Out of the Ordinary Destinations For Your Travel Bucket List
The world is an amazing place, offering so many different sights and sounds. But, most people never get to see the truly amazing places, because they are too busy visiting the Vatican in Rome, beaches of Cancun, or the Eiffel Tower in Paris. If you really want to see some “off the beaten track” destinations then you need to go places where most other tourists haven’t heard of. This is our top 10, out of the ordinary, destinations to need to have on your travel bucket list.
Salar de Uyuni, the World’s Largest Mirror (Bolivia)
At over 10,582 square kilometers Salar de Uyuni, or Salar de Tunupa, in Bolivia is the largest salt flat in the world. It is located in the Potosiand Oruro, south-west Bolivia, near the crest of the Andes, at an elevation of 3,656 meters above sea level. Make sure you take plenty of drinking water with you!
Image source: https://dereklow.co/salar-de-uyuni/
The Door to Hell (Derweze, Turkmenistan)
In order to avoid a potential “environmental disaster”, in 1971, Soviet scientists had the bright idea to light a massive natural gas fire in the middle of the Turkmeni desert, and it’s been burning ever since, for nearly fifty years! The Door to Hell is located along the ancient Silk Road in the Karakum Desert.
Desert Oasis of Huacachina (Peru)
Located in south-western Peru, Huacachina is a small little oasis town, with a small little lake in the middle, surrounded by HUGE sand dunes! You can do sand boarding, dune guggying, drink wine at the local vineyard, or just laze around!
Five Flower Lake (Jiuzhaigou National Park, China)
Located in the Jiuzhai Valley, at the edge of the Tibetan plateau, Five Flower Lake in Jiuzhaigou park is a beautiful sapphire blue, crystal clear lake. UNESCO declared it as a World Heritage site in 1992. What’s actually hard to believe is that this lake is in one of the most populated cities in the world!
Image source: https://www.trover.com/u/2869267745
Monastery of Santa Maria dell’Isola (Tropea, Italy)
High on a rocky promontory on the breathtaking coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea sits Santa Maria dell’Isola, a fairytale-like medieval a 4th century monastery accessible only by climbing up a winding flight of steps carved directly into the cliffside on Italy’s “Coast of the Gods”.
Hitachi Seaside Park (Ibaraki, Japan)
The Hitachi Seaside Park is located about 2 hours north-east of Tokyo, in Ibaraki Prefecture. Spread out across 350 hectares, it has some beautiful green spaces and seasonal flowers in an amazing array of colors. Definitely one for flower enthusiast to visit. The best time to visit it late April to early May to get the best view of the flowers.
Image source: https://veltra.com
The Inverted Tower of Quinta da Regaleira (Sintra, Portugal)
The Initiation Well, more commonly refered to as The Inverted Tower, is a World Heritage protected site. The site that the well is located on dates back to the early Neolithic (5th millennium BC).
Kampong Thom (Cambodia)
Most travelers to Cambodia will have heard about Angkor Wat, but there are many other similar sites dotted all around Cambodia. While crowds throng to Angkor Wat, visiting some of the lesser known sites will give you a better opportunity to see and do more without clashing with other tourists. Kampong Thom is on the road less-traveled by throngs of tourists. It is situated to half way from Phohm Penh and Siem Reap.
Fingal’s Cave (Isle of Staffa, Scotland)
This astonishingly geometric cave has inspired everyone from Jules Verne to Pink Floyd. At 72 feet tall and 270 feet deep, what makes this sea cave so visually astoundingly is the hexagonal columns of basalt, shaped in neat six-sided pillars that make up its interior walls. These fractured columns form a crude walkway just above the water level so that visitors to go far inside and explore the cave.
Enchanting River / Hinatuan River (Surigao del Sur, Philippines)
The Philippines has a lot of natural beauty worth visiting. Amongst them is the Hinatuan River (Enchanting River) in the province of Surigao del Sur. The small river, only about 200 meters long (so, not really a river) has a magical feel about it, and mystifies all who visit!
Image source: http://www.tupanggala.com/enchanted-river/
