10 Natural Wonders in Asia

Asia is a far and wide continent, beginning from Japan. It includes so many diverse countries with amazing geography and natural wonders.  Let us visit 10 natural wonders in Asia in this blog post.

The majority of the breathtaking and, incredible geographical features are unknown to the majority of the world.

10 Natural Wonders in Asia

We will uncover only a fraction of them in this blog post.

1. Flaming Cliffs, Mongolia

Mongolia is one of the under-visited countries in Asia. Its geography’s star attraction is the Gobi Desert.

The sand cliffs in the image are part of the Gobi Desert. When looked at high noon, the sand cliffs appear to be on fire, thus earning the name, ‘Flaming Cliffs’.

This is not only the attraction. Do you know this is where the scientists have found the eggs of a dinosaur for the first time?

Where the skeletons of another large animal were found, we had no clue of what it could have been. Only much later, it was identified as the remains of another dinosaur known as, ‘Velociraptor’.

When you visit this region, plan to go at sunset, when the orange sandstone cliffs would look flaming orange.

Here is the brilliant capture of the color of the flame.

The age of the cliffs would startle you, boss! It is said to be between 71 to 75 million years.

2. Tubbataha Reef Natural Park Natural Wonder in Asia
   

Most of the rare reef sites are recognized by the UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. This site is one such place.

Oceanography is at its scintillating best here.

To see and touch these reefs, you have to get under the water of Sulu Sea in the Philippines.

If you are interested to dive towards the Tubbataha Reef, you have to travel to Palawan, a chain of islands that are combined to form the Palawan province of the Philippines.

Fly up to Puerto Princesa, the capital of Palawan. From there, you have to drive 150 km to reach the Tubbataha Reef site.

The reefs are all mainly atolls. In addition to excellent reefs and marine lives, the atolls also serve as habitats for aquatic birds.

Scuba divers are simply fascinated by the rare reefs, seabirds species, marine creatures and above all at the sight of underwater volcanoes.

These are highly protected marine lives so much so that a ranger station stands in the middle of the sea.

Here is a strange and rare fish known as ‘crown-of-thorns Starfish’.

Do you know what it eats? Its most delicious food is hardened reefs!

Several species of sharks, and rays, parrotfish, clownfish are a few of the marine creatures that the scuba divers spot.

3. Halong Bay

Please enlarge the photo to see and admire the spectacular natural beauty of Halong Bay. It is one of the natural wonders in Asia.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is in Vietnam.  To see the Halong Bay, you have to go to Halong City. It is also spelled Ha Long. The Ha Long Bay faces the China Sea.

In order to reach this natural wonder in Asia, you have to go to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Hire a taxi from Hanoi and reach Halong Bay in just two hours. The distance between Hanoi and Halong is 160 km.

If you want to visualize the position of Halong Bay, imagine the north-eastern region of Vietnam. The province’s name is Quang Ninh.

The Haong Bay comprises a whopping 1550 sq. km area in which there are as many as 1969 islets. All are uninhabited and consist of limestone rocks, and cliffs.

You can climb on any one of them to have a stunning view of the islets, and the China Sea. The view has simply no match, boss!

These karst rocks were naturally formed over a period of 500 years! This implies the area must contain pre-historic remnants.

That fact is proved by the presence of 60 species of endemic animals, and birds. It’s a big number that attracts thousands of wildlife enthusiasts.

A boat tour will take you into grottos. Get into a few limestone islets to enter pre-historic caves.

Swim, snorkel, and go fishing in the 20 km long Halong Bay, The seascape is sweeping and an absolute marvel.

4. Al-Ahsa Oasis

Have you always wanted to see the real desert of Saudi Arabia? The Arabian Desert’s superb geography will surprise you.

In addition, you can see the world-famous Al-Ahsa Oasis, in the middle of nowhere in the Arabian Desert.

Al-Ahsa Oasis is the highly visited tourist destination. It is not only a natural wonder in Asia but also the largest oasis in the world.

The most startling fact of Al-Ahsa Oasis is the presence of some huge oil reserves.

Moreover, the presence of perennial fresh water springs encouraged human habitation.

People who are living in the oasis are actively involved in date cultivation.

I read you can find about 10 hotels to stay near the oasis.  Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, has roads and rails to connect with Al-Ahsa Oasis, that is located 180 km north-east of Riyadh.

Do you know?

The Al-Ahsa Oasis is so large (86 sq. km) that it is home to two cities and 22 villages.

Typically, the oasis is surrounded by an incredible sand desert comprising a mammoth 650,000 sq. Km

The desert is spread over Yemen, UAE, and Omen.

There is another astonishing fact about Al-Ahsa Oasis. The villagers have cultivated thus far, 2.5 million date trees

The oasis is highly visited by the visitors to Qatar. They drive the 160 km distance to reach the oasis.

5. Valley of Geysers

Actually, natural hot springs are not found alone. They exist in clusters in an area.

But a valley full of these natural geysers! That must surely be a one of the natural wonders in Asia?

Well, this particular natural under in Asia is located in Russia.

The exact location to see 90+ sulphur springs is Kamchatka Peninsula.

The series of 90+ natural geysers are spread over a length of 6 km.

Oh, did you see some of the hot springs throw up hot water as if they are erupting volcanoes?

The water’s temperature is said to reach 250 Deg C!

OMG! The area is so desolate that I am afraid there will be fewer visitors.

Nonetheless, it is a terrifying natural wonder in Asia.

6. Marble Mountains

This Asian natural wonder is seen in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh state, India.  The water body you see in the image is not a sea as it appears, but the Narmada River. This is a west flowing river that marries the Arabian Sea in Gujarat state.

The whole scene looks incredibly beautiful. The marble rocks and the resulting gorge runs for nearly 8 km!

The white, brown, and blue colored marble stones are a treat to the eyes. They are mined to carve statues, and floor tiles.

The two large marble mountains you saw were once floating so close to each other that the monkeys used to jump across.

Later, due to natural erosions, and flooding, the area became wider.

What can you do to appreciate the wonderful nature here?

Enjoy a boat tour on the Narmada River. You will be taken very close to the marble canyon.

As per local belief, the boat ride in the river will heal your body and cleanse your soul if the ride is taken on a full-moon day.

Another interesting thing to do is go across the gorge in a cable car.

The gorgeous waterfalls you see below as you are riding in the cable car are known as Dhuandhar Waterfalls.

Alternatively, if you take a dip in the Narmada River, you will receive the full healing powers of the moonlight on the full-moon night.

Buy small marble figurines of various Hindu Gods in the shops near this tourist destination.

7. Mount Kelimutu craters’ color changing lakes

What a greenish-blue shade of the water!  Obviously, it is a crater lake on top of the Kelimitu Mountain.

This natural wonders in Asia is on Flores Island, Indonesia.

To reach the Kelimutu volcano, you have to first reach Ende, a town in the southern part of Flores Island.

Bali operates flights to Ende. The duration will be nearly 3 hours.

From Ende town, hire a taxi and cover the 50+ km in about 90 minutes.

Actually, there are three craters filled with fresh water. All the three crater lakes are placed adjacent to each other.

The natural wonder of these volcanic lakes is, the water changes color during the day. This is due to the different temperatures of each volcanic craters’ bottom.

The difference in temperatures beneath the surface of the craters causes a few chemical reactions resulting in color change in the lakes’ water.

The volcanoes stopped erupting and thus the Kelimutu Mountain is safe for trekking.

8. Tiger Leaping Gorge

From monkey leaping gorge, we go to the tiger leaping gorge.

From the look of it, I doubt any tiger or leopard can jump from one summit to the other summit across the River Jinsha.

However, it is a true story causing the name. A tiger was on the run from the hunters, actually escaped by jumping across the 82 feet wide abyss.

The most unbelievable aspect of this natural wonder in Asia is its depth from the top of the canyon. It measures a big 12,400 feet!

This river canyon is 15 km in length.

Of course, there are trekking trails you can explore, but do not even dream of rafting in the Jinsha River.

The name indicates it is in China. Yes, River Jinsha is a tributary of the Yangtse River, one of the world’s longest rivers. It flows for 6300 km within China itself!

The gateway to the Tiger Leaping Gorge is Lijian City, in the region of Southwest China.

The entire canyon area is breathtakingly scenic!

9. Kuang Si Waterfalls

Are you blown away by the stunning beauty of this place in Laos?  This finds a place frequently in the list of top 10 most beautiful places in the world.

The series of cascades are located some 335 km north of Vientaine, the capital city of Laos.

The water drops nearly 200 feet height from the top most tier. That will make a thunderous noise.

The color of the water in the pool below is the most attractive aspect of the Kuang Si Waterfalls.

10. Shilin Stone Forest

After seeing the photo of the place, I reckon the name, ‘stone forest’, is very appropriate.

This is one more Asian natural wonder that is located in China.

The stone structures are actually made of limestone.

Recognizing the natural formation of these rocks, and the site’s tourist potential, the UNESCO declared it as one of the World Heritage Sites.

The forest of stones is spread over 400 sq. km area. When you enter the stone forest, you should get goosebumps because the area is 270 million years old!

There is a folk lore behind the name of the stone forest.

Tell me buddy, which of these 10 astounding natural wonders appealed to you most?