10 Secret Travel Destinations You Never Knew Existed…

There are a lot of really beautiful places in the world, but I think it's fair to say that not all beautiful places are created equal. In fact, some of the most beautiful places it in the world are lesser known and lesser talked about. Here, we've put together a list of 19 incredibly gorgeous spots in the world, most of which are off the beaten path. Which one of these would you like to get lost in during your next vacation? #1. A 12th century fortress in Normandy, France.Invaders from England, France, or wherever else aren't going to get past this fairytale bastion - Rapunzel not included.

#2. A field of flowers in Holland.Don't let the postcard view fool you. In the Netherlands, growing and exporting flowers is a huge business that pulls in billions a year.

#3. A tree with insane roots in Costa Rica.Reports of hobbits have not been verified, but this tree in Costa Rica looks like it could house a solid doz

#4.The Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona.The Colorado River is hundreds of miles long, but in Arizona it takes a leisurely detour to carve out this spectacular formation.

#5 Vertical stairs at Machu Picchu in Peru.Nobody is entirely sure why the ancient Incas decided to build a huge temple complex at the top of nearly vertical mountain peaks, but they must have been incredibly confident people with strong calves.

# 6 Iguazu Waterfalls in Brazil and Argentina.Brazil and Argentina both get to boast views of these spectacular waterfalls, but the border region is home to an amazing amount of shady business between the two countries.

#7 The magical Halle forest in Belgium.Area residents are so used to trolls, centaurs, and other mythical creatures strolling out of their forest that they walk out of Hollywood fantasy movies saying "what's the big deal?"

#8. Maly Semiachik in Kamchatka, Russia.Located at the eastern end of Siberia, Kamchatka is where this region of spectacular landscapes just started getting loose and having fun. "Okay, yeah - let's put a turquoise lake on top of a volcano. Why the hell not?"

#9 Zhangye Danxia Landform in China.Growing numbers of international tourists are learning about these sandstone formations, smoothed by millions of years of wind and water, and have taught locals how to say "whoa, that looks cool" in thirty languages.

#10 Lençóis Maranhenses, located in Brazil.A coastal stretch of lagoons and dunes form arresting compositions of white sand and blue waters, looking like the cover of your dad's favorite 70's soft-rock record from his junior year of college, the one that has a fifteen-minute song about wizards on