Pops of color in our surroundings refresh and rejuvenate — from a vase of flowers to beautiful paintings. For inspiration on a larger scale, look to nature. At these stunning locations the world over, nature is at her colorful, most vibrant best.
Colombia’s Caño Cristales (The River of Five Colors)
It is easy to see why the Caño Cristales has been called the world’s most beautiful river. The river dazzles in psychedelic waters and boasts psychedelic waters in all hues! A combination of natural events during the wet and dry seasons lends the river its many colors. A plant species on the river bed gives it a signature red shade. Various rock and sand formations give the river black, yellow, and green shades. All these colors play with the river’s blue, constant all year through.
Tasmania’s bioluminescent waters
Bioluminescence refers to the glow emitted by specific organisms, such as fireflies. Now picture the glow of a thousand such organisms but underwater — sparkling seas that light up the horizon. One of the best places to witness this phenomenon is on the River Derwent in Tasmania. Bioluminescent waves crash under the Aurora Australis in spring. Aurora Australis is an electric occurrence that creates technicolor skies. The two together are a sight to remember.
Australia’s Lake Hillier
Off the coast of Central Australia and right next to the Pacific Ocean lies a small lake with beautiful pink hues. Scientists say that the high salt concentrations in the lake attract certain algae that give off pink pigments. Others believe the lake’s beautiful color comes from a reaction between sodium and salt.
Alaska’s Mendenhall Ice Caves
Alaska is breathtaking as it is. Combine its surreal snowscape with caves, and the sight can be straight out of a fantasy movie. This is what intrepid travelers will find inside the ice caves on the Mendenhall Glacier. The journey isn’t for the faint-hearted. Explorers must travel on a kayak and brave dangerous climbs on slippery terrain. But the sights are well worth it.
Yellowstone National Park’s Grand Prismatic Spring
Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is a treasure of natural wonders. The park’s Grand Prismatic Spring is a thermal pool with orange, green, and yellow rings. The color is a result of secretions by heat-loving bacteria. In the center of the spring is a spot of stunning blue water that shoots up through a crack in the ground.
Hawaii’s rainbow eucalyptus groves
If you dream of enchanted forests, the road to Hana in Maui will take you there. The Painted Forest en route has endless rows of eucalyptus trees with magical rainbow trunks – yellow, blue, orange, purple, maroon, or green! The tree’s vibrant colors are due to peeling bark that reveals new bark.
China’s Zhangye Danxia Landform
Before Peru’s Rainbow Mountain, Zhangye Danxia Landform in Gansu, China was the most well-known multicolored mountain range. The mountains comprise siltstones with colorful mineral deposits and cretaceous sandstones.
