The World’s Great Wonders as seen by Lonely Planet

The latest book put out by Lonely planet, “The World’s Great Wonders”, is a beauty. Jheni Osman writes about the many wonders scattered around the world and tells how they were made and why they are so amazing. Fifty natural and man-made wonders of the world are beautifully portrayed in the book’s 224 full-color pages.

Natural Wonders of the World

“The World’s Great Wonders” features 20 natural wonders.

Some are high above us. The Aurora Borealis, or northern lights, are luminous green fingers of light that seem to dance their way across the star-studded sky.

Some rise up from the ground. Mt Everest in Himalayas is the tallest mountain in the world and Mt Roraima is a flat-topped mountain in Venezuela.

Some of the natural wonders of the world are below the lands surface. The Grand Canyon is up to 1.6km deep and 29km wide in places. Ngorongoru Crater is 610m deep 260 sq km. It is the largest caldera in the world.

Some are below water, such as the Great Barrier Reef and the Dead Sea.

Some feature water in its liquid state, such as Iguazu Falls, where over 5,000 cubic metres of water plummet over the falls ever second, and in its frozen state, such as the Rongbuk Glacier, that lies at the foot of Mount Everest.

Man-made Wonders of the World

There are 30 man-made wonders detailed in “The World’s great Wonders”.

Palm Jumeirah

Some of the wonders are modern, such as, Palm Jumeirah, where seven million tonnes of rock and 94 million cubic metres if sand were used to create this artificial palm tree shaped archipelago which can be seen from space. The Maglev Train in Shanghai floats on a cushion of air and travels at speeds up to 501km/h, as fast as a plane.

Some of the man-made wonders are involved with water. The Panama Canal stretches 80 km between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Three Gorges Dam crosses the Yangzi River. It is 180m high and over 2km wide.

The Taj Mahal

Some are made with stones. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built 4,500 years ago and is the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Acropolis rises above the city of Athens and is a complex of temples and alters. The Easter Island Statues are a collection of enigmatic statues, each weighing 13 tonnes and over 10m tall and moved without the aid of wheels or animals.

Some are ancient such as the Rouffignac Cave in France which has more than 250 prehistoric artworks. Stonehenge is ancient rings of four tonne bluestones and forty tonne sarsens. The Terracotta Warriors are a once buried collection of more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots and 670 horses. The Hazca Lines are vast figures of humans, creatures and plants etched into the Nazca Desert spread over 1,000 sq. Km.

The Taj Mahal

Some are buildings, such as the Church of St George, which was hewn from one single hunk of red volcanic rock. The Taj Mahal is a marble-clad mausoleum in India. The Eiffel Tower was once the tallest structure in the world. The Leaning Tower of Pisa tilts at a gravity-defying five degrees. The Burj Khalifa at 828m tall is currently the world’s tallest building.

Several cities have been included as man-made wonders. Petra is a 2,000 year old city hewn from the sandstone ranges on the edge of the Arabian Desert. Machu Picchu is located high in the Andes Mountains. It was built, lived in and deserted in less than 100 years. It was then lost to civilisation for centuries.

Several of the wonders are number ones in the world. The Millau Viduct is the tallest bridge in the world spanning Europe’s deepest gorge. The Great Wall of China is the longest wall in the world, weaving its way across 6,500km of mountain tops and canyons. The Potala Palace is the world’s highest palace at 3,700m above sea level. It rises 13 stories and contains more than 1,000 rooms. The La Sagrada Famillia in Barcelona is said to be the building with the most drawn out construction period. This striking cathedral is still not yet complete, despite construction starting over a century ago

Sports stadiums include The Colosseum in Rome, where 50,000 spectators shouted from the stands of the Roman Empire’s largest amphitheatre. The Maracana Stadium in Brazil was built for the 1950 World Cup Final and modernised for the same event in 2014.

There are only so many wonders that can be included in the one book. Some worthy contenders are missing. For example, there are no man-made wonders in Australia included. One wonders why the Sydney Opera House was omitted with its amazing sail-like structure. Perhaps it could be included in a follow up book.

Each of the wonders included in “The World’s Great Wonders” are well illustrated with photos, diagrams and maps. There is a small section on each wonder which explains how to get there and what else to see in and do in the surrounding area.

“The World’s Great Wonders”

The book is an ideal way to see the wonders of the amazing world we live in without actually travelling. The author brings to life each wonder and gives enough detail to extol their virtues. For the keen traveller, each wonder would make an ideal addition to a bucket list of places to visit during one’s lifetime. Seeing and experiencing them would be a highlight of a person’s journey through life. Just make sure you bring this book along with you when you visit each one so that you know how amazing these famous wonders really are.

“The World’s Great Wonders” is available in any good bookstore or from the Lonely Planet online bookshop at http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/world/the-worlds-great-wonders/