Have you ever come across a scene while traveling that is so stunning, you think it can’t possibly be real? Believe it or not, you don’t have to travel far to find such places. Alabama has a number of manmade and natural sites that can take your breath away or make you think you’ve stepped into a storybook. Let’s take a look at 11 of them.

Castles in Fairhope

Fairhope, a picturesque town in Baldwin County, is the location of two homes that look like they came straight from a fairytale. Sheldon Castle and Mosher Castle, located side by side on Oak Street, were built by artist Craig Sheldon and his son-in-law Dean Mosher. Sheldon’s descendants still live in part of his castle but rent a suite on Airbnb. A picturesque bridge leads visitors to Mosher Castle, which features its own small drawbridge. You can see the exterior of both homes from the street.

Dismals Canyon

Dismals Canyon is a privately owned, 85-acre nature conservancy near Phil Campbell, Ala. Dismals Canyon’s natural features, including waterfalls and massive moss-covered boulders, look like an ancient setting, so much so that the Discovery Channel filmed a segment of its documentary “When Dinosaurs Roamed America” in the canyon. If you visit at night, you will have the opportunity to see the glowing critters that cling to the sides of its boulders. Called Dismalites, they are the larvae stage of a unique insect “that emits a bright blue-green light to attract food, in the form of other flying insects,” according to DismalsCanyon.com. There is a fee to enter the canyon and to camp at the site.

White Cliffs of Epes

A natural phenomenon created the ethereal-looking White Cliffs of Epes. The rare white cliffs “are part of the Selma Chalk formations which were deposited at about the same time as England’s famous White Cliffs of Dover,” according to RuralSWalabama.org. Although there is no convenient access point to view this incredible natural setting, it can be seen from below the Gorga Memorial Bridge over the Tombigbee River. Tourism groups have been in discussions to create trails and better access to this unique feature of Alabama.

Oak Alley in Magnolia Springs

This tiny town in Baldwin County is popular with photographers. One of the most photographed scenes in the town, “Oak Alley,” looks like something from a storybook. The rows of aged live oaks form a gorgeous canopy over Oak Street. The rest of the town is picturesque, as well. It is also the only known town in America where mail is delivered by boat.

Underwater Forest

Early in 2013, divers discovered an ancient underwater forest off Alabama’s Gulf Coast, 60 feet beneath the water’s surface. Ben Raines wrote for AL.com: “The forest was apparently buried under a thick layer of sand for eons until it was uncovered by giant waves during Hurricane Katrina… Imagine a forest of giant trees, trees that rivaled the redwoods in California for size.” Researchers determined the cypress forest, which was exceptionally well preserved, was 50,000 to 80,000-years-old.

Film set town of Spectre

This is one place on the list that is truly “unreal,” in the sense that it was built as a temporary film set. Director Tim Burton built the fictional town of Spectre for the 2003 movie “Big Fish.” The crew constructed facades of numerous homes and buildings, including a church, some of which still stand on the island. Two fake trees from the film’s “Enchanted Forest” also still stand. If you fondly recall the scene in the movie “Big Fish” where a little girl throws Edward Bloom’s (Ewan McGregor) shoes over the line so he can’t leave, you can follow in his bare footsteps: That line is still strung across the town at Jackson Lake Island in Millbrook. There is an entry fee to visit the lake and campgrounds.

Noccalula Falls

Water from Black Creek makes a stunning 90-foot drop at Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden, Ala. This is an another favorite of photographers, as well as painters. The park offers not only a view of the gorgeous waterfall but access to all kinds of other activities such as a kiddie train, a pioneer village that includes a covered bridge, gardens, playground, mini golf and more. The park charges an admission fee.

Bamboo Forest

In a section of a 26-acre area in Prattville called Wilderness Park, bamboo grows as much as 60 feet high and 6 inches in circumference. It was the first designated wilderness park in the country. In the 1940s, someone sent a packet of seeds to the owner of the property, who planted them. Before long the exotic plants covered a wide area of the property. The trees form a canopy overhead, making it a unique hiking spot.

Cahaba lilies in the Delta

Cahaba lilies, which grow only in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina, are the jaw-dropping centerpiece of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta in May and June of each year. The gorgeous white flowers grow in massive bunches in the water, especially where Buxahatchee Creek becomes Lay Lake. People often take tours of the Delta to photograph the rare beauties.

Blue barn in Courtland

This charming blue barn located near downtown Courtland in Lawrence County looks more like a painting than a real place. We’re not sure who owns it, but it was pretty enough to include in this list.

Live Oak Cemetery in Selma

This, we think, is the most ethereal, Southern gothic setting in Alabama. The live oaks drip with long streamers of Spanish moss moving like spirits in the breeze. It is also the location of two statues of real people, one of the rarest forms of funerary art, including Maddie O. Keith and Elodie Todd Dawson, sister of Mary Todd Lincoln. Two other famous burials there include the tomb of William Rufus King, who is the only Alabamian to serve as vice president of the United States, although he served only five weeks before dying of tuberculosis. Another is the grave of Benjamin Sterling Turner, the first African American U.S. Congressman from Alabama. The cemetery, founded in 1829, is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage and the National Register of Historic Places.