TOUCH THE SKY
... that’s how you feel while standing on the world’s most amazing viewing platforms
The best views from the world’s top viewing platforms. And we mean ‘top’.
Le Pas dans le Vide – the step into the void – is the name of the 2.5 m glass cage (previous spread), situated off the uppermost terrace of the Aiguille du Midi mountain at an altitude of 3842 m in the French Alps. Those brave enough to step into the ‘void’ find themselves hovering over a rocky abyss more than 1000 m below them – the ultimate adrenaline rush.
Visitors to the Grand Canyon Skywalk in Arizonia (above) are prevented from plunging 1200 m into the chasm below them only by a 13 cm layer of glass. The horseshoe-shaped bridge extends 21 m over probably the most famous canyon in the world. Since its construction in 2007, however, the Americans have had to relinquish the title of longest cantilever glass-bottomed bridge. Opened in 2015, the Longgang Skywalk in southwest China extends a further 6 m out into thin air.
Probably one of the best ways of seeing Sydney is to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge (right). But this is genuinely no walk in the park. In total, visitors conquer some 1500 m of winding around structural elements and climbing steep staircases to experience the apex of the steel colossus, which is itself a mere 134 m above sea level. Anyone fit enough to scale the 1439 steps is rewarded with a fantastic panorama of the iconic city skyline, Opera House and the harbour.
Dubbed the ‘walk of faith’, a glass walkway 1430 m above the ground (left) winds around Tianmen Mountain in China offering anyone with nerves of steel the chance to look down into a 1200 m deep chasm. The only catch? Visitors are required to first put cloth slippers over their shoes. Why? Apparently it’s because they couldn’t find anyone willing to work as a cleaner on the skywalk.
A walk along the façade of the CN Tower in Toronto (below left) is certainly record-breaking as the Canadian TV tower is home to the world’s highest walkway on the outside of a building. Although everyone taking part in the 356-m-high walk is secured by special wires, it’s definitely not one for the faint-hearted.
A mast 82 m high supports one of the longest, cable-stayed pedestrian bridges in the world. The 125-m-long Langkawi Sky Bridge (below) in Malaysia offers visitors a breathtaking overhead view of the rainforest. But it’s not only the view that’s spectacular. The curved bridge’s construction was a challenge, too. Sections of it were flown by helicopter to the top of Mount Mat Cinchang, where they were assembled and put in place.