Are you aware of the seven natural wonders of the world? No? Perfect, because I’m about to list them off:

• Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe
• Mt. Everest in Nepal/China
• The Grand Canyon in Arizona
• The Great Barrier Reef off Australia
• The Northern Lights
• Paricutin Volcano in Mexico
• The Harbor of Rio de Janiero

Do you know what is missing from this list? I propose to include an eighth natural wonder of the world based on the fact that its just as spectacular as the landscape of Rio.

Cape Town. It’s beyond words.

Beyond words, indeed, but I’ll attempt anyway. Not only is this stunning coastal city hugging beautiful chilly waters of both the Atlantic and maybe a smidge of the Southern Ocean, but it’s topped by a plateau that throws the clouds over its summit like a table cloth as well as the twelve jutting crags that line the western face of the mountain range. To look up any street in the city and see in the crisp sky this massive formation just makes the heart melt. The best is when this view comes at you from your hostel WC. Talk about a loo with a view!

What is there to do in Cape Town, you ask? If you like to spend money, look at things, eat things, climb things, free fall, ride around, drink things, or dance around, you’ll enjoy yourself in Cape Town.

What cannot be overlooked, though, is the history that barely dates back more than a decade. In our lifetimes, there was complete havoc between racial and socioeconomic lines, travesties committed against people by people. And now this place waits for you at the bottom of Africa, tempting you with sports, wine and awesome views.

It doesn’t seem like the dust could have settled by now, and in many ways it hasn’t. Racism will continue to flourish probably for decades to come (sadly). So in the mix of traveling throughout this great city, it pays to visit the townships and orphanages that resulted from the human cruelty of apartheid. It’s not quite “dark tourism,” but it gives you an awareness that could easily be avoided (to your disadvantage) and could definitely enhance the trip.