Tayrona
National Park,
Santa Marta,
Colombia....VOTED NUMBER TWO!
Top
10 beaches of the world
1.
Las Islas Cies, Galicia, Spain
2.
Tayrona National Park,
Santa
Marta,
Colombia
I've never been as
instantly impressed by a beach as I was
the moment I set eyes on Tayrona. After
a 40-minute hike through the forest, I
was expecting to see a classic Caribbean
beach, all white sand and calm turquoise
water, perhaps a few cabanas for the
tourists. Instead I was greeted with a
wild sea crashing on to rocks the size
of houses that are dotted along the
untamed and semi-deserted beach. In a
country with a "healthier" tourist
industry Tayrona would undoubtedly be a
major resort, but as it's in Colombia
the virgin rainforest cascades down the
mountainside right on to the sand. And
there was no one on it save a small
community of backpackers who sleep in
open-air hammocks.
On arrival I
wandered along it, marvelling at the raw
beauty and remoteness of the place but
after just 10 minutes I quite literally
walked into my friend Jim! It was the
unlikeliest spot for a "you'll never
guess who I bumped into" travel story,
and made for the best beach holiday I've
ever had. I gather it's become more
popular in the ten years since I was
there, but thanks to its national park
status the developers have been kept at
bay.
Where
to stay: Under the stars in
a hammock strung between two palm
trees.
3.
Porto da Barra, Salvador, Brazil
4.
Anywhere on Palawan, the Philippines
5.
Nungwi, Zanzibar, Tanzania
6.
Arambol, Goa, India
7. Whitehaven,
Whitsunday Islands, Queensland,
Australia
8.
Shell Beach, Isle of Purbeck, Dorset
9. Sinclair´s Bay,
Caithness
10. Aroa, Aitutaki, One Foot
Island, Cook Islands
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