The Great Wall of China

One of the most enriching experiences of my travel life till date has been climbing The Great Wall of China. One of the seven wonders of the world and for several reasons it justifies the tag.

One. The sheer enormity of the structure - 8850 kilometers, a 1000 kilometers more than the distance between New Delhi and London.

Two. The history - It shows that war could also sometimes lead to something brilliant. Built primarily to serve as a defense structure against invasions the Great Wall has protected those behind it from 3rd century BC to when the last war was waged on it in 1930. Thats almost 2 milleniums that the wall has stood. The stories of the uncountable number of battles it has seen, if only it could talk.

Three. The traveler's perspective. A world heritage site that you get to climb. Mutianyu Great Wall was a delight. Using a cable car to go up the mountain and then hiking on the wall was an experience of a lifetime. Exploring watchtowers and imagining the wars that would have fought by soldiers here, gives a whole new perspective to this architectural marvel. Using the Toboggan to slide down the mountain afterwards was a whole new adventure too.