Beautiful Places On Earth

Christmas is nowhere near yet, but Beautiful Places on Earth today brings you to the traditional home of Santa Claus – Lapland. Lapland is Finland’s northernmost province and located near the Artic Circle. Lapland is the least densely populated region in Finland and is home to Sami people, an indigenous people of northern Europe.

Perhaps Lapland is most famous for being the hometown of Santa Claus. Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi is claimed to be the residence of Santa Claus. Both Santa Claus and Santa Park are located 8 kilometers north of the center of Rovaniemi, the administrative capital of Lapland. Over the years, Santa Claus Village has become the most popular tourist destination in Finland. Santa Claus Post Office located within the village sells various Christmas cards and postcards with Santa Claus postmark on them. Every year there are some 600,000 letters from kids around the world sent out to Santa Claus in the post office. There is also a Santa Claus Office inside the village. Believe it or not, visitors can take photographs with Santa Claus on duty!

Santa’s home town – Rovaniemi

Lapland is also a popular winter sports destination. Saariselka is the largest winter sports center in Lapland. Some of the popular activities here are cross country skiing, sledding and hiking. Tour to see aurora borealis (Northern Polar Lights) can also be arranged at Saariselka. Another popular winter sport resort in Lapland is Levi.

To me, Lapland is suitable to visit all year round. I would prefer to go there spending a Christmas with Santa Claus! However, end of the year is the coldest and darkest time of the year because the sun seldom rises at this time. But this is a very good time to see the aurora!

Acapulco is a famous sea resort town located within the state of Guerrero on the west coast of Mexico, some 386 kilometers southwest from Mexico City. The town is located on a deep, semi circular Acapulco Bay, facing the Pacific Ocean. Over the years, Acapulco has become the number 2 Mexican spring break destination among United States college students behind Cancun.

Beaches are of course the main attractions in Acapulco. Most popular beaches are those located inside the Acapulco Bay such as Hornos, Papagayo, Tamarindos and Icacos. Another beach, given the name Playa Revolcadero, which is an open water beach, is famous for surfing. Playa Revolcadero can be reached from Acapulco Bay in about 35 minutes. Besides surfing, other forms of water sports such as water skiing, parasailing, scuba diving, fishing, sailing and snorkeling can also be found at Acapulco. No visit to Acapulco is complete without watching the cliff divers performing at La Quebrada. These divers dive 45 meters from the top of the cliffs at La Quebrada into the shallow sea below. You can watch them in action in the following video clip.

Acapulco Bay, Mexico

Acapulco can be reached from Mexico City by bus. One can also take a 35-minute flight from Mexico City to Alvarez International Airport at Acapulco. Acapulco is suitable to visit throughout the year due to its tropical climate all year round.

A fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacier activity. The fjord is one of Norway’s major tourist attractions, and Geirangerfjord is one of them. The Geirangerfjord is a 15-kilometer long branch of the Storfjord and is located in the western part of Norway in the Sunnmore region. At the head of the Geirangerfjord lies the small tourist town of Geiranger. The fjord has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site together with Naeroyfjord, since 2005.

Geirangerfjord is not the most convenient fjord to visit in Norway, but is the most popular among all the other fjords because it is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. There lie a number of abandoned farms along the 2 sides of Geirangerfjord. There are also several impressive waterfalls can be found at the fjord. Among the most visited one are the Seven Sisters Waterfall, the Suitor Waterfall and the Bridal Veil Waterfall. This is a video clip of Geirangerfjord, Norway.

Geirangerfjord

There might be a dozen of lakes called West Lake worldwide, but the most famous West Lake of all is located in the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. West Lake is an inland lake, surrounded on 3 sides by mountains. West Lake has a total surface area of 6.5 square kilometers and a circumference of around 15 kilometers.

West Lake is subdivided into 5 smaller lakes, namely Outer West Lake, West Inner Lake, North Inner Lake, Little South Lake and Yue Lake by 1 hill and 3 causeways. West Lake is famous for its picturesque landscape. There are 10 best known scenic spots on the West Lake, given the name “10 Scenes of West Lake”. “10 Scenes of West Lake” includes “Dawn on the Su Causeway in Spring”, Curved Yard and Lotus Pool in Summer”, “Moon over the Peaceful Lake in Autumn”, Remnant Snow on the Bridge in Winter”, “Leifeng Pagoda in the Sunset”, “Two Peaks Piercing the Clouds”, Orioles Singing in the Willows”, “Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond”, “Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon”, “Evening Bell Ringing at the Nanping Hill”. Among them, the picture of “Three Ponds Mirroring the Moon” has featured on the back of Chinese one Yuan bill.

Beautiful Hangzhou West Lake

Besides its picturesque landscape, West Lake is also associated with many scholars and national heroes of the ancient China. The great hero of Song Dynasty, Yue Fei was buried here. His tomb and memorial hall is called the Yue Wang Temple. One can also find Tomb of Wu Song here. Wu Song was a hero famous for slaying a tiger. One of the 3 causeways, the Su Causeway was built by Su Dongpo, a poet in the Song Dynasty. Another causeway, the Bai Causeway was built by Bai Juyi, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty.

Below is a promotional film of “Impression West Lake”, a large scale real life scenery opera show showing almost every night on West Lake. This show is directed by the internationally acclaimed Zhang Yimou, the director of the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.

Impression West Lake

Bamberg is a town located in Upper Franconia on the River Regnitz in Bavaria, Germany. Like Rome, Bamberg is located within 7 hills; with each hill has its own beautiful church. This has led to Bamberg being called the “Franconian Rome”.

The Old Town of Bamberg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Due to its strong Roman influence, Bamberg is famous for its medieval architecture. Besides, the fact that Bamberg was spared from World War II bombing makes sure that all these magnificent buildings are well preserved till today. Some of the famous landmarks found in Bamberg are the Cathedral, Alte Hofhaltung, Neue Residenz, Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus), Klein-Venedig, Michaelsberg Abbey, Altenburg, Jakobskirche, St. Martinskirche and many more.

Bamberg, Germany

In case if you do not know, there are altogether 58 national parks in United States. One of them is the Badlands National Park. According to Wikipedia, the term “badland” is used to describe a type of dry and infertile terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water over the centuries. This has left cone shaped buttes, pinnacles, ridges and spires, as can be seen inside the Badlands National Park.

The Badlands National Park is located in the southwestern of South Dakota, United States. The national park comprises a total area of approximately 244,000 acres. General Alfred Sully once labeled the place as “a hell on fire”. The Lakota called the place “Maco Sica” while French explorers labeled the place “les mauvaises terres a traverser”. Both mean “badlands”.

It is very difficult to walk on the surface of Badlands National Park. Driving along the 40-mile Loop Road presents you the best way to admire the nature’s superlative craftsmanship inside the Badlands National Park. The Badlands has been around for 500,000 years, it may disappear anytime due to the persistent erosion. If you plan to see the Badlands with your own naked eyes, better be hurry!

Badlands National Park, South Dakota

Angel Falls is the world’s highest waterfall. The waterfall drops a total of 978 meters from the summit of the Auyan Tepuy. In between, Angel Falls has a clear uninterrupted drop of 807 meters. Clearly, Angel Falls is very much higher than both Iguazu Falls and Huangguoshu Falls.

Angel Falls is located within the Canaima National Park, Venezuela. Angel Falls takes its name from an American aviator, Jimmie Angel when he discovered the waterfall in 1933 in search of a gold ore. Before this, the waterfall was not known to the outside world.

Angel Falls

Angel Falls is one of Venezuela’s top tourist destinations. To go to Angel Falls, one needs to board a plane from Caracas. The journey takes around one and half hour. The entrance fee to the Canaima National Park is USD4 per adult. You can have a river trip to the base of the falls, and this can usually be done from June to December each year, when the rivers are deep enough for cruising. One can also walk to the base of Angel Falls during the dry season from December to March each year.

The Masai Mara is a large park reserve in the south western of Kenya, connecting to the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania in the south. The Masai Mara National Reserve covers a total area of approximately 1530 kilometer squares. The National Reserve was named after the Maasai people, who are the traditional inhabitants in the area as well as the Mara River, which runs through the park.

Being an African safari, the Masai Mara National Reserve is famous for its exceptional collection of game or wild animals. All members of the so called “Big Five” can be found here. They are the lion, the African elephant, the African Buffalo, the leopard and the rhinoceros. Other wild animals live in the Masai Mara National Reserve are cheetah, crocodile, fox, gazelle, giraffe, hippopotamus, hyena, zebra, wildebeest and many more. There are also some 450 species of birds in the Masai Mara such as crowned crane, eagle, hornbill, ostrich and vulture just to name a few.

However, what really catches the eyes of visitors to Masai Mara is the annual migration gazelle, wildebeest and zebra from the Serengeti every year from July to October. This is the world famous Great Migration. These animals migrate to the Masai Mara in search of fresh pasture and return to the south around October. The Great Migration is one of the most stunning natural events on earth and you can see it in the following video clip.

Masai Mara Safari – Lonely Planet travel video

The eastern border of Masai Mara is 224 kilometers from Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya. I came to know that the entry fees to the Nature Reserve are USD40 for adult and USD10 for children. There are a number of camps and lodges inside the Nature Reserve including Mara Serena, Governor’s Camp, Keekorok and Sarova Mara.

Are you planning an Africa holiday? You can visit this African safari with our help.

Dujiangyan is an irrigation system built in 256 BC during the Warring States Period of China by the Kingdom of Qin. Dujiangyan is located in the Min River, near the provincial capital Chengdu in Sichuan Province. Some say Dujiangyan Irrigation System is the more significant structure built in ancient China than The Great Wall because it is still in use today. Together with Mount Qingcheng, Dujiangyan had been declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000.

King Zhao of Qin dispatched Li Bing as the governor of Shu after the Kingdom of Qin had conquered the Kingdom of Shu. At that time, people living along the banks of Min River were plagued by annual flooding. Li Bing investigated the problem and with the help of the King Zhao of Qin, had built the Dujiang Dam in the Min River. But instead of building a dam, Li Bing had constructed an artificial levee to redirect a portion of the river’s flow and then cut a channel through the mountain to distribute the excess water to the farmlands around Chengdu Plain. This has made Sichuan the most productive agricultural region in China, earning it a name of “Tianfuzhiguo” which means “the country of heaven”. The levee is now known as Fish Mouth Levee while the channel cut through the mountain is known as Bottle Neck Channel. Another part of the Dujiangyan is known as Flying Sand Weir, which main function is to control flooding.

Dujiangyan – World Heritage Site

Dujiangyan is also well known for its beautiful scenery. One should visit the Erwang or Two Kings Temple located on the bank of the river at the foot of Mount Yulei. The Two Kings Temple was built in honor of Li Bing and his son. Another famous temple here is Dragon Taming Temple in Liudi Park.

Beautiful scenery at Dujiangyan

Kyoto is a city located in Yamashiro Basin, surrounded on 3 sides by mountains in the western Honshu Island, Japan. Because of this unique geography, Kyoto has hot summers and cold winters. Kyoto was imperial capital of Japan until 1868, until its status had been replaced by Tokyo. Kyoto has been chosen as Japan’s second most beautiful city for many years, just behind Sapporo. If Tokyo represents lively and vibrant modern Japan, then Kyoto is the heart of traditional Japan.

Because Kyoto spared from major atomic bombing at the end of World War II, the city is one of few Japanese cities to preserve ancient castles, houses, shrines and temples. Kiyomizu Temple has been the most popular tourist attraction in Kyoto for the past 20 years. Other popular spots include Arashiyama, Ginkakuji (the Golden Pavilion) and Kinkakuji (the Silver Pavilion), just to name a few. In Kyoto, one can stroll leisurely through a bamboo thicket, cherry blossom garden or fir garden, and at the same time take a deep breadth of fresh mountain air. On Kyoto streets, it is possible for you to stumble into a real Japanese Geisha especially in Pontocho, the Geisha quarter in Kyoto. Pontocho is known for its many Geisha houses and traditional tea houses. In there, you will definitely come across some of the most feminine women in the entire Japan!

Best of Kyoto