Category: places

The Sculptural Rock Formations Of White Desert

White Desert National Park in Egypt, is the site of large white chalk rock formations, created through erosion by occasional sandstorm in the area. Some of them have developed nicknames over the years. The most famous are called “chicken and mushroom”, “camel” and “whale”, among other things. Arguably, the best way to experience the wonders of the White Desert is to camp overnight because these sculptural formations look most impressive at sunrise or sunset.

By Christine Schultz (Link

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3 of the Best Hocking Hills State Park Caves

Hocking Hills State Park is a state park in Ohio, United States. Within the park are over 25 miles of hiking trails, rock formations, waterfalls, and recess caves.
In the southernmost reaches of Hocking Hills is Ash Cave, the largest, most impressive recess cave in the state. The horseshoe-shaped cave measures 700 feet from end to end, 100 feet deep from the rear cave wall to its front edge with the rim rising 90 feet high. The cave was named after the huge pile of ashes found under the shelter by early settlers.

Ash cave J. Todd Poling/CC BY 2.0

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Qianchun – One of China’s most complex interchanges

One of China’s most complex interchanges. It’s called Qianchun Interchange and is located in the mountainous province of Guizhou, China. Construction began in 2009, but the massive road knot was only completed in 2017. It consists of 18 different ramps in eight directions on five different levels. The highest level is 37m above ground and this incredibly complex infrastructure has been labelled a nightmare for motorists trying to find their way around. People on social media pointed out that even the GPS systems would be confused by the five different layers of road.  However, officials claim that the directions and exits on the interchange are clearly marked and that even if you make mistakes,  it’s easy to turn around.

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The splendid beauty of Krupaj spring

Maja Stosic / CC BY-SA

Krupaj spring is a water spring in Eastern Serbia in the foothill of Beljanic mountain. Surrounded by a forest of its own, with tree branches and vines hovering over its surface, stands the Krupaj springs. The water, blue and green in colour, with varying nuances, can’t help itself but hypnotize the beholder. The deep, cold and turquoise is often specked with fallen leaves. Apart from the enchanting sight of the fount, beneath its surface the Krupaj springs hides an even more fascinating story. According to the stories of scuba divers who dove to 123 meters depth, once you dive into the lake you enter a maze of underwater canals.
Even the most experienced divers would be lost trying to dive through the “Stomach”, the “Slide”, the “Small Room”, the “6 Meters”, the “Big Room”, the “Ram’s Head” of this half-flooded cave, without a rope to serve as their lifeline. They say  the last stop is the “Canal” after which there is nothing but a dark abyss. Also at 123 meters there is a partially flooded room, where in the depths of the underground, they found tunnels that lead to the surface.
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Þrídrangaviti – An Isolated Lighthouse in Iceland

Perched a top one of 4 rock pillars sticking out of the sea off Westman, around six miles from Iceland’s mainland, Þrídrangaviti Lighthouse is known as one of the loneliest lighthouses in the world. The remote lighthouse was built in 1938. At that time the only way to get to the top was climbing. Builders had to kneel down and stand on their back because there where nowhere to get a grip.
Nowadays, the lighthouse is accessible by helicopter and even features a small helipad.

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This is (possibly) one of the most incredible lighthouses in the world!! Þrídrangaviti (Thridrangar) was built during the Second World War and is around 90m tall. Before the project could even start, the workes had an extremely difficult task. The helicopter was not yet in practical use, meaning the only way to get to the top was climbing. A rumour has it that they hired some local climbers from westmannaeyar to do the job. We even heard a story that at one point, the climbers had to climb on top of eachother because there where nowhere to get a grip! . . Our plan was to climb the pillar, but we couldn't even get close to it because of the swells. The 5 hour sailingtrip was still worth every single second, since this is one of the best photos of the lighthouse! – Google it . . . Sailing with: @devoldofnorway @regattaofnorway . . #iceland #westmannaeyar #þrídrangaviti #thridrangar #þrídrangar #expedition #expeditionsailing #sailboat #sailorlife #sailor #bloggerlife #lighthouse #adventure #ocean #nature #threepillars #northatlantic #incredible #dronephotography #sailaway #visualoflife #lonelyplanet #planetearth #keepitwild #exploringtheglobe #traveltheworld #visit #travelbug #blueplanet #world

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Salt water pools in Siwa Oasis, Egypt

Siwa Oasis is one of Egypt’s most isolated settlements with about 33,000 people. A vast area of Palm trees in the middle of the desert. The combination of low annual rainfall and high rates of evaporation in the oasis results in lakes characterized by hyper-salinity. Lakes, which are both healing and an important source of revenue for the residents of the oasis. Siwis traditionally utilize this salt in building homes and shaping their tools and also lamps, believed to produce healing energy with the heat of the light source. People started to excavate the lakes to get the salt creating round pools .The salt lakes in Egypt is considered to have healing properties for sinuses, skin and eyes, in addition to their relaxing experience.

Ahmed Emad Hamdy / CC BY-SA

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Rio Celeste: The Blue River In Costa Rica

Rio Celeste is a river in Tenorio Volcano National Park of Costa Rica notable for its distinctive turquoise coloration. The Celeste River also borders several hot springs and has one large waterfall.
The source of the river’s distinctive turquoise color is not due to a chemical species but to a physical phenomenon known as Mie scattering. Celeste River is fed by two colorless rivers, the Buenavista River and Sour Creek. Buenavista River carries a large concentration of aluminosilicate particles with a small diameter. Sour Creek, as its name implies, has a high acidity due to volcanic activity. When these two streams mix to form Celeste River, the drop in pH causes the aluminosilicate particles to aggregate and enlarge to a diameter of about 566 nm. These suspended particles produce Mie scattering which gives the river a strong turquoise color.
info source: wikipedia

Photo: Rio Celeste/Facebook

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A picturesque church without the need for a roof in Lemnos island

The chapel of Panagia Kakaviotissa located in Lemnos island, Greece, was founded in 1,416 A.C. by monks who managed to escape the Ottoman invasion in Agios Efstratios island. Nested inside a rock cavity on the top of Kakavos Mountain at an altitude of 260 meters, the church has no need for a roof. The picturesque chapel that is accessed via a path leading to the top of Mount Kakavos, offers an impressive view to the sea.

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World’s Tallest Super-Swing

The swing that is located on the edge of a nearly 700m-tall cliff in Yunyang Longgang Scenic Spot in Chongqing, China, fires out riders 70 meters away from the cliff that overlooks a giant canyon.. The swing claims to be the fastest of its kind at 80 mph.
It was meant to open to the public early this year. However, its opening was delayed by the coronavirus outbreak and the lockdown. Tourists will be bound to harness horizontally before being flung out at 80mph. According to the Guinness World Records the current tallest swing in the world measures 88 meters (288 feet 8 inches) from the seat to the top of the crossbar. It was constructed by B!g Rush in Durban, South Africa, on 14 May 2011.

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The Inn at Rodanthe

Formerly known as Serendipity, the Inn at Rodanthe, as it was named in the 2008 movie based on Nicholas Spark’s popular novel, Nights in Rodanthe, is  located in the small Hatteras Island village of Rodanthe on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Throughout the years, coastal storms and extreme coastal erosion placed the single family home (not an actual Inn) literally in the Atlantic Ocean.  On January 18th, 2010, Serendipity, weighing in at 83,000 pounds, was moved from its original site by Expert House Movers.  The house moved back from the shoreline, retrofitted to emulate the scenes filmed in the movie and it is available for weekly rentals throughout the year..

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