Whether you're seeing Earth from sky high or looking up from below sea level, many of the world's natural wonders look like landscapes from other worlds, imaginary or real. These otherworldly, immersive destinations help travelers step away from their realities and feel as though they've landed in a galaxy far away. Many have been used as inspiration for top-grossing movies, like the Avatar series and will be recognizable to fans of science-fiction television shows like Star Trek.
Pandora Explorer
Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Zhangjiajie, China
Part of the larger Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park features quartz-sandstone pillar-like rock formations that disappear thousands of feet below into thick foliage. One of the pillars was renamed Avatar Hallelujah Mountain in 2010 after the Avatar movie, which used the landscape as inspiration for its Pandora landscape.
Dunes Meet Mountains
Carcross Desert
Carcross, Yukon
High in Canada's Yukon is an otherworldly destination where mountains meet sand on the British Columbia border. Though too humid to be considered a true desert, the area's vastly diverse landscape is courtesy of the last glacial period, which transported silt to the area.
A Nearby Galaxy
Vasquez Rocks
Natural Area Park, Los Angeles
A long list of film and television productions, including three Star Trek films, have used these jagged peaks to depict out-of-this-world habitats. The angular rock formations are the result of rapid erosion as they pushed up from the Earth's crust 25 million years ago.
Sacred Statues
Easter Island
Chile
Located in the remote southeastern Pacific Ocean, Easter Island sits over 2,200 miles west of Chile and 4,500 miles south of Hawaii, making it one of the most isolated islands in the world. A thousand "moai" statues made by the early Rapa Nui people dot the island. In part due to their delicate condition, local law imposes strict fines for touching them. Tradition states that the statues are faces of native ancestors, and efforts are currently underway to restore them.
Outer Space Explorer
Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area
Stonecrest, Georgia
Arabia Mountain is one of three monadnocks—isolated, rocky mountains—in the Atlanta area (Stone and Panola Mountains are the others). All three are hikeable, and cresting the top allows for an unobstructed view of the landscape below. Some experts say it's as close to the experience of walking on the moon's surface as we have on Earth.
Salty Situation
Salar de Uyuni
Daniel Campos Province, Bolivia
The world's largest salt flat is as far away from big-city life as it gets. Located deep in the Andes Mountains, the flat covers 3,900 square miles. Its salty crust sits atop a pool that is rich in lithium, a key component in batteries. The unique site has been used to represent otherworldly locations in various movies including Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
Sandy Shipwrecks
Skeleton Coast
Namibia
The sand and rocky outcroppings here are encroached on by remnants of man's thirst for exploration. Though its name, "Skeleton Coast," derives from the whale and seal bones that once washed ashore, today the site is more like something from Planet of the Apes with beached shipwrecks dotting the landscape.
Small but Spectacular
Elafonissi Island
Crete, Greece
The entirety of the island is a nature preserve, keeping its pink sand beaches and turquoise water photo ready, stunning with natural beauty that you won't find anywhere else on Earth. Pinkness of the sand varies by season.
Cotton Castle
Thermal Waters
Pamukkale, Turkey
The UNESCO World Heritage Site is a natural wonder tucked into the hills of the Denizli Province in southern Turkey. The rocks and pools, which some describe as looking like "white velvet" and a "cotton castle," are located just below the ancient city of Hierapolis. It is also home to the tomb of Philip the Apostle.
Volcanic Exploration
Mount Aso
Kyushu, Japan
The largest active volcano in Japan features five peaks and a caldera with a circumference of 75 miles. Its latest eruption was in 2021. Visitors to Aso Kujū National Park can hike the mountain or take a bus to the crater's edge. The site, on Japan's southern Kyushu Island, is considered sacred.
Worm Light, Worm Bright
Waitomo Glowworm Caves
Waitomo, New Zealand
Stars can light up a night's sky in the great wide open, but for a wholly unique experience, visit the Waitomo Glowworm Caves on New Zealand's North Island. Alongside stalagmites and stalactites in the Glowworm Grotto are thousands of twinklers on the ceiling providing an unforgettable scene viewable via boat ride.
Correction 7/5/2023 1:58 pm: A previous version identified Kennesaw Mountain as a monadnock. Stone Mountain is the correct location.
About the writer
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull leads the Autos team at Newsweek. She has written extensively about the auto industry for U.S. News & ... Read more
