Beautiful Places On Earth

Venezuela’s offshore islands are always not very well known. But Islas Los Roques is an exception. Islas Los Roques is an archipelago consists of 40 bigger islands and more than 250 islets as well as cays. The archipelago is surrounded by many cays, making Islas Los Roques one of the best diving spots in the Caribbean. In fact, Islas Los Roques is the biggest and oldest marine park in the Caribbean Sea with a total area of 40.61 square kilometers. One can find countless shoals of fish and numerous corals here. The Los Roques islands had been declared a national park in 1972.

Much of the islands in the archipelago are still deserted, making it a perfect spot for bird watching. There are some 300 species of birds found in Islas Los Roques including the crested ibis that attracts worldwide attention. One can opt to stay in a submarine named Antares III. You can dive with Antares III to the 85 feet underwater world. Other activities include fishing, snorkeling and kite surfing.

Los Roques Archipelago, Venezuela

Islas Los Roques is situated approximately 161 kilometers from La Guaira. You can land on El Gran Roque, one of a few populated islands in the archipelago. The best time in a year to visit Islas Los Roques is from April till December.

The Dazu Rock Carvings is a rock grotto full of Chinese religious sculptures and carvings located in Dazu County, about 60 kilometers west of Chongqing, China. It is believed that the sculptures and carvings here started as early as the 7th century A.D. and was influenced by Buddhist, Confucian and Taoist beliefs.

The Dazu Rock Carvings are made up of 75 protected sites containing some 50,000 statues, with over 10,000 inscriptions and epigraphs. The rock grotto was relatively unknown to outside world until it was opened to Chinese travelers in 1961 and foreign visitors in 1980. Today, the Dazu Rock Carvings is an UNESCO World Heritage Site after its inscription in 1999. The highlights of Dazu Rock Carvings are found on Mount Baoding as well as Mount Beishan.

Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing

The Taklimakan Desert is a desert in Central Asia, located in the central of Tarim Basin, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Prefecture, China. Covering a total area of 270,000 square kilometers, this desert is the 17th largest desert in the world. In Uyghur language, “Taklimakan” means “a place to leave behind”. Some accounts even claim that “Taklimakan” means “go in and you will never go out”.

As the name suggests, Taklimakan Desert is harsh and hazardous to cross because there is very little water in the desert. Taklimakan Desert is home to several oasis towns along the famous Silk Road. Many archeological treasures were found here buried under the sand. Mummies, some 4,000 years old, have also been found in the region.

Taklimakan Desert camel trekking

Huanglong Scenic Area is located within the virgin forests in Songpan County in the northwest part of Sichuan province, China. Huanglong is located in the southern part of the Minshan mountain range, some 150 kilometers northwest of provincial capital, Chengdu.

Huanglong in Chinese literally means “yellow dragon”. As the name suggests, Huanglong resembles a golden yellowish dragon lying within the lofty and precipitous peaks looking down from the plane. This scenic area is best known for its colorful pools formed by calcite deposits. They are uniquely shaped, delicately structured and large scale floor travertine landforms. The clear water flowing down from high and far snow covered peaks and forms crystal clear, shallow and colorful calcite deposited pools tiers upon tiers. Reaching the top one would see the famous Five-Color Lake.

Huanglong Scenic Area in Sichuan, China

Besides, Huanglong Scenic Area is also known for its diverse ecosystems. The area is home to many endangered species such as the giant panda and the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey. Huanglong Scenic Area has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992.

Nakuru means “Dust and Dusty Place” in Maasai language. Lake Nakuru is one of a few soda lakes in the Rift Valley province in the central Kenya, 160 kilometers north of Nairobi, the country’s capital.

The 188 kilometers squares area around Lake Nakuru had been established as the Lake Nakuru National Park in 1961. The area was fenced off as a sanctuary to protect wildlife such as the Rothschild giraffes, black and white rhinoceros, warthogs as well as baboons. Besides, many birds also flourish in the area due to Lake Nakuru’s abundance of algae. What really makes Lake Nakuru well known to the world is the vast quantity of flamingos that lines the shore. It is believed that Lake Nakuru has the largest population of flamingos on earth.

Journey to East Africa – Lake Nakuru

Due to its proximity to Nairobi, Lake Nakuru is always visited in a day tour from the capital.