Sometimes, the most awe-inspiring views come from the most unassuming places. While major cities often dominate travel itineraries, small towns nestled among spectacular natural settings often leave the most lasting impressions. These modest communities offer front-row seats to nature’s grandest displays, from towering mountains to sweeping deserts, without the crowds or commercialization of better-known destinations.
Here is a list of 20 small towns around the world where the surrounding landscapes dwarf human settlement, providing visitors with humbling perspectives and unforgettable vistas.
Telluride, Colorado
Telluride sits in a box canyon surrounded by 13,000-foot peaks that catch the alpenglow at sunset, painting the town in golden light. Former mining buildings now house charming restaurants and boutiques, while the free gondola offers aerial views that would cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere.
The town’s population of just 2,500 residents maintains a genuine mountain culture that resists the pretentiousness found in larger ski destinations.
Hallstatt, Austria
Hallstatt clings to a narrow strip of land between towering Alpine mountains and a crystal-clear lake, creating one of Europe’s most photographed scenes. The medieval village of barely 800 residents appears suspended in time, with 16th-century buildings reflected perfectly in still waters.
Morning fog often shrouds the mountains, gradually revealing the dramatic landscape as the sun burns through the mist.
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Wanaka, New Zealand
Wanaka combines small-town charm with the dramatic Southern Alps backdrop that made New Zealand famous in countless films. The town of 8,900 residents centers around a pristine lake with mountain reflections so perfect they seem artificial.
Unlike its busier neighbor Queenstown, Wanaka maintains a relaxed atmosphere where locals still outnumber tourists on many hiking trails.
Húsavík, Iceland
Húsavík faces the Arctic Ocean with a harbor framed by snow-capped mountains and the occasional northern lights dancing overhead. This fishing town of 2,300 residents sits beside Skjálfandi Bay, where over 20 whale species feed in the nutrient-rich waters.
The wooden church overlooking the harbor creates a classic foreground to the massive mountains across the bay.
Moab, Utah
Moab serves as the gateway to two national parks despite having fewer than 5,400 residents. The town sits in a valley surrounded by red rock formations that glow at sunset, creating a Mars-like landscape that attracts filmmakers and adventure seekers.
Early mornings often reveal hot air balloons drifting between massive sandstone arches, providing scale to the enormous geological features.
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Banff, Alberta
Banff is located entirely within Canada’s first national park, and strict development limits maintain the town’s small footprint amid vast wilderness. Despite hosting millions of annual visitors, the town’s population remains under 8,000, preserving its alpine village character.
The surrounding Canadian Rockies rise dramatically from town streets, with massive peaks visible from nearly every intersection.
Pucón, Chile
Pucón sits in the shadow of the perfectly conical Villarrica Volcano, whose snow-capped peak and occasional eruptions constantly remind us of nature’s power. The town of 22,000 residents centers around a black sand beach on Lake Villarrica, with the volcano reflected in its waters.
The surrounding Andes mountains create a natural playground of hot springs, waterfalls, and ancient forests.
Tupiza, Bolivia
Tupiza lies surrounded by red rock canyons reminiscent of the American West but with a distinctive Andean character. This town of 20,000 residents sits at 9,800 feet elevation, with eroded multicolored mountains creating a painter’s palette of ochre, orange, and crimson.
Morning light transforms the surrounding landscape, casting long shadows across formations with names like ‘The Devil’s Spine’ and ‘Valley of the Moon.’
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Gásadalur, Faroe Islands
Gásadalur perches on a green plateau above the Atlantic Ocean, with fewer than 20 residents living in the shadow of mountain walls that rise nearly vertically from the tiny settlement. Until 2004, the only access was by hiking over a 1,300-foot mountain pass or by helicopter.
A waterfall plunges directly from green cliffs into the ocean beside the village, creating what might be the North Atlantic’s most dramatic setting for a remote village.
El Chaltén, Argentina
El Chaltén claims the title of Argentina’s ‘trekking capital’ with just 1,600 permanent residents living at the foot of the iconic Mount Fitz Roy. The town was established in 1985 primarily to secure border claims, but has evolved into a mountaineering base camp where alpenglow transforms the granite peaks into glowing sentinels each dawn and dusk.
Wind-bent trees throughout town demonstrate the powerful Patagonian weather patterns that shape the landscape.
Sandpoint, Idaho
Sandpoint wraps around Lake Pend Oreille, one of America’s deepest lakes, with the Selkirk and Cabinet Mountains creating an amphitheater of peaks surrounding the water. The town of 8,700 residents boasts 111 miles of shoreline, with mountains reflecting in the massive lake.
Winter brings snow-draped mountains contrasting against the deep blue water, while summer offers endless forests of green rising from the shoreline.
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Munising, Michigan
Munising serves as the gateway to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, where mineral-stained cliffs rise 200 feet directly from Lake Superior. The town’s 2,200 residents enjoy front-row views of the world’s largest freshwater lake, which creates its weather patterns and can generate waves rivaling ocean surf.
Winter transforms the landscape when waterfalls freeze into massive blue ice curtains draping the colorful sandstone cliffs.
Svolvær, Norway
Svolvær occupies several small islands within Norway’s Lofoten archipelago. Jagged mountains rise directly from fjords, creating a landscape that seems designed for postcards. The fishing town of 4,700 residents sits above the Arctic Circle, offering the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter.
Traditional red fishing cabins built on stilts over the water provide a human-scale contrast to the massive granite peaks.
Namche Bazaar, Nepal
Namche Bazaar clings to a horseshoe-shaped hillside at 11,290 feet elevation, serving as the last major settlement on the trek to Mount Everest Base Camp. This town of approximately 1,600 permanent residents sits surrounded by Himalayan peaks, including views of Everest itself on clear days.
Every building in town was constructed with materials carried up by porters or yaks, as no roads reach this mountain market hub.
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Castelluccio, Italy
Castelluccio sits atop a hill overlooking Piano Grande, a high mountain plain that explodes with wildflowers each summer. The medieval village of fewer than 150 residents is dwarfed by the massive Sibillini Mountains, creating one of Italy’s most dramatic landscapes.
Clouds sometimes fill the valley below the town, creating the illusion of a village floating above an ocean of white.
Torridon, Scotland
Torridon consists of a scattering of whitewashed buildings beneath mountains that rise nearly 3,500 feet directly from sea level. The hamlet has fewer than 100 residents living alongside a sea loch with peaks reflected in still waters.
Ancient geology creates distinctive layered mountains that appear different from every angle, with constantly changing light conditions transforming the landscape throughout the day.
Maras, Peru
Maras overlooks the Sacred Valley of the Incas with snowcapped peaks creating a dramatic backdrop to this Andean town of 2,000 residents. The surrounding landscape features ancient terraced hillsides and nearby salt pans that have been harvested continuously since pre-Inca times.
The town’s modest earthen buildings and narrow streets contrast with the massive scale of the Andes mountains that surround it on all sides.
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Tongariro, New Zealand
Tongariro Village exists primarily because of its location at the foot of three active volcanoes that dominate the central North Island. With barely 200 permanent residents, the town serves visitors to Tongariro National Park, New Zealand’s oldest.
The mountains have cultural significance to the Māori people, with perfectly symmetrical Mount Ngauruhoe (known to movie fans as Mount Doom) creating an unmistakable landmark.
Wengen, Switzerland
Wengen remains car-free and accessible only by cog railway, preserving its character as a mountain village despite its popularity. The town of approximately 1,300 year-round residents faces directly toward the north face of the Eiger, one of the Alps’ most intimidating peaks.
Traditional Swiss chalets with flower boxes line streets where electric vehicles occasionally hum past, maintaining the peaceful atmosphere beneath massive mountains.
Villa O’Higgins, Chile
Villa O’Higgins marks the southern terminus of Chile’s remote Carretera Austral, a rugged road that threads through Patagonia’s most untouched landscapes. This isolated town of around 600 residents sits beside a glacial lake, framed by jagged peaks and dense temperate rainforest. It feels like the edge of the world—because it nearly is. Few roads continue beyond, and the only access to Argentina is by boat and footpath across a windswept border crossing.
Towering icefields, hanging glaciers, and waterfalls surround the town, offering solitude and scale in equal measure. In Villa O’Higgins, nature’s presence is so overwhelming that even silence seems loud.
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The Power of Place
These small towns remind us that human settlement often finds its most profound expression not in sprawling metropolises but in modest communities that exist in harmony with overwhelming natural grandeur. Their intimate scale allows visitors to connect with both locals and landscapes in meaningful ways often impossible in larger destinations.
As tourism increasingly focuses on authentic experiences over mere sightseeing, these small towns with giant landscapes offer perfect counterpoints to urban travel—places where nature’s scale puts human concerns in perspective and reminds us of our place within something far greater than ourselves.
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