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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’ll admit, I’m biased toward lush tropical landscapes, like Tahiti, and rugged stretches of coast, such as Vancouver Island, British Columbia. But there’s something magical about the endless expanse of badlands or a snowcapped mountain reflected in an azure alpine lake. So they made my list of the most beautiful places on earth.
I’ve done a lot of globe-trotting in my decade as a travel journalist. When Outside asked me to consider writing about the most beautiful wild places on earth, I immediately thought of Lagoa das Sete Cidades in the Azores, green-blue twin lakes within a crater, and the Na Pali Coast of Kauai, with emerald cliffs that tumble steeply to the sea.
But these places are already on most people’s radar, and the last thing I want is to contribute to overtourism. Instead, I came up with a list of stunning, lesser-known destinations that are also full of adventure potential. You’re going to be amazed.
Lagoa das Sete Cidades is beautiful for sure, but this photo belies just how many people visit it. It’s one of the Azores’ best-known natural attractions. (Photo: Marco Bottigelli/Getty)
I purposely highlighted more sites close to home to make this list accessible. My biggest tip is to live in the moment when visiting these places—or any place that bowls you over. You can’t experience it fully if you’re glued behind your camera, shooting images to share. Here are my picks for the most beautiful places on earth.
1. Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah
Why visit the major Utah national parks in search of hoodoos, painted cliffs, and magnificent canyons when you can find all three—and fewer crowds—at Cedar Breaks? (Photo: ericfoltz/Getty)
Why It Wows: Utah has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to otherworldly rocky landscapes, but the geologic amphitheater that is Cedar Breaks National Monument steals the show (entrance fee from $15). Rich mineral deposits in the cliffs and hoodoos resemble a sweeping sunset of orange, yellow, red, and purple. During July and early August, some 250-plus species of wildflowers bloom, creating a Technicolor landscape.
Adventure Intel: Tucked in the mountains 20 miles east of Cedar City, this three-mile-long cirque gets a sliver of the foot and vehicle traffic seen at nearby Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks but offers just as many options for outdoor lovers. Because it’s located at an elevation of 10,000 feet, summer temperatures are comfortable, with highs hovering around 70 degrees.
Hikes range from the ADA-compliant, two-mile round-trip Sunset Trail, which skirts part of the rim overlooking the amphitheater, to the 12.8-mile Rattlesnake Creek Trail, a two- to three-day hike in the Ashdown Gorge Wilderness that drops into the amphitheater.
Five miles north, Brian Head Resort is a mountain biker’s dream, with more than 100 miles of downhill singletrack and 100 miles of cross-country trails.
Stargazers know Cedar Breaks as a designated International Dark Sky Park. Every Sunday and Saturday from late May through early October, the monument offers free four-hour astronomy tours at the North View Overlook.
2. Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta
The park’s Chester Lake is a picture-perfect spot to catch larches turning color in fall. The hike in is also popular in winter to see the lake when it’s frozen over. (Photo: bismuth/Getty)
Why It Wows: Often referred to as Banff National Park’s lesser-known sister, this 76,800-acre patch of wilderness in the Canadian Rockies is the epitome of postcard perfection, with its snow-crowned peaks, sparkling alpine lakes, glacial streams, and evergreen valleys. In autumn the park is most dazzling, when larches’ needles turn gold and the trees are reflected in the lakes.
Adventure Intel: Peter Lougheed, 85 miles southwest of Calgary, is one of Canada’s most accessible parks, with multiple barrier-free trails wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs (entrance fee from $12).
Stay at William Watson Lodge, fresh off a $6 million renovation (from $21 for a campsite; from $31 for a cabin). It overlooks Lower Kananaskis Lake, prioritizes people with disabilities and seniors, and features 22 accessible cottages, plus 13 campsites, and 11 miles of accessible trails on-site.
The park is full of hiking and mountain-biking trails, as well as seven miles of paved biking paths. In fall, check out Elephant Rocks and Chester Lake via this moderate 5.6-mile out-and-back trail when it’s positively ablaze with yellow larches. In winter, bring along your cross-country-ski gear and spend a day on the park’s more than 50 miles of groomed trails.
In the area without your outdoor essentials? Kananaskis Outfitters rents everything from canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards to e-bikes and full-suspension mountain bikes.
3. Lefkada Island, Greece
Ride your bike, windsurf, paraglide, swim, hike—Lefkada Island is a haven for outdoor recreationists. (Photo: Adriana Duduleanu/Getty)
Why It Wows: Sea and sky meld together in an ombré of blues on this under-the-radar Ionian isle. Chalky cliffs and white-sand and pebble beaches also woo those in the know, but the interior is just as wondrous, filled with a dense forest of ancient oak, dramatic gorges, and tumbling waterfalls.
Adventure Intel: A five-hour drive west of Athens, Lefkada is one of the few Greek islands that doesn’t require a boat to reach—it’s connected to the mainland by a bridge. A playground for recreationists, you can spend days hiking and biking its trails, or opt for guided or self-guided e-bike excursions with Lefkada Adventures.
Windsurfers and kitesurfers head to Vasiliki, Ai Gianni, and Myli beaches. Surf School, in the village of Vasiliki, rents equipment and provides lessons. All of the beaches are stunners, but Egremni, on the southwest coast, is widely considered the prettiest in the country. Surrounded by limestone cliffs, you must hike a steep trail from the parking lot, then descend more than 300 stairs to reach the sand. Trust me, the effort is worth it.
4. Shariqiya Sands, Oman
Why It Wows: Stark and remote, this seemingly endless stretch of rippling, wind-sculpted dunes spans 5,000 square miles of Oman, a small sultunate on the southeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. The highest dunes—some as tall as 330 feet—are found closest to the coast. But the big reason to see these ever-shifting sands is to witness the mesmerizing way they change color from pale gold in the afternoon to deep amber and copper as the blazing sun cuts across the sky.
Adventure Intel: A three-hour drive south from the capital city of Muscat, this desert was recently renamed the Sharqiya Sands to reflect its geographic location more accurately (sharqiya comes from the Arabic word for “eastern”), but everybody still refers to the area by its former name, Wahiba Sands, a nod to the region’s Bani Wahiba tribe.
Hud Hud Travels, an Oman adventure specialist with 17 years of experience in the country, sets up mobile camps deep within the desert and can arrange activities like sandboarding, camel safaris, dune driving, and visits with local Bedouin families (from $6,234 per couple for two nights, all-inclusive). Bonus: the lack of light pollution means campers are treated to incredibly clear, diamond-studded night skies.
5. Las Coloradas Lagoon, Yucatán, Mexico
Stay for the sunset at these salt lakes, when the hue is enhanced, and check out the flamingos, usually found in the nearby (blue) waters feeding. (Photo: Malorny/Getty)
Why It Wows: These glimmering cotton-candy-colored lakes pop against a backdrop of powdery white-sand beaches and pastel blue skies within the protected reserve of the Ría Lagartos Biosphere. The lagoons get their blush tint from the plankton, red algae, and brine shrimp that thrive in the super salty waters.
Adventure Intel: The biosphere is off the beaten path—around three and a half hours from major tourist hubs like Mérida, Cancún, and Playa del Carmen—and area accommodations are limited. Your best bets for an overnight stay are Piñas Coloradas, a four-room, family-run eco-lodge in the reserve that also offers tours (from $95), or the Yuum-Ha Boutique Hotel in the sleepy nearby fishing town of Río Lagartos (from $66).
The biosphere is a birding paradise, home to 380 species, including 30,000 flamingoes that match the water. It’s also possible to spot spider monkeys, coatis, and jaguars, and from April and October, hawksbill and green turtles lay their eggs on the shores. Book a tour at the reserve’s visitor center for a better understanding of this ecosystem, but don’t plan on swimming here; as tempting as it might be to dive into the pink waters, the activity is prohibited, due to the high salinity and because the salt is harvested there for consumption.
6. Rio Sucuri, Brazil
The water clarity, lush jungle surrounds, and unique aquatic life draw travelers here to snorkel. (Photo: Paulo Pigozzi/Getty)
Why It Wows: Eleven miles outside Bonito, the self-declared ecotourism capital of Brazil, you’ll find Rio Sucuri, whose Avatar-blue waters are considered some of the clearest on the planet. Set against the lush jungle, its spring-fed waters glow a surreal electric blue.
Adventure Intel: Bonito is located in the central-western state of Mato Grosso do Sul. It takes some effort to reach. After an approximate two-hour nonstop flight from São Paulo to Campo Grande, it’s a three-and-a-half hour drive to Bonito; from there, the access point to Rio Sucuri is another 12 miles away.
Boyrá Pousada and Hotel Esmeralda (from $160 and $160, respectively) are both great boutique stays around 50 minutes away, set on the banks of the Rio Formoso, another pristine, spring-fed waterway.
Rio Sucuri has been developed as an ecotourism project and can only be experienced with a guide. To reach the river’s headwaters, it’s a quarter-mile walk through the forest to a reception area at the São Geraldo ranch, which outfits everyone with a wetsuit and snorkel gear. Then you’ll board a boat for the quick ride upstream, where you’ll jump in and allow the gentle current to drift you back, lazy-river style.
You’ll no doubt spy pacu (a vegetarian piranha) and red-tailed pirapitanga darting between swaying emerald-green grasses. With exceptional visibility, you’ll feel like you’re floating in an aquarium.
7. Pico Ruivo, Madeira, Portugal
This part of the PR 1.1 trail to the top has been nicknamed, fittingly, Stairway to Heaven. (Photo: pawel.gaul/Getty)
Why It Wows: Topping out at nearly 6,110 feet, Pico Ruivo is the third-highest point in Portugal and the tallest peak in the archipelago of Madeira. From the top, you’re rewarded with panoramic vistas of the entire archipelago.
Adventure Intel: Two trails lead to the summit. Vereda do Pico Ruivo (PR 1.2) is the more direct route; it climbs 1.7 miles to the viewpoint. The more scenic path, however, is the 3.3-mile (one-way) Vereda do Pico Areeiro (PR 1.1). Many consider this the most spectacular hike in all of Madeira. It crosses the island’s central massif, tunnels through volcanic tufts that once sheltered shepherds, and heads up steep slopes home to colossal urzes trees.
That said, it’s a test-your-mettle trek. Rise early to score parking at the trailhead at Pico Areeiro, the archipelago’s third-highest peak, and catch the sunrise before heading out.
8. Tarkine Rainforest, Tasmania, Australia
Why It Wows: The second-greatest expanse of cool temperate rainforest in the world could easily have been the inspiration for Fern Gully. Filtered light dances through the canopy of massive eucalyptus and leatherwoods, and velvety moss seems to cover everything. Hugging the island’s rugged northwest coast, the 900-plus-square-mile area boasts wild, remote beaches and sand dunes, waterfalls, and numerous sinkholes.
Adventure Intel: The coastal village of Arthur River is a good jumping-off point for forest and beach adventures, or base yourself at Corinna Wilderness Village, 67 miles south, for immediate access to river activities (from $176). The hotel has a fleet of 16 canoes and kayaks to rent, and from there it’s a three-hour paddle down Pieman River to 130-foot-tall Lover’s Falls.
Hikes through this 65-million-year-old rainforest are magical. Tackle the 5.5-mile, out-and-back Whyte River and Savage River Trail, keeping an eye out for wallabies, pademelons, and platypuses, which tend to be more active at dawn and dusk. Eco-outfitter Tarkine Trails runs four-, five-, and six-day hiking and camping expeditions to the region’s most incredible spots.
9. The Sermilik Fjord, Greenland
The fjord—about 49 miles long, seven miles wide, and up to a half-mile deep—is full of fantastically shaped and colored icebergs and frequented by fin and humpback whales. (Photo: murat4art/Getty)
Why It Wows: This 50-mile-long fjord in eastern Greenland spans is a frozen wonderland of luminous blue crystal cliffs, calving glaciers, and a flotilla of colossal icebergs.
Adventure Intel: Most visitors explore eastern Greenland by ship, but I like Hinoki Travels’ new, climate-friendly, human-powered itinerary ($6,750 for eight days). You’ll explore the region on foot or by kayak, and sleep in tents and cabins. Inuit hunter and guide Jokum Heimer Mikaelsen, along with a guide from the Greenland mountaineering company Pirhuk, lead hikes up small mountains, into ice caves, and across glaciers and offer insight on how Native people forage on the tundra.
Powderhounds can discover the slopes on a ski-tour trip with Expedition Engineering (from $4,910 for eight days). Dogsleds and local boats are used to access different terrain each day.
10. Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
These shale formations are significant to Native people, who hold ceremonies on this land, and to paleontologists—remnants of an ancestor to the tyrannosaurus were found here. (Photo: Sean Pavone/Getty)
Why It Wows: These sprawling badlands look like a high-desert fantasy world dreamt up by Salvador Dalí. Shaped by wind and erosion, the hoodoos create a natural sculpture park, with rock formations resembling alien eggs and manta ray wings.
Adventure Intel: Two trailheads access the area’s 43,420 acres, both located less than an hour’s drive south of Farmington, New Mexico, or 90-minute drive south of Durango, Colorado. The Bisti Trail on the west side is the main portal and most popular, thanks to its moonscape-like terrain.
The De-Na-Zin Trail on the southeast side features less of the classic badlands topography but is still wildly beautiful. It starts out in sagebrush, transitions to juniper and eventually badlands studded with huge petrified logs and eroded cliffs and mesas.
Most visitors head to Instagram-sensation attractions like the Bisti Wings. But Stan Allison, an outdoor-recreation planner at the BLM Farmington Field Office, recommends a more exploratory approach. “Many of the unnamed areas have features that are just as interesting as the named ones,” he says. “I navigate by following the normally dry arroyos and then veering off or up side drainages when I see interesting features.”
Wheeled vehicles are not allowed on BLM land, and there are no designated hiking trails, so be sure to download a topographic map of your route to a well-charged phone ahead of your visit, because cell signals can be spotty. This is an area where packing a paper map and compass is also a smart idea.
Or considered a guided visit. The wilderness boundaries overlap parcels of private Navajo land, and Navajo Tours USA offers five-hour trips that delve into the history of the area and its cultural significance to Indigenous people.
11. Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique
Wandering pristine beaches is a highlight of any laid-back time in this archipelago; for active pursuits, the diving and deep-sea fishing are outstanding. (Photo: Waterotter/Getty)
Why It Wows: I visited this archipelago of five dune islands almost a decade ago, and from the plane, they looked like a white-and-aquamarine swirl-art painting. A designated national park, the marine life in its protected waters is as incredible as the powder-fine beaches. The archipelago lays claim to the second most diverse coral reefs in the world and supports over 2,000 species of fish, and on dive and snorkel excursions I saweverything from vivid corals and manta rays to reef sharks and even the endangered dugong.
Adventure Intel: The large coastal town of Vilanculos is the gateway to this cluster of islands, which can be reached by air via Archipelago Charters or by boat (most hotels provide complimentary boat transfers).
Bazaruto and Benguerra islands offer next-level offshore snorkeling and diving opportunities, as well as hiking/biking to crocodile-filled inland lakes surrounded by towering sand dunes. It’s worth splurging on a stay at Kisawa Sanctuary or andBeyond, both barefoot-luxe eco-hotels on Benguerra Island (from $5,744 and $1,108, respectively). The resorts can organize sailing excursions on traditional dhow boats, kitesurfing lessons, kayak trips through mangroves, whale-watching excursions between July and October, and scuba-dive outings to famed sites like Two Mile Reef, accompanied by research scientists.
12. Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan
The Gokase River cuts through narrow Takachiho Gorge, a hidden splendor. You can hike along the top of the chasm, or rent a canoe and row its waters, past basalt walls and the 55-foot-high Manai Falls. (Photo: Coward_Lion/Getty)
Why It Wows: Reminiscent of the wild beauty of Hawaii Island, this district in Japan’s southernmost island, Kyushu, has 250 miles of surf-blessed coast, active volcanic craters, and wild horses. More than 75 percent of the mountainous interior is covered with forests dotted with sacred shrines and cascading waterfalls.
Adventure Intel: Located on the east coast of Kyushu, Miyazaki is about a 90-minute flight from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport or a 60-minute flight from Osaka’s Itami Airport. Legendary waterman Kelly Slater has pilgrimaged here to ride waves, a testament to the area’s surf cred. The guide company Kammui offers surf trips led by local pros, and if you’re experienced, they’ll lead you to a secret big-wave spot that breaks from August to October.
A visit to Cape Toi, Miyazaki’s southernmost point, is a must. The scenery is straight out of a fairytale, with a seemingly endless panorama of sapphire ocean, a forest of rare, native sago palms, and 100 wild horses called Misaki-uma, considered a national treasure. Even cooler: you can camp here, at the Cape Toi South Lighthouse Campground (from $20).
13. Lake Willoughby, Vermont
Vermont’s deepest lake boasts gorgeous hillsides year-round, but the autumn colors are undoubtedly the showstopper. (Photo: Denis Tangney Jr/Getty)
Why It Wows: Nicknamed America’s Lucerne, this five-mile-long, glacier-carved lake is sandwiched between the fjord-like peaks of Mounts Pisgah and Hor. The water is remarkably clear, and come fall, it takes on the autumnal hues of the surrounding foliage—a gorgeous sight.
Adventure Intel: Situated in the heart of Vermont’s rural Northeast Kingdom, Willoughby State Forest encircles the lake’s southern end and is webbed with 12 miles of hiking trails. Herbert Hawkes Trail is a 2.5-mile out-and-back route with fantastic lake views.
Summer is the most popular season for boating, paddleboarding, and kayaking, and public beaches on its north and south ends are popular with swimmers and sun seekers (note that the latter is clothing optional). Willoughby is also a haven for anglers who come to hook jumbo trout and salmon. (Willoughby Lake Store, near Westmore, sells bait.) Visibility is so good some people even scuba dive here.
On the south side of the lake, the family-run White Caps Campground has tent sites, RV hookups, and waterfront cabins, plus an on-site café and country store, plus kayak, canoe, and SUP rentals (from $38).
The author ready to take the plunge off Mozambique’s Bazaruto archipelago (Photo: Courtesy Jen Murphy)
Jen Murphy is Outside Online’s travel-advice columnist and a frequent contributor to the magazine. She dreams of returning to the Bazaruto Archipelago to dive its clear waters, and a camping trip in the desert of Oman is on her wish list.
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