The world is filled with marvelous ancient wonders. These places tantalize the mind and teach us a lot about our past and about ancient cultures. Everyone has their favorite sites in the world and there is even an official seven wonders of the world. There are far more than seven though. Here are some of the best:

Chichn Itz, Mexico- This was the last Mayan temple built. This huge pyramid in Mexico attracts thousands of tourists each week and is one of the most popular attractions in all of central America. This ruin will give you a lot of insight into Mayan culture and how they constructed their temples and why.

Christ Redeemer, Brazil- This statue of Jesus Christ stands around 40 meters tall, atop the Corcovado mountain ranges overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Heitor da Silva Costa, a Brazilian designer designed this wonderful piece of art and French sculptor Paul Landowski sculpted it. It is one of the world’s best-known monuments. Christ with open arms symbolizes the charitable attitude of Brazilians and their hospitable nature.

Machu Picchu in Peru- In the 15th century, the Incan Emperor Pachactec built a city on the mountain known as Machu Picchu (”Old Mountain”). Above the Urubamba River in the Amazon jungle lies this architectural wonder that is half way up the Andes ranges. Every year, millions of people hike the four day Incan trail to reach this place. It’s a wonder achievement to what people cane accomplish if they travel around the world.

The Taj Mahal, India- This giant mausoleum was built on the orders of emperor Shah Jahan, the fifth Muslim Moghul emperor, in honor of the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal. Built out of white marble and standing in formally laid-out gardens, the Taj Mahal is regarded as the jewel of Muslim art in India.

There are many great places in the world worth visiting. With over 5,000 years of recorded human history, there are more than just a few great world wonders and historic sites. No matter what country you are in, you’ll find windows into our past. Make sure you visit these places and help conserve them so future generations can learn about them too.

Tags: destination tips, Destinations, historical sites, Travel

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 14th, 2009 at 3:46 am and is filed under Destinations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.