MOST BEAUTIFUL & BREATHTAKING PLACES IN THE WORLD

MOST BEAUTIFUL AND BREATHTAKING PLACES IN THE WORLD

1)   Pink Lake, Western Australia

Western Australia is home to a number of extraordinary ‘pink lakes’. Lake Hillier is a pink-coloured lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands that make up the Recherché Archipelago off the coast of Esperance. Esperance is approximately 720 kilometres south-east of Perth on Western Australia's southern coastline. From above the lake appears a solid bubble gum pink. The lake is about 600 meters long, and is surrounded by a rim of sand and dense woodland of paper bark and eucalyptus trees. A narrow strip of sand dunes covered by vegetation separates it from the blue Southern Ocean. No-one fully knows why the lake is pink. Scientists speculate that the colour comes from a dye created by bacteria that lives in the salt crusts.

 

    2)     Mendenhall Ice Caves, Juneau, Alaska

Mendenhall Glacier, a 12-mile-long mass of ice in Juneau, Alaska, is a popular tourist attraction. Few visitors, however, see the glacier from its most spectacular vantage point: inside it. Rising global temperatures have caused the glacier to start melting—it has receded by about two miles since 1958. Water has carved caves into the interior, creating surreal, turquoise-toned worlds whose shapes are ever changing. A trip to the Mendenhall ice caves requires an arduous journey—it involves a kayak ride or long hike, an ice climb, and faith that the melting caverns won't collapse in on you—but the incredible landscapes are a once-in-a-lifetime sight.

      3)     Glow worm cave, New Zealand

The Waitomo Glow-worm Caves, located just outside the main Waitomo township on the North Island of New Zealand, is a famous attraction because of a sizeable population of glow-worms that live in the caves. Glow-worms or Arachnocampa luminosa are tiny, bioluminescent creatures that produce a blue-green light and are found exclusively in New Zealand.

4   4)     Sea Glass Beach, Fort Bragg, CA

Located in Northern California among the rocky coastline is what can be considered the Mecca for sea glass collectors around the world. A short walk to the beach off Elm Street in Fort Bragg, CA, is an area that once was the town dumping ground. Its otherworldly shoreline is now littered with smooth shards of sea glass. From the early 20th century the area was used to dump the town's trash. Commonly known as "The Dumps" by the locals, fires were intermittently started to reduce the amount of refuse that collected there. This practice lasted until 1967, at which point the North Coast Water Quality Board wisely prevented any further dumping in this location.

     5)     Ice hotel at Sorrisniva, Alta, Norway

Norway's Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel is a beautiful ice hotel found 15 kilometres outside the town of Alta, in the region Finn mark (north-eastern Norway). From here, it's only 3 hours to the North Cape. An ice hotel is a temporary hotel made up of snow and sculpted blocks of ice. They may be visited by adventurous travellers that are comfortable with the outdoors. Ice hotels are dependent upon sub-freezing temperatures, are constructed from ice and snow, and typically have to be rebuilt every year. Ice hotels exist in several countries, and they have varying construction styles, services and amenities, the latter of which may include ice bars, restaurants, chapels, saunas and hot tubs.

    

       

6)   Ruby Falls, Chattanooga, Tennessee

Ruby Falls is a 145-foot high underground waterfall located within Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, Tennessee in the United States. The cave which houses Ruby Falls was formed with the formation of Lookout Mountain. About 200 to 240 million years ago (in the Carboniferous, at the end of the Palaeozoic) the eastern Tennessee area was covered with a shallow sea, the sediments of which  eventually formed limestone rock. About 200 million years ago, this area was uplifted and subsequent erosion has created the current topography. The limestone in which the cave is formed is still relatively horizontal, just as it was deposited when it was below sea level. The Lookout Mountain Caverns, which includes Ruby Falls Cave, is a limestone cave. These caves occur when slightly acidic groundwater enters subterranean streams and eats away at the relatively soluble limestone, causing narrow cracks to widen into passages and caves in a process called chemical weathering. The stream which makes up the Falls entered the cave sometime after its formation.

      7)     Vettica, Campania, Italy

Hamlet of the town of Amalfi and renowned seaside, Vettica Minore is set at the boundaries of the town. Like all other towns of the Amalfi coast, it is characterised by a perfect combination between the luxuriant hills and the crystalline blue of the sea. Here, you can find some of the most picturesque beaches of the bay, such as the beach of Santa Croce and the magnificent natural arch, also known as "The Lovers Arch”. The promontory of Vettica is dominated by the XVI century tower, owned for many years to Carlo Ponti, the famous film producer, engagement present for his wife, Sophia Loren.
The Medieval parish church is dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel.

    

  8)   Turquoise Sea, Cyprus

Here on this ancient island one enters into a Blue Zone. The colour of the Mediterranean changes from crystal clear turquoise to lapis to azure and there is no end to blue water. With perfect weather almost 365 days of the year, the sky above remains the colour of a robin's egg and there is no end to blue sky.

   

      

9)     Athabasca Falls At Dusk, Jasper, Alberta, Canada

Athabasca Falls is a waterfall in Jasper National Park on the upper Athabasca River, approximately 30 kilometres south of the town site of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, and just west of the Ice fields Park

way. A powerful, picturesque waterfall, Athabasca Falls is not known so much for the height of the falls (23 metres), as it is known for its force due to the large quantity of water falling into the gorge. Even on a cold morning in the fall , when river levels tend to be at their lowest, copious amounts of water flow over the falls. The river 'falls' over a layer of hard quartzite and through the softer limestone below carving the short gorge and a number of potholes. The falls can be safely viewed and photographed from various viewing platforms and walking trails around the falls. Access is from the nearby parking lot, which leads off Highway 93A just northeast of the falls. Highway 93A takes off from the nearby Ice fields Parkway and crosses the falls on the way north to the town of Jasper. White water rafting often starts below the falls to travel downstream on the Athabasca River to Jasper. It is a Class 5 waterfall, with a drop of 80 ft (24 m) and a width of 60 ft (18 m).

     10) Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Located at The Cuilin Hills, Isle of Skye, Scotland, the Fairy Pools are a series of clear, cold pools and waterfalls formed as Allt Coir' a' Mhadaidh tumbles down from the foothills of the Black Cuillins into Glen Brittle. Park at the Forestry car park and follow the sign posted path opposite the parking area. To reach the pools take the right fork on the path after a hundred yards or so, and follow the trail for about 10 minutes to where the ground rises in a small plateau. The location of the Pools beneath the looming bulk of the Cuillins is wonderful, and the drama of the waterfalls and the sinuous beauty of the rock formations carved by the falling water give the Fairy Pools a magical feel.

BY,

SHIRLEY A/P SUBRAMANIAM

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