This Hidden Gem National Park Was Just Named the Best Panoramic View in the World

From the rim of Ordesa Valley in northern Spain, the Pyrenees seem endless.

It’s a landscape of jagged peaks, plunging ravines, and meadows lined with green forests—it’s so gorgeous that it was recently named the best panoramic view in the world by travel photographer Bella Falk and CEWE, a U.K. photo printing company.

The honor went to Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that sprawls north of Huesca, Spain. Established in 1918, the park is one of Spain’s oldest protected landscapes, and its namesake summit—Monte Perdido, the “lost mountain”—rises 11,000 feet and is the third-highest peak in the Pyrenees. In a press release shared with Travel + Leisure, Falk and CEWE noted the park’s “plunging valleys and snow-capped peaks” and “majestic mountain landscape.”

For those chasing unforgettable views or the perfect panoramic photo, this Spanish national park has earned its place at the very top of the list. The views are so spectacular that this lesser-known park topped iconic sites like Machu Picchu in Peru and Torres del Paine in Chile. Ordesa y Monte Perdido stood out for its variety of scenery and accessibility, meaning its views can be enjoyed without special hiking equipment or skills.

“The best panoramas have scale, so you’re sucked in by the landscape but also have anchor points to draw your eye in, such as a river or jagged peak. The best views are emotionally powerful and give you that moment of stillness, scale, and perspective that makes you want to stay and watch for longer,” Falk said.

Following Ordesa y Monte Perdido in the worldwide ranking were Peyto Lake in Canada’s Banff National Park and Lake Atitlán in Guatemala’s southwestern highlands. The only U.S.-based panoramic view to make the top 10 list was White Sands National Park in New Mexico.

Here’s the full list of the 10 best panoramic views around the world, according to Falk and CEWE:

1. Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park — Spain
2. Peyto Lake in Banff National Park — Canada
3. Lake Atitlán —Guatemala
4. Aït Benhaddou — Morocco
5. Machu Picchu — Peru 
6. Gibraltar from the top of the Rock Gibraltar — U.K.
7. White Sands National Park — New Mexico
8. Horsethief Canyon — Canada 
9. Torres del Paine National Park – Chile
10. Sossusvlei — Namibia