Travel alerts straight to your inbox:

Tag: Seven Wonders of the World View All Tags

261 Natural Wonders Ain't One Per Country

January 9, 2009 at 9:17 AM | 0 Comments

The bizarrely long-winded 7 Wonders of Nature project has reached the next stage: After voting closed on December 31, they've now got a list of beautiful natural spots around the world that we can vote on until July 7, when the top 77 will continue the journey.

This just-completed round culled the long list to one per country, or so we thought. Turns out it is one per country plus a bunch of places that span two or more countries. Who knew, for example, that the Great Barrier Reef spans Australia and Papua New Guinea? A neat way for Oz to get two bites of the cherry, since they have a nomination in for Uluru, too.

Other famed natural wonders to make the cut include Niagara Falls, the Galapagos Islands and the Danube River, plus a whole host of national parks, lakes and rivers that we're afraid we haven't heard of yet.

If you're tempted to get involved you can pick up to seven sites that you think are wonders of nature from their list of 261. But if you're as lazy as we are, wait until they reduce the list later in the year.

Related Stories:
· New 7 Wonders of Nature [Official Site]
· Two Aussie Natural Wonders Shortlisted [SMH]
· Seven Wonders coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: nosha]

Endless, Biased, But Still Interesting

December 26, 2008 at 9:00 AM | 0 Comments

We haven't checked in on the 7 Wonders of Nature project lately--which you may recall is a spin-off from the New 7 Wonders of the World announced in mid-2007--and that's probably because we thought the contest was just dragging on for so long.

But suddenly, there's action. Nominating votes close on December 31 for the national nominee--one site per country that will carry through to the next voting round. There's been a sudden flurry of instructions to patriotically vote for your favorite local natural site, whether that's the Jeita Grotto in Lebanon or the Chocolate Hills in the Philippines or any of 77 spots found on the current contest list.

We've been skeptical in the past about the voting system for these 7 Wonders contests and this time round things look a bit skewed: It's hard to find a non-Asian destination in the top 20 right now. Not that Asia doesn't have a bunch of beautiful places, but we figure the rest of the world does too.

We won't judge too harshly until the contest actually finishes. The next round of voting (once one-per-country nominees are decided) finishes on July 7, 2009; from July 21 there'll be another vote open to pick one of the final 21 nominees, while the organizers travel around to visit them. A final decision will be released in 2011. Which is not exactly soon.

Related Stories:
· New 7 Wonders [Official Site]
· Lebanon Caves Vie To Be Official Wonder Of Nature [AFP, via Google]
· Kids Decide Seven New Wonders [Jaunted]
· New Seven Wonders of the World Winners Announced [Jaunted]

[Photo of Halong Bay, currently #2: ranggamaharga]

Possible Museum Travel: Egypt's Underwater Treasures

September 17, 2008 at 9:50 AM | 0 Comments

Serious hidden treasures from Cleopatra's palace lie beneath the waters of the Mediterranean, off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. And a proposed underwater museum will showcase these sunken wonders if UNESCO determines that the project is feasible.

Cleopatra's palace was built on an island in one of the largest human-made bays on the planet. Earthquakes unfortunately submerged her opulent lair until the 1990s when archaeologist-divers found the thousands of precious objects.

The museum could be truly astounding, showing off 26 sphinxes, statues bearing gifts to the gods, Roman and Greek shipwrecks and pieces of the Pharos of Alexandria lighthouse--one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.

Related Stories:
· Underwater Museum Planned for Egypt's Alexandria [National Geographic]
· Egypt Travel coverage [Jaunted]
· Seven Wonders of the World coverage [Jaunted]

Enticing-Sounding Destinations: The Chocolate Hills

May 14, 2008 at 9:30 AM | 1 Comment

We admit we don't know everything about every destination in the whole world, but we sure are surprised that we hadn't heard of the Chocolate Hills until now. They're found in Bohol in the Philippines and have hit the headlines because they're in the running to be one of the new Natural Wonders of the World.

But before you book your ticket, don't get too excited: They're not actually hills made of chocolate, as we'd hoped. Instead they are a weird set of over 1,200 cone-shaped hills, all of a similar size, and because the green grass that covers them turns brown during the dry season, they were named the Chocolate Hills.

Two of the chocolate hills have resorts on them, and at one there's a special viewing station which is part of the Chocolate Hills Complex. They've also got a hostel, swimming pool and a restaurant: Here's hoping their menu features lots of chocolate.

Related Stories:
· Chocolate Hills Back in Race [Cebu Daily News]
· Can You Afford A Natural Wonder? [Jaunted]

[Photo: crazyegg95]

Cox's Bazar Is #1: Isn't That Bizarre?

February 21, 2008 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

Yes, we've already expressed our skepticism about the Seven Wonders of Nature contest, but this follow-up to the Seven New Wonders of the World project is getting so much attention we simply can't ignore it.

With more than ten months of voting left until the shortlist for the Seven Wonders of Nature is made, the leading contenders at the moment are Cox's Bazar Beach (pictured) and the Sundarbans Forest, both in Bangladesh. More recognizably, Vietnam's Halong Bay is sitting in the number three spot, while better known landmarks like Mount Fuji, Niagara Falls and the Great Barrier Reef languish outside the top ten.

Not that there's anything wrong with Bangladeshi beaches, but perhaps the voting system might still be a bit out of whack?

Related Stories:
· Bangladesh Beach, Forest Top Natural Wonders List [Reuters]
· Ha Long Bay Makes Top Three [VietnamNet]
· Seven Wonders Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: unicorns547]

Kids Decide Seven New Wonders

October 5, 2007 at 9:05 AM | 0 Comments

Whether you consider the New 7 Wonders project a stroke of marketing genius, a selfish farce or a magical way of recognizing the modern world's most important tourism sites, you'll probably be surprised to learn that the majority of votes were cast by children in the developing world.

Leading up to the big announcement on 07-07-07, participants the world over could vote for the likes of Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China to make the list of the world's New 7 Wonders. Votes could be cast by internet, SMS or phone. Europe, the US and Oceania practically ignore the whole rigmarole while Mali (home to nominated-but-unsuccessful-wonder Timbuktu) voted more in one week than Germany did the whole stretch of the contest.

Just why the organizers have released these voting statistics now isn't quite clear. Perhaps they think that we'll all go soft and gushy to hear it was the under-18s who really voted up a storm; but shouldn't the people who've had a chance to see and appreciate a few of the wonders be the ones to vote?

Related Stories:
· New 7 Wonders Coverage [Jaunted]
· World's Children Chose New Wonders [Herald Sun]
· New 7 Wonders [Official Site]

[Photo: achakladar]

Mobs Descend on Machu Picchu

October 2, 2007 at 9:15 AM | 0 Comments

We like to think that Machu Picchu really is a great destination, not to be detracted from just because it wound up on the biased and strange New 7 Wonders list. So it shouldn't come as any surprise to hear that tourist numbers to Peru's famous Inca ruins are rising rapidly.

Unfortunately we're not sure if this is a good thing. With tourist numbers constantly rising in the past decade--they'd already reached 400,000 a year in 2003, and 850,000 are predicted this year--they'll soon reach the one million a year mark. Disregarding peaks in tourist traffic, that means on average we'll have to share Machu Picchu with another 3,000 cameras and backpacks on the day we visit, and that makes a remote scenic ruin turn into something of a tourist trap.

Related Stories:
· 800,000 Tourists to Visit Machu Picchu [Living in Peru]
· Waterworld II: Machu Picchu Island [Jaunted]
· New 7 Wonders of the World Announced [Jaunted]

[Photo: Marc Schandro]

Can You Afford a Natural Wonder?

August 7, 2007 at 9:30 AM | 0 Comments

It seems we're not the only ones who have been a little cynical about the New Seven Wonders of the World project, in which a Swiss guy and his associates got to spend a couple of years traveling the world before announcing the result of the (heavily South-American-biased) vote and declaring seven sights the best of the modern world.

Now they've started the New 7 Wonders of Nature project, along similar lines, but something we read from Yemen this week has got us even more concerned. Discussing the nomination of Yemeni island Scootra, the Yemen Times explained that people can vote for Scootra (and other nominees) to make the final list, and:

The first vote will be free and then any additional votes may be acquired through payment to NOWC organization [the for-profit arm in Switzerland].

At least we know how we can get our favorite natural spot to win now.

Related Stories:
· New 7 Wonders coverage [Jaunted]
· 7 Wonders or 1 Wonderful Commercial Venture [Houston Chronicle]
· Scootra Nominated As  Natural Wonder [Yemen Times]

[Photo: Dakota]

New Seven Wonders of the World Winners Announced

July 9, 2007 at 8:46 AM | 1 Comment

The much-hyped New 7 Wonders of the World project finally reached a conclusion on the weekend. In Portugal, symbolically on 07-07-07, the results of 100 million internet and text message votes decided the modern version of the 7 Wonders of the World.

So congratulations are in order for Petra, Jordan; Machu Picchu, Peru; the Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Brazil; the Chichen Itza pyramid, Mexico; the Roman Colosseum, Italy; the Taj Mahal, India; and the Great Wall of China. They now have one more promotional tag. Significant losers included the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty and the Sydney Opera House.

If you've been under a big rock the past year or so and feel like you've missed out, don't fret. The organizers have obviously realized they're on to a good thing--there's a lot of travel involved in a project like this--so now the quest to find the New 7 Wonders of Nature begins.

Related Stories:
· Seven Wonders Sing-A-Long [Jaunted]
· Machu Picchu coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Teen Wolf]

Seven Wonders Sing-A-Long

May 8, 2007 at 9:45 AM | 0 Comments

Results of the The New 7 Wonders promotion are getting closer: on 07.07.07 (yep, that's July 7 this year), the big announcement will be made in Lisbon about which seven tourist sights should expect an environment-destroying boost in visitor numbers in the coming years. If you want to get into the spirit of world wonders before then, you can always listen to the official New 7 Wonders of the World song.

That's right--such a song exists. British band The Dolmen sing a sentimental try-hard tune with lines like "Dreaming as children/On the threshold of history" and a chorus repeating "New 7 Wonders of the World" a couple of times to often. Don't say we didn't warn you.

Related Stories:
· Rough Guides Can Make Lists Too [Jaunted]
· The New 7 Wonders [Jaunted]

New 7 Wonders Tensions

January 30, 2007 at 10:05 AM | 3 Comments


You might remember that a guy with a bright idea and an urge to travel around the world for a long time (at someone else's expense) came up with the idea of voting for the world's New 7 Wonders, with it all winding up on 7/7/07. As the tour progresses, some nominated wonders are not acting so wonderfully.

Egyptians in particular are unhappy that their pyramids were nominated at all. They think as the only surviving ancient wonders of the world, the pyramids don't need the humiliation of being involved in a vote where they have only a 1 in 3 chance of ending up a Wonder--Egyptian government officials even refused to meet with the New 7 Wonders team.

Meanwhile down in Sydney, tourism officials are campaigning for people to vote for the the Sydney Opera House as it languishes in the bottom 7 of the 21 nominated wonders, according to recent voting updates. And the Peruvian government has paid for posters on city streets to urge locals to vote for Macchu Pichu. Might the New 7 Wonders just be a matter of who has the best marketing? Not that we'd be cynical about this, of course.

[Photo: Goldmanoz]

Related Stories:
· Egypt Derides 7 Wonders Contest [Washington Post]
· Peru Pushes for Inca City [MercoPress]
· The New 7 Wonders [Jaunted]

Cheap NYC Hotel Room Not on the Short List

January 23, 2007 at 10:10 AM | 0 Comments


Do you vaguely remember learning about the seven wonders of the world back in middle school? We don't either. So we did some hard-hitting research and discovered they were first chronicled by some old, dead Greek guys interested in sightseeing. Cool, right? Well, the old wonders are all but gone now. But, luckily the quest continues for the world's favorite new wonders.

In a (seemingly effective!) publicity stunt, "film producer, author and aviator" Bernard Weber has asked the world to decide which of its landmarks are the most wondrous. We first told you about the short list last year, but now that voting clock is ticking. Admittedly, this whole operation seems a little fly-by-night, but, hey, we're not entering our credit card info. (You do have to register with the site to vote for your fave wonders.)

There are a couple surprises among an otherwise impressive field. Like the Eiffel Tower--a bit too small and too easy to find, we think. And the Christ Redeemer statue in Rio--a little too chintzy, no? What about the Giza Pyramids? They're already a wonder of the world! The rest of the contenders, though, definitely have wonder-of-the-world potential--including Petra, above, which you'll remember from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

[Photo: Kenny Maths]

Related Stories:
· New 7 Wonders [Official Site]
· Seven Wonders of the World [Wikipedia]
· The New 7 Wonders [Jaunted]