Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is a city located high in the Andres Mountains in modern Peru. Machu Picchu was rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham. Machu Picchu is comprised of approximately 200 buildings.

The city of Machu Picchu itself was built at the top of a granite mountain. The Incas, using ingenious engineering techniques, were able to transport heavy stone blocks up the mountain side, and once there, they used their excellent masonry skills to produce amazingly polished stones that fit together perfectly.
The citadel is divided into two sectors: the agricultural and the urban, where there are main squares, temples, palaces, storehouses, workshops, stairways, cables and water fountains which run through both sectors, which measure 20 and 10 hectares respectively. Ideal months for visiting Machu Picchu are from June to October as the weather is mild during this time of the year.

Petra, Jordan

Petra was built around the 6th B.C by the Nabataean Arabs. It was discovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. Petra, the legendary lost city carved into the walls of a hidden desert canyon.It is the most famous sites of Jordan.

Petra’s antiquities, natural beauty is feeling at different times of the day,so you can stay there 1 to 3 nights or more. If you’re staying at one of the luxury resort hotels near Petra, you can plan for a relaxing, exotic desert holiday amid fantastic environs, enjoying local foods, fun and the chance to search shops to buy crafts belong to this region. If you want to trip around the city,the best time is early morning for this.Don’t try to walk around because of heat.

Chichen Itza, Mexico

The sacred city of the Itza, called Chichen-Itza in Maya, is located 75 miles east of Merida, the Capital of the State of Yucatan, Mexico. This archaeological site is known among the most important of the Maya culture. Now most are mounds, but about thirty may still be seen by tourists.

The ruins are divided into two groups.One group belongs to the classic Maya Period and the other group belongs to Maya-Toltec period. Chichen Itza is the centre of political, religious and military power in Yucatán.

The Mayas who lived in Chichén-Itzá built many palaces, temples, and monuments. The Mayas were great artists, they painted them with many colors and decorated them with beautiful sculptures. In many of them you can see a feathered snake. It was its main god named Kukulcan. The Chichén Itzá ruins are amazing.You will experience most enjoyable vacation in this area.

World's Longest Bridge

China: The world's longest cross-sea bridge - which stretches five miles further than the distance between Dover and Calais.

The Jiaozhou Bay bridge is 26.4 miles long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to the offshore island Huangdao.

The road bridge, which is 110ft wide and is the longest of its kind, cost nearly £1billion to build.

Havana (City Underwater)

Havana, Cuba: A team of scientists continues to explore megalithic ruins found in the Yucatan Channel near Cuba. They have found evidence of an extensive urban environment stretching for miles along the ocean shore. Some believe that the civilization that inhabited these predates all known ancient American cultures. So far, only computer models of this mysterious underwater city exist.

Lion City (City Underwater)

Once upon a time, an ancient city in China was named Lion City because Five Lion Mountain loomed large behind it. The city, also known as Shi Cheng, has been buried beneath the water for 53 years. Like the lost Incan City of Machu Picchu was ‘rediscovered,’ so was this lost underwater city that had been founded about 1,300 years ago. Lion City is now located about 85 – 131 feet (26-40 meters) beneath the gorgeous Thousand Island Lake (Qiandao Lake). This valley was submerged when a dam was constructed and a lake was needed. The lake and thousands of islands were man-made. Shi Cheng ‘defied’ the Chinese norm since 5 gates and 5 towers were built into the city instead of 4. Lion City is about the size of 62 football fields. International archaeologists and a film crew recorded the amazing perservation of the lost ‘ruins

Yonaguni-Jima (City Underwater)

Yonaguni-Jima, Japan: Discovered by a dive tour guide some twenty years ago, controversies have arisen around a mysterious pyramids found off the coast of Japan. These structures seem to have been carved right out of bedrock in a teraforming process using tools previously thought unavailable to ancient cultures of the region.

Kwan Phayao (City Underwater)

Kwan Phayao, Thailand: In itself perhaps not unusual, a 500 year old Thai temple sits at the bottom of lake Phayao. What makes this case strange is that the lake was actually made intentionally about 70 years ago, and that there has been recent discussion of potentially restoring the temple at the cost of billions of dollars. However, the ruins serve as a habitat for fish that many have argued should remain untouched.

Bay of Cambay (City Underwater)

Bay of Cambay, India: A few years back discovered the remains of a vast 9,500 year old city. This submerged ruin has intact architecture and human remains. More significantly, this find predates all finds in the area by over 5,000 years, forcing historians to reevaluate their understanding of the history of civilazation in the region. The find has been termed Dwarka, or the ‘Golden City,’ after an ancient city-in-the sea said to belong to the Hindu god Krishna.

Alexandria (City Underwater)

Alexandria, Egypt: Off the shores of Alexandria, the city of Alexander the Great, lie what are believed to be the ruins of the royal quarters of Cleopatra. It is believed that earthquakes over 1,500 years ago were responsible for casting this into the sea, along with artifacts, statues and other parts of Cleopatra’s palace. The city of Alexandria even plans to offer underwater tours of this wonder.

Dolphin With Artificial Tail

Florida, United States – Winter, the dolphin, is the star and subject of the upcoming movie, “Dolphin Tale”, which stars Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, and Harry Connick Jr. Winter lost her tail when she was just three months old. She was caught in a blue crab trap off the coast of Florida and the blood supply to her tail was cut off by the rope. Contrary to what the doctors believed, she managed to live at the Cleanwater Marine Aquarium.

The doctors thought that she would slowly learn to swim without a tail. However, the problem was that swimming would require her to move sideways rather than the normal up-and-down movement and that would cause muscles to get overproduced. This would cause scoliosis, where the spine curves away from the middle or sideways. It was then Kevin Carroll, vice president of prosthetics at Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, helped Winter by designing a special tail prosthetic for her. A prosthetic is an artificial substitute or replacement of a part of the body.

Amazing Jewelry

If we told you about the jewelry made from bottle caps you would probably think that they are funny and trashy-looking piece of junk. However, these photos should convince you that even this kind of jewelry can be very fancy and very elegant too.
Those amazing pieces of jewelry are designed by Israeli painter and designer Yoav Kotik.
All of those items are made from various bottle caps.
He managed to create some cool rings, earrings, necklaces and other pieces of jewelry from carefully collected and chosen bottle caps.

Ski Dubai

Ski Dubai, which is already open, is claimed to be the largest indoor ski resort in the world, with 22,500-square metres of indoor ski area. It is a part of the Mall of the Emirates, which is one of the largest malls in the world. 
An extremely efficient insulation system is the key to maintain the temperature of -1 degrees Celsius during the day and -6 degrees during the night when the snow is produced. 

World Island

The World is a man-made archipelago of 300 islands in the shape of a world map. The World is being built primarily using sand dredged from the sea. Each island ranges from 23,000 m2 to 84,000 m2 (250,000–900,000 square feet or 5.7–21 acres) in size, with 50–100 m of water between each island. The development will cover an area of 9 km in length and 6 km in width, surrounded by an oval breakwater. The only means of transport between the islands will be by boat and helicopter. Prices for the islands will range from $15-45 million (USD). The average price for an island will be around $25 million (USD). Dredging started in 2004 and as of March of 2007 The World is around 90% complete. According to the National Geographic Channel (The Best of Megastructures) the overall price for the World is $14 Billion US Dollars. 

Palm Island

The Palm Islands in Dubai are the three largest artificial islands in the world. They are being constructed by Nakheel Properties, a property developer in the United Arab Emirates, who hired the Dutch dredging and marine contractor Van Oord, one of the world's specialists in land reclamation. The islands are The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira. The Islands are located off the coast of The United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf and will add 520 km of beaches to the city of Dubai. 

Colosseum of the Rome

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre is an ellipticalamphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, built of concrete and stone. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96). The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined because of damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.

The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.

Qila Rohtas

Rohtas Fort is one of the most imposing historical monuments which represents the Pathan period of architecture style in Pakistan. The Rohtas fort lies sprawling upon a low rocky hill  to the north of Jhelum in a bend of the river Ghan (mostly spelled as Kahan). The gigantic fort is founded on steep rocks jutting into the river Kahan, its ramparts protected on the west and north sides by the river and by high hills on its east and south. It was never taken by assault and survives intact to the present day. The main fortifications consist of the massive walls, which extended for more than 4km; they are lined with bastions and pierced by monumental gateways.

Floating Tap

This neat "floating" tap is a real construction in Aqualand de Cadiz, Spain. Lateral thinkers should be able to guess how it's done - the rest of you can hit the preceding link.

Banjosa Lake Rawalakot

Banjosa lake is an artificial lake and a tourist attraction. It is 20 kilometers (12 mi) from the city of Rawalakot in District Poonch in Azad Kashmir Pakistan. It is located at an altitude of 1,981 meters (6,499 ft). It is a beautiful spot for family vacations. 

Ansoo Lake Kaghan

Ansoo Lake is a high-altitude lake (elevation 16,492 feet or 5,027 metres) in the Kaghan Valley in the Mansehra District of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It can be reached by a difficult trek from Saiful Mulook Lake and requires physical and mental fitness. The name “Ansoo” comes from its tear-like shape (the Urdu word Ansoo means teardrop). The lake is said to have been discovered in 1993 by Pakistan Air Force pilots who were flying low above the area. Earlier, the lake was not even known to the locals.

Fastest Hair Cut

The Men Named Ivan Zoot Set three world Records in Hair Cutting.

• Fastest hair cut in the world.
• Most professional hair cuts in 1 hour
• Most professional hair cuts in 24 hours without a break.

He said that "Seriously fast hair is my game."

Tarbela Dam

Tarbela Dam is one of the world’s largest earth and rock filled Dam and greatest water resources development project which was completed in 1976 as a component part of Indus Basin Project. The Dam is built on one of the World’s largest rivers – the Indus known as the “Abbasin” or the father of rivers.

Emerging from the land of glaciers on the northern slopes of Kailash ranges, some 17,000 feet (5182 meters) above sea level, the river Indus has its source near the Lake Mansrowar in the Himalyan catchment area. It flows over 1800 miles (2900 k. metres) before it outfalls into the Arabian sea draining an area of about 372,000 square miles (964,261 sq.kms).

The World Bank accepted Tarbela Dam Project as a part of the Settlement (Replacement) Plan under Indus water treaty in 1965. WAPDA was entrusted with its execution on behalf of the Government of Pakistan. HARZA ENGINEERING COMPANY International who were the General Consultants of WAPDA, carried out the review studies of the Project. In February, 1960 Tippetts – Abbett -  McCarthy – Stratton of USA commonly known as TAMS were appointed the Project Consultants, and were entrusted with the task of investigation, preparation of detailed designs, and contract documents for the project and also the supervision of construction work during its execution.

Mangla Dam

The Mangla Dam is located on the Jhelum River in the Mirpur District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan. It is the sixteenth largest dam in the world. It was built from 1961 to 1967 with funding from the World Bank. The project was designed and supervised by Binnie & Partners of London, and it was built by Mangla Dam Contractors, a consortium of 8 U.S. construction firms, sponsored by Guy F. Atkinson Company of South San Francisco. Mangla Dam Contractors employed Pakistanis, Americans, British, Canadians, Germans, and Irish.

Mica Dam

The Mica Dam (243 m height) is a hydroelectric dam spanning the Columbia River 135 kilometres north of Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada.

Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam

The Sayano-Shushenskaya Dam is located on the Yenisei River, near Sayanogorsk in Khakassia, Russia. It is the largest power plant in Russia and the sixth-largest hydroelectric plant in the world, by average power generation. It's height is approximately 242 m.

Oroville Dam

Oroville Dam is a rockfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California in the United States. At 770 feet (230 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the US and serves mainly for water supply, hydroelectricity generation and flood control.

El Cajón Dam

The El Cajón Dam (234 m) is a hydroelectric power plant located in Western Honduras. Overall, the dam is the fifth highest dam in the Americas, 16th highest in the world. El Cajón is also the highest arch dam in the western hemisphere, and the sixth highest arch dam worldwide.

Karun 4-Dam

The Karun-4 Dam is an arch dam on the Karun River in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran. The dam is a concrete double curvature arch-type and 230 metres (750 ft) high from the foundation] The arch dam design is an ideal one for a dam built in a narrow, rocky gorge to hold back water in a reservoir.

Bhakra Dam

Bhakra Dam is a concrete gravity dam across the Satluj River, and is near the border between Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in northern India. The dam, located at a gorge near the (now submerged) upstream Bhakra village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, is Asia's second highest at 225.55 m (740 ft) high next to the 261m Tehri Dam.

Luzzone Dam

Lago di Luzzone is a lake in Ticino, Switzerland.The arch dam Luzzone (225 m) was completed in 1963. In the years 1997–1998, its height was increased by 17 m. One wall of the dam currently features the world's highest artificial climbing wall. A German manufacturer of climbing holds installed a line of over 650 artificial holds and bolts. The course covers a vertical distance of 165 meters, going from the base of the dam to the top.The climb must be done as a sport climb, in multiple pitches. Furthermore, the lowest holds were placed several meters above the ground to deter casual visitors from climbing on them.

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam (221.46 m), once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada.

Contra Dam

The 220-m tall dam became a popular bungee jumping venue after a James Bond stuntman jumped off it in the opening scene of the 1995 film GoldenEye. The Contra Dam, commonly known as the Verzasca Dam and the Locarno Dam, is an arch dam on the Verzasca River in the Val Verzasca of Ticino, Switzerland. The dam is owned and operated by Verzasca SA and is the fourth tallest in Switzerland.

Mratinje Dam

The Mratinje Dam is a concrete arch dam in the canyon of the Piva River in Montenegro. The dam is 220 metres (720 ft) high, one of the highest in Europe. The dam is 268 metres (879 ft) long and 4.5 metres (15 ft) thick at the crest, while it is 30 metres (98 ft) long and 36 metres (118 ft) thick at the base. The foundations go as deep as 38 metres (125 ft) into the ground. 820,000 cubic metres (1,070,000 cu yd) of concrete and 5,000 tonnes of steel were built into the dam.

Burj Al Arab

Burj Al Arab is a luxury hotel located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. At 321 m (1,053 ft), it is the fourth tallest hotel in the world. Burj Al Arab stands on an artificial island 280 m (920 ft) from Jumeirah beach and is connected to the mainland by a private curving bridge. The shape of the structure is designed to mimic the sail of a ship. Sometimes incorrectly referred to as "the world's 1st seven-Star hotel", its star rating has been often debated.

Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Statistically speaking, it is the largest waterfall in the world. This recognition comes from combining the height and width together to create the largest single sheet of flowing water. Victoria Falls is located on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and travelers can access the falls through either Livingstone, Zambia or Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The falls are also close to the border of Botswana. The Zambezi River, which originates in northern Zambia, serves as the fall's water source.

The name Victoria Falls was given to the falls by the Scottish explorer Dr. David Livingstone. He named the falls after the reining queen at the time. The locals called the falls Mosi-oa-Tunya meaning “smoke that thunders.” Many people still refer to this nickname, which accurately defines the falls.

Forbidden City

Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong in Chinese, was the imperial palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was first built throughout 14 years during the reign of Emperor Chengzu  in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Ancient Chinese Astronomers believed that the Purple Star (Polaris) was in the center of heaven and the Heavenly Emperor lived in the Purple Palace. The Palace for the emperor on earth was so called the Purple City. It was forbidden to enter without special permission of the empeor. Hence its name 'The Purple Forbidden City', usually 'The Forbidden City'.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike peoples or forces. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century BC; these, later joined together and made bigger, stronger, and unified are now collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt, maintained, and enhanced; the majority of the existing wall was reconstructed during the Ming Dynasty.

Other purposes of the Great Wall have included border controls, allowing the imposition of duties on goods transported along the Silk Road, regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the Great Wall were enhanced by the construction of watch towers, troop barracks, garrison stations, signaling capabilities through the means of smoke or fire, and the fact that the path of the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor.

The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east, to Lop Lake in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. A comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has concluded that the Ming walls measure 8,850 km (5,500 mi). This is made up of 6,259 km (3,889 mi) sections of actual wall, 359 km (223 mi) of trenches and 2,232 km (1,387 mi) of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers. Another archaeological survey found that the entire wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196 km (13,171 mi).

Pyramids of Egypt

The Pyramids of Egypt are far bigger than most people would imagine. They are even more amazing when we consider that they were built nearly 4600 years ago. When built, they were covered with a smooth limestone surfacing that gave them a sleek finished look. Today they have a rugged exterior because subsequent ancient rulers filched the surface stones from the monuments for use on their own buildings. 

Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal ("crown of palaces") is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built byMughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian,Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.

Komodo National Park

A diver swims among tropical fish in a Horseshoe Bay coral reef in Indonesia'sKomodo National Park, another of the seven natural wonders on the new list. The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon but was later dedicated to protecting other species as well, including marine animals.

(Related: See Indonesia pictures.)

Even though former UNESCO director-general Federico Mayor Zaragoza is on the New7Wonders panel of experts that helped choose the 28 finalist sites,UNESCO has stressed that it is not in any way involved with any New7Wonders projects. In 2007 the UN body released a statement denying any involvement with the New 7 Wonders of the World campaign and questioning its value.

"The list ... will be the result of a private undertaking, reflecting only the opinions of those with access to the Internet and not the entire world. This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of sites elected by this public."

That sentiment also applies to the New 7 Wonders of Nature, UNESCO spokesperson Gina Doubleday told National Geographic News.

Iguazú Falls

Water cascades down Iguazú Falls on the border between Brazil andArgentina in South America. The crescent-shaped waterfalls are one of the provisional winners of a controversial global contest that allowed people to vote, American Idol style, by Internet and phone to choose the seven natural wonders of the world.

Wonders of Nature

Yellowstone

Wyoming, Montana, Idaho (USA)

Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,472 square miles (8,987 km²), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. Half of the world’s geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining, nearly-intact ecosystem in the Earth’s northern temperate zone. Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened. The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Grizzlies, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Grand Canyon

Arizona (USA)

The canyon, created by the Colorado River over a period of 6 million years, is 277 miles (446 km) long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles (6.4 to 29 km) and attains a depth of more than a mile (1.6 km). Nearly two billion years of the Earth’s history have been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while the Colorado Plateau was uplifted.