This was published 6 years ago
Top 10 nerve-wracking rocks revealed in Secret Marvels of the World, Lonely Planet's new book
By Edited by Julietta Jameson
Karlu Karlu, also known as the Devil's Marbles, in Northern Territory.Credit: NT Tourism
IT'S WONDERFUL, IT'S MARVELLOUS
You've gone down the Grand Canyon, up the Eiffel Tower and clamoured the Colosseum. Now you're ready for some off-the-ticket line action away from the madding crowds. In its new book, Secret Marvels of the World, Lonely Planet leads an adventure into the world's lesser-known sights and attractions.
Here are the top 10 nerve-wracking rocks.
TROLLTUNGA, NEAR TYSSEDAL, NORWAY
The tongue of rock jutting above the water at Ringedalsvatnet is one of Norway's most spectacular photo ops. Hikers embark on a tough, 12-hour circuit from Skjeggedal to balance on the 700-metre-high rock.
Skjeggedal is five kilometres east of Tyssedal in southern Norway.
BALANCING ROCK OF MAHABALIPURAM, NEAR CHENNAI, INDIA
It's a 250-tonne rock, six metres tall and on a 45-degree slope, but attempts to roll Krishna's Butterball downhill have failed, and tourists safely pose beneath.
The rock is just off Madha Kovil Street in Mahabalipuram, 55 kilometres south of Chennai.
PEDRA DA GAVEA, TIJUCA NATIONAL PARK, BRAZIL
For a death-defying holiday photo, head to this 844-metre-high Rio lookout. From the right angle, you'll appear to cling to a rock high above the beach; in reality, you're two feet from solid ground.
It's a tough, six-hour return hike through Tijuca National Park. Hire a guide: nattrip.com.br
KJERAGBOLTEN, NEAR OYGARDSTOL, NORWAY
The ultimate in daring poses is atop this boulder, gripped between two cliffs above a 984-metre drop. The block was deposited here by glacial movement and has become a vertigo-inducing spot for a photo.
The nine-kilometre hike to Kjeragbolten, some of the route assisted by chains, begins in Oygardstol.
NATURE'S TIME POST, TIVERTON, CANADA
Inspiring countless attempts at perspective trickery photos, this basalt column appears to balance on its tip on the corner of a larger rock in the Bay of Fundy.
Find the column via a 2.5-kilometre hike and 235 stairs; the route begins off Hwy 217, Tiverton.
PREIKESTOLEN, NEAR PREIKESTOLHYTTA, NORWAY
Rising sharply 604 metres above the Lysefjord, Pulpit Rock is the reward for an intense four-hour hike in Norway's Ryfylke fiord region – snap a photo near the edge, but not that near the edge.
Take a bus from Stavanger ferry terminal to Preikestolhytta, the trailhead for Pulpit Rock.
KARLU KARLU, NORTHERN TERRITORY
Also known as the Devil's Marbles, granite globes are dotted around a parched valley. To Aboriginal people, these weathered boulders have sacred significance. One pair seemingly defy gravity.
The Devil's Marbles reserve is on the Stuart Highway, 100 kilometres south of Tennant Creek.
BALANCED ROCK, UTAH, US
Balanced Rock roosts on a slender 39-metre column, looking ready to fall at any moment. Its twin rock formation did indeed tumble during the 1970s, so don't stand too close, just in case.
A 20-minute hiking trail to the rock begins off the main road of Arches National Park in Utah.
CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL MONUMENT, ARIZONA, US
Resembling a spinning top amid the creeks, volcanic formations and grottoes of this Arizona park, the Big Balanced Rock perches improbably at its narrow end.
Various trails from Echo Canyon Trailhead in Chiricahua National Monument reach the rock.
KUMMAKIVI, RUOKOLAHTI, FINLAND
It's impossible to resist posing, arms raised, beneath this boulder. Performing a balancing act on a low mound, the seven-metre-wide rock was deposited by glacial movement, though folktales blame trolls.
The forest concealing the rock is a 10-kilometre drive north from route 62 in southeastern Finland.
Reproduced with permission from Secret Marvels of the World, © 2017 Lonely Planet, lonelyplanet.com
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