24 Eye-Popping Panoramas Of The World’s Most Beautiful Places

A small team of Russian photographers have been quietly creating some of the most detailed panoramas of the world’s most beautiful locations.

AirPano, made up of nine photographers and three tech specialists who have wide-ranging backgrounds (civil engineering and medical cybernetics, among others), are currently traveling around the world, shooting major cities and natural marvels.

The amateur photographers mainly shoot from helicopters, using a specialized rig that holds 3-4 cameras, arranged circularly. They also sometimes shoot from rooftops or use light jets, dirigibles, hot air balloons and radio-controlled helicopters.

The team began looking into this style of photography in 2006 after initially working with spherical panoramas on land, before deciding to take to the skies.

All of the Russian photographers are amateurs and run AirPano for fun. For this one, they traveled to Churun-meru (Dragon) fall in Venezuela.

Angel Falls, Venezuela
AirPano

It could confuse at first, but this is actually the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, photographed entirely from above.

Arc de Triomphe, Paris
AirPano

This perfectly ordered city is Barcelona in Spain – captured in the middle is the famous Sagrada Familia church.

Barcelona Cathedral
AirPano

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
AirPano

Iguazu Falls, on the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, is considered one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.

Iguazu Falls, Argentina
AirPano

Flecks of white in the blue ocean, frozen Iceland as you have never seen it before.

Coast of Iceland
AirPano

Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic
AirPano

The AirPano photographers typically travel to each destination for a week and take several “photo-flights” to get the shots they need. This is Halong Bay, Vietnam.

Halong Bay, Vietnam
AirPano

Downtown Manhattan, New York

Downtown Manhattan, New York
AirPano

This is the shot of Central Park that won first prize at the Epson International Photographic Pano Awards. It became a mini-sensation when it was first published.

Central Park, New York
AirPano

A shot of New York at sunset, with views for miles stretching out in the background.

Manhattan, New York at sunset
AirPano

Concrete jungle lit up! A magical panoramic shot of Manhattan City Line at night, with the Empire State Building gleaming to the left and the Chrysler building towards the centre.

Manhattan City Line at night, New York
AirPano

This is Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Many of the members of AirPano have abandoned their jobs to travel and photograph the world full-time.

Rio de Janiero, Brazil
AirPano

Dubai never ceases to impress, but this aerial shot of the skyline shows the city in an incredible new light.

Dubai
AirPano

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 1,615 miles.

Great Barrier Reef, Australia
AirPano

For this panorama of Mount Everest, photographer Ivan Roslyakov traveled to a record height above Everest at 23,294 feet.

Mount Everest
AirPano

Looking like something out of a fairy tale is Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, captured in the midst of the rolling mountains.

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany
AirPano

These are the Pyramids in Egypt. Sergey Semonov says the goal of AirPano is to show “our planet in a manner that nobody has ever seen them before.”

Pyramids in Egypt
AirPano

The Singapore Flyer is the largest Ferris Wheel in the world. It reaches 42 stories high.

Singapore Flyer
AirPano

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and most populous city of Malaysia.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
AirPano

Is there a pot of gold? A rainbow perfectly captured at the Victoria Falls in Zambia:

Rainbow at Victoria Falls, Zambia
AirPano

This is Plosky Tolbachik Volcano in Kamchatka. It began erupting in late November 2012.

Volcano Plosky Tolbachik, Kamchatka, Russia
AirPano

Santorini, Greece

Santorini, Greece
AirPano

AirPano photographers Dmitry Moiseenko and Stanislav Sedov were the first people to photograph India’s Taj Mahal from above in 15 years.

Taj Mahal, India
AirPano