Breathtaking and colourful natural wonders to behold
Places around the world that astonish with their colourful hues and beautiful views
Autumn’s chill is beginning to set in, bringing with it the beautiful transition from summer’s green glow to the crisp orange, red and yellow hues of fall. While the whole world may not be privy to the colourful change of fall foliage, there are many places around the globe where Mother Nature displays colourful forms of beauty, often year round.
Cheapflights.ca, a travel deals site, compiled a list of the top 10 most colourful natural wonders. Here are five colourful North and South American sites from the list: Upper Antelope Canyon, Page, Ariz: Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo land near Page, Ariz. The Navajo refer to Upper Antelope Canyon as Tse bighánílín, meaning “the place where water runs through rocks.” From mid-March until early October, beams of sunlight enter the canyon, giving it the orange-red glow tourists from all over come to admire. Antelope is the most visited slot canyon in the American Southwest and a year-round attraction. Morning Glory Pool, Wyo: Located in the Upper Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, the funnel-shaped Morning Glory Pool is a hot spring named for its close resemblance to the morning glory flower. The hot spring itself reaches a temperature of 77 C. The unique colours of orange and yellow are caused by thermophilic bacteria, which thrive in hot temperatures. This popular attraction can be reached by road; it’s less than 4 kilometres away from the Old Faithful Visitors Center. Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs: This red rock formation was originally named Red Rock Corral, but, when two surveyors visited the spot, they decided it was a site fit for the gods and renamed it Garden of the Gods. This National Natural Landmark is in a free public park that’s open daily, and tourists and locals use it for hiking, rock climbing and to take advantage of the scenery. Pink Sands Beach, Bahamas: You’ll find plenty of white-sand beaches when you visit the islands of the Caribbean and the Bahamas, but pink sand is much harder to come by. That is unless you visit Pink Sands Beach on Harbour Island in the Ba- hamas. Frommer’s guide books named it one of the best beaches in the world, and tourists claim it’s ideal for swimming thanks to the yearround warm water and nearby coral reef that calms waves coming in from the open Atlantic Ocean. Caño Cristales, Meta, Colombia: This South American attraction located in Meta, Colombia, is known as “The River of Five Colours” or “The Liquid Rainbow,” and it’s easy to see why. Visitors come to Serrania de la Macarena National Park to gaze at the natural beauty of the flowing water, which features hues of pinks, reds, yellows and greens as a result of the blue water mixed with yellow and green sand. The pink comes from a plant species on the river floor called Macarenia clavigera., which turns bright red under the water’s surface.
Rounding out the list of worldwide colourful wonders are: Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park, Gansu Province, China; Five Flower Lake, Jiuzhaigou Valley, China; Tulip Fields, Netherlands; Lac Rose, Senegal, and Lake Hillier, Australia.
For the complete list, visit cheapflights.ca/travel/top-10-most-colourful-natural-wondersCheapflights.ca