Environmental and social responsibility website Mother Nature Network has announced a list of the 30 most beautiful places in the world including the rice terraces of northern Viet Nam.

"While the terraces pictured here are located in Lao Cai province of Vietnam, equally mesmerizing scenes can be found throughout Southeast Asia where people have been doing the seemingly impossible for millennia: growing rice – which requires a flat surface and a lot of water – in mountainous areas," the website said.

"Terraced paddy fields that not only yield substantial crops of the widely consumed staple, but are also a gorgeous sight to behold. Agriculture at its best ... and most beautiful!"

Other places in the list include Salar de Uyuni (salt flats) in Bolivia, Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina, and Blue Lagoon in Iceland. — VNS