WONDERS OF
THE WORLD
The 7 wonders of the world:
Colosseum – Italy
Petra – Jordan
Chickén Itzá – Mexico
Machu Picchu – Peru
Christ the Redeemer – Brazil
Great Wall of China – China
For centuries, human civilizations across the world have built and created cities, buildings, monuments, tombs, temples, churches, mosques, and other structures that continue to inspire awe in millions.
Narrowing down the world’s wonders to only seven is a difficult task. Luckily, in 2000 a Swiss foundation launched a campaign to determine the New Seven Wonders of the World.
The original Seven Wonders list was compiled in the 2nd century BCE, as at this point there was only one still standing (the Pyramids of Giza). More than 100 million votes were cast on the Internet or by text. The results, which were announced in 2007, were met with cheers as well as some jeers. There were several prominent contenders, such as Athens’s Acropolis, which failed to make the cut.
Great Wall of China
Great might be an understatement! This is one of the world’s largest building-construction projects. The Great Wall of China is a global tourist hotspot. It’s known across the world for its uniqueness, great length, and historical value. It is associated with thousands of years of Chinese history.

A series of walls were initially built by Chinese empires and states over a period of many years, beginning as early as the 7th century BCE. Over 20 dynasties/states contributed to the building of the wall. These walls were then joined together to result in the Great Wall of China. It was not just a wall but a kind of fortification with watchtowers, beacon towers, trenches, etc., built at intervals as protection from enemy forces. It became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
Did you know?
The Great Wall isn’t a continuous line; it has spurs in various directions and breaks where mountains or lakes provide protection. A 2012 survey by China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage estimated its length at 13,000 miles (21,000km).


Chichén Itzá – Mexico
The most famous and best restored of the Yucatán Maya sites, Chickén Itzá will impress even the most jaded visitor. It is simply spectacular. It is a pre-Columbian city that was built during the Terminal Classic period by the Maya people. Structures like the temples, arcades, and pyramids were sacred to the ancient Maya people.

At the centre of Chickén Itzá is the Temple of Kukulkan which is an archaeological marvel based on Maya astronomy. It has 365 steps for each day of the year. There are 91 steps on each of the four sides and the platform at the top serves as the 365th step. The site even houses a sophisticated ancient observatory, that exhibits the excellent advanced astronomical knowledge possessed by the Maya people.
Did you know?
Chichén Itzá, once vibrant, was mysteriously abandoned in the 1400s. The exact reasons for the desertion remain elusive, shrouding the ancient city in an enigma that continues to puzzle historians and archaeologists.
Petra – Jordan
The ancient city of Petra lay forgotten for centuries, known only to the Bedouin who made it their home. This was until the Swiss explorer Jean Louis Burckhardt discovered it, in 1812. It was also alleged to be one of the places where Moses struck a rock and water gushed forth.

Petra is also nicknamed as the “Rose City” due to the stone colour from which it is carved. It has immense archaeological, historical, and architectural value that makes it a jaw-dropping tourist attraction. The water conduit system and the rock-cut architecture are the two most notable features of this ancient city. The water conduit system installed by the ancient Nabataeans helped give rise to a flourishing city in a desert. The Royal Tombs which are large mausoleums with impressive facades carved into rock are a major attraction in Petra.
Did you know?
It is listed as one of the “28 Places to See Before You Die” by the Smithsonian magazine. Also, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the 1989 Hollywood adventure movie was filmed in Petra.

Machu Picchu - Peru
More than 7,000 feet above sea level in the Andes Mountains, Machu Picchu is the most visited tourist destination in Peru. A symbol of the Incan Empire and built around 1450AD, Machu Picchu was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. achu Picchu is a great representation of the Incan way of life. The positions of important structures in Machu Pichu were strongly influenced by the location of nearby mountains, regarded as holy by the Inca people. No mortar was used to build the structures in Machu Picchu. The stones were cut and wedged in a manner that even a credit card would not go through the joints. While it improved the aesthetic value of the buildings, it also protected from earthquakes.

The stones would ‘dance’ if there were earthquakes and then fall back into place once the tremors subsided. An engineering marvel, a lot of sophisticated civil engineering work had to be done underground to establish Machu Pichu as a city in a notch between two mountain peaks. Most of this is invisible to the visitor’s eye.
Did you know?
“Machu Picchu” translates to “Old Peak” or “Old Mountain” in Quechua. Discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911, the site’s purpose remains an enigma, with theories ranging from a royal estate to a secret ceremonial center.

Christ the Redeemer statue – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
One of Brazil’s most iconic symbols, standing atop Corcovado (which means ‘hunchback’), Christ the Redeemer gazes out over Rio, a placid expression on his well-crafted face. It was built as a symbol of Brazilian Christianity.

Its origins date back to just after World War I, when some Brazilians feared a “tide of godlessness.” They proposed to build a statue. The design was chosen from several ideas and construction began in the 1920s, taking nine years to finish. The statue is meant to show that Christ loves all and will embrace all that come to him. The arms stretch to 92 feet wide and weighs approximately 635 tonnes.
Did you know?
It is the largest sculpture of the art deco style in the world. However, it is not the world’s largest Christ statue. Couples can wed in the chapel at the base, as it was declared a sanctuary in 2006 by the Catholic Church.


Taj Mahal – Agra, India
The Taj Mahal is well known across the world for its historical value, its tale of love, and its stunning beauty. The Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore called the Taj Mahal a “teardrop on the cheek of time.” It remains a testament to the grief and power of an emperor. It houses the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It is said that the emperor loved his wife dearly and was prompted to build the Taj Mahal after her death as a testament to his love.

The shimmering marble Taj Mahal comes as close to architectural perfection as any building on earth. The construction spanned more than 15 years. It took around 20,000 workers, stonecutters, painters, and embroidery artists, and 1000 elephants to complete the Taj Mahal. Twenty-eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were used to decorate the Taj Mahal. The construction sum in today’s value, would be close to 1 billion USD.
Did you know?
The monument changes colour depending on the time of the day and the moon. In 1983, the Taj Mahal was inscribed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Today, it attracts millions of visitors each year.
Colosseum – Rome, Italy
It is sometimes called the Flavian Amphitheatre. The Colosseum is an oval- shaped amphitheatre in the centre of the city. Constructed from concrete and sand, it is the largest amphitheatre in the world. It has the capacity to host over 50,000 spectators and 80 entrances at the time of its construction. Entry to events were free and paid from the Emperor’s treasury. However, the Colosseum bore witness to a lot of brutality.
Mock sea battles, animal hunts, famous battle re-enactments, executions, and mythological dramas were just some of the public spectacles held at the Colosseum. Today, this wonder of the world is a popular tourist attraction and serves as the iconic symbol of Imperial Rome.

Did you know?
Over 1,900 years old, this ancient Roman engineering marvel, completed in 80 A.D. after an eight-year construction, predates the Taj Mahal by over 1,500 years and the Great Wall of China by more than 500 years.