The Teifi Pools are a set of glacial lakes and reservoirs around 1,500ft above sea level just out of the small village of Pontrhydfendigaid and have been described as being “so remote you might be on the moon”.
Earlier this year, the landmark was featured among The Telegraph’s list of the greatest world wonders you’ve never heard of along with other sites in locations like Cambodia, Peru and Greece.
See the full list of the greatest world wonders you’ve never heard of below. (Image: Getty Images)
Introducing the list, the news outlet said: “There are several overused phrases in the broad lexicon of travel writing, but few quite as regular in their deployment as ‘hidden gem’.
“It is an unimaginative use of language, bordering on cliché, put to work on a near-ceaseless basis to describe everything from a somewhat less busy beach (a little up the coast from a popular resort) to a neighbourhood restaurant in a corner of a big city (ever so slightly removed from the beaten tourist path).
“And yet… there are occasions when places are both genuinely lacking in wider profile, and utterly deserving of your time and attention, should you find yourself in their vicinity.
“Our experts pick their 16 out-of-the-way dots on the map that, for various reasons, are little known to the (British) travelling public, even though they make cameras click, jaws drop, and superlatives fall from mouths when you lay eyes on them.”
The greatest world wonders you’ve never heard of
The greatest world wonders you’ve never heard of, according to The Telegraph are:
- Tara River Canyon, Montenegro
- Santo Antão, Cape Verde
- Maginot Line, France
- Trongsa Dzong, Bhutan
- The chalk cliffs of Rügen, Germany
- Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia
- Elqui Valley, Chile
- Vatnajokull, Iceland
- Chavin de Huantar, Peru
- Long Meg and her Daughters, Cumbria
- Lake Abbe, Djibouti
- The Saloum Delta, Senegal
- Odontotos Rack Railway, Greece
- The temple of Ranakpur, India
- Toprak-Kala, Uzbekistan
- The Teifi Pools, Ceredigion
Why this West Wales landmark is among the greatest world wonders you’ve never heard of
The Teifi Pools, located in Ceredigion, was one of only two place in the UK to be named among the greatest world wonders you’ve never heard of by The Telegraph.
Describing the Welsh landmark, the news outlet said it’s “so remote you might be on the moon, and so deep they were once considered unfathomable”.
The Telegraph continued: “Ever wanted to be the person in those car adverts?
“The one driving as the camera pans out to reveal a jaw-dropping hill-scape – operatic sky stretching across windswept moors, and reflected in moody expanses of water.
“No other soul for miles in any direction (unless you count the odd sheep).
“Of course you have. And you can, just follow the single-track road from the small village of Pontrhydfendigaid, skirting the ghostly ruins of Strata Florida, (a 12th-century Cistercian Abbey, possibly once home to the Holy Grail), and up to the Teifi Pools.
“These glacial lakes and reservoirs are 1,500ft above sea level: so remote you might be on the moon, and so deep they were once considered unfathomable.
“Hike the Teifi Pools Walk (a six-mile loop), fish for wild brown trout or just gaze – awestruck – at the raw majesty of this otherworldly place.”
This is a republished version of an article that first featured on the Western Telegraph and Tivyside Advertiser in July 2024.
