Natural or man made creations that make people wonder about its specialty. They are classified as ancient, medieval, modern and natural. The modern day wonders are classified or selected on the basis of public opinion around the world. The recent such selection was made in July 2007.

Herodotus, Greek historian; Callimachus of Cyrene (now in Libya); Diodoros of Sicily; Antipator of Sidon (now in Lebanon) and Philo of Byzantium Empire.

1. GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA : Also called Pyramid of Khufu (Egyptian King) and Pyramid of Cheops - 2560 BC - Cairo, Egypt.
2. HANGING GARDEN OF BABYLON: Also called Hanging Garden of Semiramis - 600 BC - by Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar II. Present name of the location is Al Hillah, Babil, Iraq.
3. STATUE OF ZEUS: Olympic, Greece - 432 BC - Sculped by Greek sculptor Phidias.
4. TEMPLE OF ARTEMIS : Ephesus - 550 BC - Now the place is near Salcuk town of Turkey.
5. MAUSOLEUM OF MAUSOLUS : Halicamassus - 350 BC - It is the Mausoleum of Persian governor Mausolus.
6. COLOSSUS OF RHODES : Rhodes Island, Greece - 280 BC - Statue of Greek God Helios - Now damaged and destroyed. In 2008, decision has been taken to reconstruct it.
7. LIGHT HOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA: Pharos island, Alexandria, Egypt - 247 BC.

1. STONE HENGE : Pre-historic rock monuments - Wiltshire - UK - Earth works surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones.
2. COLOSSEUM : Rome, Italy - Roman architectural marvel. Place of gladiatorial contests during Roman empire - Built in 1 AD with 50,000 seating capacity.
3. CATACOMBS OF KOM EL SHOQAFA: Historical and archaeological site at Alexandria, Egypt.
4. GREAT WALL OF CHINA : China.
5. PORCELAIN TOWER OF NANJING : Historical site on the banks of Yangtze river, Nanjing, China in 15th century - Ming Dynasty.
6. HAGIA SOPHIA: Istanbul, Turkey - 537 AD - by Justinian Byzantine king - It was a church, then a mosque and now a museum. The dome is the famous aspect.
7. LEANING TOWER OF PISA: Pisa, Italy - completed in early 14th century - 56.7 mtr/186.02 feet tall - 4.09 mt/13.42 feet base width - 2.48 mtr/8.14 feet top width - total weight expected to be 14500 metric tons - 296 steps leaning by 3.99 degrees.

New Wonders Foundation, Switzerland. The survey and polling commenced in 2001. In 2006, 21 sites were put up for public polling of which 7 selected new wonders announced on 7.7.2007 in a function at Benefica stadium, Lisban, Portugal.

1. GREAT WALL OF CHINA : Runs from Shangaihuans is in the East to Lap Nur in the west of China. Length is 8851.8 kms (5500.3 miles). Although commenced around 220 to 206 BC, it was mostly built during Ming Dynasty. It is also a WHS.
2. PETRA: Arabah, Jordan - 100 BCE - rock cut architecture on the slope of mount Hor.
3. CHRIST THE REDEEMER : Rio-de-Janeiro - Brazil - completed in 1931 - Jesus statue on top of Corcovado mountain in Tijuca forest - 39.6 m/130 feet tall including the pedestal.
4. MACHU PICHU : Urubamba valley, Peru - Inca Empire archaeological site - 1430 AD.
5. CHICHEN ITZA : Mayan Civilization archeological site in Yucatan provinces, Mexico.
6. COLOSSEUM OF ROME : Italy.
7. TAJ MAHAL : Agra, India - built by Sha Jehan, Mughal Emperor in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal - completed in 1653.

1. GRAND CANYON : Colorado, Arizona, USA, 277 miles / 446 km long; 4 to 18 miles / 6.4 to 29 mks width; 1.83 km depth - formed by the Colorado river approximately 5.4 million years ago.
2. GREAT BARRIER REEF : Coral sea off Queensland, Australia, WHS 1981 - comprises of 2900 individual reefs, 900 islands stretching over 1600 miles / 2600 kms over an area approximately 344400 sq kms.
3. RIO DE JANEIRO PORT : Brazil.
4. MOUNT EVEREST : Asia. (See under mountains.)
5. AURORA : Natural light displays in the sky. An astronomical phenomenon. See under universe.
6. PARICUTIN : Cinder cone volcano. Michoacan state, Mexico.
7. VICTORIA FALLS : Zambesi river - Zambia and Zimbabwe - See under Falls.
8. YOSEMITE VALLEY & NATIONAL PARK : Wyoming USA, World first National Park - Established 1872.
9. IGUASSU FALLS : Argentina - see under Falls.
10.ANGEL FALLS : See under falls.
11.NIAGARA FALLS : USA-Canada, See under falls.
12.NILE RIVER : Egypt. See under rivers.

There are quite a large number of them around the world. The few, which are frequented by visitors and are also preserved for their heritage value, are given here; which includes buildings and structures:
1) AL AQSA MOSQUE : Jerusalem. After Mecca and Medina, this is considered as the third most holy place for Muslims.
2) ALTAMIRA : Spain. Paleolithic cave paintings and engravings.
3) ANKOR VAT : One of the greatest structure and temple complex at Kampuchea, built by Suryavarman II.
4) ANDES MOUNTAIN RANGES : Longest mountain ranges in the world in South America. Visited for its exotic flora and fauna.
5) ASWAN HIGH DAM : Dam across Nile river.
6) BALI: Indonesia - Beautiful Island a famous tourist attraction. Hindu population is dominant.
7) TIANANMEN SQUARE , Beijing: World's largest public square.
8) BETHLEHEM: Palestine, birth place of Jesus Christ.
9) CAIRO: Largest African City, famous for Pyramids.
10) CALVARY: Jerusalem - The place where Jesus Christ was crucified.
11) CANNES: France - Venue for the most prestigious film festival.
12) CAPRI: Italy - An island and a famous tourist attraction.
13) DHAKA: Bangladesh, called the city of mosques.
14) EIFFEL TOWER : Paris, France - An iron tower erected for the Paris Exhibition in 1889. Designed by Gustav Eiffel. Lies on Seine river. World's most visited site.
15) PETRONA TOWERS : Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Second tallest building in the world. It is a twin tower.
16) BURJ KHALIFA : Dubai -829.84 mtrs (2723 ft) - Opened in January 2010 - Tallest man made structure in the world today.