There are places in the world that seem to come from a fairy tale, even surpassing our imagination. One them is Zhangye Danxia Geological Park, China.
It is simply hard to believe that reality can offer something that resembles so much a work of art.
The majestic land from Danxia (Rainbow Mountains) of Zhangye city is a stunning artwork of nature. Its spectacular landscapes, unusual shapes, and bright colors in perfect combination, creates one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world.
Danxia, the Zhangye formations and its hills, cover about 300 square kilometers, in an area with low rainfall near the Gobi desert.
The creation of this work of art was not easy. It took a painstakingly 24 million years of setting up mineral deposits to form these stones. Over time, these layers were compressed into rock, and then an unimaginably slow collision of the Indo-Australian continental plate with Eurasia, resulted in the birth of this surreal landscape.
Thus, the extraordinary color is the result of erosion and tectonic activity. Tectonic plates, wind and water have created prominent boulders, gullies, cliffs, waterfalls and large caves, all in an arid landscape.
Tourists from around the world visit Zhangye Danxia Geological Park of China and are amazed by the surprising landscape: a mountain range dressed in a rainbow.
It seems devoid of vegetation, but there are various rare species of flora and fauna (about 400).
There are also numerous temples, some of them extremely isolated, accessible only to monks, as they are far away from traffic areas, and the easiest way to reach them is by helicopter.
Also, the geological park is crossed by a river on which you can go by boat or kayak.
In 2010, this wonderful region was placed on the UNESCO world heritage list.
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