Special Report: 25 Places to See Before They Change Forever
Featured, Local Insight, Travel Tips — By Alex Resnik on March 8, 2011 at 6:00 amOur world and its tourist attractions are constantly changing. Ever wish you could’ve visited Soviet Russia before Glasnost and Perestroika? Prague before the money and tourists came in? Las Vegas while the Rat Pack was still together? Ever find yourself wanting to pepper your travel stories with deliciously enviable phrases like, “It’s just not the same anymore”?
We here at NileGuide do. That’s why we’ve asked our globe-trotting Local Experts to fill us in on the top 25 places to see before they change forever. Read on, and visit quickly, before it’s too late.
1. The “Real” Great Wall of China
Image: David Block/Wikimedia Commons
The Wow: Visiting the Great Wall of China is a traveler’s dream come true. You have the unbelievable honor of walking on one of the wonders of the world, a monument to human achievement and a testament to the will of humanity. Sections of the 3,800-mile wall date as far back as the 5th century BC.
Why Now? The most visited part of the wall, Badaling, is an unabashed tourist trap. Simatai, one of the few sections of the Great Wall accessible from Beijing, retains original features from the Ming Dynasty. But, if erosion isn’t halted now, the wall may need an overhaul, which could bury the Ming Dynasty features forever under modern construction.
3 Comments
I wish there was an easier way to see the list than clicking on page numbers on bottom of the page.
A ‘next’ button would be so nice. Or scrolling down.
I gave up after no6.
Hey Tasha!
Totally hear you on the next button – we’re filing an enhancement on the pages and hope to have it fixed soon. Thank you so much for your feedback!
– Amy
Great special report, lot of good travel ideas. Also a bit sad reading, as it is usually we humans that are changing things… often irrevocably.
A world without the mountain gorillas is unbearable thought, and there are too many fragile ecosystems already under threat. Your report highlights what a beautiful planet we live on, but also how badly we are treating it.