 1008 and 2914 m in the Pirin Mountains, southwest Bulgaria, the site comprises diverse limestone mountain landscapes with glacial lakes, waterfalls, caves and predominantly coniferous forests. It was added to the World Heritage List in 1983. The extension now covers an area of around 40,000 ha in the Pirin Mountains, and overlaps with the Pirin National Park, except for two areas developed for tourism (skiing). The dominant part of the extension is high mountain territory over 2000m in altitude, and covered mostly by alpine meadows, rocky screes and summits.
There is not too much to this choice, other then fact that it looks absolutely breathtaking. Not what I usually think of when I think of Eastern Europe, but I will definitely have to make the trek when I eventually get there!
8. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia
UNESCO: These are among the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The Zambezi River, which is more than 2 km wide at this point, plunges noisily down a series of basalt gorges and raises an iridescent mist that can be seen more than 20 km away.
I tried to have a rule of not having two of the same kind of things on this list, i.e. two waterfalls, but unfortunately, I failed. While narrowing the list to ten from fifteen, I couldn’t take either of the waterfalls out, and it turned out that Victoria Falls was my only African destination. As you can tell, I don’t have too much longing to go to Africa like a lot of people I know, including my sister, who is in South Africa right now as we speak actually! Don’t get me wrong, I believe there is a lot Africa has to offer, and I would love to experience all that someday. Indeed, I actually have a lot of interest in Northern Africa like Morocco, Egypt, Libya, etc. A good Scottish friend of mine named Ruth is actually moving to Zim in January, so I might have to make my way now!
7. Yosemite National Park, United States of America
UNESCO: Yosemite National Park lies in the heart of California. With its 'hanging' valleys, many waterfalls, cirque lakes, polished domes, moraines and U-shaped valleys, it provides an excellent overview of all kinds of granite relief fashioned by glaciation. At 600–4,000 m, a great variety of flora and fauna can also be found here.
California has a hell of a lot to offer, and I find it remarkable how many times I’ve been there and how many places my family have driven right by. Of course it was always Los Angeles, Disneyland, and visiting my few uncles in the area. Yosemite look familiar to people who spend anytime on Youtube, or people who have a fascination with rainbows. Yes, yes, it is the home of the most amazing man to walk this earth, excluding Jesus Christ of course. “Double rainbow all the way, across the sky”. I’ve actually stumbled over a gallery on Flickr all on Yosemite, and I strongly recommend you take a look at it because it is only testament to why it’s on this list! Unbelievably gorgeous!
6. Laurisilva of Madeira, Portugal
UNESCO: The Laurisilva of Madeira is an outstanding relict of a previously widespread laurel forest type. It is the largest surviving area of laurel forest and is believed to be 90% primary forest. It contains a unique suite of plants and animals, including many endemic species such as the Madeiran long-toed pigeon.
The whole island of Madeira seems pretty cool. I love all the little islands I discovered looking at this UNESCO list, especially the heaps of them that belong to France. It’s pretty strange how France has an island in every ocean… It’s what you get for being a powerhouse back in the day. The thought of island sparsely populated and unheard of is pretty intriguing to me. Perhaps because of all the Lost I’ve been watching lately. But it is the Laurisilva forest that makes it even more special. So prime for taking photographs, with just how some of the light makes it to the bottom, only some light making it to your camera lens. Yes, very forest-esque. I love how Laurisilva has my last name in it as well! Yes, very Portuguese.
5. West Norwegian Fjords, Norway
UNESCO: Situated in south-western Norway, north-east of Bergen, Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord, set 120 km from one another, are part of the west Norwegian fjord landscape, which stretches from Stavanger in the south to Andalsnes, 500 km to the north-east. The two fjords, among the world’s longest and deepest, are considered as archetypical fjord landscapes and among the most scenically outstanding anywhere. Their exceptional natural beauty is derived from their narrow and steep-sided crystalline rock walls that rise up to 1,400 m from the Norwegian Sea and extend 500 m below sea level. The sheer walls of the fjords have numerous waterfalls while free-flowing rivers cross their deciduous and coniferous forests to glacial lakes, glaciers and rugged mountains. The landscape features a range of supporting natural phenomena, both terrestrial and marine, such as submarine moraines and marine mammals.
My love for Scandinavia is one thing, I get that, but Norway might be the most beautiful country! A friend of mine stumbled upon (stumbledupon.com) another place in Northern Norway that could of easily of made the top five of this list, but unfortunately UNESCO has not made their way up that far yet… Link below if you would like to see some amazing pictures. And yes, when I say the most beautiful, I include my own country, Canada, and my other love New Zealand. I had to exclude another fjord with the ‘one of each thing rule’, but I will have you know that this Danish fjord is in the honourable mention section at the bottom.
http://www.kuriositas.com/2010/12/lofoten-arctic-circle-anomaly.html
4. China Danxia, China
Unesco: China Danxia is the name given in China to landscapes developed on continental red terrigenous sedimentary beds influenced by endogenous forces (including uplift) and exogenous forces (including weathering and erosion). The inscribed site comprises six areas found in the sub-tropical zone of south-west China. They are characterized by spectacular red cliffs and a range of erosional landforms, including dramatic natural pillars, towers, ravines, valleys and waterfalls. These rugged landscapes have helped to conserve sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forests, and host many species of flora and fauna, about 400 of which are considered rare or threatened.
Like noted above, Danxia is just a name given to a certain terrain. That terrain happens to be the one you see in a lot of movies, well the rural China that is, and not the bustling people hotspots, i.e. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing… China has always been attractive to me. I even remember hoping that China was a outreach location for my DTS before actually knowing the three locations chosen for us. The people there seem amazing; there’s a lot of history; or maybe it’s the strict handle they have on religion, or Christianity, or in general actually. Hell, I can see my self setting up shop in a place like this with no electricity or running water, living the life like that one guy from that one movie! Yeah, that one! Give me a good wife and a good family and I’m definitely game. Good luck with that they say, HA!
3. Iguazu National Park, Argentina/Brazil
Unesco: The semicircular waterfall at the heart of this site is some 80 m high and 2,700 m in diameter and is situated on a basaltic line spanning the border between Argentina and Brazil. Made up of many cascades producing vast sprays of water, it is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The surrounding subtropical rainforest has over 2,000 species of vascular plants and is home to the typical wildlife of the region: tapirs, giant anteaters, howler monkeys, ocelots, jaguars and caymans.
When I said earlier that there was another waterfall, I lied… Turns out to be a good thing actually with the ‘only one of each thing’ rule eh… There are waterfalls in this park though, where the two different rivers meet. South America use to be a turn off for me back in high school with some of the horror stories you read about; the crime, kidnapping, etc. But I must say that countries like Chile and Peru have quite recently topped my to do list. Iguazu park seems to have it all really, it seems to be a few places in one, a festival of fiesta if you will. Get two stamps in your passport as well which is pretty awesome in itself.
2. Great Barrier Reef, Australia
UNESCO: The Great Barrier Reef is a site of remarkable variety and beauty on the north-east coast of Australia. It contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction.
The Great Barrier Reef would top a lot of peoples list, but it falls a little shy for me. Maybe because I’ve been to that region before, but at the same time, I know already how beautiful that region is. You cannot go wrong with Oceania!. I have this irrational fear of the ocean… I think it stems from a paranoia of sharks, but it’s just the vastness of the water on this planet that gets me. I see pictures of this so vast openness and it gives me the shivers. I see pictures of sharks and other marine life, with the endless darkness beneath and I get spooked. A lot of people of scared of sharks, but it’s more, it’s just crazy! What better to help break that than the GBR, eh? Maybe a little snorkelling will do the trick! I have been snorkelling before though, in Mexico… but that was before this fear arose. If I got my Australian coasts straight, I have a good friend from DTS who lives around Brisbane. I also have an aunt that lives there too, and she has a boat!
1. Pitons, Saint Lucia
UNESCO: The 2,909-ha site near the town of Soufriere includes the Pitons, two volcanic spires rising side by side from the sea (770 m and 743 m high respectively), linked by the Piton Mitan ridge. The volcanic complex includes a geothermal field with sulphurous fumeroles and hot springs. Coral reefs cover almost 60% of the site’s marine area. A survey has revealed 168 species of finfish, 60 species of cnidaria, including corals, eight molluscs, 14 sponges, 11 echinoderms, 15 arthropods and eight annelid worms. The dominant terrestrial vegetation is tropical moist forest grading to subtropical wet forest, with small areas of dry forest and wet elfin woodland on the summits. At least 148 plant species have been recorded on Gros Piton, 97 on Petit Piton and the intervening ridge, among them eight rare tree species. The Gros Piton is home to some 27 bird species (five of them endemic), three indigenous rodents, one opossum, three bats, eight reptiles and three amphibians.
I Googled every location to find a nice picture in which I could use, and when I Googled the Pitons, it was just in a whole different level. I don’t think any picture does this place justice though, and only looking at a collection of photos would do the trick, or looking at the Pitons with you eyes of course. I was talking about living the life before, and I guess you can say that this is a new dream for me. When I get married, or if I get married, and when my children (if I have children) move out, I’m moving there! So beautiful!
Honourable Mention:
Waterton Glacier International Peace Park, Canada/USA
Nahanni National Park, Canada
Ilullssat Icefjord, Denmark
Central Highlands, Sri Lanka
I would of loved to include the Canadian entries but thought it inappropriate due to being a little bias. The fjord in Greenland (Denmark) could of easily made it as well if not for the fjords in Norway. The last mention was more of a shoutout to my motherland. Would it of made the list if it was a different country, I don’t know...
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