Beautiful Places On Earth

Churchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. No, this is not the hometown of Winston Churchill. Instead, Churchill is known as the Polar Bear Capital in the World due to many polar bears move toward the shore from inland during the months of October and November. The polar bears are waiting for the water to freeze on Hudson Bay so that they can hunt for ringed seals, their primary food source.

Visitors can watch polar bears safely from a modified vehicle called the Tundra Buggy. Tundra Buggy is widely used for photographing and observing polar bears at Wapusk National Park in northern Canada. Wapusk National Park is approximately 45 kilometers south of Churchill, on the shores of Hudson Bay. Within the park is Cape Churchill, renowned as the best location in the world to see polar bears.

Churchill, polar bear capital of the world

Besides polar bears, thousands of beluga whales which move into the warmer waters of the Churchill River in the summer is also a major attraction in Churchill. Due to its proximity to Artic, the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) can be seen in the night skies over Churchill in certain months of the year. Want to have close encounter with polar bears? Plan your trip here.

Rotorua is located on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, in North Island of New Zealand. Located just 230 kilometers southeast of Auckland, Rotorua is New Zealand’s major tourist city.

Because of its location in the middle of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, Rotorua is famous for its geothermal activity. Geothermal refers to the outward heat flows from the earth’s hot interior to the surface. Geothermal activities can be seen in the form of numerous geysers, hot bubbling mud pools, hot springs in and around Rotorua. A geyser is a hot spring that ejects hot water and steam some height above the surface. The most famous geyser in Rotorua is the Pohutu Geyser at Te Puia. Pohutu Geyser is able to eject hot water up to 100 feet. Sometimes it last for only few minutes, some other time the geyser can continue discharging for few hours! Because of the active geothermal activity, Rotorua is renowned for its unique sulphur aroma, very much like rotten eggs smell. Thus, the city is also nicknamed the Sulphur City.

Rotorua is surrounded by 17 lakes. Fishing, swimming, waterskiing and other water activities are popular during the summer. Mountain biking in Whakarewarewa Forest is also a popular activity here. Whakarewarewa Forest has some of the best mountain bike trails in New Zealand. Besides, Rotorua is also New Zealand’s Maori cultural center judging by nearly one third of the country’s total Maori population live here. You certainly do not want to miss out on Kapa Haka, the traditional cultural dance of Maori People, don’t you?

Rotorua, New Zealand

The Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River, spanning across the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The first European to discover the waterfall is a Scottish explorer, Dr. David Livingstone in 1855. He named the waterfall after Queen of Victoria. After its discovery, Victoria Falls has soon been recognized as one of the natural wonders in the world. In fact, Victoria Falls is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World and was enlisted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989.

Victoria falls measures 108 meters in height and 1708 meters in width. The spray from the falls of water can rise up to over 400 meters and can be seen from over 50 kilometers away from the Victoria Falls. During full moon, one is able to see lunar rainbow. The flight across Victoria Falls is given the name “Flight of the Angels”. The flight takes approximately 15 minutes and it is widely lauded as the most beautiful flight tour in the world!

Victoria Falls

In recent years, a natural pool known as the Devil’s Armchair or just Devil’s Pool has become increasingly popular among visitors to Victoria Falls. The Devil’s Pool is near the edge of Victoria Falls and swimming as close as possible to the edge can be done from September to December, when the water level is low. Imagine swimming on the edge of one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the world! If you are ever in Zambia and Zimbabwe, do not miss the chance to go to the Devil’s Pool!

Swimming in Devils Pool

Halong Bay is perhaps Vietnam’s most popular travel destination. Halong Bay is located in Quang Ninh Province, northeastern Vietnam and is approximately 161 kilometers east of Hanoi. The bay has a 120-kilometer long coastline and covering an area of approximately 1553 square kilometers with more than 2000 islets in it. Halong Bay had been included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. Recently, Halong Bay was also in the nomination list for World’s 7 Natural Wonders by the New Open World Foundation.

Halong Bay is well known for its thousands of limestone karsts and islets in various sizes and shapes. These rocks take distinct shapes such as elephant, fighting cock, dog, frog, monkey, kissing couple and many more. Several islets also house big cave systems. Among the most visited cave systems are Wooden Stakes Cave and Thien Cung Grotto.

Kayaking is by far the best way to experience the beauty of Halong Bay. Not only you can cruise in the bay, you can also enter the caves to see stalactites and stalagmites. The best months to go to Halong Bay are March and November according to some of the travel websites.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Santorini is a volcanic island located in the southern Aegean Sea, approximately 200 kilometers southeast from Greece’s mainland. Santorini is another beautiful island of Greece besides Crete. It is also known as Thira. Santorini is actually a present day caldera formed by the collapse of a single island during the Minoan volcanic eruption approximately 3600 years ago. The collapse had left a rectangular central lagoon measuring about 12 kilometers in length and 7 kilometers in width.

Due to its magnificent landscape and seascape, Santorini is today one of the Europe’s most popular destinations. Santorini is well known for those houses built on the edge of the caldera. All towns on the island of Santorini have white houses and blue domed churches. Coupled with the blue sky and sea in the background, this might just be the most photographed scenery in the world! Among the most famous town in Santorini are Fira and Oia. Fira, the capital of Santorini, is built on the cliff and overlooking the central lagoon. It has all that Oia has, but much more crowded. Over the years, visitors have started to turn to the picturesque town of Oia. Oia boasts of having one of the most stunning sunsets in the world. This is because Oia is located at the highest point of Santorini and also close to the sea, thus offering a good sunset view over the Aegean Sea. Besides, Santorini also has flourishing wine industry thanks to the volcanic soil.

Santorini – Jewel of the Aegean

During December through February each year, most of the hotels and guesthouses in Santorini may be closed. This period is the off season in Santorini. So the best time in the year to visit Santorini is from March till November. Santorini can be reached by both planes and ferries from Athens. But if you are prone to sea sickness, I would suggest you to get in from Athens by air!