Top Ten Ancient Wonders
Built long ago and still standing. Ranked by what is left to see, not by how old it is.
The top 10 ancient wonders are Angkor Wat, Colosseum, Great Wall of China, then Petra, Giza pyramid complex, Machu Picchu, Acropolis of Athens, Taj Mahal, Chichen Itza, Hagia Sophia. They are ranked by what they do to a person standing in front of them, how reachable they are, and whether people come away glad they went.
Click on the name of each Wonder for more detailed information
- 1
Angkor Wat
Cambodia · AsiaYou can spend days climbing through massive stone galleries that feel swallowed by the jungle.
Angkor Wat (; Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត, 'City/Capital of Temples') is a Vaishnava Hindu and Theravada Buddhist temple complex in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and the largest religious complex in the world. Located on a site measuring 162.6 hectares (1.6 km2; 401.8 acres) within the ancient capital of Angkor, it was constructed between 1113 and 1150 CE during the reign of the Khmer king Suryavarman II as a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu.
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- 2
Colosseum
Italy · EuropeIt sits right beside a subway station, letting you walk straight into the ancient Roman arena.
The Colosseum ( KOL-ə-SEE-əm; Italian: Colosseo [kolosˈsɛːo]) is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is the largest standing amphitheatre in the world.
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- 3
Great Wall of China
China · AsiaThe stone fortifications stretch over steep mountain ridges as far as your eyes can see.
The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe.
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- 4
Petra
Jordan · Middle EastEmerging from the narrow rock canyon to face the carved Treasury facade is an unforgettable moment.
Petra (Arabic: ٱلْبَتْراء, romanized: Al-Batrāʾ; Ancient Greek: Πέτρα, lit. 'Rock'), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢛𐢚𐢒 or 𐢛𐢚𐢓𐢈, *Raqēmō), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan.
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- 5
Giza pyramid complex
Egypt · AfricaThe individual stone blocks are taller than a person, showing the true scale of these tombs.
The Giza pyramid complex (also called the Giza necropolis) in Egypt is home to the Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Khafre, and the pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx. All were built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, between c.
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- 6
Machu Picchu
Peru · South AmericaThe stone ruins sit high on a green ridge, surrounded by steep peaks that hide the modern world.
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a mountain ridge at 2,430 meters (7,970 ft). It is situated in the Machupicchu District of Urubamba Province about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Cusco, above the Sacred Valley and along the Urubamba River, which forms a deep canyon with a subtropical mountain climate.
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- 7
Acropolis of Athens
Greece · EuropeThe white marble temples overlook the modern city, easily reached by a short walk up the hill.
The Acropolis of Athens (Ancient Greek: ἡ Ἀκρόπολις τῶν Ἀθηνῶν, romanized: hē Akropolis tōn Athēnōn; Modern Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών, romanized: Akrópoli Athinón) is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, Greece, and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word Acropolis is from Greek ἄκρον (akron) 'highest point, extremity' and πόλις (polis) 'city'.
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- 8
Taj Mahal
India · AsiaThe white marble dome changes color with the morning light and looks exactly like its famous photos.
The Taj Mahal ( TAHJ mə-HAHL, TAHZH -; Hindustani: [t̪ɑːd͡ʒ ˈmɛɦ(ɛ)l]; lit. 'Crown of the Palace') is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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- 9
Chichen Itza
Mexico · North AmericaThe main pyramid is easy to reach from nearby resorts and shows remarkable mathematical precision in stone.
Chichen Itza was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. The archeological site is located in Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico.
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- 10
Hagia Sophia
Turkey · Middle EastStep inside and the dome seems to float over the huge hall, lit by a ring of windows that have watched fifteen centuries go by.
Hagia Sophia, officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, is a mosque and a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. It was formerly a church (360 to 1453) and a museum (1935 to 2020).
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Questions people ask
What is the number one of the ancient wonders?
Angkor Wat in Cambodia. You can spend days climbing through massive stone galleries that feel swallowed by the jungle.
How many ancient wonders are there on this list?
Ten are ranked, and 11 more are listed below them. They sit across 10 countries.
How were these ancient wonders ranked?
On three things together: how much each one does to a person standing in front of it, whether an ordinary person can realistically get there, and whether people come away glad they went. Not on how famous they are.
When is the best time to visit the ancient wonders?
Each one has its own months, shown against it in the list. The same place is not the same place in July and January, so the month matters as much as the choice.
The rest of the ancient wonders
Worth the trip, just outside the ten
