- Travel blogger Loren Rhoads has penned a new book detailing stunning cemeteries from around the world
- Many of the burial sites combine beautiful landscapes, ornate tombstones and famous people buried there
- Among the cemeteries in the book are Arlington National Cemetery, Mount Koya, Isle of Iona and Green Wood
Cemeteries might not be an obvious tourist spot, but many see thousands of visitors each year.
And the world’s most hauntingly beautiful burial sites that combine ornate tombstones and stunning landscapes have been revealed in a new book.
Travel blogger Loren Rhoads has penned the book 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die detailing what makes these cemeteries unique.
Among the burial grounds featured in the book is Mount Koya cemetery in Japan, where 10,000 lanterns illuminate a forest setting and Arlington National Cemetery in the US, where cherry blossom trees bloom in the spring.
Ms Rhoads said: ‘I love the serendipity of wandering through a cemetery. My favourite is always the cemetery I’m standing in at the moment.’
Scroll down to see some of the stunning cemeteries featured in the book.
Pink cherry blossom trees in bloom surround the military graves at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. It is the burial ground for those who have fallen in conflicts for the United States
The Skogskyrkogården cemetery in the Swedish capital Stockholm lit up by candles. It is the final resting place of actress Greta Garbo
The Poblenou Cemetery in Barcelona, which houses the tombs of many famous Catalans, which are tightly packed in
La Recoleta Cemetery in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires is often regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world. One of the most famous graves there is that of Eva Peron
Mirogoj Cemetery is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the Croatian city of Zagreb. Croatians of all religions are buried in the graveyard
The Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris is the biggest in the French capital and attracts 3.5million visitors each year. Notable people buried here include Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison
The vast northern entrance to the stunning Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, which is said to have inspired the creation of Central Park in Manhattan
The Granary Burying Ground is the third-oldest in Boston and attracts visitors to the graves of former Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts John Hancock, Declaration of Independence signer Robert Treat Paine and Founding Father Samuel Adams
The elaborate gravestones at the Protestant Cemetery in Rome, which is the final resting place for English poets Keats and Shelley
On Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture stands Japan’s largest cemetery – and it’s utterly enchanting. Over 200,000 graves and tombs lie in a forest, which is lit by lanterns at night. Mount Koya became a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2004. The most memorable way of reaching the mountain is by train from Osaka to Gokurakubashi, at the base of the mountain. It’s a very scenic ride through the peaks at the end. From there a funicular railway ascends to Koyasan, home to dozens of Buddhist temples, many of which offer accommodation
The Chernivtsi cemetery in Ukraine is one of the biggest preserved Jewish burial grounds in Europe. The size of the tombs indicate wealth and status
Over one million people have been buried in the Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland, which is full of elaborate monuments
The rural graveyard next to the small St Oran’s Chapel on the Scottish Isle of Iona. The ancient burial ground is said to house the remains of Pictish kings
The skyline of the Japanese city of Yokohama, the second biggest in the country, can be viewed from the Foreign General Cemetery Museum
The Japanese monument at the centre of the Manzanar Cemtery in California. Over 135 internees died at Manzanar – a relocation camp for the Japanese during the Second World War