There are destinations around the world that are nice — pleasing on the eye and pleasant but nothing exceptional. There are other destinations that are, by any measure beautiful, photogenic and memorable. And then there are those places that are simply out of this world! And when I say out of this world, I mean just that — they look un-earthly or other worldly — and in some cases down right alien! To illustrate the point, I am going to provide you with a few examples of places on this planet that look like they are the product of some imaginative CGI in a sci-fi movie.
Take for example, Tianzi Mountain located in Hunan province, China: Located less than 400 kms inland from Hong Kong, it looks like it could have been the inspiration for the land of Pandora, depicted in the Hollywood blockbuster, ‘Avatar’!
Staying with a sci-fi theme, you could also get yourself over to Matmata in Tunisia where some of the scenes from the early Star Wars films were shot on location. Those subterranean dwellings are actually real — not props constructed for the film.
As recently as last year, one of the big office hits at the movies was the Martian and there is a place in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile that so resembles the terrain of the red planet that NASA is actually training astronauts there for a future mission. Having visited the area some years ago, I can attest to the claim! Nearer to home, none other than the popular sun destination of Tenerife boasts some spectacular scenery near the slopes of Mt. Teide where NASA apparently also carries out some astronaut training because the landscape mimics that of its lunar counterpart so much.
If, on the other hand, you’re looking for someplace that a few dinosaurs wouldn’t look out of place, then you would definitely have to take yourself over to Mount Roraima in Venezuela that most definitely looks like the land that time forgot and if Venezuela is a bit rich for your budget, then there are parts of the Azores that definitely fit the bill.
For the truly alien landscape though, the intrepid traveller probably need look no further than the Yemeni island of Socotra where the famous Dragon Blood trees dominate the landscape and look like no other trees on earth.
So there you have it — seven unique landscapes on earth that can provide you with an out-of-world experience for your next trip overseas!
