Think you can handle a 340-meter-high, open-air glass walkway? How about one with no guard rail?
Think you can handle a 340-meter-high, open-air glass walkway? How about one with no guard rail?
Photo: Prog Metal Zone
Photo: Prog Metal ZoneShanghai Skywalk (China)
Photo: Internet
Shanghai Skywalk is among the latest daredevil challenges for fear-free travelers. It joins an adrenaline-inducing roll call of platforms around the world offering spectacular views.
At the 88-story Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, visitors will be able to walk around a new glass walkway on the outside of the building, 340 meters above the city. The 1.2-meter-wide platform has no fence and no guard rails; only a safety harness stands between you and oblivion.
Jin Mao Tower; 88 Century Ave, LuJiaZui, Pudong Xinqu, China; 200120
2. Brighton i360 (United Kingdom)
The i360 cost $55.9 million to build Photo: Youtube
The world’s tallest moving observation tower, the 162-meter British Airways i360, opened in Brighton, England, in August 2016. It’s also the world’s slimmest, with a height to width ration of more than 40:1. Visitors glide to the top in a futuristic glass-and-steel pod, enjoying 360-degree views over the seaside town and the English Channel. It was designed by London firm Marks Barfield Architects, the same team behind the London Eye.
Brighton i360: New ‘vertical pier’ is world’s tallest moving observation tower
3. SkySlide At Skyspace LA (United States)
Visitors to the U.S. Bank Tower in Los Angeles can take a SkySlide to slide from the 70th to the 69th floor of the tallest building west of Chicago. Photo: Vida Hollywood
Since June 2016, visitors to the new OUE SkySpace LA observation deck atop the US Bank Tower in Los Angeles have been able to coast down the SkySlide, a glass chute affixed to the outside of the building, going from the 70th floor to the 69th. The 45-foot-long, 1.25-inch-thick tube hovers 1,000 feet above the sidewalks below. The glass is made to withstand hurricane-force winds of up to 110 miles per hour and is held together by steel outriggers.
OUE SkySpace; 633 West Fifth Street, Suite 840, Los Angeles, CA 90071; +213 894 9000; admission $25 for adults
4. Dachstein Stairway To Nothingness (Austria)
Photo: Internet
Photo: InternetVisitors to Dachstein’s Stairway to Nothingness must first cross Austria’s highest bridge, the 100-meter-long Dachstein suspension bridge which straddles a drop of 396 meters. They then face 14 steps that descend from the cliff face and which are surrounded by glass walls.
The entire structure took six months to build and was created by an engineering firm specializing in high-altitude construction. And if you’ve not had enough of incredible sights, the nearby glass-bottomed Dachstein Glacier Skywalk offers views as far as the Triglav mountains of Slovenia and the forests of the Czech Republic.
Dachstein Glacier Skywalk, Dachstein Glacier, Ramsau am Dachstein, Austria; +43 22042 800; admission: free
Dachstein Stairway to Nothingness, Dachstein Glacier, Austria; +43 0 3687/22042; admission $11 for adults
5. Tokyo Skytree Observation Decks (Japan)
Photo: Internet
The Tokyo Skytree is Japan’s tallest structure, with a height of 2,080 feet (634 meters). It has two observation decks. The lower one is located at 1,148 feet (350 meters) and has a section of glass flooring.
The upper one, which has floor-to-ceiling windows and 360-degree-views of the city, has a height of 1,476 feet (450 meters). On a clear day, Mount Fuji can be seen from the observation decks.
Tokyo Skytree, 1-1-2, Oshiage, Sumida, Tokyo; +81 (0)3 3623 0634; admission from $10 for adults
6. Kinzua Skywalk (United States)
The best way to recycle a viaduct. Photo: Ellicottville Times
The best way to recycle a viaduct. Photo: Ellicottville TimesWhen the Kinzua Viaduct was built in Pennsylvania in 1882, it was the longest and highest viaduct in the world. In 1900 it was rebuilt to carry heavier trains, using 3,175 tons of steel and 895,000 rivets.
In 2003, a tornado destroyed 11 of the 20 towers and it was decided that the remaining towers would be used to support the Skywalk. The Skywalk extends 624 feet (190 meters) into the Kinzua Gorge and glass panels allow visitors to peer into the gorge below.
Kinzua Skywalk, 1721 Lindholm Drive, Mt. Jewett, Pennsylvania; +1 814 965 2646; admission: free
7. AlpspiX Viewing Platform (Germany)
Photo: Daily Mail
At the base of Germany’s Alpspitze mountain, the AlpspiX viewing platform comprises two steel beams, both of which measure 79 feet (24 meters) in length. Visitors brave enough to walk to the end of the glass-walled platforms can look 3,281 feet (1,000 meters) down into the valley. The platform remains open in winter, when the grid flooring allows snow and ice to pass through.
AlpspiX viewing platform, Zugspitze, Garmisch-Partenkirchen,Germany; admission: free
8. EdgeWalk CN Tower (Canada)
Photo: Internet
Located on the roof of the CN Tower’s restaurant at a height of 1,168 feet (356 meters), the EdgeWalk allows visitors to slip into climbing harnesses and walk around the edge of Canada’s tallest structure. There’s also a glass floor 1,122 feet (342 meters) above ground level, and although the glass is only 2.5 inches thick, it’s reportedly strong enough to hold 14 hippos — if they could fit in the elevator.
The EdgeWalk holds the world record for world’s highest external walk attached to a building. CN Tower also has a glass-floored observation deck and outdoor SkyTerrace.
EdgeWalk, CN Tower, 301 Front St. W., Toronto; +1 416 601 3833; EdgeWalk Experience costs $145 (CAD $195)
9. The Ledge (United States)
The Ledge: One of the world’s highest wedding venues Photo: Internet
The Ledge: One of the world’s highest wedding venues Photo: InternetThe four boxes that make up The Ledge experience in Willis Tower, Chicago, are made from half-ton panels of glass. The walls consist of three layers, each half an inch thick. Visitors who step into one of the boxes can see for 50 miles across four states, as well as 1,353 feet (412 meters) to the street below.
It’s a popular site for wedding proposals — as if popping the question wasn’t scary enough — and visitors can even get married in them. The boxes retract into the building when the windows need cleaning.
The Ledge, Willis Tower, 233 S. Wacker Drive, Chicago; +1 312 875 0066; admission $22 for adults
10. Cliffwalk (Canada)
Photo: ReNew Canada Photo: Internet
The Cliffwalk is a 700-feet (213 meter) walkway attached to a granite cliff face above the Capilano River in British Columbia, Canada. The highest point is 300 feet (90 meters) above the river.
To attach the Cliffwalk, 16 anchor points were drilled 19 feet (six meters) into the rock face using 1,825 bolts, and 40 tons of steel were used. The Cliffwalk also features two glass panels that have an anti-skid finish and were shipped over from Austria.
Cliffwalk, Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, 3735 Capilano Road, North Vancouver, British Columbia; +1 604 985 7474; admission $30 (CAD $39.95)
