Beautiful Places On Earth

Guilin in Chinese language literally means “Forest of Sweet Osmanthus”. This is due to a large number of sweet osmanthus trees grown in the city. When the osmanthus trees blossom, they produce strong fragrance.

Guilin is situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on the west bank of the famous Li River. Guilin’s geographical feature is of a typical karsts formation. The city is famous for its “3 hills 2 caves, 2 rivers 4 lakes” scenery. The 3 hills are Elephant Trunk Hill, Wave Subduing Hill and Folded Brocade Hill while the 2 caves are Seven Star Cave and Reed Flute Cave. The 2 rivers are the Li River and its tributary, Peach Blossom River. The 4 lakes are the Rong Lake, Shan Lake, Gui Lake and the Mulong Lake. Besides, the entire Guilin city is surrounded by Lipu Mountains, the Cat Mountains and Yaoshan Mountains.

Besides “3 hills, 2 caves”, Guilin’s other attractions are Jingjiang Princes City, Seven Star Park and night cruise that travels through 2 rivers 4 lakes scenic area, just to name a few. Of course, you should also not miss out on the nearby Longji Rice Terraces.

Guilin’s scenery has long been lauded as the best among all under heaven. Read my Guilin travelogue here.

Guilin a true beautiful place

The Chocolate Hills is an unusual geological formation of around 1,776 perfectly cone-shaped hills spreading over an area of 50 square kilometers throughout the towns of Carmen, Batuan, Sagbayan, Bilar, Sierra Bullones and Valencia in the middle region of Bohol Island, Philippines. Amazingly, all these cone hills are about the same size. They are all covered in green grass that turns chocolate brown during the dry season, giving them the name “Chocolate Hills”.

Chocolate Hills is now Bohol’s and Philippine’s most famous tourist attraction. There is even a proposed move to include Chocolate Hills in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Chocolate Hills are actually made of grass covered limestone. It is one of a few examples of conical limestone karsts formations on earth. There are a number of hypotheses regarding the formation of these cone-shaped hills. The best acceptable one is to say that these hills were formed million years ago by the uplift of coral reef deposits and the erosion by rain water and wind make them what they are today. This is written on a plaque at the viewing deck in Carmen, Bohol.

Chocolate Hills – The Wonder of Creation

There are only 2 resorts in Chocolate Hills, one at Carmen and another one at Sagbayan. Each resort has viewing station. To plan your Chocolate Hills trip, please contact us.

Belize is a relatively unknown country in Central America, bordering Mexico in the north, Guatemala in the west and Caribbean Sea in the east. But the country boasts of having the second largest coral reef system in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The Belize Barrier Reef is a 300-kilometer long barrier reef system, straddling the coast of Belize, and includes 200 plus small islands, atolls and cays within its boundary.

The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. It is home to huge species of plants and animals. Among the most popular destinations surrounding the Belize Barrier Reef are Ambergris Caye and the Great Blue Hole. Ambergris Caye is the largest island of Belize. San Pedro is the only town on the island and is the popular diving spot of Belize Barrier Reef. The Great Blue Hole is another popular scuba diving spot. This large underwater sinkhole lies near the center of Lighthouse Reef and is only 100 kilometers from the mainland Belize. It is said that the hole is a typical limestone karsts formation, formed during the last glacial period. One can find stalactites from the submerged caves underneath the water. See more of the Blue Hole in the video clip below.

Discovering the Blue Hole, Belize Barrier Reef

This entry brings you to a very own Malaysian destination. Gunung Mulu National Park it is! This UNESCO World Heritage Site is located near Miri, Sarawak on the island of Borneo.

Named after the 2,377-meter Mount Mulu, the national park is well known for its limestone karsts landforms as well as its incredible cave systems. Some of the notable caves here are the Deer Cave, the Wind Cave, the Clearwater Cave, the Langs Cave, the Turtle Cave and the Sarawak Chamber. The Sarawak Chamber is the world’s largest underground chamber. At 2,300 feet long, 1,300 feet wide and at least 230 feet high, the cave is said to be big enough to occupy up to 10 jumbo jets inside!

Deer Cave and Lang Cave are accessible via foot. Clearwater Cave and Wind Cave meanwhile, can be reached by a longboat trip up the Melinau River. You can see many stalactites and stalagmites inside all these caves. Deer Cave has the largest entrance passage than any other caves in the world while Lang Cave is relatively smaller. Inside the Deer Cave, one can see Abraham Lincoln face at one of the cliff walls! One of the most intriguing experiences in Gunung Mulu National Park is definitely witnessing the bat exodus from Deer Cave every evening.

Mulu is best accessed by taking a flight from Miri. The flight takes only 30 minutes. One can also travel to the area by boat, but it could take up to 12 hours from Miri! All visitors to the park must pay a RM10 park entry fee per person and engage the service of a licensed park guide. Visitors are not allowed to enter any of the caves without the licensed park guide mentioned above.

Caving at Mulu

I myself had been to Gunung Mulu National Park a couple of years back. You can read my travel journal here.

Zhangjiajie is a city as well as the National Forest Park within it in the northwestern part of Hunan Province in China. Zhangjiajie was named after a small village located within its bounds. In 1992, Wulingyuan Scenic Area, consisting of Zhangjiajie, Suoxi Gully, Tianzi Mountains and Yangjiajie was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Zhangjiajie covers a total area of 3,600 square kilometers. The area is distinguished by its karsts landforms of more than 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars and peaks, many of them over 200 meters high. Between the peaks lie ravines and gorges with streams, pools and waterfalls and some 40 caves. Among the most popular are Baofeng Lake, Huanglong Cave and Longwang Cave. Video below was taken while walking around in the scenic area as well as on the cable car. The scenery is absolutely beautiful and stunning!

Zhangjiajie is always covered in a mist due to the low cloud coverage and endless array of streams in the region. There are some 550 different species of trees there include rare dove trees, ginkgos, dawn redwoods and highly prized Chinese herbs. In Zhangjiajie also lives many species of rare animals and birds. Among them are Rhesus monkeys, giant salamanders, civets and golden pheasants.

Zhangjiajie is inhabited by a variety of ethnic groups; include Tujia people, Bai people and Miao people. Together, they create a unique culture. It is pleasant to visit Zhangjiajie all year round. It is also very convenient to find accommodations there, as there are many hotels in the scenic area, ranging from budget hostels to high end hotels.