Pamukkale Limestone Terraces

Pamukkale, meaning "cotton castle" in Turkish, is a natural site in Denizli Provincein southwestern Turkey. 

Pamukkale on the Wiki 

Pamukkale Limestone Terraces on Google Maps

The city contains hot springs and travertines, terraces of carbonate minerals left by the flowing water. It is located in Turkey's Inner Aegeanregion, in the River Menderes valley. 

The ancient Greco-Roman and Byzantine city of Hierapolis was built on top of the white "castle" which is in total about 2,700 metres (8,860 ft) long, 600 m (1,970 ft) wide and 160 m (525 ft) high. It can be seen from the hills on the opposite side of the valley in the town of Denizli, 20 km away.

Tourism is and has been a major industry. People have bathed in its pools for thousands of years. As recently as the mid-20th century, hotels were built over the ruins of Heropolis, causing considerable damage. An approach road was built from the valley over the terraces, and motor bikes were allowed to go up and down the slopes. When the area was declared a World Heritage Site, the hotels were demolished and the road removed and replaced with artificial pools. Wearing shoes in the water is prohibited to protect the deposits.

Pamukkale's terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by water from the hot springs. Pamukkale is recognized as a World Heritage Site together with Hierapolis. Hierapolis-Pamukkale was made a World Heritage Site in 1988.

Ko Phi Phi

Ko Phi Phi is a small archipelago in Krabi Province, Southern Thailand. Ko Phi Phi is considered to be one of the most naturally beautiful islands in the world. Koh Phi Phi comprises 6 islands, 2 of them main – Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Le. The islands are surrounded by the Andaman Sea.

The named islands are:

Ko Phi Phi Don, the largest and only populated island.

Ko Phi Phi Leh, a smaller island to the south, popularised when parts of the movie "The Beach" were filmed there. Uninhabited apart from bird nest harvesters and a few Maya Bay wardens; expect plenty of tourists during daylight hours, especially in Maya Bay, also known as 'the beach'.

Ko Mai Phai ('Bamboo Island'), a small low-lying islet to the north of Phi Phi Don with several good beaches.

Ko Yung (Yung Island) is north of Ko Phi Phi Don. The island has a stone beach in the east and small sandy beaches at the foot of the hills. It is teeming with various kinds of colourful coral reefs.

Bida Nok and Bida Nai, two small adjacent limestone karsts to the south of Phi Phi Leh, with near-vertical cliff walls rising from the sea.

Most of the development of Phi Phi Don is situated in or around Ton Sai village, which is on the low, sandy isthmus that joins the two hilly spurs that comprise the rest of the island. There are also other, quieter resorts on Long Beach, Laem Thong, and at other less accessible areas of the island.

Koh Phi Phi was devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, when nearly all of the island's infrastructure was wiped out. Redevelopment has, however, been swift, and services are back with building regulations in place to limit the height of new buildings to preserve the island's stunning views.

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park

Wiki Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plitvice_Lakes_National_Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe and the largest national park in Croatia. The national park was founded in 1949 and is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The important north-south road connection, which passes through the national park area, connects the Croatian inland with the Mediterranean coastal region.

The protected area extends over 296.85 square kilometres (73,350 acres).  In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage register among the first natural sites worldwide.The national park is world famous for its lakes arranged in cascades.

Currently, 16 lakes can be seen from the surface. These lakes are a result of the confluence of several small rivers and subterranean karst rivers. The lakes are all interconnected and follow the water flow. They are separated by natural dams of travertine, which is deposited by the action of moss, algae, and bacteria.

Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Wiki links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubrovnik
http://wikitravel.org/en/Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik (pronounced [dǔbroːʋnik]) is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic.In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

The city of Dubrovnik (Latin: Ragusa) was built on maritime trade. In the Middle Ages it became the only city-state in the Adriatic to rival Venice. Supported by its wealth and skilled diplomacy, the city achieved a remarkable level of development during the 15th and 16th centuries. Furthermore, Dubrovnik was one of the centers of the development of the Croatian language and literature, home to many notable poets, playwrights, painters, mathematicians, physicists and other scholars.

Today Dubrovnik is the proudest feather in Croatia's tourist cap, an elite destination and one of the most beautiful towns in the Mediterranean. Dubrovnik used to be an independent republic, surviving mostly on trade. It managed to survive many centuries, with constant threats to its territory, particularly from the mighty Ottoman Empire and Venice. As early as 19th century, it was discovered by celebrities as a place to be seen. George Bernard Shaw once said that "those who seek paradise on Earth should come to Dubrovnik and find it". Royalty, presidents and diplomats have all favored the city. The late Pope John Paul II was a fan of Dubrovnik and was even made an honorary citizen. Out of the 23 top luxury hotels in Croatia in 2010, 13 were located in Dubrovnik.

Dubrovnik is steeped in stunning architecture and sculptural detail, and boasts spectacular churches, monasteries, museums, and fountains. Dubrovnik was heavily bombed during the Croatian War of Independence from 1991 to 1995. Almost all of the damage has been repaired; however, if one looks closely around the old town, mortar damage in the cobblestone streets and bullet marks in the stone houses are visible.

Sveti Stefan

Sveti Stefan, Montenegro

Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sveti_Stefan

Sveti Stefan is a small islet and hotel resort in Montenegro.An Adriatic playground for the rich and famous from the 1960s to the 1980s, the hotel is now a 5-star franchise hotel. Formerly an island, Sveti Stefan is now connected to the mainland by a narrow isthmus. The hotel won the Hotel of the Year award from Gallivanter's Guide in 2010.

Bora Bora

Location: French Polynesia

Wiki link: http://wikitravel.org/en/Bora_Bora

Bora Bora is an island in the Leeward group of the Society Islands of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the Pacific Ocean. The original name of the island in the Tahitian language might be better rendered as Pora Pora, meaning "First Born". The island, located about 230 kilometres (140 mi) northwest of Papeete, is surrounded by a lagoon and a barrier reef.

In the center of the island are the remnants of an extinct volcano rising to two peaks, Mount Pahia and Mount Otemanu, the highest point at 727 metres.

Today the Island of Bora Bora relies largely on tourism and because of this seven luxurious resorts were built over the past few years. Hotel Bora Bora was the first to build bungalows that stand over the water using stilts which are now a given of every resort on the island as these bungalows provide spectacular sites of lagoons and mountains.

Monastries at Meteora

Location: Meteora, Greece

Wiki link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteora


The Metéora (Greek for"suspended rocks", "suspended in the air" or "in the heavens above" - etymologically similar to "Meteorite") is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece. The six monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pillars, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece.

Most of these monasteries are perched on high cliffs and accessible by staircases cut into the rock formations. They were created to serve monks and nuns following the teachings of the Greek Orthodox Church.

The monastery of Holy Trinity was a filming location in the 1981 James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.

Lauterbrunnen Valley

Location: Bernese Oberland, Switzerland

Lauterbrunnen is a small unspoilt village in Switzerland nestled between the towering walls of a sheer-sided valley that is famed for its waterfalls.

The river Weisse Lütschine flows through Lauterbrunnen and overflows its banks about once a year. The source of the river comes from melting snow high in the mountains, thus making it a very pure and clean source of water. It is common practice in the camp sites to chill drinks in the water.

Lauterbrunnen lies at the bottom of a hanging or U-shaped valley that extends south and then south-westwards from the village to meet the 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) Lauterbrunnen Wall. The valley of Lauterbrunnen (Lauterbrunnental) is one of the deepest in the Alpine chain when compared with the height of the mountains that rise directly on either side. It is a true cleft, rarely more than one kilometre in width, between limestones precipices, sometimes quite perpendicular, everywhere of extreme steepness. It is to this form of the valley that it owes the numerous waterfalls from which it derives its name. The streams descending from the adjoining mountains, on reaching the verge of the rocky walls of the valley, form cascades so high that they are almost lost in spray before they reach the level of the valley. The most famous of these are the Staubbach Falls within less than one kilometres of the village of Lauterbrunnen. The height of the cascade is between 800 and 900 feet (240 and 270 m), one of the highest in Europe formed of a single unbroken fall.

At the upper-end of the valley, the mountains rise up into the famous peaks of Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau. 

Lauterbrunnen featured in several scenes from the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service (including the Piz Gloria restaurant).

Piz Gloria restaurant

Piz Gloria with Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau in the background

Valley Of Flowers

Location: Uttarakhand, India


Valley of Flowers National Park is an Indian national park, nestled high in West Himalaya, is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. It is located in Uttarakhand state. This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park to the east. Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya. The valley is located at an altitude of around 3500-4000 meters. There are few snow lakes and glaciers in this valley which increases the beauty of this place.

This valley is almost 10 km long and almost 12 km wide. During the rainy season, the whole valley turns into a naturally created beautiful garden, with different verity of colorful flowers. The valley is home to many celebrated flowers like the Brahmakamal, the Blue Poppy and the Cobra Lily. It is a much sought after haunt for flower-lovers, botanists and trekkers.

Cinque Terre

Location: Liguria, Italy

Wikitravel Link: http://wikitravel.org/en/Cinque_Terre

The Cinque Terre (CHINK-weh TAY-reh, which means "five lands") is a series of mall coastal villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso) located in the Italian region of Liguria, clinging to a remote stretch of the Riviera coastline. The rugged villages of the Cinque Terre, founded by Dark Age locals hiding out from marauding pirates, were long cut off from the modern world. Today the villages, linked by a milk-run train, a ferry, and a spectacular trail (A walking trail, known as Sentiero Azzurro "Light Blue Trail", connects the five villages), draw hordes of hikers. Cars and motorbikes are not allowed in the villages, which are connected by train (each about five minutes apart, mostly through tunnels). In the villages, electric buses scale the sheer streets.

Manarola

All the towns slope down to sea-level except for Corniglia, which is perched on top of a tall cliff. Four of the towns possess an old-world charm (from North-to-South: Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore). The northern-most town, Monterosso, is completely different. It is very beachy-resorty, with not much to see beyond the boardwalk apart from modern apartment blocks and hotels— nothing like the narrow, crooked streets of the other towns, lined with colorful old houses stacked haphazardly on top of each other.

Corniglia

Vernazza

Riomaggiore

Monterosso