Gorgeous Places

This former quarry is now a picturesque gorge that hides a sunken lake.

A spiral staircase twists to the top of this unusual Czech lookout tower.

An architect transformed this abandoned cement factory into his castle-like workshop.

This beautifully deceptive waterfall is something far different from what it appears to be.

Because sometimes the most efficient route from A to B isn't a straight line.

Hundreds of stone stairs and a winding medieval bridge connect this haunting Spanish island to the mainland.

An enormous concrete structure built over a nuclear crater.

On the outskirts of a desert trading village high on the Andean plain, steel giants have been destroyed by salt winds.

This quaint Italian town keeps losing ground as the sides of its plateau slowly erode.

In this historic region, homes and churches are carved into ancient volcanic rock formations.

This 1,300 year old monastery built atop a single rock was once only accessible depending on the whims of the tide.

This jaw-dropping 19th-century bridge uses its reflection to form what appears to be a perfect circle.

The longest hedge maze in the world.

Woven tree art gives this towering Australian woodland a touch of mystical whimsy.

A remote candy-striped mountain in the Peruvian Andes straight out of the pages of Dr. Seuss.

On the Oregon coast there is a natural hole that seems to be draining the sea.

The centuries old trees lining both sides of this dirt road may become Madagascar's first natural monument.

An exquisite tunnel of cascading flowers.

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

A solitary tree has grown up all alone on Lake Wānaka, backdropped by the beautiful Southern Alps.

A desert that rolls right up to the ocean, where it's so dry animals live off the fog.

Europe's largest natural bridge has a 19th century royal chateau built into its side.

An explosion of natural color known as "the river that ran away from paradise."

Tubing through a cave lit with glowworms is a magical underground experience.

Constant erosion has created a surreal landscape of bleached and preserved fallen trees.

The massive white mound and accompanying water terraces are a striking geological oddity.

This small group of sand dunes manages to pack in a strange rainbow of colors.

Dramatic river bend surrounds a natural red-rocked pedestal.

A canvas of crops grow from vibrant red soil in this terraced farmland.

The hottest place on the planet.

Iran's colorful terraces are a rare geological masterpiece.

This abandoned fishing settlement may well be the greenest village in the world.

A seemingly endless landscape of pure salt stretches far across Bolivia.

Submerged trees jut ghost-like out of an idyllic turquoise mountain lake.

Stunning wetlands ablaze with pink lotus flowers.

This wondrous waterfall rushing down a green-covered mountain wasn't discovered until 2010.

Rippling sand dunes frozen in the Arizona rock.

Towering basalt columns, a creation of fire and ice.

The Twisted Trees of Alticane are an unnerving grove of Quaking Aspen, apparently mutated from a single source, giving them a twisted and unnatural appearance.

Wondrous sandstone hoodoos where Native Americans collected clay for pottery, 9,000 years ago.

Rising from the sea like a stone monster.

Most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest.

This historic stone bridge has an entire neighborhood clinging to its sides.

Every autumn, this hillside is ablaze with red summer cypress.

This beautiful natural train tunnel is said to grant the wishes of visiting lovebirds.

Earth's tallest volcano is sacred to Native Hawaiians, and home to a dozen world-class observatories.

A gravity-defying "devil's bridge" that has a surprising architectural feature for its stability.

This extraordinary geological oddity resembles human-made pavement.