7 Natural Wonders You Need to See

In 2007, a global poll conducted by the New7Wonders Foundation selected a new list of wonders based on a fair votes from people worldwide. It's campaign started in 2001 to choose wonders of the world from the selection of existing 200 monuments. A free web based voting system made it possible to find them. Here are the New Seven Wonders:

1. Great Wall of China (China)

   

   • A massive series of walls and fortifications built to protect China from invasions, stretching over 13,000 miles. It's was built from as early as the 7th century BC. The collection of fortifications known as the Great Wall of China has historically had a number of different names in both Chinese and English.

2. Petra (Jordan)

   

   • An ancient city carved into the rose-red cliffs, famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system. It was the capital of the Nabataean Kingdom around 300 BCE. UNESCO has described Petra as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage”. Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. Visitor numbers reach close to a million tourists every year.

3. Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)

   

   • A 98-foot (30-meter) statue of Jesus Christ located atop the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro. It was completed in 1931. The statue weighs 635 metric tons (625 long, 700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca National Park overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro.

4. Machu Picchu (Peru)

   

   • An ancient Incan city located high in the Andes Mountains, believed to have been built in the 15th century and abandoned in the 16th century.

5. Chichen Itza (Mexico)

   

   • A large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya civilization, famous for the El Castillo pyramid, which aligns with the sun during the equinoxes.

6. Roman Colosseum (Italy)

   

   • A massive amphitheater in Rome that could hold up to 80,000 spectators. It was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles.

7. Taj Mahal (India)

   

   • A stunning white marble mausoleum built by Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is widely considered one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
   • Construction of the mausoleum was completed in 1648, but work continued on other phases of the project for another five years. The first ceremony held at the mausoleum was an observance by Shah Jahan, on 6 February 1643, of the 12th anniversary of the death of Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 at a cost estimated at the time to be around ₹5 million, which in 2023 would be approximately ₹35 billion (US$77.8 million).