Provisional Seven Wonders of Nature Revealed

The New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign revealed its provisional list of “finalists” this week after the first round of popular voting, with 28 locations around the globe being selected and seven making the final cut.

South Africa, Asia and South America are all represented in the final seven, as are Indonesia and the Philippines.

The provisional Seven Wonders of Nature are:

Table Mountain, South Africa: This iconic flat-topped mountain overlooks Cape Town and attracts hordes of tourists each year, either hiking to the top or taking the cablecar. Once at the summit, they enjoy spectacular views of the city and Table Mountain National Park.

Jeju Island, South Korea: This volcanic island, 130km Korea’s southern coast, is famous for the Lava Tubes that make it a World Heritage Site. The tubes are massive caves, created when molten lava once flowed through them.

Halong Bay, Vietnam: Meaning “descending dragon bay”, this dense cluster of some 3,000 limestone monolithic islands topped with jungle vegetation makes a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

The Amazon Rainforest, South America: Covering an incredible 5.5 million square kilometres of South America’s landmass, this home to countless species of wildlife is considered by many to be the “lungs of the world.”

Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil: Taller than Niagara Falls and twice as wide, covering almost two miles of the Iguazu River, these incredibly spectacular falls displace 553 cubic feet of water per second down a 269 foot drop, in a baeutiful tropical setting on the border between Argentina and Brazil.

Komodo, Indonesia: Famous for the scary Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, the island also contains other unique flora and fauna, plus the world’s only pink beach!

Puerto Princesa, Philippines: Known for its Underground River – the longest in the world – this is the cleanest and greenest city in the Philippines.

Before you book those cheap holidays to the wonders of the world, don’t take this selection as the definitive list, though. Organisers have been at pains to stress that things could well change once all votes are fully checked and independently verified some time in the new year.