Real Locations that should be fantasy

[Eosin]

I've been putting together a list of real places on Earth that seem to have been created by some aspiring fantasy writer. I'd like to know what everyone else has tucked away on their hard drives or bookmarked.

My List includes:
Museum of the Dead
Bone Cathedral
Wieliczka Salt Mines
The Gate To Hell
Crater Lake
Mirror of Heaven

The links go to my personal site but most of them were originally buried in wiki or on travel blogs somewhere else.

So, what cool fantastic sites do you know about?

[Manic Typist]

Awesome!

Gate to Hell is the same link as the salt mine. Why do you tease me so?

[Eosin]

Awesome!

Gate to Hell is the same link as the salt mine. Why do you tease me so?

Fixed.

I've cross posted this elsewhere and I am turning up some pretty good hits so be sure to check back.

[phookz]

Nice finds - thanks for sharing! Repp'ed

[Lord Liaden]

Fabulous collection, Eosin. I will have to owe you Rep for it, though.

My contribution: the floating islands of Lake Titicaca in the Andes Mountains, fashioned by the Uros people entirely out of thick masses of buoyant cane-like reeds. Completely artificial, and mobile when necessary. They're a major tourist attraction of the region.

More photos and details here:

http://www.andrys.com/peru8.html

http://www.andrys.com/peru9.html

http://www.andrys.com/peru10.html

[Eosin]

I've got about 13 locations listed now. It is easier check out the Fantasy Locations Forum than it is to link to all those individual threads. Forgive my laziness but I haven't even got all the insane sights up yet [I am about four behind right now including the floating islands and Gieger's Bar]

[Gawain]

How about the Plain Of Jars in Laos?

[Comic]

Angels Falls and Tepui el Diablo in Venezuela.
The Witch's Stairway, Blarney Castle Park, Ireland (small scale and touristy, but special)
El Portillo, Dominica
The West Coast Trail, Vancouver Island, British Columbia

[Lord Liaden]

Looking over your full list at Pencil-Pushers, Eosin, I notice you're more interested in large-scale architecture than I realized at first. In that case, let me direct you to the ancient Middle Eastern city of Petra, an artificial "oasis" amidst a rocky desert, holding a vast collection of temples, tombs, and other monuments literally carved out of the cliffs surrounding the city.

This "virtual tour" of Petra displays more of the ancient monuments: http://www.raingod.com/angus/Gallery.../Jordan/Petra/

[Pentoth]

That is really cool I heard of the Osuary before but all the other places are new to me. Thank You. I will have to put them to use.

[CTaylor]

The Temples of Damanhur are another wierd, cool place that seems fantasy. Just the Redwood forest seems like an enty, faerie sort of place.

[Eosin]

Looking over your full list at Pencil-Pushers, Eosin, I notice you're more interested in large-scale architecture than I realized at first. In that case, let me direct you to the ancient Middle Eastern city of Petra, an artificial "oasis" amidst a rocky desert, holding a vast collection of temples, tombs, and other monuments literally carved out of the cliffs surrounding the city.

This "virtual tour" of Petra displays more of the ancient monuments: http://www.raingod.com/angus/Gallery.../Jordan/Petra/

I am interested in the freaky weird, "holy cow" type of stuff. Large or small. I am just overwhelmed by the number of entries. I am now about 30-40 behind. So keep checking the list every couple of days.

The Temples of Damanhur are another wierd, cool place that seems fantasy. Just the Redwood forest seems like an enty, faerie sort of place.

I added the temples last night. Talk about strange.

[Lord Liaden]

It could be interesting in a fantasy setting to have the Door to Hell and the Mirror of Heaven within the same region. The locals could mean those names literally and treat them as sacred (or taboo) sites. They might even be the centers of rival cults.

[Lord Liaden]

For freaky-looking natural formations, it's hard to top Monument Valley in the state of Utah. (Don't miss the photo gallery on the bottom of the webpage.) In a fantasy setting it certainly wouldn't be hard to envision these formations being man-made, or at least man-enhanced. Now that I think of it, if you add the stone-working of Petra, above, to these buttes you'd have one freak-inducing environment.

[Eosin]

It could be interesting in a fantasy setting to have the Door to Hell and the Mirror of Heaven within the same region. The locals could mean those names literally and treat them as sacred (or taboo) sites. They might even be the centers of rival cults.

Add some Cenotes from the Yucatan with some of H.P.L.s "Deep Ones" and by god you have a ready made supernatural fantasy.

For freaky-looking natural formations, it's hard to top Monument Valley in the state of Utah. (Don't miss the photo gallery on the bottom of the webpage.) In a fantasy setting it certainly wouldn't be hard to envision these formations being man-made, or at least man-enhanced. Now that I think of it, if you add the stone-working of Petra, above, to these buttes you'd have one freak-inducing environment.

This. This is exactly why I started collecting these sites. They are real but inspire such awesomeness. I think of them as looking at the works of the great masters in art school. You aren't going to re-create their works but you can learn from them and improve your own vision.

Thanks.