PLACES TO VISIT

The world has never been more accessible. From the Great Wall of China to the Galapagos Islands, from Himalayan peaks to the Caribbean, from the jungles of Borneo to the “Lost World” tepuis of Venezuela and from the Northern Lights to a total solar eclipse. Not to mention the South Pole itself. What was once the realm of explorers is now within reach of all of us.

Iconic travel destinations will always exert their pull but it is the journey itself and our experiences along the way that can turn a holiday into a life-changing adventure. Whether it’s riding a horse over the Andes, sailing with friends around the coast of Turkey, heli-skiing in Iceland, riding a motorbike through Siberia, husky sledging in the wilds of Finland or following the wildebeest migration in the Serengeti, these are adventures that will provide memories to last a lifetime.

The adventures selected here are for couples and families, singletons and groups, the young and the not-so-young. Some are “soft” adventures, while others are more challenging. All will be unforgettable.

THE CASPIAN SEA
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world’s largest lake or a full-fledged sea.
It is in an endorheic basin (it has no outflows) located between Europe and Asia.
It is bordered on the northeast by Kazakhstan, on the southeast by Turkmenistan, on the south by Iran, on the southwest by Azerbaijan, and on the northwest by Russia.
The elongated sea sprawls for 1,030 kilometers (640 miles) from north to south, although its average width is only 320 kilometers (200 miles); max. width is 435 kilometers (270 miles).
The sea has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers (143,200 square miles) and its surface lies 28 meters (92 feet) below sea level.

Reptiles native to the sea include spur-thighed tortoise and Horsfield’s tortoise. The Caspian turtle, although found in neighbouring areas, is a wholly freshwater species.

Several species of animals are named after the region, like the Caspian gull, the Caspian tern, and the Caspian seal, which is the only aquatic mammal that can be found here and is endemic to the lake.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
Mariposa Grove have about 500 mature giant sequoias. Giant sequoias can live to be more than 3,000 years old. They are the largest known living things on earth.

Mirror Lake is more of a pond than a lake, this Yosemite Valley spot is an extremely popular destination.Amazing reflections of Half Dome and Mount Watkins in spring, when the water level is high enough.

CHESTNUT TREES

The flowers follow the leaves, appearing in late spring or early summer or into July. They are arranged in long catkins of two kinds, with both kinds being borne on every tree. Some catkins are made of only male flowers, which mature first. Each flower has 8-12 stamens. Other catkins have these pollen-bearing flowers, but also carry near the twig from which these spring, small clusters of female or fruit-producing flowers. [Photo: Male chestnut flowers]

The fruit is contained in a spiny (very sharp) cupule 5–11 cm (2-4.3 in) in diameter, also called “bur” or “burr“. The burrs are often paired or clustered on the branch and contain one to seven nuts according to the different species, varieties, and cultivars.

SAHARA DESERT
The Sahara Desert is the world’s largest hot desert, located in North Africa.
The Sahara covers large parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania ,Mali, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia.
Its surface area of 9,400,000 square kilometers (3,630,000 square miles) including the Libyan Desert and covers about 1/4 of the African continent.It is comparable to the respective land areas of China or the United States.
The Sahara is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the western edge, the Atlas Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea on the east, and the Sudan and the valley of the Niger River on the south.
The Sahara has one of the harshest climates in the world.
The Sahara is the world’s hottest desert.
The Sahara used to be a lush region with many plants and animals.It began to dry up around 4000 years ago due to a gradual change in the tilt of the Earth’s orbit.Earth’s obliquity oscillates between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees on a 41,000-year cycle. It is currently 23.44 degrees and decreasing.
The Sahara Desert is made up of sand dunes, sand seas, gravel plains, stone plateaus, salt flats, dry valleys, mountains, rivers, streams, and oases.
There is sparse grassland in some parts of the desert including the highlands and northern and southern parts of the desert.
The desert landforms of the Sahara are shaped by wind or by extremely rare rainfall and include sand dunes and dune fields or sand seas, stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys, dry lakes and salt flats.Land formations change regularly.
Many of its sand dunes reach over 180 meters (590 feet) in height.
Several deeply dissected mountains and mountain ranges, many volcanic, rise from the desert.

Emi Koussi (huge extinct volcano), a peak in the Tibesti Mountains is 3,415 meters (11,204 feet) high and the highest point in the desert.
Snow may fall occasionally in some of the higher mountain ranges.On Feb. 18, 1979, low altitude areas of the Sahara desert recorded their first snowfall in living memory. Snow fell in spots in southern Algeria.It snowed in Algeria again in 2012.

Most of the rivers and streams in the Sahara desert are seasonal or intermittent, the main exception being the Nile River, which crosses the desert from its origins in central Africa to empty into the Mediterranean.
There are some 20 or more lakes in the Sahara.Most of these are saltwater lakes. Lake Chad is the only freshwater lake in the desert.
Some of the world’s largest supplies of underground water exist beneath the Sahara Desert, supporting about 90 major oases there.
The northwest African cheetah, also known as the Saharan cheetah, is a subspecies of cheetah found in the northwestern part of Africa (particularly the central western Sahara desert and the Sahel). Other animals include the monitor lizards, deathstalker scorpions, sand vipers, hyrax and small populations of African wild dog, red-necked ostrich, secretary birds, Nubian bustards, various raptors…

LAKE BLED

Lake Bled is a lake that lies in the northwest of Slovenia.
It is 2120 meters (6,960 feet) long, up to 1380 meters (4,530 ft) wide with a maximum depth of 29.5 meters (97 feet) and it is of the tectonic origin, After the last Ice Age, the Bohinj Glacier deepend its natural tectonic hollow and gave it its present form.
When the ice melted the basin was filled with water.
The lake has no significant, feeding him water supply mainly underground springs.
Tectonic origin reveal thermal springs in the northeastern part. These cause the fact that the water in the lake is pleasantly warm – up to 26°C (79°F) (one of the warmest alpine lakes) providing swimming through the summer until September.
The lake is situated in a picturesque environment, surrounded by mountains and forests.
The lake is lovely to behold from almost any vantage point, and makes a beautiful backdrop for the 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) walk along the shore.
Lake Bled is known for the presence of swans as well as ducks.

Perched atop a steep cliff more than 100 meters (328 feet) above the lake, Bled Castle is how most people imagine a medieval fortress to be, with towers, ramparts, moats and a terrace offering magnificent views.

The castle, built on two levels, dates back to the early eleventh century, although most of what stands here now is from the sixteenth century. For 800 years it was the seat of the Bishops of Brixen.

Tiny, tear-shaped Bled Island beckons from the shore.It is the only natural island in Slovenia.
On the Bled island, archaeologists have discovered traces of prehistoric (11th to 8hth centuries B.C.)
and Slavic (9th to 10th century) settlements.
The most recognizable symbol of the lake is the Church of the Assumption with its long and diverse history, however the lush greenery also hides other interesting island buildings, like the bell-tower, church, chaplain’s house, provost’s house, small hermitage and some mysterious legends.