Loading page
Preview data: all rankings, scores, votes, refresh labels, methodology, testing and editorial-process statements in Top 49 are illustrative demo content, not live measurements or documented reviews.
Rank 133Down 3
#13 in Natural Wonders
of 16 ranked entries
Zhangjiajie
Hunan Province, China · Wulingyuan Scenic Area
Over 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars, some rising more than 200 metres, formed through millions of years of erosion and directly inspired the floating "Hallelujah Mountains" in the film Avatar, a connection the local tourism board leaned into so hard it briefly renamed one peak after the movie. Recorded specifics: country China, area (km²) 369, type Geological. Panel highlighted density of dramatic sandstone pillars in a single area is unmatched anywhere else in the world, the Bailong Elevator, built into a cliff face, gives visitors of all mobility levels access to upper viewpoints and extensive walkways and cable cars make an otherwise vertical landscape broadly accessible. The reservation on record is the cliffside Bailong Elevator itself has drawn sustained criticism from conservationists as an intrusive modern structure on a natural formation.
Geological wonderUNESCO-listed
Score breakdown
How Zhangjiajie earned 76.7
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Natural Wonders.
- Scale & visual spectacleweight 30%
- 74.9
- Ecological significanceweight 25%
- 76.3
- Rarity & uniquenessweight 25%
- 78.7
- Visitor accessibilityweight 20%
- 77.2
On the record
Recorded detail
| Country | China |
|---|---|
| Area (km²) | 369 |
| Type | Geological |
| Rating | 8.4 |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Density of dramatic sandstone pillars in a single area is unmatched anywhere else in the world
- The Bailong Elevator, built into a cliff face, gives visitors of all mobility levels access to upper viewpoints
- Extensive walkways and cable cars make an otherwise vertical landscape broadly accessible
Where it gives ground
- The cliffside Bailong Elevator itself has drawn sustained criticism from conservationists as an intrusive modern structure on a natural formation
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
From the same list
Ranked alongside it
Rank 01Editor’s pickGrand Canyon
Arizona, USA · carved over roughly 6 million years
The Colorado River cut roughly 1,800 metres deep into layered rock that exposes close to two billion years of Earth’s geological history in a single cliff face, making it one of the most complete geological timelines visible anywhere on the planet’s surface.
95.6/100 Top 49 score—No change
Rank 02Editor’s pickGreat Barrier Reef
Queensland, Australia · largest living structure on Earth
Built by billions of individual coral polyps over roughly 20,000 years, it is large enough to be visible from space and supports thousands of marine species, but it has suffered five mass bleaching events since 2016 alone as ocean temperatures have risen.
93.7/100 Top 49 score1Down 1
Rank 03Editor’s pickAmazon Rainforest
South America, spanning nine countries
Produces an estimated 20% of the world’s river discharge and is often described as the planet’s lungs, though it is more accurately a carbon sink than a net oxygen producer at this point — parts of the eastern Amazon have already begun emitting more carbon than they absorb due to deforestation.
92.7/100 Top 49 score2Down 2
Rank 04Mount Everest
Nepal / Tibet border · 8,849 metres
The highest point on Earth above sea level draws hundreds of paying climbers each spring season, and the resulting queues near the summit on clear-weather days have become as much a symbol of the mountain as its scale — over 300 people have died attempting the climb since records began.
91.2/100 Top 49 score1Up 1
Rank 05Victoria Falls
Zambia / Zimbabwe border · Zambezi River
Known locally as Mosi-oa-Tunya, "the smoke that thunders", it is classified as the largest single sheet of falling water in the world by combined width and height rather than by either measure alone, and its spray is visible from over 20 kilometres away during peak flow.
89.5/100 Top 49 score3Down 3
Rank 06Galápagos Islands
Ecuador · volcanic archipelago
The isolated wildlife Charles Darwin observed here in 1835 directly shaped his theory of evolution by natural selection, and the islands remain one of the tightest-regulated ecosystems on Earth, with a strict cap on resident population growth and mandatory certified guides for most visitor sites.
88.1/100 Top 49 score1Down 1
Rank 07Iguazu Falls
Argentina / Brazil border · Iguazu River
A system of 275 individual waterfalls spread across nearly 3 kilometres, roughly twice the width of Niagara Falls, with the horseshoe-shaped Devil’s Throat cataract alone dropping 82 metres and producing a spray cloud visible for kilometres.
86.2/100 Top 49 score2Down 2
Rank 08Antarctic Peninsula
Antarctica · governed under the Antarctic Treaty, 1959
The most accessible and fastest-warming part of the continent, visited by an estimated 100,000-plus tourists a year via expedition cruise, a number that has grown so quickly that Antarctic Treaty parties have repeatedly debated formal visitor limits that do not yet fully exist.
84.6/100 Top 49 score2Down 2
Explore more of Top 49
Top 49 rankings are editorial. Scores are produced from the published criteria on each list and are refreshed on the cadence stated there. Figures shown across this section are curated demonstration data.