6 Breathtaking Rock Pillar Landscapes Around The World

Featuring a lot of pillars (usually) that rise from the earth like giant petrified spikes, rock pillar landscapes are some of the most impressive natural wonders of our world. Molded by geological phenomena and the action of the elements over millennia, these bizarre rock formations have, nowadays, become breathtaking tourist attractions.

# Manpupuner Rock Formations, Russia

The Manpupuner rock formations or the Seven Strong Men Rock Formations or Poles of the Komi Republic are a set of 7 gigantic abnormally shaped stone pillars located north of the Ural mountains in the Troitsko-Pechorsky District of the Komi Republic. These monoliths are around 30 to 42 m (100-140 ft) high and jut out of a hilly plateau formed through the weathering effects of ice and winds.

# Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China

The Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is a unique national forest park located in Zhangjiajie City in northern Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. It is one of several national parks within the Wulingyuan Scenic Area. The most notable geographic features of the park are the pillar-like formations that are seen throughout the park. They are the result of many years of erosion. The weather is moist year round, and as a result, the foliage is very dense. Much of the erosion which forms these pillars are the result of expanding ice in the winter and the plants which grow on them. These formations are a distinct hallmark of Chinese landscape, and can be found in many ancient Chinese paintings.

# Lena Pillars, Russia

The giant stone colonnades of Lena Pillars Nature Park line the banks of the Lena River in the Sakha Republic, also known as Yakutia. Isolated from each other, the pillars soar to heights of 100 meters or more than 328 feet, and are also rich in fossils. They formed by freeze-thaw action over the millennia due to the area’s extreme changes in temperatures. The site lies less than a day's boat ride upriver (south) from the city of Yakutsk, the capital of the autonomous Sakha Republic. One may plan a river cruise by contacting a travel service in the city of Yakutsk.

# Isimila Gorge in Iringa, Tanzania

This Monument in Tanzania is found at Isimila, 20 km (12.5 mi) South of Iringa on the Mbeya road. Isimila date back some thousands years and contains ancient tools, weapons and dramatic sandstone columns that stand as mute sentinels to a bygone era. Pillars standing in arrays along a 2 km (1.25 mi) gorge and the height of each is variable ranging between 20-30 feet (6-9 m) high from the basement of the eroded land. The site was discovered in 1951 by Mr. D.A.Maclennan of the St. Peters School in Johannesburg, South Africa who was on his way from Nairobi to Johannesburg.

# Đavolja Varoš, Serbia

Đavolja Varoš (meaning "Devil's Town") is a peculiar rock formation, located in south Serbia on the Radan Mountain near Kuršumlija. It features 202 exotic formations described as earth pyramids or "towers", as the locals refer to them. They are 2-15 m (7-50 ft) tall and 4-6 m (13-20 ft) wide at the base. These formations were created by strong erosion of the soil that was scene of intense volcanic activity thousands of years ago. Most of the towers have "caps" or "heads" of andesite, which protect them from further erosion. Since 1959, Đavolja Varoš has been protected by the state and a 1995 decision of the Serbian Government declared it a major natural monument subject to category one protection.

# Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, Madagascar

Tsingy de Bemaraha is one of Madagascar's newest parks - it was opened to the public only in 1998. The 152,000 ha (587 sq mi) Bemaraha is best known for its tsingy sharp limestone pinnacles that may reach 150 feet (45 m) in height. Cut through the tsingy are canyons and gorges full of rich fauna and flora. The Tsingys are karstic plateaus in which groundwater has undercut the elevated uplands, and has gouged caverns and fissures into the limestone. The word tsingy is indigenous to the Malagasy language as a description of the karst badlands of Madagascar. The word can be translated into English as where one cannot walk barefoot. This place is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.