7 of the World's Best Sunsets ...

Known for its beautiful white Grecian architecture with bright blue accenting, which mirrors the surrounding Aegean Sea, Santorini is not only a picture perfect masterpiece in and of itself – it is also a platform upon which to view one of the world’s best sunsets. Oia is a hilltop town, with porous volcanic rock and a maze of the classic Santorini style. As one of the world’s most photographic towns, Oia is even more photogenic when the sun falls over the Aegean, casting fiery color so vivid, one might think the sea and sky are on fire. Sit back with a nice Grecian glass of red at one of the city’s many fine restaurants, or find yourself a little secluded nook in the cliff face, if you’d rather take in the extraordinary sunset one-on-one.

Maasai Mara’s marvelous savannah landscape glows like an ember at dusk, the sky lit up red and the land below it mirroring the stellar flame, until sand and tree blacken to silhouette, allowing the sky to burn a solo in all its glory. With classic camps, lovely lodges and brilliant balloon safaris, a trip to the reserve is best between July and October, as the animals migrate to Mara annually from the Serengeti. You’ll see zebra, wildebeest and Thomson’s gazelle in their natural habitat, all under the Kenyan sun.

In one of the world’s most picturesque countries, you’ll find one of the world’s best sunsets in this sleepy Sicilian village. The fishing village, Aci Trezza, lying on the east coast of the island, serves as the backdrop for Giovanni Verga’s famous 1881 novel I Malavoglia (The House by the Medlar Tree). And it's no wonder that Verga chose such a backdrop, as the sun sets golden dust over the Mediterranean, sending it aglitter in dazzling brilliance. When you visit for the sunset, you can also sight-see the Islands of the Cyclops, three basalt rocks shaped into columns which, according to myth, were hurled at Ulysses by Polyphemus.

The Australian Outback does not shortchange visitors when it comes to natural beauty. With a circumference of 9.4 kilometers, the Uluru (Ayers Rock) is a dome climbing 348 meters over the desert plain and extending five kilometers below it. A section of 36 rock domes of various sizes and shapes, called Kata Tjuta (The Olgas), also lies 36 kilometers west of Uluru. Naturally, this national park has made it on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, and also has made our list of the world’s best sunsets, as the gigantic wonders are hit double by the sun’s brilliance and the desert’s landscape, all appearing to melt with color as it sets.

Atop your camel moseying across sand dunes, you’ll be living out the Arabian Nights under the desert sunset in Dubai. Out in the middle of the barren terrain, you’ll just make out the Dubai skyline in the distance, as the great bright sun seers to orange, then red, then hot pink, casting vibrant hues all around. If you’re afraid of camels, you might want to try Jumeirah Beach, a thousand-meter stretch of white sand bordering the Arabian Gulf, where you’ll find joy in seeing another spectacular sea sunset.

Head to Easter Island for a piece of history bathed in one of the world’s best sunsets. Situated in the Pacific Ocean nearly 3,700 kilometers off the Chilean coast, the Easter Island statues of the Rapa Nui culture, also known as moai, have long watched the sun set brilliantly over the sea. Standing alongside these eternal statues, which date back to 1400 and 1600 AD, while taking in the Polynesian sun will have you wishing you too were set in stone to watch this glorious existence until the end of time.

Standing 152 meters, Guanshan Mountain in Kenting National Park offers a nice elevation from which to view the sun setting over the Hengchun Peninsula. The peninsula is a tourist hotspot, with no highways or trains leading to the natural oasis, with its lush forests and stellar hot springs. Fude Temple’s (Gaoshanyen) adjacent pavilion alongside Guanshan Trail is the ideal viewing spot. So plant down after a nice hike and take it all in.

Where have you seen some magnificent sunsets? Please share in the comments.