Pamukkale Travertine Terraces (Image Courtesy: Shutterstock)
Pamukkale Travertine Terraces (Image Courtesy: Shutterstock)

The man has evolved so much from the Neanderthal to where we are today. We’re tech-savvy, smart and thriving individuals now, but there are some natural wonders so outstanding, that it outdoes mankind even after all that we’ve accomplished. We’re listing down a few such awe-inspiring natural wonders of the world that should be on every avid traveller’s bucket list. Here they are:

1. Lake Kaindy, Kazakhstan

Beauty: The water in the lake has a beautiful blue hue and the trees in it, grow upside down! Yep, you read that right. Isn’t it stunning?
Explained: An earthquake that took place in 1911 forced the water to create a natural dam and left the trees upside down that now grow in the same manner.

2. Northern Lake Baikal, Russia

Beauty: The world’s largest freshwater lake in Siberia, Lake Baikal has a stunning view of turquoise crystalised ice in the winters.
Explained: Since it is one of the clearest water bodies in the world, the ice formed during the winter forms a really beautiful crystallisation.

3. Lake Hillier, Western Australia

Beauty: This lake is literally pink! Isn’t it beautiful? It is located near the coast of Middle Island in the Recherche Archipelago to the south of Western Australia. Imagine a chopper ride above this beaut!
Explained: The beautiful ‘Rooh Afza Milk’ colour of the lake is because of Dunaliella salina (a type of halophile green micro-algae) present in the water.

4. Psychedelic Salt Mines in Yekaterinburg, Russia

Salt Mines In Yekaterinburg (Image Courtesy: Shutterstock)
Salt Mines In Yekaterinburg (Image Courtesy: Shutterstock)

Beauty: These salt mines in Russia have unique psychedelic patterns on their walls. Trippy, ain’t it? They go on for miles and miles beneath the ground and if we were permitted to go there, we would defo want to visit.
Explained: This pattern is formed because of the mineral called carnallite present in the mines.

5. Lake Natron, Tanzania

Beauty: Even though this lake is dangerously inhospitable, it’s beautiful to look at. Its hues change from orange to red and even pink sometimes making it look beautiful from afar.
Explained: The colours of the lake change due to the bacteria and other microorganisms living in the water.

6. Aurora Australis, Northern & Southern Hemisphere

Beauty: The Aurora Australis also known as the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis is a staggering phenomenon that takes place in Yukon, Canada and many other locations in the northern and southern hemispheres. The sky has an extraordinary green and purple wave of lights that attracts a tonne of tourists in the winter.
Explained: When the highest degrees of the sun collide with the atmosphere and gas particles on earth forming the beautiful light waves we call Aurora Borealis.

7. Pamukkale Travertine Terraces, Turkey

Beauty: Pamukkale in Turkish means “cotton castles”. These terraces are natural bathing pools that are popular among tourists. Aren’t they just breathtaking?
Explained: These terraces are made up of travertine (limestone deposits) that created these pools from the mineral springs.

8. Socotra Island, Yemen

Beauty: Doesn’t this scenery look like the ancestorial plane called the Djalia tree in Black Panther? Interestingly, one-third of this land’s plantation is so unique that it’s found nowhere else in the world.
Explained: The reason there are unique flora and fauna living on this land is that it has been isolated for millions of years. During the Miocene era, Socotra was separated from Gondwana and that’s when the unique vegetation began to grow.

9. Karlu Karlu, Australia

Beauty: These natural rock formations are called ‘Devil’s Marbles’. Some of these stones are even six meters long!
Explained: These granite marbles are formed in these shapes due to years and years of erosion.
Don’t all of them just take your breath away? Which one of these destinations would top your bucket list? Tell us in the comments below.
Don’t forget to follow us at @missmalinilifestyle to never miss a beat!