Aaron Millar - The 50 Greatest Wonders of the World

GREATEST

WONDERS

OF THE WORLD

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GREATEST

WONDERS

OF THE WORLD

AARON MILLAR

Published in the UK in 2016 by

Icon Books Ltd, Omnibus Business Centre,

3941 North Road, London N7 9DP

email:

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ISBN: 978-178578-124-7

Text copyright 2016 Aaron Millar

The author has asserted his moral rights.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Images see individual pictures

Typeset and designed by Simmons Pugh

Printed and bound in the UK by Clays Ltd, St Ives plc

For my wife Gillian, and our wee family:
truly the greatest wonder of all

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

A aron Millar is an award-winning travel writer. He contributes regularly to The Times, the Guardian, National Geographic Traveller and many other national and international publications. He has presented travel documentaries for National Geographic and is the 2014 British Guild of Travel Writers Travel Writer of the Year. He grew up in Brighton, England and at the time of writing is hiding out in the Rocky Mountains of Boulder, Colorado.

For more about Aaron, visit www.thebluedotperspective.com

Aaron Millar has a great way with words and knows how to bring a place and story to life. A pleasure to read.
Jane Dunford, Travel Editor, Guardian

Aaron Millars travel writing is, quite simply, among the best there is. Both lyrical and informative, it is a joy to read.
Jane Knight, Travel Editor, The Times

INTRODUCTION

W onder is fine dining for the soul. There is no other animal on Earth, as far as we know, that can marvel at the planet like we can, that feels awe and humility, that is moved to tears by the sheer beauty of a sunset or the magnificence of the stars at night. Wonder is what makes us who we are. It drives us to explore, question and connect. And it is that impetus, to fill the world with all the possibilities of our imagination, which has carried us so far. Wonder is the pure joy of being alive. But we must nourish it for it to thrive. If this book aspires to one thing, it is this: live life to the full, celebrate your world and feed your spirit well.

Each wonder in this book is superlative in its own right: the largest, deepest, tallest, most audacious, beautiful, complex and awe-inspiring things on the planet. Some are man-made, some are natural; there are wildlife spectacles and human spectacles too. Many have never been included in a major compendium before. These are wonders not just of our past, but our future, too: the Large Hadron Collider, the most complicated machine ever built; the International Space Station, the greatest international peacetime collaboration in history; the Rio Carnival, the biggest party on the planet.

I hope to take you on a journey. I want you to feel what its like to stand beneath the sweaty heat of the tallest waterfall on the planet or float on your back on the deepest lake in the world, 5,000 feet of darkness screaming up beneath you. I want to walk you up the freezing face of the tallest mountain on Earth; I want you to see 30,000-year-old cave paintings by our primitive ancestors and hear the thunder of a million wildebeest chasing rainbows across the Serengeti. Each wonder has a unique story to tell, each has mysteries hidden within.

But this is not just a list of sights; its also a road map for discovering the greatest experiences of your life. I hope youll travel with me: from your armchair, your commuter train, the pillow propped up on your bed. I hope youll feel something of that spark of wonder as you read this book. But I also want to give you all the information that youll need in order to follow that spark from these pages into the world for real. So, at the end of each chapter, Ill also tell you the best ways to visit these wonders for yourself and reveal the insider tips that will help you get the most out of your experience. From how to hear the sound of infinity in the Taj Mahal to where you can swim up safely to the thundering edge of Victoria Falls.

Socrates said Wisdom begins in wonder. Studies have shown that awe creates empathy and altruism; that it helps us connect with others and the world around us in meaningful and lasting ways. The experience of wonder is not just a fleeting passion; it is a seed from which the best things in life grow. And thats important. Because the more you look for wonder in the world, the more the wonder of the world becomes a part of you.

Wonder transcends all boundaries, nationalities and beliefs. It is a conduit to our past, our future and a sense of something greater than ourselves. It is the stuff that makes life worth living. But most of all, wonder is inside us, every time we look in awe at the world and realise that we are a part of that world too. Explore, dream and feed your soul well.

THE 50 GREATEST WONDERS OF THE WORLD

NORTH AMERICA

BRISTLECONE PINES, CALIFORNIA

Bristlecone Pines are the oldest living organisms on Earth. When the first stones of the Great Pyramids were being laid, Methuselah the name given to what is perhaps the most ancient of these trees at more than 4,800 years old already had its roots in the ground. They pre-date the birth of Christ, the fall of Troy, the invention of the alphabet.

But these remarkable trees are more than just gnarled wood and endurance. Written in the rings of their twisted, wind-battered trunks are the chronicles of their long life. And discovering those stories has led to surprising breakthroughs in our understanding of climate change, forest ecology and even the history of our own civilisation.

Adversity is their friend. Should they be nurtured with water and shelter they simply grow faster and die young. But give them an arid climate, exposed to the wind and cold, one that is too harsh for insects, disease and competition from other plants, and they will simply go on indefinitely. The oldest grove, where Methuselah itself is found, is more than 10,000 feet up in the parched White Mountains of California. Living branches are covered in thick green needles, which themselves survive for a staggering 40 years. The trees grow squat, to no more than 60 feet. As they age they thicken instead, spinning with each inch to strengthen their grain. And no two are alike. Each one has been whipped smooth by the endless scour of windswept sand and ice, like skeletal sculptures twisting up from the earth.