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When we think of sightseeing on our travels, it’s easy to picture landmarks and ancient buildings. But some of the world’s greatest sights are the natural ones, and the chance to discover this spectacular scenery is one of the greatest joys of travel. From tranquil panoramas to dramatic natural wonders, we’ve picked out the world’s most memorable natural landscapes.
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Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji, Japan
Which country it’s in: The island of Honshu in Japan.
Main features: This iconic snow-capped peak has inspired artists and poets for centuries, an active volcano that rises in a perfectly symmetrical cone. Often shrouded in cloud, a clear glimpse of Fuji-san is a memory to treasure.
What makes it unforgettable: Japan’s highest peak at 3,776m tall, it’s also part of the country’s national identity and a key spiritual site; best seen at sunrise and sunset as the sky tinges pink.
How can I experience this?: Essence of Japan
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Douro Valley
Douro Valley, Portugal
Which country it’s in: Northern Portugal.
Main features: Terraced vineyards rise up the hills of the Douro Valley, overlooking the river below. Between the ancient wineries, you can discover Roman settlements, medieval cities and elegant mansions decorated with traditional azulejo tiles.
What makes it unforgettable: Wine has been made here for at least 2,000 years, from the area’s famous port to world-winning vintages from historic estates lining the valley.
How can I experience this?: Douro River cruise or a Taste of the Douro Valley escorted tour.
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Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu, Peru
Which country it’s in: In the Andes mountains in southern Peru.
Main features: Built at the height of the Inca Empire, the citadel was abandoned after the Spanish conquest, leaving its temples, palaces, towers and fountains untouched as it lay hidden in its mountain home for centuries.
What makes it unforgettable: Its location high in the peaks; those iconic views down onto the lost city, before uncovering the mysteries buried in its streets.
How can I experience this?: Footsteps of the Incas
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Victoria Falls
Victoria Falls, Zambia
Which country it’s in: On the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Main features: This mile-wide curtain of water crashes down almost a quarter of a mile of rock, the torrential force creating the mists giving the cataracts their pre-colonial name of Mosi-oa-Tunya, the ‘smoke that thunders’.
What makes it unforgettable: One of the world’s largest waterfalls, this awe-inspiring spectacle is surrounded by national park, with a series of viewpoints to savour the rushing cascades from all angles.
How can I experience this?: Sensational South Africa with Victoria Falls
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Banff, Canadian Rockies
Canadian Rockies
Which country it’s in: The mountain range stretches across Western Canada.
Main features: A dramatic wilderness of jagged snow-capped peaks overlooking turquoise glacial lakes and fast-flowing mountain rivers. Home to bears, elk, moose and bald eagles, it’s a paradise for wildlife lovers too.
What makes it unforgettable: The sheer variety of landscapes, from wildflower meadows and meandering rivers to fierce white water, waterfalls and soaring snowy mountains.
How can I experience this?: Canadian Rockies and Vancouver
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Plitvice Lakes
Plitvice Lakes, Croatia
Which country it’s in: Central Croatia.
Main features: The oldest and largest national park in the country, this forest reserve covers almost 115 square miles, with 16 crystalline turquoise lakes. Despite its name, it’s the series of waterfalls and cascades connecting the lakes that make Plitvice so special.
What makes it unforgettable: Soak up one idyllic view after another as you stroll, wandering wooden walkways shaded by trees, marvelling at clouds of butterflies fitting above the shimmering aquamarine of the water.
How can I experience this?: Classic Croatia Star of the Adriatic
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Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
The volcanic landscapes and waterfalls of Iceland
Which country it’s in: Across the island of Iceland.
Main features: The land of fire and ice has some of the world’s most dramatic scenery, from Europe’s most powerful waterfalls at Dettifoss to Iceland’s 130 volcanoes, plus volcanic craters, lava fields and even volcanoes buried under ice.
What makes it unforgettable: Where else can you visit a two-tiered waterfall like Gulfoss, a volcanic caldera, geysers powered by volcanic activity, and a geothermally-heated lake in a single day? Only in Iceland.
How can I experience this?: Icelandic Adventure
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Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Which country it’s in: Off Australia’s north-eastern coast.
Main features: The world’s largest reef system, the Great Barrier Reef stretches for over 2,000km, home to 30 whale and dolphin species, six species of sea turtle, over 1,500 types of fish, and 600 coral species.
What makes it unforgettable: A feast for the eyes above and below water; blissful white sand beaches lapped by azure water, with some of the world’s best snorkelling and diving amid the rainbow world under the waves.
How can I experience this?: The Best of Australia
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Tuscany
The hills of Tuscany, Italy
Which country it’s in: Located in central Italy.
Main features: Tuscany’s rolling hills are as instantly recognisable as its historic cities. Tall, slender cypress trees line the roads, while vines carpet the slopes, and fortified medieval villages crown the hilltops, their towers silhouetted against the sky.
What makes it unforgettable: Scenery, food and history in one location. Sip a glass of local Chianti with a view of the Tuscan hills, before strolling through historic Montepulciano or San Gimignano.
How can I experience this?: Essence of Tuscany a Classic Touring Holiday
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Timanfaya, Lanzarote
The volcanoes of Lanzarote
Which country it’s in: Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.
Main features: The 1730 eruption of Lanzarote’s Timanfaya volcano transformed the island landscape forever, covering much of it with lava. To this day, you can feel the heat of the magma below the earth’s surface and see steam hissing through vents.
What makes it unforgettable: This eerily dramatic lava-blasted landscape could be mistaken for the surface of the moon but vines flourish in the mineral-rich soil away from the golden-sand beaches.
How can I experience this?: Hotel Costa Calero Thalasso Spa
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Svolvaer, Norway
The Arctic Circle in Norway
Which country it’s in: Northernmost Norway.
Main features: This far-flung corner of Europe is a land of explorers, where whales swim in the icy waters, the Northern Lights flicker in the night sky, and waterfalls cascade into glaciers.
What makes it unforgettable: This pristine wilderness is among the world’s great unspoiled places, where polar bears roam a landscape bleached white with snow and the indigenous Sami people trace their culture back millennia.
How can I experience this?: Norwegian fjords cruises
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Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon, USA
Which country it’s in: The US state of Arizona.
Main features: One of the world’s most dramatic natural wonders, the Grand Canyon stretches for 277 miles and up to 18 miles across, its layered bands of rock telling a geological story stretching back millions of years.
What makes it unforgettable: Only when you see it first-hand can you appreciate the sheer scale, marvelling at the Colorado River snaking along the canyon floor a mile below.
How can I experience this?: Discover a trip to the national parks of the USA.
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Sossusvlei
Sossusvlei, Namibia
Which country it’s in: The Namib Desert in Namibia.
Main features: Part of the oldest desert in the world, starkly beautiful Sossusvlei is home to burnt red sand dunes, dazzling white salt pans, and the white clay of Deadvlei, where blackened skeletons of ancient camelthorn trees rise from the cracked ground waiting for floods which arrive once a decade.
What makes it unforgettable: One of the world’s highest sand dunes, appropriately named Big Daddy, rises over 1,000 feet above the petrified trees.
How can I experience this?: Discover a holiday exploring Namibia.
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Table Mountain
Table Mountain, South Africa
Which country it’s in: South Africa’s western Cape.
Main features: Looming above cosmopolitan Cape Town, the flat top of Table Mountain and its regular covering of cloud – aka the tablecloth – helped give the peak its name. From the top, gaze out to the ocean and across the national park, where penguins visit the marine reserve.
What makes it unforgettable: The area’s unique biodiversity, from its unique fynbos vegetation to wildlife including antelope and small furry rock hyrax.
How can I experience this?: Discover a tour of South Africa’s Cape.
The sunsets of Mauritius
Which country it’s in: The Indian Ocean island of Mauritius.
Main features: Over a thousand miles off the coast of Africa, Mark Twain claimed heaven was modelled on this tropical paradise. From sparkling lagoons with white sand beaches to thickly lush forest on the mountains, it’s never more lovely than at sunset.
What makes it unforgettable: Seeing the rocky monolith of Le Morne Brabant silhouetted against a sky flaming in crimson hues.
How can I experience this?: Enchanting Mauritius - An Island Discovery.
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Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Which country it’s in: Northeastern Vietnam.
Main features: Famous for its karst scenery, the peaceful waters of the bay are dotted with more than 2,000 limestone islands topped with dense jungle. Legend tells that the bay was created by dragons to protect the Vietnamese people against invaders; the jewels and jade they spat out became the islands.
What makes it unforgettable: This otherworldly setting feels like stepping into a land of myth – kayak or sail through the maze of islands to discover floating villages and hidden caves.
How can I experience this?: Images of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos
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