More than 2,000 years ago, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were named by the Greek historian Herodotus and the scholar Callimachus of Cyrene. Today, only one of the original wonders remains: the Great Pyramid of Giza. As the only relic still standing, it is likely at the top of the travel itinerary to the wonders of the world.

From this point, it becomes a bit more complicated to define the wonders of the world and plan your travel route.

After many debates and an online vote, the list of the new seven wonders was published just over 20 years ago. But be careful, there are several versions of the list of the new seven wonders, and some also include the Great Pyramid of Giza, increasing the total number of wonders to eight.

The new seven wonders of the world are:

1. The Great Wall of China

2. The ruins of Petra in Jordan

3. Chichen Itza in Mexico

4. Christ the Redeemer in Brazil

5. The Taj Mahal in India

6. Machu Picchu in Peru

7. The Colosseum in Rome
8. The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt.*

If you haven’t noticed yet: All the wonders listed above have one thing in common: they are man-made.

Many believe that the seven natural wonders of the world should also be recognized. In a time when we are all traveling again and seeing new things, we believe this list should be included. It also helps that all natural wonders, except one, can be easily viewed from space (making them very dear to us and our MOVA Globe “Earth with Clouds” (see image above).

The seven natural wonders of the world are:

1. Mount Everest in Nepal

2. The Great Barrier Reef in Australia

3. Victoria Falls on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe

4. Harbor of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil

5. The Northern Lights

6. The Grand Canyon in Arizona

7. The Paricutin Volcano in Mexico

Now that the lists are created, you just need to consider them – in person or possibly from space.

A once-in-a-lifetime journey

When planning to visit rare and wondrous things, especially when they are spread across the globe, it can feel a bit overwhelming. Fortunately, there are some exciting options.

Whether you prefer to travel by sea or air, there are several options that allow you to visit all the new seven wonders on a single trip. Many tour operators offer a month-long travel package that includes flights, hotels, transportation, and guides at each location. Oneworld, Star Alliance, and SkyTeam each offer a RTW booking code for a round-the-world ticket, allowing travelers flexibility in itineraries (within the booking rules of each airline) and sightseeing. Your third option for an all-in-one travel experience is a Seven Wonders cruise. They are offered by various cruise lines and vary in length. You can decide whether you want to spend several weeks or months on a cruise ship sailing across the seven seas to see the Seven Wonders.

Sightseeing on a smaller scale

If a world trip is a bit beyond your budget, you can start small. Very small. Many of the seven natural wonders of the world can be comfortably viewed from space. The New Seven Wonders can also be found in satellite images, but they are harder to identify and would not be visible to an astronaut zooming around the Earth on the International Space Station (ISS).

Perhaps the most striking wonder from space is the Northern Lights. Astronaut Bob Hines tweeted: ‘Absolutely SPECTACULAR Aurora today!!!’ along with a series of images taken aboard the ISS of the Aurora Borealis in August 2022.

While the harbor of Rio de Janeiro is easily visible from space (best seen at night or on the MOVA Earth at Night Globe, see image above), it is the largest natural bay in the world. Christ the Redeemer – with its towering height of 98 feet, a span of 92 feet, and its permanent position on Mount Corcovado, from where it overlooks the same harbor – is not.

The Great Wall of China is considered the greatest space-based myth and is not clearly visible from space. For many years, it was regarded as the only ‘man-made object visible from space.’ The myth was debunked in 2004 when Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei commented: ‘The Earth looked very beautiful from space, but I did not see the Great Wall.’

Victoria Falls (the largest falling water area in the world) can be seen from space as a clear white line amidst lush greens and deep blues at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. A few years ago, images of Victoria Falls were taken by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite mission and can be viewed in a narrated video released by the European Space Agency.

An unlikely pair of wonders

Among the total of 15 wonders, two stand out as a pair of bookends. They are the oldest and the newest. One is man-made, the other naturally occurring. The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt was built between 2550 and 2490 BC, while the Paricutin Volcano in Mexico emerged in 1943. Both have been captured in satellite images and both had witnesses to their creation, although the Paricutin Volcano is the only wonder of the volcanoes among the 15 whose witnesses are still alive today.

The Paricutin Volcano began on February 20, 1943, as an eruption in a flat field about 200 miles west of Mexico City. It destroyed two villages and peaked at 9,210 feet in 1952 when it entered a dormant state. Many of the eruptions were captured on film, providing a unique glimpse into one of the youngest volcanoes on Earth and sealing its fate as a natural wonder of the world.

One of the clearest images of the Great Pyramids of Giza was taken by astronaut Terry Verts on his last day aboard the ISS in 2015. The pyramids can be seen as structures casting a shadow in the sun, unlike the brown squares in the sea of Tan Desert that we knew before. Visiting the pyramids (from space or in person) is not an easy journey, but one that brings great rewards upon reaching the destination.

Every view of a wonder of the world is good

Whether you view them in groups on a large tour, individually on a backpacking trip, or as images from space comfortably from your living room, the wonders of the world are beautiful treasures that everyone should experience and explore by every possible means. We wish you a safe and impressive journey around the globe.