Nature: 8 Amazing Mountain Views

Last modified 01.04.2022 | Published 03.11.2014Austria, Brazil, China, Ecuador, France, Italy, Myanmar, Norway, World abstracts

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Have you been to these 8 amazing mountain views? If you take nature as the basis and exclude skyscrapers, constructed “skywalks” and such, we are left with a selection of natural viewpoints high up in the air.

 

This post is part of a series portraying the classic Elements of Nature: Earth, Fire, Water, Air. Mountain views are examples of the first element, Earth.

This is in essence a continuation of the previous chapter in this series, the one about dramatic cliffs. The cliffs plunged into the sea, but the views presented below are slightly different and some are inland as well.

 

A great sea view

1. Taormina, Sicily, Italy

This is one of the most touristy towns anywhere, and for a very good reason. The view of the Mediterranean Sea is fantastic. Like on this picture.

 

Italy - Sicilia - Taormina

A glass of red from a terrace in Taormina

 

Four great viewpoints over major cities

2. Corcovado and Sugar Loaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Get on top of the Corcovado, and at the base of the huge statue of Christ you will get this view of central Rio with the beaches and all. The small featured image for this post shows the Copacabana seen from the Sugar Loaf Mountain.

 

Brazil - Rio de Janeiro - View of Guanara Bay from Corcovado

View of Guanara Bay from Corcovado. The Sugar Loaf mountain is to the left

 

3. Victoria Peak, Hong Kong

There is something about Hong Kong that is alluring to all visitors, like the view from the Peak.

 

Hong Kong - View of Hong Kong Central, from the Peak

View of Hong Kong Central, from the Peak on a typically grey day

 

4. Montmartre, Paris, France

The afternoons on the Montmartre get intensely crowded by tourists on the market, and not least on the steps of the white basilica on the hilltop.

 

France - Paris - A long-distance view of Sacré-Coeur and Montmartre

Alright, this is wrong. It is actually taken from a distance in Paris. But the view is perhaps even better from this church, the Sacré-Coeur on the hill of Montmartre

 

5. The hills of Quito, Ecuador

There are several hills offering great views of this splendid town high in the Andes. The view pictured below is not the highest, but it does offer a good impression of the layout of the Ecuadorian capital.

 

Ecuador - Quito - View from the Cerro Panecillo

View from the Cerro Panecillo

 

Three great views of a mountainous scenery

6. Zwölferhorn (Austria)

For mountain views we cannot avoid offering a view from a hill in the Alps. This is from a very nice place only a few hours away from Salzburg.

 

Austria - Salzkammergut - Zwölferhorn

The view from Zwölferhorn in Salzkammergut

 

7. Taung Kalat (Myanmar)

Not very far from the famous plains of Bagan there is a rather strange hill called Taung Kalat, or as it usually is called in tourist language, Mount Popa. The view from the Buddhist temple on top is good, but the view of the hill from a distance is even better.

 

Myanmar - Popa Mountain Resort

The view of Mount Popa (Taung Kalat) in Myanmar. A temple is appearing in the morning mist.

 

8. Besseggen (Norway)

This mountainous region in the interior of Norway is called Jotunheimen, literally “home of giants”. The sharp edge of Besseggen in between two lakes at different altitudes, is where Ibsen’s Peer Gynt character rode a reindeer, or so Peer claimed.

 

Norway - Jotunheimen - The postcard view of Besseggen with the lakes of Gjende and Bessvatn

The postcard view of Besseggen with the lakes of Gjende and Bessvatn

 

Volcanoes and cliffs are dealt with in other blog entries in this series and are not repeated although many of them are obviously great viewpoints.

 

Further reading

That was 8 amazing mountain views. Missing anything? For sure, I’ve had to skip some of my images related to this subject and refrained from mentioning some of my visits. Feel free to search this website for more. In addition, you are surely missing famous places or your own favourites. Chances are I haven’t been there, and I only include my own images and visits in this series.

 

All articles in this series

(1) Introduction

(2-7) Element: Earth

(2) Great Caves

(3) Strange Rock Formations

(4) Dramatic Cliffs

(5) Amazing Mountain Views

(6) Great Highlands

(7) Dry Deserts

(8) Element: Fire

(8) Active Volcanoes

(9-14) Element: Water

(9) Dramatic waterfalls

(10) Fascinating Beaches

(11) Mighty rivers

(12) Picturesque Lakes

(13) Important Straits

(14) Snow and ice

(15) Element: Air