Would you like to visit the original Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London? The Seven Falls in Brazil and Paraguay? The original Penn Station in New York? Or how about the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria or maybe the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan? Well, you can’t. Why? Because they no longer exist!

The original Shakespeare’s Globe theatre burnt down. Seven Falls got flooded because of an artificial man-made lake. The original Penn Station was demolished. Palmyra was destroyed by ISIS, and the Buddhas of Bamiyan were dynamited by the Taliban.

But there are still some iconic places you can visit if you go soon before they vanish. Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest mountain in Africa, and it’s known for 10,000 year-old stunning glaciers. But between 1911 and 2012, Kilimanjaro lost 85% of its ice. Scientists predict it may all be gone by 2060.

How about a trip to the Dead Sea in Israel or Jordan? Well, you might want to go there pretty soon. The lowest point on Earth has very salty water and as it recedes, it creates sinkholes. These sinkholes force the water levels to drop at a rate of three feet per year. You don’t have to do math to understand this, but you better get there soon.

The Great Wall of China stretches for thousands of miles, which might soon turn into hundreds, dozens and then no miles at all as it ceases to exist. About a third of China’s greatest attraction and UNESCO World Heritage site has already disappeared! Natural erosion and human vandalism are to blame.

Because of global warming, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia joins this sad list. The scientists give it only two decades until the reef experiences irreversible damage. It’s home to the world’s largest collection of coral reefs. But that might soon change because the corals are dying! Increasing the water temperature results in continuous bleaching, and coral becomes more vulnerable from expelling algae from its tissues.

When I visited Juneau in Alaska, one of my favorite stops is the Mendenhall Glacier. Its ice caves and ice cap domes attract over 500,000 visitors a year. But in the last 50 years, the glacier has receded more than 1.5 miles and is almost unrecognizable. As it melts, more and more ice caves become just too dangerous to visit.

Unfortunately, Mendenhall Glacier is not the only endangered attraction in the U.S. The historic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse built in 1870 in North Carolina is the world’s tallest brick lighthouse. But soon that may no longer be the case. The lighthouse is under threat of beach erosion and rising sea levels.

The bottom line is to discard the word “later” from your vocabulary and go now.

By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com

For more tips on tourist attractions, check out: 

5 Endangered Tourist Attractions

Snow and Ice Tourist Attractions

How to Avoid Crowds at Major Attractions