The Updated List – HolidayNomad.com (2024)

The mesmerizing sights we get to see around the world truly make us question a lot. The world is filled with so many sophisticated architectural designs. You have to give credit where it’s due, though. If you get to see even a few of the seven natural wonders of the world in your lifetime, you’ll genuinely be deemed lucky.

These seven sites won the popularity according to a global poll. The current wonders are the Northern Lights, Paricutin, Rio de Janeiro Harbor, Great Barrier Reef, the Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, and Victoria Falls. Read on to get a broader insight into these amazing sites.

About the Seven Natural Wonders of the World

The entire campaign started around 2000 with the name of New7Wonders of the World. A global poll is taken to select the top 7 wonders from as many as 200 monuments that exist in the world. The whole voting and polling process is arranged by the New7Wonders Foundation or in short, the N7W.

The seven wonders of the world signify the beauty of nature and world architecture. These wonders are the most visited tourist spots around the world, and people certainly love them. Some people go out of their way to prove how one is better than the other, but we digress.

Without further ado, let’s dive in to get some info on the wonders along with some useful travel tips.

Aurora Borealis: The Northern Lights

If it’s your first time seeing this place, you might need to rub your eyes or pinch yourself to make sure that you’re not dreaming. A sky that gives a sight unmatched by anything else, the Aurora Lights are truly mesmerizing. You would want to travel a bit in the Northern hemisphere to get a load of this.

The aurora lights provide tourists with a beautiful display of dancing light streaks across the night sky. The entire northern horizon lights up for the Aurora lights. You can see the lights more commonly in Alaska, Norway, the Northern part of Canada, Sweden, Iceland, and Finland.

But you can’t always see them as they appear in the night sky randomly. You wouldn’t get too lucky if you’re on a short trip. The locals are more likely to capture the beauty. But you can plan your trip in the winter as they are more visible in the darker skies of winter.

The most preferred time to visit is during the months from August to April. If you’re taking the Norway route, which many travel enthusiasts prefer, you can plan your trip between September and March.

Paricutin

If you’re a volcano enthusiast, you have certainly heard about the Paricutin. Located in Michoacán, a city of Mexico, this is one of the biggest volcanoes you’ll ever see! The volcano has a cinder cone shape, and you’ll have a hard time believing that it’s natural. This might not be one of the most famous volcanoes, but this rightfully earned a spot in the seven natural wonders of the world.

You’ll be delighted to find out that you can climb to the peak of the Paricutin on the back of a horse. But wait! You could hike to the top if you wanted to too. The 12-mile distance will seem rather less since you’re going to be surrounded by an amazing sight. People of the region saw the birth and growth of the Paricutin, so this one is deeply rooted in their hearts. The quick-growing formation of this giant area surprises all types of scientists.

Choosing a horseback trip is probably the safest way to go. You’ll come across multiple lava pits and lava fields on your hike. You’ll even witness a few village homes, which were buried. There is an amazing church at the peak too. Anguhuan, a city next to this massive establishment, has survived the eruptions during its birth. The people living in the valley, however, had a much crueler fate.

You can plan your trip during October and April, but be sure to avoid the rainy season. You can take a flight to Mexico City and then take a bus to Angahuan. You can get crazy deals as this is a popular tourist spot.

Harbor of Rio de Janeiro

Natural harbors are always pleasant to see. And this one in the center of Brazil is truly mesmerizing. The granite mountains surround the entire harbor like royal guards. These mountains formed here after tons of erosion from the Atlantic. Guanabara Bay has some of the friendliest people you’ll see.

The harbor is close to the statue of Jesus, which is also another wonderful tourist spot. Guanabara bay, being the largest of its kind when it comes to volume, is truly amazing to just look at. Take a cable car ride up the Sugar Loaf mountain, and you’ll be greeted with the most perfect view.

With Christ the Redeemer guarding the entire area, this harbor shows off its class quite exquisitely. You take a quick trip to the islands around the bay. The most popular among the islands are Governor’s island, Snakes Island, and Fundao. You’ll get rides easily to soar across the waves.

Over the years, the water of the bay has degraded due to pollution, so we wouldn’t recommend that you jump in for a swim. Quite a number of bacteria and viruses were found here during the Olympics. Spread across the center of Brazil’s second-largest city, the Harbor is a wonderful site to see. Book your tickets for a trip around September and October.

The Great Barrier Reef

If you’re still searching for Nemo, you might want to look here. Being Queensland’s biggest tourist spot visited by thousands every month, the Great Barrier Reefs rightfully earned its spot among the seven wonders of the world.

Here’s a fun fact for you: the Great Barrier Reef isn’t actually on the whole reef, rather the combination of over twenty-nine thousand reefs. Coral polyps did a fine job of creating this wonderful piece of art.

The whole reef has almost a thousand islands that stretch across 2600 kilometers. Whether you’re a diving enthusiast or a site seeing adventurer, you’ll love the natural ambiance of the Great Barrier Reef. Take a glass-bottomed boat to spend your time with fish without diving in. You’ll be offered tour packages of many lengths and durations.

If you’re looking to go all out, you can even take a helicopter tour. This way, you can see the reef from above and gasp in its beauty. A helicopter tour is recommended when it’s sunny to get the best experience and witness the best sights. As Queensland’s first World Heritage Area, the reef goes through proper maintenance from the National Park authority.

You can take a plane to Cairns if you’re planning to see the reef. But you can also start your tour from Townsville or Port Douglas. This is one ride you won’t ever forget.

The Grand Canyon

The biggest reason to take a trip to Arizona is the Grand Canyon. This is one of the most famous gorges in the world and rightfully so. You can issue a round trip for the entire canyon by hiking in the daytime. Camping enthusiasts often prefer to set their tents and spend the nights. If you aren’t fond of on-foot exploration, you can even hire a mule to ride on its back. The mule riding experience is another great plus point about visiting the Grand Canyons.

If you’re into kayaking and have some amount of prior experience, you can explore the bottom of the canyon with a rafting trip. But according to the N7W Foundation, you should opt for a chopper to have the best experience of the Grand Canyon. You might not be able to explore the whole of it in a short time, but these options do cover most of it.

The whole canyon is around 450 kilometers long, which by no means is the largest length for a canyon. But the Grand Canyon earned its place in the seven natural wonders of the world with its sheer size and amazing landscape. The overall size of the Grand Canyon is also another point that gave it its glory.

You can’t explore the whole of the Grand Canyon if you visit once. Specific places are off bound during different seasons. So you have to plan your trip carefully. Take a flight to Vegas, or LA, and you’ll be greeted with loads of tour packages for the Grand Canyon. You can pick any one to have the experience of your lifetime.

Mount Everest

The world has seen its fair share of mountaineers throughout the centuries. But only a few have been able to conquer the greatest of them all. Being the highest spot on the surface of the world, Mount Everest of Himalayas stands at 8848 meters tall. The mountain sits on a few country borders, which include China (Tibet) and Nepal. The protection of this natural wonder lies in the hands of the Sagarmatha National Park.

Fun fact time! Did you know that Mount Everest is originally called (In Tibetan) Chom*olungma? The word directly translates to “Goddess Mother of Snow.” Very aptly named, don’t you think? It was given the name of Mt. Everest by the “Royal Geographical Society”.

You might be wondering that visiting the mountain will be a waste of time since you won’t even be attempting to climb that mammoth. Hold your horses; not everyone has to climb up to see the peak. You can take helicopter tours that will show you around the biggest mountains in the Himalayan region, including Mount Everest.

However, if you do plan on attempting the biggest climb in the world, be advised that the base camp trek will need you to dish out around USD 40000. You can’t probably initiate the trip when it’s snowing, though.

The cold breeze will not physically allow you to get even close to Mount Everest. You can plan your trip around October and November. Some might even prefer going between February and April when the dry season ends. You won’t even be able to see the mountain during the other months of the year.

Victoria Falls

The last of the seven natural wonders of the world from our list is the Victoria Falls. Most tourists center their trip to Zambia around visiting the falls. The waterfall is generated from the flow of the river Zambezi. You can observe the water dropping down a whopping 108 meters from the waterfall. The Victoria Falls extend as much as 1.7 kilometers in width.

Fun Fact time? You guessed it! The Victoria Falls is one of the only places in Zambia that kept its English name after the country’s independence back in 1964. The other place is the Livingstone. These names were kept as the Zambians had the utmost respect for a certain Scottish Missionary, who went by the name of David Livingstone.

Visiting Victoria Falls should be in everyone’s bucket list. You can take a helicopter ride to glance at the mesmerizing view from above. You can also opt for a boat cruise, which will give you a ride on a trail that goes around the sides of the falls. But you can probably get a better overall view from the chopper.

The best time to visit Victoria Falls is the months of June and July. This is the time when the waterfall appears the prettiest. But you might struggle to get tickets due to the massive inflow of people from around the world.

Bottom Line

The seven natural wonders of the world signify natural beauty, heritage, and architecture around the world. These monuments might not stay in their top 7 in the coming years, but they are certainly some of the best places to visit on this planet.

So what are you waiting for? Plan your trip and book your tickets to blow your mind!