Wonders of the World

Built c. 2560 BC

The tomb of Pharaoh Khufu and the oldest of the ancient wonders — and the only one still standing today.

• Made from roughly 2.3 million stone blocks
• Originally about 146 m tall, now about 138 m
• Sides aligned almost perfectly with north, south, east and west

Said to date from c. 600 BC

Terraced gardens said to have been built by King Nebuchadnezzar II for his homesick wife, Amytis, rising like a green mountain above the city.

• Described as stepped terraces of trees and plants
• Watered by a system that lifted water from the Euphrates
• Pictured: Babylon in a 16th-century engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck

Rebuilt c. 550 BC

A vast marble temple to the goddess Artemis, famous for its forest of towering columns. Today a single re-assembled column marks the spot.

• Funded in part by King Croesus of Lydia
• Burned in 356 BC and rebuilt even larger
• Finally destroyed during a Gothic raid in AD 268

Made c. 435 BC

A giant seated figure of Zeus by the sculptor Phidias, made of ivory and gold over a wooden frame, filling the Temple of Zeus at Olympia.

• About 12 m tall — his head almost touched the roof
• Built from gold and ivory panels (chryselephantine)
• Home of the ancient Olympic Games

Completed c. 350 BC

A towering marble tomb for Mausolus, a Persian governor, completed by his wife Artemisia and decorated by the best Greek sculptors of the day.

• Around 45 m tall with a stepped pyramid roof
• Topped by a marble four-horse chariot
• Brought down by earthquakes in the Middle Ages

Completed c. 280 BC

A huge bronze statue of the sun god Helios, built to celebrate Rhodes surviving a long siege. It stood for only about 54 years.

• About 33 m tall — roughly the size of the Statue of Liberty without its pedestal
• Paid for by selling the enemy’s abandoned siege weapons
• Toppled by an earthquake in 226 BC

Completed c. 280 BC

A soaring stone lighthouse that guided ships into Alexandria’s busy harbour for well over 1,000 years, with a fire burning at its summit.

• Probably over 100 m tall
• Designed by the architect Sostratus of Cnidus
• The Citadel of Qaitbay was built on its site from its stones

Built c. 3000–2000 BC

A prehistoric ring of giant standing stones, carefully arranged to line up with the sunrise on the summer solstice and the sunset on the winter solstice.

• Large sarsen stones weigh around 25 tonnes
• Smaller bluestones came from Wales, about 240 km away
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986

Completed AD 80

The largest amphitheatre ever built, where crowds gathered to watch gladiator fights, animal hunts and public spectacles.

• Held an estimated 50,000 or more spectators
• Begun under Emperor Vespasian, opened by Titus
• A maze of tunnels (the hypogeum) lay under the arena floor

Carved c. 2nd century AD

A multi-level underground tomb complex cut into the rock, blending Egyptian, Greek and Roman art in a way found almost nowhere else.

• A spiral staircase winds down around a central shaft
• Egyptian gods shown in Roman armour
• Includes a banquet hall for mourners

Built from 7th century BC to AD 1600s

A vast network of walls, watchtowers and forts built over many centuries to protect Chinese states and empires from northern invaders.

• All sections combined measure about 21,000 km
• The best-preserved parts were built by the Ming dynasty
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987

Built 1412–c. 1431

A nine-storey pagoda faced with gleaming white glazed porcelain bricks, which amazed European travellers who saw it in the 1600s.

• About 79 m tall
• Built on the orders of the Yongle Emperor
• Shown here in a 1665 engraving by Johan Nieuhof

Built AD 532–537

A breathtaking domed building commissioned by the Byzantine emperor Justinian, which has served as a cathedral, a mosque and a museum.

• Main dome is about 31 m across
• Built in under six years
• Became a mosque in 1453, a museum in 1934, and a mosque again in 2020

Built 1173–1372

The free-standing bell tower of Pisa Cathedral, which began to tilt during construction because it was built on soft ground.

• About 56 m tall with seven bells
• Took roughly 200 years to finish
• Straightened slightly by engineers between 1990 and 2001

Carved c. 1st century AD

The rose-red capital of the Nabataeans, with temples and tombs carved straight into the sandstone cliffs.

• Reached through the Siq, a narrow gorge over 1 km long
• The Treasury (Al-Khazneh) is its most famous facade
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985

Completed 1931

A giant Art Deco statue of Jesus with outstretched arms, watching over Rio de Janeiro from a 700 m mountain peak.

• 30 m tall, standing on an 8 m pedestal
• Arms stretch about 28 m wide
• Made of reinforced concrete covered in soapstone tiles

Built c. 1450

An Inca citadel perched on a mountain ridge high above the Urubamba Valley, built for the emperor Pachacuti.

• Sits about 2,430 m above sea level
• Stones fitted so tightly that no mortar was needed
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983

Flourished c. AD 600–1200

A great Maya city whose step pyramid, El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulcán), works like a giant stone calendar.

• El Castillo has 365 steps — one for each day of the year
• Home to the largest ball court in ancient Mesoamerica
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988

Built c. 1632–1653

A white marble mausoleum built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal.

• Built by around 20,000 workers
• White marble inlaid with precious and semi-precious stones
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983

Built from 7th century BC to AD 1600s

The only wonder to appear on both the medieval and modern lists alongside the Colosseum, snaking across mountains, deserts and grasslands.

• Wide enough in places for soldiers to march five abreast
• Thousands of watchtowers sent smoke and fire signals
• Popular sections include Badaling, Mutianyu and Jinshanling

Completed AD 80

Nearly 2,000 years old, the Colosseum remains the symbol of Rome and one of the most visited monuments on Earth.

• Around 80 entrances let crowds in and out quickly
• A huge awning (the velarium) shaded spectators
• Damaged by earthquakes and stone robbers over the centuries

Named 2011

The largest tropical rainforest on Earth, crossed by the mightiest river on the planet and home to an astonishing variety of life.

• Covers about 5.5 million km² across nine countries
• Around 60% of it lies in Brazil
• Home to an estimated 390 billion trees

Named 2011

Emerald waters dotted with around 1,600 limestone islands and pillars, many hiding caves and grottoes.

• Most islands are uninhabited and untouched
• Floating fishing villages rest between the rocks
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994

Named 2011

A thundering horseshoe of about 275 waterfalls stretching nearly 3 km along the Iguazu River, surrounded by rainforest.

• The Devil’s Throat drops about 80 m
• Rainbows form in the spray almost every sunny day
• Protected by national parks on both sides of the border

Named 2011

A volcanic island of lava tubes, craters and waterfalls, crowned by Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea.

• Hallasan rises to 1,950 m
• Seongsan Ilchulbong is a crater that rose from the sea
• Home to the famous haenyeo women free-divers

Named 2011

A group of rugged volcanic islands and rich coral seas, famous as the last wild home of the Komodo dragon.

• Komodo dragons can grow to about 3 m long
• Padar Island’s viewpoint overlooks three curved bays
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991

Named 2011

A river that winds for about 8 km through a vast limestone cave before flowing straight into the sea.

• Explored by paddle boat through huge caverns
• Filled with stalactites, stalagmites and bats
• A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999

Named 2011

A flat-topped mountain towering over Cape Town, often draped in a “tablecloth” of cloud spilling over its edge.

• Highest point: Maclear’s Beacon, 1,086 m
• A cableway has carried visitors to the top since 1929
• Part of the Cape Floral Region, one of the richest plant kingdoms on Earth