101 Things to Do Before You Die: Amazing Landscapes by The TI Review Team
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Visit the Caldera of Santorini by Adrian Mourby
Greece: An afternoon reading books on the terrace of Ikies, a small series of rooms overlooking the stunning caldera of Santorini, 1000 feet below. Without a doubt the best view on the island. It's difficult to stir and go sight-seeing.
Visit Salar de Uyuni and South-western Lakes in Bolivia by Martin Li
Miles and miles of dazzling white nothingness are bizarrely punctuated by two “islands”: huge mounds of rock and earth on which flourish cactuses and stranded viscachas (Andean rabbits). The fiery red Laguna Colorada and other-worldly Laguna Verde never fail to astound. Above this high altitude wilderness, even the full moon struggles to outshine a night sky as spellbindingly clear and starry as anywhere this side of outer space. Nights can be freezing and visitor facilities appalling, but you will never forget the Milky Way and shooting stars.
Ride the High Train by Arnie Wilson
Peer out of a huge glass windows at one of the mountain-railway stations inside the Eiger where trains making for the Jungfraujoch (reputedly the highest railway station in Europe) pause while you admire the astonishing glimpse of the ice wall and crevasses on the North Face. A glimpse of awe-inspiring and terrifying terrain you’d only normally see if you were a serious Alpinist – or Clint Eastwood in the Eiger Sanction. These windows are sometimes used as a short cut to launch rescues on the fearsome rock wall.
White Out at the Summer Palace by Phillip Sen
It might have been built as a retreat from the heat, but when the frost and snow descend upon Beijing, the Summer Palace takes on an ethereal beauty all of its own. As you look over the icy lake around which this last resort of the doomed Qing Dynasty is built, the irony is almost too poignant.
Hit Rock Bottom at Everest Base Camp by Phillip Sen
Getting this high hurts like hell. Altitude sickness can hit anyone at any time, irrespective of age, gender or fitness. Your head may be pounding, but with the forbidding peak of Everest just penetrating the heavens before you, so what? Standing here, three miles above sea level, it's worth it. You're on top of the world.
See a Hidden Valley in India by Nick Maes
Ladakh, India. Springs arrives late in the Himalayas, but as soon as it does, hire a driver and head over the highest navigable pass in the world before descending into the rugged, elemental beauty of the Nubra Valley. This place belongs in a fairytale, inaccessible, ice-bound for most of each year and disturbingly lovely, it has magic and majesty.
Watch the Sunset Over Uluru (Ayers Rock) by Graham Simmons
In Central Australia Ayers Rock is one of the most sublimely surreal experiences on the planet. Sadly most people nowadays arrive at Uluru by air; a more tantalizing approach is to drive to the foot of the monolith.
View Atolls from an Airplane by Cleo Paskal
Fly over an atoll to get a proper view of one of the most heart-rending, beautiful and fragile geological formations on the planet.
Charter a Houseboat by Andrew Eames
United States: Charter a houseboat on Lake Powell, which straddles Arizona and Utah. The lake is effectively a Grand Canyon filled with water; there is no greenery, just yellow and red rock rising from deep blue water. An extraordinary visual experience.
Witness Islands in a Sea of Cloud by Lee Marshall
Witness mountain peaks emerging like islands from a sea of cloud. I've seen this a handful of times from the ground (aerial views don't count); most memorably from a snowy ridge in the Sierra Nevada, south of Granada.
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Take a Heli-Safari by Brian Jackman
Book your own private helicopter (air-conditioning, stereo music, champagne breakfast) for a joy-ride over Kenya's Great Rift Valley from Loisaba, an exclusive game lodge on the Laikipia Plateau.
Visit Cape Leveque by Caroline Major
Cape Leveque, Australia: Sit on the beach at full moon, watching the sun go down and the moon rising in tandem over the peak of the red cliffs against the milky blue sky.
See Where the World Falls Away by Gregory McNamee
Point Imperial, on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, where the world falls away at your feet to reveal two billion years of terrestrial history.
Interested in more amazing landscapes and beautiful scenery? Check out Travel Intelligence's 101 Things to Do Before You Die: The Great Outdoors