Top 10 Ultimate Travelist unveiled

By Maria Kyriacou

Top 10 Ultimate Travelist unveiled
After whittling down the best 500 places in the world for travellers, Australia has narrowly missed out on the number one spot on Lonely Planet's Ultimate List. NZ has taken out an impressive nine of the world’s all-time best places to visit.

The  Ultimate Travelist, published today ranked places worth visiting in order of brilliance with results weighted in favour of sights that received consistently high votes.

So, without further ado, here are the top 10: 

  1. Temples of Angkor, Cambodia: “Angkor isn’t just an interesting ruin – it’s a spiritual epiphany in stone.”
  2. Great Barrier Reef, Australia: “This vital ecosystem enthrals all who visit, with abundant bird life and countless tropical islands and beaches.”
  3. Machu Picchu, Peru: “No-one really knows what happened here. Wander wide-eyed around the mysterious mountain metropolis in a liberating knowledge vacuum”
  4. Great Wall of China: “A few rugged souls trek the entire length of the wall, but even if you pick just one section, you’ll be humbled by its aura of indestructibility.”
  5. Taj Mahal, India: “There’s no other building in India that so perfectly encapsulates the attitudes and atmosphere of its era.”
  6. Grand Canyon National Park, USA: “Come here to hike, to raft the wild Colorado River, to spot condors, black bears and elk, or simply to marvel.”
  7. Colosseum, Italy: “Two millennia on, the hold it exerts over anyone who steps foot inside is as powerful as ever.”
  8. Iguazú Falls, Brazil – Argentina: “Big? These falls are mind-bogglingly mighty: tourist boats that ply the foaming plunge pools below look like matchsticks.”
  9. Alhambra, Spain: “Put simply, this is Spain’s most beautiful monument.”
  10. Aya Sofya, Turkey: “Like the beautiful city in which it stands, Aya Sofya represents a unique crossroads of continents and faiths.”

Although New Zealand doesn’t feature on the Top 10 list, nine NZ mega-sites made it on to the list with  Fiordland National Park (at #17, beating Australia’s #33-ranked Uluru), Abel Tasman National Park (#35), Franz Josef & Fox Glacier (#81), Lake Wanaka (#94), Stewart Island (#125), Bay of Islands (#130), Whakarewarewa (#276), Waitomo Caves (#280), and Te Papa Tongarewa (#285).

So dream away, and tell us where would your ultimate destination would be?

 

 

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