Spot the Fakes: Amazing Travel Pics from Pinterest

FAKE: This is a real … architectural rendering. Submitted to the ThyssenKrupp Elevator Architecture Award contest by Transparent House, the Dubai Crescent Moon Tower design project aims to "signify the new face of Dubai." We think it would be a great addition to the city's skyline.

Guess: Swirling canyon, real or Internet meme?

REAL: This is a beauty you can see firsthand, since Antelope Canyon, a Navajo Tribal Park in Arizona, is real and open to visitors. Note that entry to the canyon is restricted to guided tours.

Guess: Dome beach cave, fancy or fake?

FAKE: This fake is a blend of two reals: a sea cave near Benagil in the Algarve region of Portugal, and the dome of Rome's Pantheon. A hoax sleuth even tracked down the originals.

Guess: Amazing Icelandic electrical towers or fairytale giants?

FAKE: The bad news is, these amazing electrical towers don't exist. The good news is they could, someday. Dreamed up by Choi+Shine Architects for an Icelandic design competition, the Land of Giants electricity pylons make only small alterations to standard steel-framed tower design. We hope to see these 150-foot statues guarding the Icelandic landscape someday.

Guess: A place for royalty or Photoshop tools?

REAL: Built as a summer residence in the early twentieth century, the impressively real Dar al-Hajar crowns a rock outcropping near Sana'a in eastern Yemen.

Guess: Nature's genius or a work of fiction?

FAKE: The Tree of Life exists, but as a work of art, not nature. A centerpiece in Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park, the 14-story-tall, 50-foot-wide tree, with its 325 animal carvings, is the product of 18 months of full-time work by 10 artists and three Disney "Imagineers."

Guess: Does this castle exist in Ireland or only the imagination?

FAKE: The castle exists, and the rock exists, but in reality, they live thousands of miles apart. The castle is Germany's Schloss Lichtenstein, and the island rock is, according to one sleuth, James Bond Island in Thailand.

Guess: Lofty monastery or imaginary landscape?

REAL: Just as the name of this very real place suggests, the Meteora (meaning "suspended in air") Monasteries in Greece seem to defy gravity. Until about a hundred years ago, the fourteenth-century cluster of buildings was accessible only by rope ladder.

So how did you do? Did you call out the fakes and recognize the reals? Then head to the nearest mountaintop to celebrate your victory. Or just give yourself a high five and get back to work.

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