The jagged peaks of Torres del Paine in Patagonia, Chile have long been one of the most popular and beautiful destinations in the world. With 935 square miles of roaring rivers, crumbling glaciers, windswept steppes and dense forests, this national park attracts visitors from around the world who are eager to scale its peaks and experience the magnificent landscape. The park's splendor was recently confirmed when it was named the 8th Wonder of the world by the TripAdvisor-owned travel website, virtualtourist.com.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the contest featured 300 nominations from more than 50 countries and opened the vote up to visitors on VirtualTourist.com, a travel review site that has around 1.3 million members. Torres del Paine National Park took the majority of the 5 million votes and an event was hosted in the park by the Chilean Ministry of Economy to celebrate the designation.

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"Being named the 8th Wonder by VirtualTourist, one of the most respected names in travel, we hope will bring even more adventure seekers out to Torres del Paine to experience its unique splendor," said Chile's Secretary of Tourism Daniel Pardo, reported ABC News.

Other destinations in the top ten spots included the Columbian coffee cultural landscape, the Great Blue Hole in Belize, and Old Town Dubrovnik in Croatia.

With its 17 hours of summertime daylight and highly developed infrastructure that caters to everyone from rugged hikers to the more timid travelers who prefer glamping, Torres del Paine beat out the competitors to secure rights to the title.

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But the designation of "8th Wonder of the World" has come under fire from critics who say it's a meaningless title that has been applied to dozens of locations over the years.

"The eighth wonder of the world has become an existential land grab, the subject of countless web contests resulting in arbitrary awards that are nonetheless bestowed with solemnity by an ever-expanding circle of interested parties," wrote Karla Zabludovsky in Newsweek.

Other spots that have nabbed the "8th Wonder" title in the past include the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal and the Sydney Opera House.

Whether Torres del Paine is anymore suited to the designation than any of the other sites that have carried it is impossible to say, but one thing is sure -- the park's unique offerings will continue to attract those who want to test themselves in extreme environments.

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