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

Navagio : Smuggler's Cove

Location: Zacynthos Island, Greece

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

Navagio Beach, or the Shipwreck, is an isolated sandy cove on Zakynthos island and one of the most famous beaches in Greece. It is notable because it is home to the wreck of the alleged smuggler ship Panagiotis; thus, it is often referred to as 'Smugglers Cove'.

Navagio is located on the north-west shore of the Ionian island of Zakynthos (Zante), in the Municipality of Elation. The area is defined by its sheer limestone cliffs, white sand beaches, and clear blue water, which attract thousands of tourists yearly. The strip of beach is accessed only by boat, from Porto Vromi to the south, and from the Harbor of Saint Nikolas in Volimes to the north-east. More typically, boats arrive from the harbor of Zakynthos, the capital city, with cruises and tours anchoring hourly at Navagio.