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The Christ the Redeemer, The Taj Mahal, The Colosseum, The Ancient City of Petra, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza and The Great Wall of China. This list of famous monuments are truly one of man’s most impressive feats. All possessed with their own rich, fascinating history, one which every human should experience in their lifetime.
This is a quick guide on each wonder; an overview and outline of their rich history, a quick guide in which we feel is the best way to see these wonders and few options on the cheapest way of doing it!
The setting of the the large white statue situated atop of a mountain overlooking the beautiful vibrant city of Rio is one of the most adored and iconic pictures of South America is recognised all over the globe. The setting is impressive in pictures, however, in reality it is breathtaking. The statue has been overlooking Rio for almost 90 years and it is believed to the guardian of Rio and a sign of peace and hope for the locals.
The Christ The Redeemer is a colossal statue of Jesus Christ, located at the summit of Mount Corcovado, Rio De Janeiro, south eastern Brazil. The statue was completed in 1931 and stands a astonishing 98 feet (30 metres) tall and also horizontally outstretched arms spanning 92 feet (28 metres). The 635 metric tonne statue sits on a pedestal base of around 26 feet (8 metres) high, which itself is situated on a deck atop of the peak of the 700-metre (2,300 ft) mountain overlooking the city. The statue is the largest Art-Deco style sculpture in the world and is one of Brazil’s most recognisable landmarks.
The most famous way to reach the Christ the Redeemer is via the ‘Cog Train‘. The train will transport you through the Atlantic Forest almost to the top of Corcovado Mountain. The train leaves approximately every 30 minutes, with the journey taking around 20 minutes. As the cog train is the most popular way to get up the mountain, expect there to be queues, especially in high season (December – March). Our top tip to avoid these queues is to buy your ticket before hand online for an exact time. Another way to reach the statue is by van.With the van, it can be seen as the slightly ‘cheaper’ alternative to the cog train, however it does take out the ‘sense of adventure’ in the trip and is less comfortable.
The Taj Mahal is an ivory-white mausoleum on the south bank of the Yamuna river in the Indian city of Agra. With us Brits, when we think of the Taj Mahal, we instinctively think of the iconic picture of our Princess Diana sat on the marble seat with the beautiful monument behind her. Construction started in 1632, with the help of over 20,000 workers and over 1,000 elephants, the mausoleum was finally built in 1643. The Taj Mahal was built as a monumnet of love. A testament to love from a devoted king, Emperor Shah Jeha, to his beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahal, after she tragically past away after giving birth to their 14th child.
The Taj Mahal attracts, on average, 7-8 million tourists per year. You can visit the Taj Mahal all year round with the wonder being open sunrise to sunset everyday, apart from Fridays. Our personal recommendation is to visit the monument during the winter seasons (November – February). This is to avoid the sweltering Indian heat and also to avoid the Indian summer rainy season. The best time during the day, we say, would be for sunrise. As the orange sun rises, you get to see the wonder change colour and sparkle due to the specifically placed sandblocks! This gives you the opportunity to see the monument at a different perspective and, somehow, makes the beautiful wonder even more pretty. Gates open at round 6:00am, so, we would say to get there for 5:30 am, as queues would start to form so gives you plenty of time to get see the sunrise, I know it’s early but its seriously worth it! Another tip we would provide is to try bring as little as possible! At the Taj Mahal, you are not allowed to bring it anything other than camera and a water bottle. We would also say to leave your any hand bags or baggage at home as bag check is another separate line, so this would save you time!
The Colosseum, also know as the Flauvin Amphitheatre, an an oval amphitheatre located in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. It is considered to be one of the greatest Roman architecture and engineering works. It was used for a variety of events of could hold up to 50,000 people. Earthquakes and stone robbers left it in ruins, however, part of it still stands today. Construction for the amphitheatre started back in 72 AD, and after the help of 60,000 slaves, the Colosseum was completed in 81 AD. The Colosseum was used for entertainment for over 390 years and was used for several different events, including gladiator battles, mock battles and animal hunts, and dramas that were based on Classical mythology. If they held a mock sea battle they flooded the Colosseum with water.
In 2018, the Roman Colosseum was the most popular tourist attraction in the world, bringing in around 7.4 million visitors that year. This may set off alarms inside your head of BIG queues, however, we are here to provide a few tips in order to avoid the pain of waiting around and to experience the wonder! Most people don’t know this but when you purchase your ticket for the Colosseum, this also grants you access to the Palantine Hill and Roman Forum. As most people flock to the Colosseum, as it is the most famous monument, if you were to buy your ticket at the gate of the Palantine Hill, you can avoid hours of queuing and get right in. Another way to avoid queues would be to purchase your tickets online, however, this is the more expensive option of the two. Gates open for the wonder at 8:30 am, we would recommend to get there as early as possible to avoid queues, the hot weather (if visiting in summer time) and also gives you the pleasure of soaking in the rich history which the Roman Colosseum has to offer.
Also known as ‘The Lost City’, carved directly into the pinky red sandstone cliff faces, the prehistoric city of Petra, Jordan, was lost to the Western world for hundreds of years. Many of you would recognise the monument from the Hollywood blockbuster “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade“, however, there Lost City has a lot more to offer. The precise date of build of Petra is unknown, however, we do know that the city began to blossom as the capital of the Nabatean Empire from the 1st century BC, where it grew rich through the trade in frankincense, myrrh and spices.
As you would expect, the Arabian heat is roasting during our summertime. If you want to experience Petra, we would recommend to visit during the Spring or Autumn time as temperatures are much cooler which makes it more pleasant time to visit. When in Jordan, the best time to visit the city would be early to mid-morning or later afternoon, this is down to the temperature being cooler and the best light for your photographs of the rock architecture for your Instagram. Comfy footwear, a hat, sun cream and plenty of bottled water is a necessity when trekking through the desert heat! If you are planning on staying after sunset, make sure to pack extra layers as the temperature does considerably drop.
Machu Picchu is a 15th century Inca citadel, located in the Eastern Cordillera of Southern Peru, placed on a 2,430 metre (7,970 ft) mountain ridge. Even though the true date of the construction of Machu Picchu remains a mystery, many archaeologists agree that the rough time period would of been around 1438-1471. However, 24th July 1911 is the date in which ‘discovery’ of the famous Inca citadel, after the architectural treasure has been hidden away from modern society for hundreds of years.
We do recommend if you are planning on visiting Machu Picchu, the best way to buy tickets to see the wonder would be to do it online via the government website, as this is the cheaper option. In order to avoid the ever so reliable crowds, we would recommend getting to the wonder as early as possible and maybe staying the whole day there. Recently, they have put in place ticket time slots; morning (6 am- 12 pm) and afternoon (12 pm – 5:30 pm), so if you would like to spend the whole day at the wonder, you can you will just have to purchase two tickets!
Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The wonder is located in Tinum Municipality, Yucatan State, Mexico. Many reports have been made on the build of Chichen Itza, some say that it was established around 400s A.D., whilst some say that it was constructed a few years later in the mid fifth century. The main feature point of Chichen Itza is El Castillo, the large pyramid structure.
There is many things to do and see at Chichen Itza, so we would recommend spending at least 3-4 hours there. As well as soaking in the rich history of Chichen Itza and learning the decline of the Mayan legacy. There are many Cenote’s in which you can cool off in! Unfortunately you cannot swim in the cenote at Chichen Itza, unless you would like to swim with the skeletons! There is a cenote nearby called Ik Kil,however, this one is mainly filled with tourists so can be quite busy. If wanting a quiet cool down the closest other cenote’s are near the town of Valladolid. These are the Cenote Zaci, Cenote Dzitnup or Cenote Suytun and all offer a more authentic experience.
There are many ways in which you can get to Chichen Itza. The popular way is to get there via car; as Chichen Itza is located near many of the main cities in Mexico. It is around a 2 hour drive from Cancun and Playa Del Carman. Other cheaper alternatives to get to Chichen Itza would be either Colectivo taxis (shared taxis) or the bus. When there, as you would already know, we would recommend wearing a hat, sun cream and well stocked up on bottled water as the sun is unrelenting!
Whenever someone mentions China, I instinctively think of the Great Wall, and yes, their delicious food. The Great Wall of China is a series of walls and fortifications, measuring more than 13,000 miles in length, located in northern China. The Great Wall was originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang in 300 B.C. as a means of preventing incursions from barbarian nomads. However, the best preserved sections of the wall were built in 1400 A.D. and 1700 A.D., during the Ming dynasty. The Great Wall actually did no effectively prevent invaders from entering China, but it did act as a powerful symbol of Chinese civilization enduring strength.
When in Beijing, there are two main sections in which tourists visit- Badaling or Mutianyu. At most hostels/hotels that you are staying at there will be some tour offers, which are legitimate tours which include; transport, tickets and lunch, although these tours can be quite expensive. You will be offered a cheaper alternative tour from touts, however, I would not recommend these as they normally have a bad reputation for bus failures, not leaving on time and little time on the wall and would normally prey for foreign tourists. However, if you’re looking for the cheapest option and would like some freedom, one of the best ways to see The Great Wall would be just to go by yourself. you can get a bus from Beijing to the Wall for around £2 and a ticket to get in the Wall is around £6.
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