Great Sphinx of Giza

The Great Sphinx of Giza (Arabic: أبو الهول‎ Abū al Hūl, English: The Terrifying One), commonly referred to as the Sphinx, is a limestone statue of a reclining or couchant sphinx (a mythical creature with a lion's body and a human head) that stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The face of the Sphinx is generally believed to represent the face of the Pharaoh Khafra.
It is the largest monolith statue in the world, standing 73.5 metres (241 ft) long, 19.3 metres (63 ft) wide, and 20.22 m (66.34 ft) high.[1] It is the oldest known monumental sculpture, and is commonly believed to have been built by ancient Egyptians of the Old Kingdom during the reign of the Pharaoh Khafra (c. 2558–2532 BC).

Source:Wikipedia

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Deosai National Park

The Deosai National Park is located in the Skardu District of Gilgit-Baltistan province, in northernmost Pakistan. Deosai means 'the land of Giants'. The park is located on the Deosai Plains of the Gilgit-Baltistan geographic region. Deosai is a tourist attraction and lot of tourists who visit Baltistan go to Deosai as well. Deosai Plateau which is the second highest plateau in the world after the Chang Tang in Tibet. In local Balti language, Deosai is called Byarsa, meaning ‘summer place’. The plateau is located at the boundary of the Karakorum and the western Himalayas.

Source:Wikipedia

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Shangrilla

The legend of Shangri-La is alive in Skardu, located just 35 minutes from Skardu. The resort is built on a beautiful lake and is surrounded by the most spectacular scenery. One may spend a night or a day, take a boat ride or trek the legendary location which provide opportunity for all to enjoy the best in Skardu.

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Deosai Plain in Skardu

 

Deosai Plain:

Located at a distance of 32 kms from Skardu, Deosai is one of the highest plateaus in the world standing at 4100m and is spread over 3000sq.km. The spectacular scenery that Deosai offers from mid June to mid September is highlighted by some 342 species of vegetation. The landscape is covered with wild flowers that make Deosai radiant with bright colors through the summer. The diverse vegetation supports wildlife and an ecosystem that is a unique example of adaptation to high altitude.

In addition to the Himalayan brown Bear, Deosai and the surrounding valleys are home to the Himalayan Ibex, red Fox, golden Marmot, Wolf, the snow leopard & over 125 resident and migratory birds. This area is a place of attraction for those who are interested in Trophy Hunting.

Drive to Deosai and visit the remarkable Plateau at 4000m above sea level.The Deasai plain (4000 m), a vast high altitude plateau covering an area of over 400 square km, south and west of Skardu, borders on Indian Kashmir. In Balti, the region is known as “Bhear Sar” means place of  flowers. Nowhere lower than 4000 m, this uninhabited alpine grassland has numerous clear streams with unusual snow trout, a large brown bear population and multitude of golden marmots.

Deosai is surprisingly rich in plants and animals, bursting into life during the brief spring and summer months. The plateau is home to the Himalayan Brown Bear, unique to this part of the world. Other mammals found on Deosai included Tibetan Wolf, Tibetan Red Fox, Himalayan Ibex etc. Deosai Plateau offers several opportunities for trekking and easily accessible from Skardu.

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Big Island, Hawaii, USA

Hawaiʻi, also called the Island of Hawaiʻi,[2] the Big Island or Hawaiʻi Island (/həˈwaɪ.i/ or /həˈwɑːiː/; Hawaiian: [həˈwɐiʔi] or [həˈvɐiʔi]), which comprises Hawaiʻi County and the Hilo, HI Micropolitan Statistical Area, is an island, county, and Micropolitan Statistical Area located in the U.S. state of Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. It is the largest and the southeastern-most of the Hawaiian islands, a chain of volcanic islands in the North Pacific Ocean. With an area of 4,028 square miles (10,430 km2), it is larger than all of the other islands in the archipelago combined and is the largest island in the United States. The island is often referred to as the "Big Island" to reduce confusion between the island and the state.

As of the 2010 Census the population was 185,079. The county seat and largest city is Hilo. There are no incorporated cities in Hawaiʻi County (see Hawaii Counties). Hawaiʻi County has a mayor-council form of government.

Hawaii County is one of seven counties in the United States to share the same name as the state in which it is located (the other six counties are Arkansas County, Idaho County, Iowa County, New York County, Oklahoma County, and Utah County).

Source:Wikipedia

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Glass Beach, California, USA

Glass Beach is a beach in MacKerricher State Park near Fort Bragg, California that is abundant in sea glass created from years of dumping garbage into an area of coastline near the northern part of the town.

Source:Wikipedia

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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA

 

Yellowstone National Park (Arapaho: Henihco'oo' or Héetíhco'oo[4]) is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, although it also extends into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872.[5][6] Yellowstone, widely held to be the first national park in the world,[7] is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park.[8] It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is dominant.

Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years.[9] The region was bypassed during the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 19th century. Aside from visits by mountain men during the early-to-mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s. The U.S. Army was commissioned to oversee the park just after its establishment. In 1917, administration of the park was transferred to the National Park Service, which had been created the previous year. Hundreds of structures have been built and are protected for their architectural and historical significance, and researchers have examined more than 1,000 archaeological sites.

Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468.4 square miles (8,983 km2),[1] comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges.[8] Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano. It has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years.[10] Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism.[11] Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining, nearly intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.[12]

Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened.[8] The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Yellowstone Park is the largest and most famous megafauna location in the Continental United States. Grizzly bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park. The Yellowstone Park bison herd is the oldest and largest public bison herd in the United States. Forest fires occur in the park each year; in the large forest fires of 1988, nearly one third of the park was burnt. Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls. During the winter, visitors often access the park by way of guided tours that use either snow coaches or snowmobile.

Source:Wikipedia

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Santorini, Greece

Santorini (Greek: Σαντορίνη, pronounced [sadoˈrini]), classically Thera /ˈθɪrə/, and officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα [ˈθira]), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from Greece's mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km2 (28 sq mi) and a 2011 census population of 15,550. The municipality of Santorini comprises the inhabited islands of Santorini and Therasia and the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, and Christiana. The total land area is 90.623 km2 (34.990 sq mi). Santorini is part of the Thira regional unit.

Source:Wikipedia

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia /ˌfɪləˈdɛlfiə/ is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the second largest city on the East Coast of the United States, and the fifth-most-populous city in the United States.[1] It is located in the Northeastern United States at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, and it is the only consolidated city-county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 1,526,006,[2] growing to 1,547,607 in 2012 by Census estimates.[3][4] Philadelphia is the economic and cultural center of the Delaware Valley, home to over 6 million people and the country's sixth-largest metropolitan area. Within the Delaware Valley, the Philadelphia metropolitan division consists of five counties in Pennsylvania and has a population of 4,008,994. Popular nicknames for Philadelphia are Philly and The City of Brotherly Love, the latter of which comes from the literal meaning of the city's name in Greek (Greek: Φιλαδέλφεια ([pʰilaˈdelpʰeːa], Modern Greek: [filaˈðelfia]) "brotherly love", compounded from philos (φίλος) "loving", and adelphos (ἀδελφός) "brother").[5]
In 1682, William Penn founded the city to serve as capital of Pennsylvania Colony. By the 1750s, Philadelphia had surpassed Boston to become the largest city and busiest port in British America, and second in the British Empire, behind London.[6][7] During the American Revolution, Philadelphia played an instrumental role as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. Philadelphia was one of the nation's capitals during the Revolutionary War, and the city served as the temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction. During the 19th century, Philadelphia became a major industrial center and railroad hub that grew from an influx of European immigrants. It became a prime destination for African Americans during the Great Migration and surpassed two million occupants by 1950.
The city is the center of economic activity in Pennsylvania, and is home to the Philadelphia Stock Exchange and several Fortune 500 companies.
Philadelphia is known for its arts and culture. The cheesesteak and soft pretzel are emblematic of Philadelphia cuisine, which is shaped by the city's ethnic mix. The city has more outdoor sculptures and murals than any other American city,[8] and Philadelphia's Fairmount Park is the largest landscaped urban park in the world.[9] Gentrification of Philadelphia's neighborhoods continues into the 21st century and the city has reversed its decades-long trend of population loss.

Source:Wikipedia

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San Juan Islands, Washington

The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the northwest corner of the contiguous United States between the US mainland and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of the U.S. state of Washington.
In the archipelago, four islands are accessible by passenger ferry operated by the Washington State Ferries system.[1]
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) defines the San Juan Islands as the archipelago north of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, west of Rosario Strait, east of Haro Strait, and south of Boundary Pass.[2] To the north lie the open waters of the Strait of Georgia. All these waters are within the Salish Sea. The USGS definition of the San Juan archipelago coincides with San Juan County. Islands not in San Juan County are not part of the San Juan Islands, according to the USGS.

Source:Wikipedia

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Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville (Listeni/ˈluːiːvɪl/, local Listeni/ˈluːəvəl/ or Listeni/ˈlʌvəl/) is a major city, the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County, Kentucky.
Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's total consolidated population at the 2010 census was 741,096. However, the balance total of 602,011 excludes other incorporated places and semi-autonomous towns within the county and is the population listed in most sources and national rankings. As of 2010, the Louisville metropolitan area (MSA) had a population of 1,307,647 ranking 42nd nationally.[4] The metro area includes Louisville-Jefferson County and 12 surrounding counties, eight in Kentucky and four in Southern Indiana (see Geography below). The Louisville Combined Statistical Area, having a population of 1,451,564, includes the MSA, Hardin County and Larue County in Kentucky, and Scott County, Indiana.

Source:Wikipedia

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Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to Marin County. It is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers.[7] The Frommers travel guide considers the Golden Gate Bridge "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world"

Source:Wikipedia

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