3. Cycling on the edge of clouds in Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, the largest salt flat in the world.
4. Mont Saint-Michel, France
5. Stuðlagil Canyon, Iceland
These huge basalt pillars are believed to be more than 2 million years old, a remnant of the ice age.
6. The eye of the Earth, Croatia
7. Meteora Monasteries, Greece
8. Bora Bora, French Polynesia
9. Elephant rock, Iceland
10. The Door to Hell, Turkmenistan
In 1971, Soviet scientists ignited a crater to prevent the spread of methane gas, anticipating it would burn for only a few days. The fire has persisted for over 53 years.
11. Nara Park, Japan
12. There's a place in Iceland where green fields, a yellow river, a black beach and the ocean meet.
13. Black sand beaches are actually very common in Iceland due to the volcanic activity on the island.
14. Rainbow Mountains, Peru
15. Lake Hillier, Australia
The pink color of this lake is believed to be due to the presence of a microalgae called Dunaliella salina.
20. Sørvágsvatn, "the lake above the ocean" in the Faroe Islands
21. The Tunnel of Love, Ukraine
This stunning botanical phenomenon is the result of the train's regular passage amid growing trees and bushes.
22. Keukenhof, Netherlands
Known as the Garden of Europe, this idyllic wonder is also one of the largest flower gardens in the world.
23. Mount Roraima, located at the junction of Brazil, Guyana and Venezuela.
These tabletop mountains are considered to be the oldest geological formations on Earth, dating back to two billion years ago.
24. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil
During the rainy season, freshwater lagoons form in the valleys between the dunes. They are prevented from draining due to the impermeable rock beneath.
25. Switzerland, paradise on Earth
26. The Wave in Arizona, United States
The formation of the Wave began 190 million years ago, when desert dunes compacted and solidified into striped sandstone.
27. Pamukkale, Turkey
28. Avenue of the Baobabs, Madagascar
29. Underwater waterfall, Mauritius
This underwater "waterfall" is an incredible optical illusion only visible from above. Sand and silt on the ocean floor run off, creating the illusion of the island being pulled into a massive drain.
30. Burning Dolomites, Italy
This is how photographer Dorpell (Dorian Pellumbi) described his luckiest shot ever: "An apocalyptic scenario that only Mother Nature could choreograph".
The sunset always transforms the Dolomites into an otherworldly place that doesn't feel real.
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“Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire.”
A thread on the beauty of traditions 🧵
1. Every December 8, firefighters in Rome honor the Virgin Mary for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception by placing a wreath of flowers on her statue.
2. Every year at Advent, a man dressed in First Republic-era attire lights gas lamps on Charles Bridge at sunset.
Prague has a long history of lamp-lighting, as they have been used to light the city's parks and streets since 1847.
3. La Tomatina is a Spanish festival in Buñol, Spain, which involves a massive tomato fight between participants, drawing crowds from all over the world.
One of the greatest sculptors of all time was born 426 years ago today on December 7, 1598.
A thread on the legendary Gian Lorenzo Bernini
1. The Abduction of Proserpina
Crafted when Bernini was only 23 years old, the sculpture portrays the abduction of Proserpina by Pluto, the ruler of the underworld.
The lifelike detail of Pluto’s hand gripping her thigh is regarded as one of the most beautiful details in art history.
2. Though Michelangelo’s David is universally celebrated, those who visit the Galleria Borghese in Rome are treated to Bernini’s stunning rendition of the biblical hero.
Commissioned by Cardinal Borghese, it was completed when Gian Lorenzo was only 25 years old.
This stunning spiral staircase was built in 1520 by Anne de La Rochefoucauld.
The design followed the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, which were given to her by the King of France.
2. This is a map of Imola, Italy, and the one below is a Google Earth photo of the same city today.
Leonardo created what is considered to be "the most accurate map of its time" using advanced surveying and precise manual measurements of the city's buildings.
In 2008, a mummified section of Edmontosaurus skin unearthed from Montana's renowned Hell Creek Formation was sold on eBay for $4,000.
3. A clutch of dinosaur eggs (private collection)
In 1859, Jean-Jacques Poech discovered the first scientifically documented dinosaur egg fossils in France, initially mistaken for giant bird eggs (at the time dinosaurs were not yet recognized as ancestors of birds).
Thread of architectural wonders that have withstood the relentless passage of time 🧵
1. Pantheon, Rome (almost 2000 years old)
2. Built from stones weighing between 2.5 and 70 tons each, the Great Pyramid remained the world's tallest man-made structure for thousands of years.
Of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, only the Pyramid, which is also by far the oldest, still remains standing.
3. Temple of Jupiter, Baalbek
At the base of the ruins of the Temple of Jupiter, one of the largest in the Roman world, lie three giant stones known collectively as the "trilithon."
Each one of these stones is about 20 metres long, 4.2 metres high, and weighs 750–800 tonnes.