Sunday, November 28, 2010

Gullfoss

     Gullfoss (The Golden waterfall) is a waterfall located in the canyon of Hvítá river in southwest Iceland. It is Iceland's most famous waterfall, and one of the natural wonders of the world. Gullfoss is actually two separate waterfalls, the upper one has a drop of 11 metres and the lower one 21 metres and also by far Europe’s most powerful waterfall. On a sunlit day, the mist clouds surrounding the hammering falls are filled with dozens of rainbows, providing an unparalleled spectacle of color and motion. Gullfoss appears on the cover of the album Porcupine by the British band Echo and the Bunnymen.






Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullfoss
             http://www.vulkaner.no/n/gullfoss/egullfoss.html

Sunday, October 10, 2010

The Plitvice Lakes National Park

     The Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia's most popular tourist attraction, was granted UNESCO World Heritage status in 1979. Located roughly halfway between capital city Zagreb and Zadar on the coast, the lakes are definitely a must-see.
     The beauty of the National Park lies in its sixteen lakes, inter-connected by a series of waterfalls, and set in deep woodland populated by deer, bears, wolves, boars and rare bird species.  The National Park covers a total area of 300 square kilometres, whilst the lakes join together over a distance of eight kilometres.



     Plitvice lakes are recognized as an astonishing natural monument for the benefit and enjoyment of the people now and for the generations to come. Today, 60 years after its establishment, Plitvice Park continues to provide inspiration for visitors becoming nowadays one of Croatia's biggest attractions. Thousands of people from all over the world visit the Park during summer. They come to find peace and relaxation just to experience something different as a getaway from the city.





Saturday, September 11, 2010

World's Best Cities

Bangkok named World’s Best City 2010 by leading travel magazine
  



     NEW YORK, July 22 (TNA) - Representing Thailand’s capital and receiving an award naming the Thai capital by Travel + Leisure magazine as the World’s Best City 2010 in a survey conducted among its readers. Ranked top in both the World and Asia, scoring 90.30, Bangkok shot to the top of the reader survey based on an earlier time frame, followed by Thailand’s northern city of Chiang Mai. Thailand’s Samui Island and Phuket Island in the South were ranked fourth and the fifth respectively among Best Islands in Asia.

Top 10 Cities:

Rank                  Name       
                                    
1                        Bangkok                                                

2                        Chiang Mai                                            

3                        Florence
                                              
4                        San Miguel de Allende, Mexico          

5                        Rome                                                     

6                        Sydney                                                 

7                        Buenos Aires                                       

8                        Oaxaca, Mexico                                   

9                        Barcelona                                             

10                      New York City                                     








Sunday, August 22, 2010

Top 10 bungee jump destinations

1. Ledge Urban Bungee, Queenstown NZ
    Queenstown offers a perfect combination of wild adventures and serene beauty. The Ledge Urban site is known for its unique runaway jumping style. It has a height of about 47m.




2. Graskop Gorge, South Africa
    As a potential bungee jumping site, Graskop Gorge offers you a peerless freefall from a height of 18-19 stories of Freefall slide.

   



3. Alta Vila Tower, Brazil
    The Alta Vila Tower of Nova Lima attracts site seers and bungee jumpers alike since it commands a breathtaking view of the mountain-surrounded Belo Horizonte. It has a height of 71 meters.




4. Corinth Canal, Greece
    The Corinth Canal works as a connector between mainland Greece and the Peloponnese. If you like to plunge down to the canal’s depth, just take a bungee jump from the bridge which is 79m high.




5. Pont de Ponsonnas, France
    If you deem suspension bridges as the most exciting bungee jumping spots, this is something you can positively rave about. Pont de Ponsonnas Bridge has a height of more than a 100m.




6. Navajo Bridges, USA
    Navajo Bridge of Marble Canyon spans across the Colorado River right over the Grand Canyon. The autumnal beauty of its natural setting makes it a lovelybungee jumping spot.




7. Perrine Bridge, USA
    You do not need a permit for year round bungee jumping from this bridge connecting the Twin Falls area to the Jerome County. You can find several BASE jumping compeers to share the excitement.




8. Bloukrans Bridge, South Africa
    This unique highest single span arch bridge adds much to the giddy raptures of bungee jumping. It is the highest commercial bungee jumping venue internationally with a height of 216 m.




9. Macau Tower, China
    This 338 m tall tower holds the provisions for an observation deck for relaxing as well as for undertaking daring sports like bungee jumping or ’sky jumping’. It counts among one of the giddiest entertainments that Macau has to offer to its visitors and locals.




10. Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge, USA
     Hanging above the Arkansas River, this suspended bridge is an all-time favorite bungee-jumping spot because of its amazing height of 321 m.






Thursday, August 12, 2010

2010 World Heritage

The New Mixed Site:

1. Papahānaumokuākea, United States of America.

    Papahānaumokuākea is a vast and isolated linear cluster of small, low lying islands and atolls, with their surrounding ocean, roughly 250 km to the northwest of the main Hawaiian Archipelago and extending over some 1931 km. The area has deep cosmological and traditional significance for living Native Hawaiian culture, as an ancestral environment, as an embodiment of the Hawaiian concept of kinship between people and the natural world, and as the place where it is believed that life originates and to where the spirits return after death. On two of the islands, Nihoa and Makumanamana, there are archaeological remains relating to pre-European settlement and use. Much of the monument is made up of pelagic and deepwater habitats, with notable features such as seamounts and submerged banks, extensive coral reefs and lagoons. It is one of the largest marine protected areas (MPAs) in the world.






2010 World Heritage

The New Cultural sites (Cont.):

7. Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex, Iran.

    Tabriz has been a place of cultural exchange since antiquity and its historic bazaar complex is one of the most important commercial centres on the Silk Road. Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex consists of a series of interconnected, covered, brick structures, buildings, and enclosed spaces for different functions. Tabriz and its Bazaar were already prosperous and famous in the 13th century, when the town, in the province of Eastern Azerbaijan, became the capital city of the Safavid kingdom. The city lost its status as capital in the 16th century, but remained important as a commercial hub until the end of the 18th century, with the expansion of Ottoman power. It is one of the most complete examples of the traditional commercial and cultural system of Iran.





8. Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands.

    In the wake of World War II, in a move closely related to the beginnings of the Cold War, the United States of America decided to resume nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean, on Bikini Atoll in the Marshall archipelago. After the displacement of the local inhabitants, 67 nuclear tests were carried out from 1946 to 1958, including the explosion of the first H-bomb (1952). Bikini Atoll has conserved direct tangible evidence that is highly significant in conveying the power of the nuclear tests, i.e. the sunken ships sent to the bottom of the lagoon by the tests in 1946 and the gigantic Bravo crater. Equivalent to 7,000 times the force of the Hiroshima bomb, the tests had major consequences on the geology and natural environment of Bikini Atoll and on the health of those who were exposed to radiation. Through its history, the atoll symbolises the dawn of the nuclear age, despite its paradoxical image of peace and of earthly paradise. This is the first site from the Marshall Islands to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.





9. Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, Mexico.

    Camino Real de Tierra Adentro was the Royal Inland Road, also known as the Silver Route. The inscribed property consists of 55 sites and five existing World Heritage sites lying along a 1400 km section of this 2600 km route, that extends north from Mexico City to Texas and New Mexico, United States of America. The route was actively used as a trade route for 300 years, from the mid-16th to the 19th centuries, mainly for transporting silver extracted from the mines of Zacatecas, Guanajuato and San Luis Potosí, and mercury imported from Europe. Although it is a route that was motivated and consolidated by the mining industry, it also fostered the creation of social, cultural and religious links in particular between Spanish and Amerindian cultures.





10. Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca, Mexico.

     This property lies on the northern slopes of the Tlacolula valley in subtropical central Oaxaca and consists of two pre-Hispanic archaeological complexes and a series of pre-historic caves and rock shelters. Some of these shelters provide archaeological and rock-art evidence for the progress of nomadic hunter-gathers to incipient farmers. Ten thousand-year-old Cucurbitaceae seeds in one cave, Guilá Naquitz, are considered to be the earliest known evidence of domesticated plants in the continent, while corn cob fragments from the same cave are said to be the earliest documented evidence for the domestication of maize. The cultural landscape of the Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla demonstrates the link between man and nature that gave origin to the domestication of plants in North America, thus allowing the rise of Mesoamerican civilizations.





11. Seventeenth-century canal ring area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht, Netherlands.

     The historic urban ensemble of the canal district of Amsterdam was a project for a new ‘port city’ built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. It comprises a network of canals to the west and south of the historic old town and the medieval port that encircled the old town and was accompanied by the repositioning inland of the city’s fortified boundaries, the Singelgracht. This was a long-term programme that involved extending the city by draining the swampland, using a system of canals in concentric arcs and filling in the intermediate spaces. These spaces allowed the development of a homogeneous urban ensemble including gabled houses and numerous monuments. This urban extension was the largest and most homogeneous of its time. It was a model of large-scale town planning, and served as a reference throughout the world until the 19th century.





12. Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong, Korea.

     Founded in the 14th-15th centuries, Hahoe and Yangdong are seen as the two most representative historic clan villages in the Republic of Korea. Their layout and location - sheltered by forested mountains and facing out onto a river and open agricultural fields – reflect the distinctive aristocratic Confucian culture of the early part of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). The villages were located to provide both physical and spiritual nourishment from their surrounding landscapes. They include residences of the head families, together with substantial timber framed houses of other clan members, also pavilions, study halls, Confucian academies for learning, and clusters of one story mud-walled, thatched-roofed houses, formerly for commoners. The landscapes of mountains, trees and water around the village, framed in views from pavilions and retreats, were celebrated for their beauty by 17th and 18th century poets.





13. At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah, Saudi Arabia.

     This property was the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty, in the heart of the Arabian Penisula, north-west of Riyadh. Founded in the 15th century, it bears witness to the Najdi architectural style, which is specific to the centre of the Arabian peninsula. In the 18th and early 19th century, its political and religious role increased, and the citadel at at-Turaif became the centre of the temporal power of the House of Saud and the spread of the Wahhabi reform inside the Muslim religion. The property includes the remains of many palaces and an urban ensemble built on the edge of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis.





14. Proto-urban site of Sarazm, Tajikistan.

     Sarazm, which means “where the land begins”, is an archaeological site bearing testimony to the development of human settlements in Central Asia, from the 4th millennium BCE to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE. The ruins demonstrate the early development of proto-urbanization in this region. This centre of settlement, one of the oldest in Central Asia, is situated between a mountainous region suitable for cattle rearing by nomadic pastoralists, and a large valley conducive to the development of agriculture and irrigation by the first settled populations in the region. Sarazm also demonstrates the existence of commercial and cultural exchanges and trade relations with peoples over an extensive geographical area, extending from the steppes of Central Asia and Turkmenistan, to the Iranian plateau, the Indus valley and as far as the Indian Ocean.





15. Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi, Viet Nam.

     The Thang Long Imperial Citadel was built in the 11th century by the Ly Viet Dynasty, marking the independence of the Dai Viet. It was constructed on the remains of a Chinese fortress dating from the 7th century, on drained land reclaimed from the Red River Delta in Hanoi. It was the centre of regional political power for almost 13 centuries without interruption. The Imperial Citadel buildings and the remains in the 18 Hoang Dieu Archaeological Site reflect a unique South-East Asian culture specific to the lower Red River Valley, at the crossroads between influences coming from China in the north and the ancient Kingdom of Champa in the south.








Saturday, August 7, 2010

2010 World Heritage

The New Cultural sites (Cont.):

5. Jantar Mantar, India.

    The Jantar Mantar, in Jaipur, is an astronomical observation site built in the early 18th century. It includes a set of some 20 main fixed instruments. They are monumental examples in masonry of known instruments but which in many cases have specific characteristics of their own. Designed for the observation of astronomical positions with the naked eye, they embody several architectural and instrumental innovations. This is the most significant, most comprehensive, and the best preserved of India's historic observatories. It is an expression of the astronomical skills and cosmological concepts of the court of a scholarly prince at the end of the Mughal period.





6. Sheikh Safi al-din Khānegāh and Shrine Ensemble in Ardabil, Iran.

    The Mausoleum of Sheikh Safi, in Ardabil, was built by his son Sheikh Sadraddin, after Sheikh Safi’s death in 1334[3]. The mausoleum consists of many sections that have served a variety of functions over the past centuries, including a library, a mosque, a school, mausolea, a cistern, a hospital, kitchens, a bakery, and some offices. It incorporates a route to reach the shrine of the sheikh divided into seven segments, which mirror the seven stages of Sufi mysticism. Various parts of the mausoleum are separated by eight gates, which represent the eight attitudes of Sufism.
    Several parts were gradually added to the main structure during the Safavid dynasty. A number of Safavid sheikhs and harems and victims of the Safavids’ battles, including the Battle of Chaldiran, have been buried at the site.














Friday, August 6, 2010

2010 World Heritage

The New Cultural sites:

1. Australian Convict Sites, Australia.

    The property includes a selection of 11 penal sites, among the thousands established by the British Empire on Australian soil in the 18th and 19th centuries. They are located on the fertile coastal strip from which the Aboriginal peoples were then forced back, mainly around Sydney and in Tasmania, as well as on Norfolk Island and in Fremantle. They housed tens of thousands of men, women and children condemned by British justice to transportation to the convict colonies. Each of the sites had a specific purpose, in terms both of punitive imprisonment and of rehabilitation through forced labour to help build the colony. The property presents the best surviving examples of large-scale convict transportation and the colonial expansion of European powers through the presence and labour of convicts.

The 11 penal sites constituting the Australian Convict Sites World Heritage listed property are:
(1) Cockatoo Island Convict Site (New South Wales)
(2) Old Great North Road (New South Wales)
(3) Hyde Park Barracks (New South Wales)
(4) Old Government House (New South Wales)
(5) Kingston and Arthurs Vale Historic Area (Norfolk Island)
(6) Brickendon and Woolmers Estates (Tasmania)
(7) Cascades Female Factory (Tasmania)
(8) Coal Mines Historic Site (Tasmania)
(9) Darlington Probation Station (Tasmania)
(10) Port Arthur (Tasmania)
(11) Fremantle Prison (Western Australia)
 
 
 
 
Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1306
             http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Convict_Sites
 
2. São Francisco Square in the Town of São Cristóvão, Brazil.

    São Francisco Square, in the town of São Cristovão, is a quadrilateral open space surrounded by substantial early buildings such as São Francisco Church and convent, the Church and Santa Casa da Misericórdia, the Provincial Palace and the associated houses of different historical periods surrounding the Square. This monumental ensemble, together with the surrounding 18th- and 19th- century houses, creates an urban landscape which reflects the history of the town since its origin. The Franciscan complex is an example of the typical architecture of the religious order developed in north-eastern Brazil.
 
 



3. Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth”, China.

    Mount Songshang is considered to be the central sacred mountain of China. At the foot of this 1500 metre high mountain, close to the city of Dengfeng in Henan province and spread over a 40 square-kilometre circle, stand eight clusters of buildings and sites, including three Han Que gates - remains of the oldest religious edifices in China -, temples, the Zhougong Sundial Platform and the Dengfeng Observatory. Constructed over the course of nine dynasties, these buildings are reflections of different ways of perceiving the centre of heaven and earth and the power of the mountain as a centre for religious devotion. The historical monuments of Dengfeng include some of the best examples of ancient Chinese buildings devoted to ritual, science, technology and education.





4. Episcopal City of Albi, France.

    On the banks of the Tarn river in south-west France, the old city of Albi reflects the culmination of a medieval architectural and urban ensemble. Today the Old Bridge (Pont-Vieux), the Saint-Salvi quarter and its church are testimony to its initial development (10th -11th centuries). Following the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar heretics (13th century) it became a powerful episcopal city. Built in a unique southern French Gothic style from local brick in characteristic red and orange colours, the lofty fortified Cathedral (late 13th century) dominates the city, demonstrating the power regained by the Roman Catholic clergy. Alongside the Cathedral is the vast bishop’s Palais de la Berbie, overlooking the river and surrounded by residential quarters that date back to the Middle Ages. The Episcopal City of Albi forms a coherent and homogeneous ensemble of monuments and quarters that has remained largely unchanged over the centuries.







Wednesday, August 4, 2010

2010 World Heritage

The New Natural Sites (Cont.):

3. Phoenix Islands Protected Area, Kiribati.

   The Phoenix Island Protected Area (PIPA) is a 408,250 sq.km expanse of marine and terrestrial habitats in the Southern Pacific Ocean. The property encompasses the Phoenix Island Group, one of three island groups in Kiribati, and is the largest designated Marine Protected Area in the world. PIPA conserves one of the world's largest intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems, together with 14 known underwater sea mounts (presumed to be extinct volcanoes) and other deep-sea habitats. The area contains approximately 800 known species of fauna, including about 200 coral species, 500 fish species, 18 marine mammals and 44 bird species. The structure and functioning of PIPA's ecosystems illustrates its pristine nature and importance as a migration route and reservoir. This is the first site in Kiribati to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.




Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1325/

4. Putorana Plateau, Russian Federation.

    This site coincides with the area of the Putoransky State Nature Reserve, and is located in the central part of the Putorana Plateau in northern Central Siberia. It is situated about 100 km north of the Arctic Circle. The part of the plateau inscribed on the World Heritage List harbours a complete set of subarctic and arctic ecosystems in an isolated mountain range, including pristine taiga, forest tundra, tundra and arctic desert systems, as well as untouched cold-water lake and river systems. A major reindeer migration route crosses the property, which represents an exceptional, large-scale and increasingly rare natural phenomenon.




Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1234

5. Central Highlands of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka.

    Sri Lanka's highlands are situated in the south-central part of the island. The property comprises the Peak Wilderness Protected Area, the Horton Plains National Park and the Knuckles Conservation Forest. These montane forests, where the land rises to 2,500 metres above sea-level, are home to an extraordinary range of flora and fauna, including several endangered species such as the western-purple-faced langur, the Horton Plains slender loris and the Sri Lankan leopard. The region is considered a super biodiversity hotspot.






Tuesday, August 3, 2010

2010 World Heritage

The New Natural Sites (Cont.):

2. Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island, France.

    The Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island site coincides with the core zone of La Réunion National Park. The property covers more than 100,000 ha or 40 % of La Réunion, an island comprising two adjoining volcanic massifs located in the south-west of the Indian Ocean. Dominated by two towering volcanic peaks, massive walls and three cliff-rimmed cirques, the property includes a great variety of rugged terrain and impressive escarpments, forested gorges and basins creating a visually striking landscape. It is the natural habitat for a wide diversity of plants, presenting a high level of endemism. There are subtropical rainforests, cloud forests and heaths creating a remarkable and visually appealing mosaic of ecosystems and landscape features.




Source:  http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1317/

2010 World Heritage

The New Natural Sites:

1. China Danxia

    China Danxia is the name given in China to landscapes developed on continental red terrigenous sedimentary beds influenced by endogenous forces (including uplift) and exogenous forces (including weathering and erosion). The inscribed site comprises six areas found in the sub-tropical zone of south-west China. They are characterized by spectacular red cliffs and a range of erosional landforms, including dramatic natural pillars, towers, ravines, valleys and waterfalls. These rugged landscapes have helped to conserve sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forests, and host many species of flora and fauna, about 400 of which are considered rare or threatened.






Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1335

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