Incredible Places That Don’t Exist, and Where to Go Instead

The Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye Scotland

One of the most popular picture hoaxes on the Internet, this photo and its bright purple trees are totally Photoshopped. On top of the fake color, this photograph isn'€™t even from Scotland’s Fairy Pools … it wasn’t even taken in Scotland. It is actually a photograph of New Zealand's Shotover River—it's just as beautiful, but somewhat disappointingly green.

Go Instead: If brightly colored trees stoke your wanderlust, head to Japan for cherry blossoms. In springtime, Japan comes together for Hanami, which literally translates into "flower viewing," to celebrate the short window of two weeks in which the flowers bloom. One of the best places to see the bloom is Goryokaku Park in Hokkaido, but if you can't make it to Japan, the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. is just as beautiful.

RELATED: Cherry Blossom Festivals Greet Spring

Moon and Star Island

This photo of two neighboring islands that appears to be shaped like a moon with a star is only half false. The crescent shape is real, part of a submerged volcanic crater in Hawaii, but the star is a total fake. Even without the star, Molokini Crater is still amazing, and turns out to be a pretty spectacular spot for scuba diving as well.

Go Instead: If a crescent without its star does'n€™t do it for you, there are still some incredibly shaped islands out there, like Heart Island, a heart-shaped resort in in Fiji; or Dolphin Island, part of the Li Galli islands off Italy’s Amalfi Coast.

Temple of Lysistrata, Greece

This enchanting scene of an ancient Greek temple is in reality, a photo mash-up between Rome's Panthenon and the Benagil Cave in Portugal. There is no temple of Lysistrata and in fact, this photo fake-out takes its name from a Greek play of the same name.

Go Instead: If you want to see the combination of incredible architecture and natural cave formations, and are willing to climb the steep 272 steps it will take to get there, look no farther than Malaysia's Batu Caves. This Hindu shrine consists of three main limestone caves and holds temples inside where visitors can marvel at the stalagmites and the giant golden statue of Murugan, the Hindu God of War.

Castle Island

This image of a castle balancing on top of a rock might seem amazing at first, but take a second to think about it and you’ll realize there'€™s no way this place could be real. It’s actually another photo mash-up of Khao Phing Kan island in Thailand and Lichtenstein Castle in Germany.

Go instead: If you're looking for an island-bound castle, Italy's Loreto Island is a magnificent alternative. A neo-gothic castle, constructed in 1910, crowns the island and, though the castle is privately owned, boat tours of the lake will take you past it.

RELATED: 10 Beautiful Castles in Unexpected Places

Ngyen Khat Taktsang Monastery

This photograph of the "Ngyen Khat Taktsang Monastery" depicts a carving of Buddha in a truly impossible location: On the sheer side of a massive natural sandstone pillar. While the pillar in China'€™s Zhangjiajie National Forest Park is real, the carving is totally fake. Seriously, how would people even get up there?

Go Instead: If your interest is piqued for monasteries carved into rock, Jordan's Petra is the perfect fit. Carved from the red sandstone canyons over 2,000 years ago, Petra is one of the wonders of the world. If you like your monasteries with a touch of vertigo, make a trip to the the truly gravity-defying Taktsank Monastery, also known as the Tigers Nest, in Bhutan.