Published on
August 18, 2025
Ordesa y Monte Perdido Crowned the Best Panoramic View in the World
Peyto Lake, Canada, and Lake Atitlan in Guatemalan Highlands Follow in Second and Third Place
Expert Travel Photographer Shares Essential Tips for Capturing the Best Panoramic Shots
Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park, Peyto Lake, and Lake Atitlan are among the best panoramic views in the world. From dramatic mountains to breathtaking landscapes, from serene lakes to striking skylines, panoramic scenes have the power to capture nature’s beauty and otherworldly moments like nothing else.
To celebrate the art of landscape photography, Europe’s leading photo printing company, CEWE, has partnered with award-winning travel photographer Bella Falk to reveal the top 10 panoramic views across the globe.
Bella’s ranking is based on a combination of visual impact, variety of scenery, and accessibility, featuring both iconic destination landmarks and hidden gems, which can be enjoyed without special gear or technical expertise.
Bella also shares her top tips for capturing stunning panoramic photography, perfect for those who find it tricky to get the perfect shot.
| Rank | Panoramic View | Location | Country | Continent | Landscape Type | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ordesa y Monte Perdido, National Park | Aragon | Spain | Europe | Mountains | Plunging valleys and snow-capped peaks from a majestic mountain landscape. |
| 2 | Peyto Lake | Banff National Park, Canada | Canada | North America | Mountains | The lake’s vivid turquoise colour viewed from above makes a striking panoramic scene framed by forest and snow-capped mountains. |
| 3 | Lake Atitlan | Guatemalan Highlands | Guatemala | Central America | Natural Wonders | Overlooked by three volcanoes and ringed by traditional villages, this highland lake offers a beautiful natural amphitheatre of water and peaks. |
| 4 | Ait Ben Haddou | Morocco | Morocco | Africa | Manmade | This ancient earthen village set against the Atlas Mountains offers a panoramic blend of desert tones, history, and cinematic scale. |
| 5 | Machu Picchu | Peru | Peru | South America | Manmade | This ancient Inca citadel perches dramatically in cloud forest peaks, offering a world-famous view of stone, jungle, and sky. |
| 6 | Gibraltar from the top of the Rock | Gibraltar | Gibraltar | Europe | Manmade | From the summit, you get a striking bird’s-eye view over the densely packed city, the harbour, and the airport runway that marks the border with Spain — framed by the green slopes of the Rock itself. |
| 7 | White Sands National Park | New Mexico | United States | North America | Natural Wonders | Waves of gypsum sand under an open sky create a surreal, minimalist landscape that glows at sunrise and sunset. |
| 8 | Horsethief Canyon | Drumheller, Alberta, Canada | Canada | North America | Natural Wonders | Grand Canyon without the crowds. Humbug-striped rock formations, deep ravines, and fossil-rich terrain give a deep, rugged, textured view. |
| 9 | Torres del Paine | Chile | Chile | South America | Mountains | Granite spires, glacial lakes, and Patagonian steppe create a wild, dramatic landscape that looks otherworldly. |
| 10 | Sossusvlei, Namib Desert | Namibia | Namibia | Africa | Natural Wonders | These huge orange dunes, some of the tallest in the world, stretch endlessly to the horizon, with the dead trees providing an evocative focal point. |
Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in Aragon, Spain, takes first place for the best panoramic views. Established in 1918 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park includes forests, valleys, and meadows. Its central feature is Monte Perdido, the third-highest peak in the Pyrenees at 3,355 meters. The park’s dramatic landscape makes it a popular destination for visitors and photographers alike.
Peyto Lake in Banff National Park, Canada follows in second place. Known as the country’s first national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the space attracts millions of visitors each year. The glacier-fed lake, formed within the Waputik Range, is famous for its vivid turquoise color, which, when viewed from above, creates a striking panoramic scene framed by forest and snow-capped mountains.
Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalan Highlands completes the top three panoramic views. Known as a natural wonder, this lake was formed by a volcanic eruption 84,000 years ago and is the deepest lake in Central America. Overlooked by three volcanoes and ringed by traditional villages, the highland lake offers otherworldly views and creates a breathtaking panoramic photo that combines both water and peaks.
Other honorable mentions that appear in the top 10 are Peru’s Machu Picchu, Canada’s Horsethief Canyon—known as the Grand Canyon without the crowds—and New Mexico’s White Sands National Park.
Describing What Makes the Perfect Panoramic Scene
Bella says: “A great panoramic view is about the wow factor; it’s a location that takes your breath away and reveals more detail the longer you look. They tend to be high up so you can look down and see the landscape spread out with nothing blocking your view. My personal favorite is the type that reveals itself at a summit of a climb so that as you approach the edge, the view unfolds to reward your efforts.
“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.”
Bella’s Top 5 Tips for Taking a Seamless Panoramic Shot
- Plan Ahead:
“If you can, recce the location in advance to scope out the best spots—you don’t want to be rushing to find an angle or battling through crowds just as the sun is disappearing. Also, check the weather and plan for the best light. Use tools like Photo Pills to see when the sun will hit the landscape as good lighting adds texture, depth, and mood to your shot.” - Focus on Layers Rather Than One Focal Point:
“Panoramas work best when you’ve got something interesting across the full width of the scene. Use layers, leading lines, or shapes that guide the viewer, not just a single focal point. Think about composition as too wide a shot can feel empty.” - Use the Rule of Thirds or Try a Stitched Panorama:
“Frame your shot with one-third sky and two-thirds landscape or put a point of interest a third of the way across the frame. Keep the horizon level. For higher-resolution results, try shooting a series of vertical images and using software to stitch them together into a wide horizontal panorama. This is helpful if you don’t have a wide enough lens to get everything in. Use an aperture of f/8 to f/16 for sharpness and stick to a 35–50mm focal length to minimize distortion. Set manual exposure for consistent lighting in every frame and expose for the brightest area to avoid blown highlights.” - Stabilize Your Shot:
“Take a breath before you start shooting to reduce camera shake. For smoother phone panoramas, stand with feet shoulder-width apart, tuck in your elbows, and rotate from your waist—not just your arms. Also, avoid tilting the camera while panning, as it can create a warped horizon and force you to crop the image.” - Avoid Moving Subjects:
“One common mistake is including moving objects such as people, animals, or cars in your panorama, which can cause strange warping or duplication. However, you can also have fun with this effect by having someone appear twice in the same shot.”
