Five Sunsets You Must See Once in a Lifetime

Fernando Pessoa once said that "a sunset is an intellectual phenomenon," a beautiful way to define this magical event that takes shape through the combination of a space and a moment, something ephemeral and unique. A visual spectacle that also has an almost mystical component.

Sunsets evoke good feelings. They are the culmination of a day lived, the last breath of a day, that moment of reflecting and feeling grateful or connecting with inner peace. Therefore, they stand out as one of the most photographed moments. Especially those that are counted among the most beautiful in the world:

There is no doubt that African sunsets are the most stunning in the world. In fact, there's a saying that one has not seen a true sunset if it hasn't been from this continent. Much has to do with the light that, experts say, radiates differently, unlike anywhere else on the planet. The African light is a delight for photographers, with its copper hues and almost always warm tones.

Let's transport ourselves, for example, to Masai Mara, the most popular park in Kenya, which is actually an extension of the also famous Serengeti in Tanzania. After a day of safari during migration, an incredible sunset suddenly breaks in, with a fiery orange sky over the vastness of the savanna. If you're lucky enough to catch an animal in silhouette (an elephant, a giraffe, a lion...) against the red horizon, the photo will be perfect.

Specifically in Palawan, the westernmost of the 7,107 islands in the archipelago. Here, in the northern tip, a series of islets and atolls called El Nido scatter, forming an incredible landscape: cliffs covered in vegetation bordered by a ring of pristine white sand caressed by violently turquoise waters.

Here, a beautiful sunset also happens. The sea and sky are tinted in shades of purple, and the silhouette of these cliffs in the background is captivating. Even more so if a banca appears, the typical Filipino boat with a bamboo log on each side, tremendously photogenic.

Let's remember what Bill Clinton said: "the sunset viewed from the Mirador de San Nicolás is the most beautiful in the world." Something we wholeheartedly confirm. Because what do we see from this vantage point in the Albaicín? The Alhambra, the most visited monument in Spain, declared a World Heritage Site.

Beautiful at any moment of the day, it is even more so at sunset, when it is dyed in golden tones that contrast with the reddish sky. If we add Sierra Nevada in the background, the white houses of Albaicín sprawling down the hill, and the sound of a guitar (because there's always someone playing it), the result is pure Granada magic.

Volcanoes, which are so much in the news, also provide fabulous sunsets, as long as the danger is controlled. Such as that of Stromboli, located on the island of the same name belonging to the Aeolian Islands, nestled in the Tyrrhenian Sea, northwest of Sicily.

Ignited over twenty thousand years ago, it still erupts briefly every twenty minutes: a burst of lava and ash shooting like a rocket hundreds of meters into the sky. Here the most striking sunset occurs from the summit, just a step away from these eruptions. Daily excursions start in the afternoon, just to arrive at the volcano's mouth as the sun goes down. By then, night has fallen enveloped in darkness, and only the abyss of fire lights up the scene.

That desert, of course, is none other than the Sahara. And after all the attractions it offers-the daylight scenes (the locations from Star Wars, the Berber village of Chenini, quad rides over the sand...)-there is nothing like marveling at a sunset where, in this case, a huge and bloody sun slips between the dunes.