Wonders of the World
Wonders of the World — The New 7 Wonders and Seven Natural Wonders, Planned Properly
The New7Wonders were chosen by a global vote in 2007; our seven natural wonders are the editors' pick of the great landscapes you can actually book a trip to. Every guide covers the season, the permits, the best vantage point and the ground logistics, with live links to flights, stays and activities.
New 7 Wonders
The Great Wall of China
Over 21,000 kilometres of wall in total, but the decision that matters is which two kilometres of it you walk. From Beijing, that means Mutianyu.
Petra, Jordan
A Nabataean city carved into rose-red sandstone two thousand years ago, revealed at the end of a 1.2-kilometre canyon. One day is enough to see it; two days is enough to understand it.
Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro
Thirty metres of art-deco soapstone on a 700-metre granite peak, with arms open over the whole city. The only thing that ruins it is a cloud, so check the summit before you set out.
Machu Picchu, Peru
An Inca royal estate at 2,430 metres, built around 1450, abandoned a century later and never found by the Spanish. Tickets are limited, timed and sold months ahead — the planning is the price of admission.
Chichén Itzá from Cancún
A Maya city whose main pyramid is a stone calendar: 365 steps, and twice a year a serpent of shadow slides down its side. Get there before the coaches from Cancún, which means leaving at dawn.
The Colosseum, Rome
Fifty thousand spectators, a hundred days of inaugural games in 80 CE, and an underground of lifts and cages that you can now walk through. The standard ticket shows you the shell; the Full Experience shows you the machine.
The Taj Mahal, Agra
A marble mausoleum built by Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal between 1632 and 1653, changing colour with the light from pink at dawn to gold at dusk. Be at the gate before sunrise and it is yours for half an hour.
Natural Wonders
The Grand Canyon
446 kilometres long, up to 29 wide and 1.8 deep, cut by the Colorado over six million years. Which rim you choose decides whether you see a national park or a glass walkway.
The Great Barrier Reef
2,300 kilometres of coral off Queensland, visible from space and best seen from thirty centimetres away with a mask on. The choice is the port you sail from.
Victoria Falls
Mosi-oa-Tunya, 'the smoke that thunders': a 1.7-kilometre curtain of the Zambezi dropping 108 metres into a gorge, with spray visible from 30 kilometres away. Two countries share it and you should see both.
The Northern Lights
Charged particles from the sun, funnelled by the Earth's magnetic field into curtains of green and violet over the polar night. You cannot book the aurora — you can only book enough dark, clear nights to be there when it comes.
Mount Everest
8,849 metres, the highest point on Earth, first climbed in 1953. You do not need to climb it to stand in front of it — a fortnight's walk, or an hour's flight, will do.
Niagara Falls from Toronto
Three falls, 2,800 cubic metres of water a second, ninety minutes from downtown Toronto. Stand on the Canadian side, get on the boat, and stay for the lights.
Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
Nearly two thousand limestone islands rising from emerald water in the Gulf of Tonkin, formed over 500 million years. The right boat and the right bay turn a day trip into the trip.
Chauffeur & limousine booking
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