Antelope Canyon, United States of America

Welcome to the most beautifull canyon in the world (Time to confess, i am very happy write this article, the object is very beautifull, the colour is so colourfull and amazing). Yes, we are going to talk about the most colourfull brightest and amazing canyon in the world, Antelope Canyon. Antelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. It is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona. 

A long time ago, herds of pronghorn antelope roamed freely in Antelope Canyon, which explains the canyon's English name. It is not known exactly when people first discovered Antelope Canyon. According to local Navajos, who have lived here for some time, the canyon and the LeChee area were places where cattle grazed in winter.

 To older Navajos, entering a place like Antelope Canyon was like entering a cathedral. They would probably pause before going in, to be in the right frame of mind and prepare for protection and respect. This would also allow them to leave with an uplifted feeling of what Mother Nature has to offer, and to be in harmony with something greater than themselves. It was, and is, a spiritual experience.

Antelope Canyon includes two separate, photogenic slot canyon sections, referred to individually as Upper Antelope Canyon or The Crack; and Lower Antelope Canyon or The Corkscrew.

Upper Antelope Canyon

Upper Antelope Canyon is called Tsé bighánílíní, "the place where water runs through rocks" by the Navajo. It is the most frequently visited by tourists, due to two considerations. First, its entrance and entire length are at ground level, requiring no climbing. Second, beams (shafts of direct sunlight radiating down from openings in the top of the canyon) are much more common in Upper than in Lower. Beams occur most often in the summer months, as they require the sun to be high in the sky. Winter colors are a little more muted like the photo displayed here. Summer months provide two types of lighting. Light beams start to peek into the canyon March 15 and disappear October 7 each year.

When approaching upper Antelope Canyon, there is no obvious clue as to its location. The trail seems to end at the base of a red sandstone plateau about 20 yards high, but the sight of an Indian jewelry stall soon indicates its position - the entrance is a narrow curved slit in the cliffs only a few feet wide. Once inside, the temperature drops as much as 20 degrees as the visitor enters one of the most beautiful of all natural formations. 

The sunlight filtering down the curved sandstone walls makes magical, constantly changing patterns and shadows in many subtle shades of color. Some sections of the canyon are wide and bright, while others are narrower and more cave-like, with no light reaching the sandy floor. After only 150 yards or so, the canyon becomes suddenly much shallower near the top of the plateau. It may take only 3 or 4 minutes to walk through, but the canyon is well worth the arduous trek or expensive journey required to get there. 

Pictures taken here adorn camera shops and photographic manuals throughout the world, and usually there will be many people waiting with tripods and light meters trying to compose the perfect shot, and grumbling when other people walk in front of their two minute exposure. There are other equally short but pretty narrows further upstream, though these are not open to visitors.

Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon, called Hazdistazí, or "spiral rock arches" by the Navajo, is located a few kilometers away. The lower canyon is longer and deeper than the upper section, but also slightly more challenging, requiring climbing down ladders in some places to descend several sheer drops. It was here that 11 people were drowned in a flash flood in August 1997, when water 50 feet deep from a thunderstorm 5 miles away swept through the canyon, eventually deepening it by 4 feet. 

 Lower Antelope Canyon was closed for 9 months before reopening with improved safety features, and now all visitors must now be accompanied by a guide. Both parts of the canyon are still beautiful, but any sense of adventure or tranquility is long since gone - best to try one of the hundreds of other Southwest slot canyons for these qualities. The nearest alternative, free except for the standard Navajo hiking permit, is lower Water Holes Canyon, the section west of US 89.

 Despite these limitations, Lower Antelope Canyon draws a considerable number of photographers, though casual sightseers are much less common there than in Upper.

The lower canyon is in the shape of a "V" and shallower than the Upper Antelope. Lighting is better in the early hours and late afternoon.

Access is controlled by the Begay family who have placed numerous ladders to help you get in and out of the canyon, probably close to a dozen in all. Thats why to enter this area is alittle bit expensive. To visit either part of Antelope Canyon is expensive. There is a fee of $6 for a standard permit required to enter Navajo territory, and an additional charge is due to the families who own the land around the canyons and regulate all access - the cheapest is currently (2011) $20 for the either the popular upper section or the longer lower canyon. This is the cost to travel to the canyons in a Navajo jeep; organized tours with a guide cost rather more. For the upper canyon the fee is paid to officials at the side of AZ 98 near the start of the track, and is now apparently only good for 2 hours, with longer visits costing an extra $5 per hour. The fee to enter the lower section is collected by attendants at the carpark near the canyon edge. These amounts will doubtless increase as the Navajo continue to exploit the popularity of the canyon.

How To Get to Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon, which is located in Page, Arizona, can be reached using three kinds of transportation mode. You can choose whether to use Bus, Flights or Train.

Traveling by CAR
Traveling from Grand Canyon go North on Highway 89 to Page, Az
Traveling from Utah go South on Highway 89 to Page, Az
Traveling from Navajo Reservation to Westbound on 98 to Page, Az

Traveling by PLANE
Page Municipal Airport in Page, AZ - 928-645-4337
Grand Canyon National Park Airport
Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, AZ
McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, NV

Traveling by TRAIN
Nearest train station is in Flagstaff, AZ - Amtrak

The road to Antelope Canyon is gated and only tour guides authorized by the Navajo Nation can enter. Several tour operators are licensed to take people into the slot canyons. Antelope Canyon Tours is Navajo owned and run, and uses only Navajo guides. They offer regular tours, special photography tours and one of the earliest tour times. Other companies also offer Antelope Canyon tours.
 So let me congrat you to enjoy your travelling time, feel the nature tell their story to you

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Posted in: United States of America

Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland

Welcome to the most marvelous ex-underground salt mine in the world. Yeah, Deep underground in Poland lies something remarkable but little known outside Eastern Europe. For centuries, miners have extracted salt there, but left behind things quite startling and unique. Take a look at the most unusual salt mine in the world. we are going to visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Located to 135 meters above ground level sightseeing route lets you visit 22 chambers connected through corridors where you will visit underground chapels, see  mysterious salt lakes also numerous galleries presenting how miners worked and collections of original equipment as well as exhibitions of unique sculptures made of salt.

What a wonderfull underground mine architect

The Wieliczka Salt Mine is one of the oldest mines in the world which delight visiting people of its wonderful mineral rocks created by the nature 15 million years ago. Beginnings of Salt Mine dates back to medieval times and about nine centuries of salt exploitation developed it into large underground city with 3 kilometres tourist route created in XVIII century.

Wieliczska Salt Mine from outside

 From the outside, Wieliczka Salt Mine doesn’t look extraordinary. It looks extremely well kept for a place that hasn’t minded any salt for over ten years but apart from that it looks ordinary. However, over two hundred meters below ground it holds an astonishing secret. This is the salt mine that became an art gallery, cathedral and underground lake.

Situated in the Krakow area, Wieliczka is a small town of close to twenty thousand inhabitants. It was founded in the twelfth century by a local Duke to mine the rich deposits of salt that lie beneath. Until 1996 it did just that but the generations of miners did more than just extract. They left behind them a breathtaking record of their time underground in the shape of statues of mythic, historical and religious figures. They even created their own chapels in which to pray. Perhaps their most astonishing legacy is the huge underground cathedral they left behind for posterity.

What a beatifull salt-laktit hang up

 First you enter it you will see quotation comes from the justification of entering the Wieliczka Salt Mine into UNESCO's 1st World List of Cultural and Natural Heritage on 8th September, 1978 together with 11 other sites from all over the world. "The historic Salt Mine in Wieliczka is the only site in the world where mining has continued since the Middle Ages. Lying on nine levels, its original excavations (longitudinals, traverses, chambers, lakes, as well as lesser and major shafts) stretch for the total of 300 kilometres: reaching the depth of 327 metres they illustrate all the stages of the development of the mining technology over time."

It may feel like you are in the middle of a Jules Verne adventure as you descend in to the depths of the world. After a one hundred and fifty meter climb down wooden stairs the visitor to the salt mine will see some amazing sites. About the most astounding in terms of its sheer size and audacity is the Chapel of Saint Kinga. The Polish people have for many centuries been devout Catholics and this was more than just a long term hobby to relieve the boredom of being underground. This was an act of worship.

Great statue Inside

 The Wieliczka mine is often referred to as "the Underground Salt Cathedral of Poland." In 1978 it was placed on the original UNESCO list of the World Heritage Sites. Amazingly, even the chandeliers in the cathedral are made of salt. It was not simply hewn from the ground and then thrown together; however, the process is rather more painstaking for the lighting. After extraction the rock salt was first of all dissolved. It was then reconstituted with the impurities taken out so that it achieved a glass-like finish. The chandeliers are what many visitors think the rest of the cavernous mine will be like as they have a picture in their minds of salt as they would sprinkle on their meals! However, the rock salt occurs naturally in different shades of grey (something like you would expect granite to look like).

Amazing Religious Carvings

 The religious carvings are, in reality, what draw many to this mine – as much for their amazing verisimilitude as for their Christian aesthetics. The above shows Jesus appearing to the apostles after the crucifixion. He shows the doubter, Saint Thomas, the wounds on his wrists.

Even the greatest painting can be painted in cave

 Another remarkable carving, this time a take on The Last Supper. The work and patience that must have gone in to the creation of these sculptures is extraordinary. One wonders what the miners would have thought of their work going on general display? They came to be quite used to it, in fact, even during the mine’s busiest period in the nineteenth century. The cream of Europe’s thinkers visited the site – you can still see many of their names in the old visitor’s books on display. Visitors to this site have included Nicolaus Copernicus, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Alexander von Humboldt, Fryderyk Chopin, Dmitri Mendeleyev, Bolesław Prus, Ignacy Paderewski, Robert Baden-Powell, Jacob Bronowski (who filmed segments of The Ascent of Man in the mine), Karol Wojtyła (the later Pope John Paul II), former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and many others.

Not all of the work is relief-based. There are many life sized statues that must have taken a considerable amount of time – months, perhaps even years – to create. Within the confines of the mine there is also much to be learned about the miners from the machinery and tools that they used – many of which are on display and are centuries old. A catastrophic flood in 1992 dealt the last blow to commercial salt mining in the area and now the mine functions purely as a tourist attraction. Brine is, however, still extracted from the mine – and then evaporated to produce some salt, but hardly on the ancient scale. If this was not done, then the mines would soon become flooded once again.

And there are so many others things you can see if you give your special 4 hours to visit this ex-underground mine. Do i already said so many things. Yes you are, so many things you can see such as the miracle, the amazing-ness, the Marvellous, The Fantastics, and what ever words do you have to describe the beautifulness of this undeground cave.

So many things you can see inside

 You can visit anytime except in a few condition such as new year eve, 1 and 11 November and also 24 and 25 December, it closed. You have to remember that temperatures inside about 14 degrees celcius so you have to prepare anything if you feel that you are dont belong to this condition. If you have claustrophobia, you are not recommended to visit it, instead you have more braveness and you want cure your phobia.

For safety reasons less than one percent of the mine is open to visitors, but even that is still almost four kilometers in length – more than enough to weary the average tourist after an hour or two. The mine was closed for two reasons – the low price of salt on the world market made it too expensive to extract here. Also, the mine was slowly flooding – another reason why visitors are restricted to certain areas only.

The another key benefit of visiting Salt Mine comes from special climate and air rich of micro elements  having very good influence for your health and condition.

How To Get To Wieliczka Salt Mine

If you want to visit Wielicszka then you should arrive first in Krakow, Polandia. It is because the underground cave located at Krakow in the place named Wieliczka. Wieliczka is 155 miles from Frederic Chopin Airport (Warsaw, Poland) The Salt Mines are about half hour drive from Krakow, in a little village called Wieliczka.You can also catch a train from the main railway station (Krakow Glowny) to Wieliczka which costs 5zl one way and it takes about 20 minutes. The Saltmine is at the end of the line, so you can't go any further, don't make the mistake of getting off at the penultimate stop which is also called Wiel..something! 

Salt Mine in Wieliczka is located 10kms from the heart of Krakow. One can get there easily by car, bus or taxi. 

 Enjoy Your Trip, and Create Your Amazing Story

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Posted in: Poland

The Alnwick Castle, United Kingdom

Welcome to Alnwick Castle, a beautifull castle in Northumberland. Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. It borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham to the south and Tyne and Wear to the south east and the Scottish Borders council area to the north. Its North Sea coastline is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with a 64 mile (103 km) long distance path.Since 1981, the county council has been located in Morpeth, situated in the east of the county.

Castle for Harry Potter Lovers

 Alnwick Castle is the second largest inhabited castle in England, and has been home to the Duke of Northumberland's family, the Percys, through 700 years of drama, intrigue, tragedy and romance. Alnwick castle categorized as grade I listed building. Grade I listed building means a building that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. It is a widely used status, applied to around half a million buildings. A listed building may not be demolished, extended or altered without special permission from the local planning authority (which typically consults the relevant central government agency, particularly for significant alterations to the more notable listed buildings). Exemption from secular listed building control is provided for some buildings in current use for worship but only in cases where the relevant religious organisation operates its own equivalent permissions procedure. Owners of listed buildings are, in some circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them and can face criminal prosecution if they fail to do so or if they perform unauthorised alterations.

Alnwick is a motte-and-bailey castle surrounded by a colossal rampart adorned with towers at regular intervals. The Constable's Tower houses displays of military and historical interest. The Postern Tower exhibits an archaeological collection that includes frescoes from Pompeii, relics from Ancient Egypt and Romano-British objects. In the Abbot's Tower, you will find the Regimental Museum of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.

Another Castle View From Another Angle

 Various activities and events for children are organised on the castle grounds, such as medieval workshops, falconry displays, or magic shows inspired by Harry Potter.

The northern wall was lowered almost to the ground to open up the view on a small park, known as The Pastures. The park straddles the River Aln and was landscaped by Capability Brown and Thomas Call in the 18th century. Nearby is the much larger Hulne Park, which contains the remains of the 13th-century Hulne Priory.

There are so many rooms at this castle, but only 6 of the 150+ rooms in the castle are open to the public, but these are the most sumptuous. The stern and drab character of the exterior doesn't prepare guests for the splendour of the lavishly decorated State Rooms. The two most impressive rooms are the Italian Renaissance style Drawing Room and the luxurious Dining Room. The walls are adorned with paintings by Italian and Flemish masters such as Van Dyck, Canaletto or Titian. As for the monumental Library, it was started 400 years ago and now holds over 16,000 books.

 Modern comforts that take for granted, like heating and electricity, have since been added, to turn the Castle into the comfortable family home that it still is today. Alnwick Castle was amazingly one of the first homes in the North East to have electricity. Installed in 1889, it was run by a recently restored hydro-electric system which produced enough power to run only 100 electric lamps!

Alnwick Castle has two garden. The Alnwick Garden, just a few minutes walk from Alnwick Castle, is one of the world's most exciting contemporary gardens. Just ten years ago, the site was derelict and forgotten. On the castle grounds, visitors can visit “Alnwick Garden”. 42 acres of formal gardens surround a magnificent fountain. Along the River Aln there is a smaller park known as ‘The Pastures’ and not too far away is Hulne Park.

A beautifull garden

  The Alnwick Garden is now a vibrant place, with beautifully landscaped gardens, magnificent architecture and unique features, all brought to life with water.

The Garden's centrepiece is the Grand Cascade, an iconic structure and the largest water feature of its kind in the country. Inviting pathways lead among beds brimming with plants in the Rose Garden and Ornamental Garden, while in the intriguing Poison Garden guides share tales of deadly plants.

The Serpent Garden is home to water sculptures by William Pye, and there's also the Bamboo Labyrinth and even one of the world's largest treehouses with wobbly rope bridges, walkways in the sky and a treetop restaurant.

The Garden offers extensive programmes of activities and events for all the family. Although developed in an area of the Castle grounds, The Garden is a separate attraction, but it is possible to purchase a ticket which allows discounted entry to both over a two day period. All entry tickets are available from the Castle admissions office on Castle Square.

Alnwick will look familiar to many visitors thanks to its appearance in several Hollywood blockbusters, such as Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Elizabeth (1998), a complete series of Harry Potter films (2001, 2011) (e.g. at the scene of the Quidditch match outside Hogwarts School), and again in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood (2010). The BBC's historical sitcom Blackadder, which ran from 1983 to 2008, was shot in great part at Alnwick Castle as well.

How To Get to Alnwick

If you want to visit Alnwick you should arrive at Alnwick first. If you from abroad, you should arrive first at Heathrow airport at london. Then after that you can take flight to Newcastle. Alnwick is 23 miles from Newcastle Airport (Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK).

Welcome to Alnwick, A Place of Your Harry Pooters Adventure Begin

 There are regular buses from Newcastle (501, 505 and 518; one hour, 28 per day Monday to Saturday, 18 on Sunday). Bus 518 has 10 to 14 daily services to the attractive towns of Warkworth (25 minutes) and Alnmouth (15 minutes), which has the nearest train station. Buses 505 and 525 come from Berwick (45 minutes, 13 daily Monday to Saturday). The Arriva Day Pass (adult/child £5/4) is good value.

Alnwick is located on the A1 motorway that runs between London and Edinburgh. The town is 55 km (35 mi.) north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 500 km (315 mi.) north of London.

There is no railway station in Alnwick. The nearest station is Alnmouth in Bilton, 6.5 km (4 mi.) to the east. Almouth is a 25 min ride from Newcastle (£5.80). There are buses for Alnwick leaving from the train station.

National Express operates one daily coach from Newcastle (1 hour, £10) and two from London (7h to 7h30min, £35.30).

So, what can i say except Just Enjoy Your Holidays and Welcome to The Witch World of Harry Potter

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Posted in: United Kingdom

Loch Ness Lake, Scotland

Welcome to Scotland to see the most beautifull lake which also have the most amazing stories about the legendary creatures. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie". Loch Ness lake is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands and is one of the most visited locations in Scotland. In fact it is the most famous lake in the world, loch being the Scottish word for lake or fiord. Loch Ness is a substantial body of water about 24 miles long by one mile wide and at its deepest point it goes down nearly 1,000 ft. There are about 40 small rivers, streams, burns and waterways running into the loch. Loch Ness lies at the northeast end of the Great Glen in the Highlands of Scotland and occupies a large part of the Great Glen fault. The Great Glen is a geological fault running across the entire width of the Highlands of Scotland. It runs southwest from Inverness right down to Fort William and contains three freshwater lochs - Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy.

 The Loch ness is connected at the southern end by the River Oich and a section of the Caledonian Canal to Loch Oich. This canal enables boating craft to journey from the east coast to the west coast passing through stepped lock gates at Fort Augustus and at Fort William. Fort William is situated near the west coast on the sea loch Loch Linnhe and is overlooked by Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. The Caledonian Canal was built by Thomas Telford in 1803 and eventually opened in 1822. It has 29 lock gates to navigate along its 60 mile route. At the northern end there is the Bona Narrows which opens out into Loch Dochfour, which feeds the River Ness and a further section of canal to Inverness. It is one of a series of interconnected, murky bodies of water in Scotland; its water visibility is exceptionally low due to a high peat content in the surrounding soil.

Beautifull View of Loch Ness

 Loch Ness is an extremely narrow and long lake, extending from the northeast to the southwest in the Inverness area of north Scotland. The lake is about 39 km long, but only 1.5 km wide, and has a maximum depth of 230 m and a mean depth of 132 m. Loch Ness is about 52 ft above sea level and, because of its depth, it has a larger volume of water than any other Scottish loch - although Loch Lomond has a larger surface area it is not so deep. Loch Ness is said never to freeze and maintains the same temperature of about 4C throughout the year. It contains more fresh water than all lakes in England and Wales combined and is the largest body of water on the Great Glen Fault. Loch Ness is about 10,000 years old and was formed at the end of the last Great Ice Age during which The Great Glen had been filled with a huge glacier. The water becomes deep very quickly and the sides of the loch suddenly plunge vertically down into extremely murky water due to the high level of peat content - swimming is not recommended!  Its water volume is the largest, and the surface area is the second largest next to Loch Lomond, in this country. The lake water flows out to Moray Firth through the Ness River. It is known as one of the most scenic lakes of this country, with an old ruined castle on the lakeside and surrounding mountain view.The drainage basin is still rich in woodlands and grasslands, having a low population density of 1.8 km^-2. Nutrients inflow to the lake, therefore, is still in low level and the water remains oligotrophic and transparent. However, it is anxious that eutrophication may be caused by many tourists attracted by Nessy and by increasing activity of residents in the drainage basin.

Amazing View fro all side

 The watershed of Loch Ness covers more than 700 square miles (1,800 square km) and comprises several rivers, including the Oich and the Enrick. Its outlet is the River Ness, which flows into the Moray Firth at Inverness. Seiches (surface oscillations), caused by differential heating, are common on the loch. The sharp rise and fall of the level of the loch is one reason for the scanty flora of the waters; another reason is the great depths of the loch near the shoreline. The abyssal fauna is also sparse.

Like some other very deep lochs in Scotland and Scandinavia, Loch Ness is said to be inhabited by an aquatic monster. Many sightings of the so-called Loch Ness monster have been reported, Nessy is a world-famous unidentified organism and the possibility of its existence—perhaps in the form of a solitary survivor of the long-extinct plesiosaurs—continues to intrigue many. Investigations on Nessy have been carried out since 1962 by the Loch Ness Investigation, a voluntary organization with some scientists. Whether you believe in the Loch Ness monster or not, the sight of beautifull glacier-gouged Loch Ness and the crumbling ruins of Urquhart Castle, atop its own promontory. Is not to be missed. 

There have been unconfirmed reports of a Loch Ness Monster since the 15th century, affectionately known as 'Nessie'. Enthusiasts trace the first sighting of the Loch Ness monster back to St Columba in the 6th century. His early biographer, St Adamnan, tells how he used the sign of the cross to repel a monster in the river Ness. Since then there have been numerous sightings which have been seriously reported and there have been many intensive scientific investigations. The Loch Ness Exhibition Centre in Drumnadrochit takes visitors through 500 million years of Loch Ness history using a highly effective mix of lasers, digital projection and special effects. It charts the history of the monster by exploring Scotland's geological past, its folklore and the various research projects carried out on the loch.

Is it for real that this creatures may exist??

 How To Get To The Loch Ness

Loch ness is about 72 Miles from Inverness airport. So if you want to reach Loch Ness you must arrived first in Inverness. Inverness is linked to the Black Isle across the Moray Firth by the Kessock Bridge. It has a railway station with services to Perth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, London, Aberdeen, Thurso, Wick and to Kyle of Lochalsh. Inverness is connected to London by the Caledonian Sleeper, which departs six times a week and by the Highland Chieftain which runs 7 days a week. Inverness Airport is located 15 km east of the city and has scheduled flights to airports across the UK including London, Manchester, Belfast and the islands to the north and west of Scotland. Flybe operate flights to Gatwick, Manchester, Belfast, Birmingham, Southampton and Jersey. Loganair, Flybe's franchise partner, operate Saab 340 aircraft to Stornoway, Kirkwall, Sumburgh, Glasgow and Edinburgh. 

Inverness, the gate to visit Loch ness

 Three trunk roads (the A9, A82 and A96) provide access to Aberdeen, Perth, Elgin, Wick, Thurso, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Stagecoach Highlands is the division of the Stagecoach Group which covers most of the former Rapson Group operations after the take-over by Stagecoach. It covers the following depots of the Stagecoach Group.

• Fort William (Ardgour Road, Caol) (t/a Stagecoach in Lochaber)
• Kirkwall (Scott's Road Hatson Industrial Estate) (t/a Stagecoach in Orkney)
• Portree (Park Road) (t/a Stagecoach in Skye)
• Thurso (Janet Street) (t/a Stagecoach in Caithness)

There are various outstations over the division area due to the rural nature of the area covered.

The operation from Aviemore depot comes under the East Scotland division as it trades as Stagecoach in Inverness.

So Lets Enjoy Your Journey in Loch Ness and Lets Hope That You Can Meet The Legendary Creature Nessy.

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Posted in: Scotland

The Northern Light (Aurora Borealis), Tromso, Norway

Welcome to the artic cirlce in Northern Norway, such a great place to watch the phenomenon of the northern light or famous as Aurora Borealis. Aurora Borealis named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas, by Pierre Gassendi in 1621. 

Aurora In Tromso Blue Night Sky

 An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae) are a natural phenomenon found in both the northern and southern hemispheres that can be truly awe inspiring. Northern lights are also called by their scientific name, aurora borealis, and southern lights are called aurora australis., caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere (thermosphere). The charged particles originate in the magnetosphere and solar wind and, on Earth, are directed by the Earth's magnetic field into the atmosphere. The diffuse aurora is a featureless glow in the sky which may not be visible to the naked eye even on a dark night and defines the extent of the auroral zone. The discrete aurora are sharply defined features within the diffuse aurora which vary in brightness from just barely visible to the naked eye to bright enough to read a newspaper at night. Discrete aurorae are usually observed only in the night sky because they are not as bright as the sunlit sky. Aurorae occur occasionally poleward of the auroral zone as diffuse patches or arcs (polar cap arcs) which are generally invisible to the naked eye.

Red and Green Aurora Light

 The lights are at their most frequent can be seen in late autumn and winter/early spring. At this period the lights become the most attractive show in the sky for a long night.  Between the autumn equinox and spring equinox (21 September - 21 March), it is dark between 6 pm and 1 am, and you have maximum chances of spotting the lights. However, the weather is also of importance, and September, October and November tend to be wet and snowless in the north. So you still have  a chance to see this beautifull light because spring equinox will be ended in 21 march.

From December the weather dries up, and there is normally plenty of snow. If you come in December or January, you experience the polar nights with atmospheric evenings and very short days.

In February and March the days are longer and you see more of the snow-clad landscapes during daytime, and the evenings still offer maximum chances to spot the northern lights.

Theoretically, you can see the northern lights all over Norway. However, the best places are above the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway.

The northern lights belt hits Northern Norway in the Lofoten Islands, and follows the coast all the way up to the North Cape. This means that no other place on earth offers better chances of spotting the lights, and one location in this area might be as good as another. In fact, one often observes the same northern lights in the Lofoten as in Tromsø, just from a different angle. The driest weather, giving clear skies, is found inland, statistically providing the best chances, but with strong eastern winds, the coast can be clearer than inland areas.

In order to get full value from the show you should avoid the full moon and places with a lot of light as they make the experience considerably paler. Also remember to wrap up warmly.

Warm light in a very warm night

 To get more sensation about this beautifull sky light, dont you ever try to leave your camera at house. Bring it and make it usefull. Images of auroras are significantly more common today due to the rise of use of digital cameras that have high enough sensitivities. Film and digital exposure to auroral displays is fraught with difficulties, particularly if faithfulness of reproduction is an objective. Due to the different spectral energy present, and changing dynamically throughout the exposure, the results are somewhat unpredictable. Different layers of the film emulsion respond differently to lower light levels, and choice of film can be very important. Longer exposures aggregate the rapidly changing energy and often blanket the dynamic attribute of a display. Higher sensitivity creates issues with graininess.

Aurora is an unpredictable lady, and you never know when she will decide to turn up. This diva keeps you waiting, so whenever you go hunting for the northern lights above the Arctic Circle, make sure you set aside the whole evening. Northern lights worshippers do everything from cross-country skiing to building snowmen in order to keep warm and entertained while outside.

When dreaming about seeing the northern lights, you must remember that you are at the complete mercy of nature. The northern lights love to play hide and seek. Observing the aurora borealis is often a tug of war between your patience and the aurora itself. Stay in the northern lights area at least a week, preferably two, and you will be rewarded - unless local weather suddenly decides to obstruct your view with clouds.

Each appearance of the northern lights is unique. Often you see three green bands across the night sky. Or the lights come as flickering curtains or rolling smoke. The colour is a luminous green, often with a hint of pink along the edge, and occasionally with a deep violet centre. The colour palette seems to come from the 1980s.

If there is a lot of activity up there, the northern lights explode for a minute or two in a corona. The next minute it is all over, and you ask yourself whether this was real or just an Arctic fata morgana.

Such a heaven light in the world

 How To See The Aurora Borealis

To see aurora borealis you should visit Tromso of course. If you plan to visit by plane, it is very recommended you use Norwegian Air Shuttle. Norwegian Air Shuttle is the third largest low-cost airline in Europe and operates 250 routes to 95 destinations. Their route portfolio stretches throughout Scandinavia, across Europe, to North Africa and the Middle East. But i dont want to be a marketer. You can also use SAS, Wideroe and more than 400 airlenes ready to serve you.

You will arive in Tromso airport. Tromsø Airport Langnes is a modern, well-functioning airport. There are more than 10 daily flights from Tromsø to Oslo, and the flying time is less than two hours. There are also direct flights to Arkhangelsk and Murmansk in Russia as well as Stockholm, Sweden, during the summer.   

Tromsø lies north of the Scandinavian rail network, but the stations in Narvik and Fauske can be reached by long-distance buses all year-round. The station in Rovaniemi, Finland, can also be reached by bus in summer. From Oslo, there is a 30-hour train/bus connection to Tromsø. The travelling time from Stockholm through Sweden is around 24 hours. There is also a 24-hour bus/train connection from Helsinki in Finland. 

Tromso, Tremendous City

 The famous Hurtigruten (The Norwegian Coastal Voyage) sails from Bergen, via Trondheim and Bodø, to Tromsø. The ship calls at Tromsø twice a day - northbound at 14:30 and southbound at 23:30.

You can also drive your own car. A 1,600-kilometre long highway (E6), which remains open all year, connects Tromsø with Oslo. Driving time is approximately 30 hours.

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Posted in: Norway

Lake Titicaca, Bolivia and Peru

Welcome to Bolivia and Peru. And welcome to the highest lake in the world. Yes you are right. We are now in the the highest lake in the world. Let me pronounce you Lake Titicaca, It sits 3,811 m (12,500 ft) above sea level, making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. By volume of water, it is also the largest lake in South America, The lake is located at the northern end of the endorheic Altiplano basin high in the Andes on the border of Peru and Bolivia. The western part of the lake lies within the Puno Region of Peru, and the eastern side is located in the Bolivian La Paz Department. actually we have as a largest lake in south america, but it is often disregarded because it is directly connected to the sea.

What a beautifull view.

 The lake is composed of two nearly separate sub-basins that are connected by the Strait of Tiquina which is 800 m (2,620 ft) across at the narrowest point. The larger sub-basin, Lago Grande (also called Lago Chucuito) has a mean depth of 135 m (443 ft) and a maximum depth of 284 m (932 ft). The smaller sub-basin, Winaymarka (also called Lago Peque–o, "little lake") has a mean depth of 9 m (30 ft) and a maximum depth of 40 m (131 ft). The overall average depth of the lake is 107 m (351 ft)., Titicaca is one of the largest, highest, and deepest lakes in the world. Like Crater Lake in the USA), Lake Titicaca is renowned for its deep blue beauty.

Five major river systems feed into Lake Titicaca. In order of their relative flow volumes these are Ramis, Coata, Ilave, Huancané, and Suchez. More than 20 other smaller streams empty into Titicaca, and the lake has 41 islands, some of which are densely populated.

Lake Titicaca is very beautifull, beside beautifull this lake is very sacred for Incan. there are several of the 41 islands in the lake are regarded as sacred. Especially important is the Isla del Sol (Island of the Sun), located on the Bolivia side near Copacabana. The largest of all the lake islands (but still only 5.5 by 3.75 miles in size) , Isla del Sol was regarded as the home of the supreme Inca god Inti. The sister island Isla de la Luna is not as well visited but is also a holy place as it housed the convent of the virgins of the sun. The entire lake was a holy place. Also connected with the legend of Lake Titicaca is the Lemurian Solar Disc which governed the thousand year cycle of Incan time. According to legend, when the Spanish forces reached Cuzco, the Incas took the two-ton gold chain of Inca Huascar from the temple at Koricancha and threw it into the lake. It has never been found although some years ago Jacques Cousteau mounted an expedition to explore the lake with a mini-submarine.

The floating uros island

 On the north end of the Island of the Sun is the town of Challapampa, home to the fascinating Chinkana (labyrinth). A huge stone complex full of mazes, it is thought be a training center for Inca priests. Unusually for the Incas, the construction is a bit sloppy—some archaeologists theorize that they must have been in a rush to build it. A natural spring here runs under the island and appears again in a sacred stone fountain in Yumani (see below).

About 270 feet from Chinaka on the path back to the town of Challapampa is a sacred rock carved in the shape of a puma. Further along the path toward Challapampa are two very large footprints. These are said to have been created when the sun dropped down to earth to give birth to Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, the "Adam and Eve" of the Incas.

A magical land over there

 On the south end of the Isla del Sol is Yumani, the largest town on the island and the site of the Inca steps. Here, 206 steps built by the Incas lead up into the town and to a sacred fountain. Made of stone and having three separate springs, it is said to be a fountain of youth.

Sunset on the Isla del Sol is magical and best appreciated from the lighthouse on the highest point on the island at 13,441 feet. The sun bathes the sacred mountains in bright colors, and reflects its light in the deep blue of the sacred lake, before sinking below the horizon.

The Island of the Moon (Isla de la Luna) is the legendary home of the Inca goddess Mama Quila. The structures on this island were originally built by the pre-Incan Aymara culture, but the Incas left their mark on the architecture as well (such as the typical trapezoidal doors). During Inca times, the Isla de la Luna housed chosen women known as the "Virgins of the Sun," who lived a nun-like lifestyle. They wove garments from alpaca wool and performed ceremonies dedicated to the sun.

A sacred island

 Also of interest are the Uros Islands or Floating Islands (Islas Flotantes), man-made islands of reeds in the Peru side of Lake Titicaca. They are home to the descendents of the ancient Uros culture (contemporary with the now-extinct Incas), who still live a simple, traditional life. Their religion is a mixture of traditional Indian and Catholic, and they bury their dead on the mainland.

How To Get to Lake Titicaca.

There are two main entrance to visit Lake Titicaca that are from Bolivian entrance and Peru entrance. This is the problem we have to face when we visit a place which is located in two country.

If you like the simple cheapest way you can use bus. Getting there is not easy, but there are many possible ways for a visitor to reach the lake. There are regular buses from Cusco, Lima or Arequipa in Peru and from Copacabana and La Paz in Bolivia. The buses are quite cheap, but the trip is quite long and exhausting because of the height.  You will make about 7 hours by bus from Cusco, and 9 hours from Arequipa. 

If you plan to reach Lake Titicaca by air. Juliaca, a town located at 44 km distance from Puno, has a pretty well served airport. There are daily direct flights to Arequipa, Cusco and Lima. From Juliaca airport, you can either take taxis or buses to Puno. A taxi will usually cost $20, while buses cost $5 per person.

If you love to use car, which means your own car. There are three main highways that lead to Puno that are:

From Cusco: First you should go to Juliaca, there are 345 km. (214,4 miles), and from Juliaca to Puno there are44 km away (27,3 miles). You should be very careful when driving as the highest point in this highway reaches up to 4,313, and it may be dangerous for drivers not experienced with this altitude. 

From Arequipa you will have to go first to Juliaca (281 km or 174 miles), then from Juliaca to Puno. Beware that you will have to drive on very high altitudes. 

You can arrive to Puno from La Paz via Guaqui, Desagüadero, Pomata, Juli, and Chucuito. 

You can use train but it is not recommended for you, as the trains are slow. You can arrive to Puno from Arequipa (258 km) in 10 to 12 hours, or from Cusco (384 km) in about 10 hours. But thats recommended if you have concern such as high phobia, car sick and whatever.

You can also enjoy getting to Puno by lake. There are a few boats and yachts that would take you to the Bolivian side, as well as to the wonderful islands like Uros, Taquile and Amantani.

 So what can i say beside Enjoy Your Trip Bro..

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Posted in: Bolivia,Peru