Plankton that makes the ocean glitter with flowing color, giant cliffs of rock that resembles hammers, an eye in the middle of the desert that is so big it can be seen from outer space, even flowing fields of color that resemble stained glass. These are just some of the unique landscapes that can be found throughout our amazing planet. Each of these places is sure to amaze and surprise you but also leave you thinking that this is one of the most amazing places you have seen.
Each of these places are unique, all are made by nature itself. Well, except for one special place that was too amazing to leave out. Be sure to have a pen and paper so that you can make sure to add some of these onto your bucket list of places to travel to someday.
25+ Amazing and Unique Landscapes
Rainbow Rice Fields
In China’s Yunnan Province you will find these rice fields filled with beautiful rainbow colors. It’s from the different types of crops that are grown there, including duckweed. This photo shows the crops after they have started to come in, it looks like stained glass before the crops start to come in.
Marble Caves
Located on a peninsula of solid marble in the Patagonian Andes on a peninsula in Chile, you will find these stunning caves with the most amazingly beautiful designs. The caves are only accessible by boat and are quite an adventure to get to. Colors of the caves vary depending on the season as well as the time of day.
Zhangjiajie National Park
Also known as the Avatar mountains, this is the first National forest park in China. The park is filled with these tall sandstone towers with evergreen bushes atop of them for an otherworldly amazing view. You can view the park from cable cars, elevators, hiking, and more. There are even times where you will find the clouds surrounding the sandstone towers. There are multiple main attractions and many smaller places to visit, which is why your entrance tickets are good for 3 days. Giving you plenty of time to explore this unique landscapes.
Pamukkale (Cotton Castle)
These natural hot springs located in Western Turkey. The name in Turkish is Pumukkale which actually means cotton castle. It is called this due to the fluffy appearance of the place. Each of the pools is made up of terrace-like sections due to the carbonate materials. You can visit these natural hot springs during any time of the year, but wintertime is the best so you can take a nice relaxing soak in them.
Wat Rong Khun (White Temple)
The White Temple is located outside of the town of Chaing Rai in Thailand. The entire temple is a work of art made by a very talented artist. The exterior of the temple is made using plaster and glass of incredible detail. Each building and detail symbolizes a specific thing. Each of the meanings pertains to a reflection of different Buddhist meanings. This is the one place that amazes me so much it is the only man-made and unique landscapes that made it on the list the beauty and detail of this place amazes me.
Bryce Canyon National Park
While irregular rock columns (hoodoos) like the ones found in Bryce canyon can be found on every continent, you will find the greatest concentration of them anywhere in the world here. These hoodoos stand 200 ft for over 20 miles. The landscape is breathtaking at all times of the day, but this photo of what it looks like during the sunset looks otherworldly.
Rocks Goreme National Park
As the ages have gone by, people settled into these amazing rock formations found in the Cappadocian Region in Turkey. They have carved homes, churches, villages, and underground towns into these amazing rock formations formed by nature. While there are over 100 underground settlements in the region, most of them are not open to the public to tour. However, six of them you can tour while visiting the area. This should give you a feel as to just much of a unique landscapes this beautiful place really is.
Chocolate Hills
These uniquely beautiful hills, nicknamed the chocolate hills are found in the Philippines. In the middle of the island of Bohol. Following the end of the season during the dry season, all of the grass on the hills turns brown. Earning them the name “chocolate hills.” While there are many different tales as to how the hills formed, the real reason remains unknown.
Dead Sea
That beautiful and lonely tree in the center of this island is the lowest tree on earth. There is actually a man who paddles out to the tree every single day to tend to it. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to survive in such salty water. The only way to get to this popular island is to swim to it. It is suggested that you bring extra water with you, maybe wear some goggles, and are a good swimmer. Want to figure out just how to make it to this island, then THIS article will be helpful to you.
Dragon Blood Trees
These amazingly fun trees are unique to the island of Socotra part of Yemen. The island is off of the coast of Yemen and 1/3 of the plants and animals of this island are unique to only this island. The dragon blood trees look like an umbrella or mushroom due to the branches being only on the top part of the tree and the rest of the tree completely bare.
Cenotes
The Yucatan peninsula in Mexico is full of cenotes, over 6,000 of them to be exact. A cenote is a natural sinkhole that was formed when the bedrock collapses, revealing subterranean bodies of water below. Some cenotes provide access to underwater cave systems. Due to the fact that the water is filtered by so many layers of bedrock before the swimming hole, the waters are unbelievably clear. There are multiple different types of Cenotes each having unique qualities.
Eye Of the Sahara
Located in Western Sahara in Mauritania, you will find this amazing structure of rock that has formed into the shape of an eye. It is so large that it can even be seen from Outerspace which is why it is best seen from above. Following much research, it was concluded that the Eye of The Sahara is a geological dome. As beautiful as this place is, it is, unfortunately, near impossible to gain access to view it.
Giants Causeway
In Northern Ireland along the coastline, you will find 40,000 interconnected basalt columns. Almost every single one of these columns is hexagonal. The surrounding scenery is amazing and there are multiple different hiking trails for some mind-blowing scenery!
Waitomo Glow Worm Caves
There are multiple sites where you can visit glow worm caves, especially in New Zealand and Australia. However, deep inside the North Island in New Zealand, you will find special glow worm species that can only be found in this cave. Making the Waitomo cave one of the best glow worm caves in the world. The glow worms make a beautiful stary sky appearance in the cave. You can go on a boat tour of the cave or go on an adventure floating down a river and jumping off of a waterfall to view the caves.
Great Blue Hole
Right in the middle of Lighthouse Reef, you will find the world’s largest sinkhole. Full of unique and strange marine life and coral. The Great Blue Hole is located just off the coast of Belize City. It offers some of the world’s best diving in the world. It has even been named one of the world’s top 10 most amazing places on earth, by Discovery.
Huanglong Pools
These beautifully colored pools were made by calcite deposits. They can be found in the Minshan mountain range in China. The pools connect making small lakes and waterfalls essentially making this beautiful travertine. The pools are just a small portion of the Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area. During the high season, you can take a cable car around the whole area for a picturesque view. During the off-season, you can walk around the area on the boardwalk.
Antelope Canyon
This awe-inspiring slot canyon located in Page, Arizona should be on everyone’s bucket list. The canyon walls, made of sandstone, stand 200 feet into the air. There are 2 separate parts to the canyon, the upper and lower canyon. Walls in the cave have wave-like designs in them, add that with the slits of sunlight seeping through the top of the cave and you have a beauty of nature. The only way to view this canyon is to take a tour.
Moeraki Boulders
Along the Otago coast between Moeraki and Hampden on the south island in New Zeland, you will find the bizarre sphericle shaped boulders. Each of the boulders has etched designs on the outside and has a colorful hollow core. You are best off to view them at low tide, which happens twice a day. As then they are completely exposed to the water.
Painted Hills
These beautiful red and gold striped hills can be seen in John Day Fossil Beds National Park in Mitchell, Oregon. You can view them on each of the 6 different trails found inside the park. The hills are made up of beautiful greys and reds made up of mudstone, siltstone, shale and laterite soil. Each of the hills looks different depending on the lighting and time of day.
Hutt Lagoon (Pink Lake)
This beautiful pink lake called Hutt Lagoon is located in Gregory, Western Australia looks just like a bubble gum-colored lake. The lake is this color due to a certain algae that makes the color range bubble gum pink to light purple. Depending on the time of the day and the lighting. The best time to view the lake is midmorning or sundown.
Plitvice National Park
Plitvice National park is both the oldest and largest park found in Croatia. The park contains a lake system that consists of 16 different lakes. They are all connected by amazingly beautiful waterfalls. The lakes vary in color between greens, blues, azure, and gray depending on the concentration of minerals in the water and the lighting. With the fact that the falls and lakes are surrounded by forest, it makes this beautiful park look like eye candy and a unique landscapes.
Rainbow Mountain
To see the beautiful rainbow mountain in Chile, you have to take about a 3-4 hour hike one way. It is best if you look for a tour to hike to Rainbow Mountian. There is quite a bit of research that should be done prior to hiking up to the mountain as it is quite a strenuous climb, due to the altitude. Once you make it to the mountian you will witness the beautiful reds, yellows, pinks, greens, and grays it will then be worth all the hard work to make it to the top.
Salar De Uyuni
While this looks like flamingos standing in a shallow pool of water, it is really a thin layer of water covering the world’s largest salt flats. Found in Bolivia is this beautiful place that is also home to the mining of salt and lithium. During the dry season, this field of 4,050 sq miles will be dried out and polygonial salt patterns appear on the ground. Each of the seasons offers an amazingly otherworldly experience.
Rock Forest
Limestone, dolomite, and gypsum come together to form this amazing rock tower forest located in Southern China in Yunnan Province. It covers an amazing 186 miles of space and consists of the rock columns, caves, ponds, waterfalls, lakes with an island, and even an underground river. Plan a couple of hours minimum visiting as there are many wonderful paths to explore.
The Wave
This beautiful sandstone rock formation located near the Utah and Arizona border in Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. The landscape here is just amazing, but it’s quite a challenge to get access to. Due to it’s increasing popularity there are only 20 people that get a permit to visit this amazing destination daily.
Whitehaven Beach
Tucked away in the dreamy Whitsunday Islands, you will find one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It is only a short boat ride from Airlie Beach or Hamilton Island in North-Eastern Australia. The sand is some of the most unique and whitest in the world. It’s unique due to the fact that it doesn’t get hot this is because it’s made up of 98 percent pure white silica, which is also why it is so beautifully white! If the sand weren’t enough the water is beautiful blue and turquoise colors. Make sure to take the hike to Hill Inlet to get the amazing views where you will even get a chance to view stingrays or sea turtles below. What a fabulously unique landscapes.
Grand Prismatic Spring
In Yellowstone National park you will find the largest hot spring in the United States at about 370 feet in diameter. It is the third-largest in the world. The spring is not always so beautifully colorful, but when it is you will be able to see beautiful blues, turquoise, oranges, and yellows this usually occurs in the spring. The colors around the outside of the spring are all due to the microbial mats around the spring. The deep blue color in the center is due to the fact that it is the hottest part of the spring and nothing can live there, giving it crystal clear water which appears a beautiful blue.
Bioluminescent Plankton
While this photo may seem like it was Photoshopped, it surely was not. The glowing color in the water in the water is due to Bioluminescent plankton aka fireflies of the seas. During certain seasons plankton will glow when they are agitated glowing so that predators won’t eat them. You can see this phenomenon in many places around the world along warm coastal shores. They have been spotted in Puerto Rico, California, Maldives, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Jamaica, and more.
What unique landscapes have you witnessed around our amazing planet? Leave a comment below letting me know, I would love to hear from you.
Pin For Later
Make sure to pin this post for later, that way you can be sure to visit each of these unique landscapes. It is a great way to get some creative ideas for where to go on your next vacation.
