Indulge Your Inner Archaeologist: 10 Majestic Ancient Ruins from Around the World

10. Hampi, Karnataka, India

These majestic 2000-year-old ruins are the remnants of one of the biggest and richest cities during its heyday. A tranquil oasis away from the hustle and bustle of the city, these UNESCO-listed ruins are the most-Googled historical place in its region.

9. Angkor Wat, Cambodia

This massive temple complex was originally built as a Hindu place of worship and later transformed to the Buddhist religion. Get there before sunrise and watch as dawn majestically lights up the temples!

8. Petra, Jordan

A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the new 7 Wonders of the World, you might have already heard of Petra or recognize it from several Hollywood blockbusters. Affectionately nicknamed The Rose City due to its color, Petra is one of the most enchanting temple ruins in the world.

7. Bagan, Myanmar

A flagship drawcard for Burma’s blooming tourism industry, Bagan is famous for its beautiful pagodas. It was inhabited from the 9th to 13th century, it was home to over 10,000 Buddhist temples and 3,000 monasteries! More than 2,000 of these temples and pagodas can be still appreciated today.

6. Luxor Temple, Egypt

Built from sandstone around 1400 BCE, this grand cluster of temples sit by the Nile, where Alexander the Great claims to have been crowned. Highlights include a Colossus of Ramesses II and intricate ancient wall inscriptions.

5. Descending God Temple, Tulum, Mexico

These ruins offer a magnificent look at traditional Mayan architecture over a stunning backdrop of white sands and Caribbean blues. Tulum is a walled city whose inhabitants survived almost a century after the Spanish colonized Mexico, but eventually succumbed to Old World diseases introduced by the settlers.

4. Machu Picchu, Peru

This iconic Incan city is perhaps one of the most well-recognized attractions in South America. The Temple of the Sun was an important and exclusive place in this ancient city. Built in the mid-1400s, the city survived until 1572. Its ruins lie among the picturesque Andean peaks; truly a sight to behold.

3. Borobudur, Indonesia

Recognized as the largest Buddhist Temple in world, these ruins of an exquisite Javanese Buddist temple are home to the largest number of Buddha reliefs in the world! Beautifully preserved and faithfully restored, Borobudur was built in the 9th century and was abandoned in the 14 century as the Islamic faith gained prominence in Java.

2. Ephesus, Turkey

This magnificent site is where iconic ruins like the Temple of Artemis and the Basilica and Tomb of St. John lie. Destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout its existence, Ephesus is rich with over 8,000 years of history, and it’s speculated that the Gospel of John was written here.

1. Ellora Caves, India

A major tourist attraction in the region, these ruins are a beautiful mix of 34 Hindu, Buddhist and Jain caves, a monument to the area’s past history of religious harmony. The caves were carved out of rock from the Charanandri hills between the 6th and the 9th centuries.