GLOBETROTTERS WRITING PROMPT

April Monthly Challenge — Scenic Vistas

Vast, endless and breathtaking

After a month of a very specific topic such as waterfalls, we thought of keeping the coming one a bit more open. And vast. Giving our writers a wide range of options to get creative, we came up with another natural topic but a very scenic one.

I had noted down this topic months, if not years back, when another writer had written an interesting essay on it but the story and the writer must have vanished. I can’t find it anymore. So now, I need to write my own introduction.

What is it that inspires us to travel? Isn't it to see something new, explore something different, something unknown to us? I know, I shouldn't put down assumptions as everyone has the right to travel and do things their way but I am certain many members of our community chase diverse landscapes on their trips.

This was how the topic of scenic vistas was born. But what does that even mean? The word ‘scenic’ simply refers to an attractive landscape. Rather straightforward the explanation. The second word might be a little more complex.

“A vista is a view from a particular place, especially a beautiful view from a high place.” — Collins Dictionary

This means we can find scenic vistas anywhere in the world where we can get a great view of our surroundings, right? And I believe that it is.

Following up on the topic, I found another story in our publication, written by a man who uses his brother's outstanding photographs to accentuate his writing, talking about the topic of scenic serenity, which, if you ask me, can be found in scenic vistas.

There is a kind of peace surrounding me whenever I stand or sit perched atop a viewpoint with endless landscapes stretching to the far horizon in the distance.

That is what I see as a requirement for a scenic vista. The horizon must be far, not hidden from any obstacles nearby. Vast landscapes stretching across hundreds of miles visible from one sole position is what a scenic vista characterizes.

The first country where I experienced the vast expanse of scenic vistas and the serenity surrounding them was Namibia. A country where you can see for days, they say. Because that is how long it will take to reach the horizon.

If it was the barren rocky desert, the sand dunes of the Namib, or the views from the red hills of the Kalahari, nowhere else have I seen such open landscapes free of any signs of civilization but wild in every direction.

Some might call those views empty but to me they were full. Full of nature's best. Sometimes it looked like you were on the moon, other times you thought you walked across a field of spring flowers, in the desert.

Nothing was impossible.

And then there was this silence, whenever I stepped out of the car and looked across such a standpoint there was a serenity surrounding me, the silence was almost squeezing me.

We'd like to know where you have experienced similar feelings looking down from a particular viewpoint.

Scenic vistas.

Share with us the most scenic shots of diverse landscapes you have seen. But don't just create a listicle with pictures of far horizons. Pick one or two and tell us about the drive, cycle or hike it took to get there. How did you hear about it in the first place and what were your feelings when you first saw that view?

Share with us the full experience of getting to such a place. Include surroundings, those not visible in the photos and don't forget the sounds.

Be specific.

We want to hear all the details.

Be creative.

Pull us in with your captivating narrative.

If you need some ideas, here we go:

My First Time Seeing This Beautiful Vista

I Have Been Walking Down a Hiking When I Saw this View

I Didn’t Know I’d Fall in Love With Scenic Vistas

A Very Different Kind of Scenic Vista

I Never Understood Why People Would Chase Scenic Vistas

Please continue reading beyond this point. We explain the submission rules step by step. If you think you know them already and don’t need to bother reading them, the chances are high that your editors will reject your submission.

Since the number of submissions has increased in the new year, we decided to lift the bar higher. We no longer accept poorly formatted or written essays as well as stories with no proper photo credits or in general writers who ignore the submission rules of Globetrotters. Expect a straight reject if you do one of those.

This counts for the same if you come up with the smart idea of using the help of AI instead of your brain cells to create the post. As our team of editors is stepping up the fight against computer-generated content to highlight more high-quality travel essays written by our authentic writers, we do not shy away from removing writers altogether.

Please read carefully and don’t ignore our rules.

A requirement for the monthly challenge submissions is to tag 2 articles (from our publication) that either inspired you to go to this place, have quality content about the same country you’re talking about or maybe it’s just a travel piece you really enjoyed reading.

You can use the search function to review our publication and look for articles about your destination. It’s easy and a great way to show appreciation to other writers out here.

Also, don’t forget to tag writers properly. We no longer correct them for you. Read this article if you are unsure what I am talking about. Below you can see two examples of how to tag writers and mention their work.

We’re looking forward to your submissions. As always, at the end of the month, the editors of Globetrotters will announce their winners. While we also submit our entries, we do not participate in the competition.

Please remember to follow our guidelines when submitting an article:

• The maximum article length must be 10 minutes.
• Always credit your images. We only accept your own photographs. Please review our image policy if unsure.
• Write your article in the form title-subtitle-title image.
• Please add the tag “monthly challenge”.
• Make sure that travel is still a focus of your story.
• List 2 articles (from Globetrotters) and tag the writers who created them (if unsure of how to tag writers, please read this article)
• The challenge will run from April 1st until April 27th. We reserve the last days of the month to post the results from the challenge.
• For more clarification on submissions, visit the Globetrotters submission guidelines.

We, the team of editors at Globetrotters (JoAnn, Adrienne, Michele & Anne) want to thank each of you for contributing to our publication. You’ve sent so many fascinating articles on past challenges and we can’t wait for the next ones.

Thank you.

JoAnn Ryan has kicked off the challenge with the first prompt submission.

Read here the final post of our previous monthly challenge. We asked you to share stories about waterfalls. In this article, the editors announce their personal winners: