Retezat National Park in Romania, Hunedoara

 Romania - Hunedoara  Comments Off
Jun 052013
 

Introduction :
The Retezat National Park is located in the Hunedoara County of Romania in the Retezat Mountains near the city of Lupeni. Measuring over 380 square kilometres in area, the Retezat National Park is known for its glacier lakes that includes as many as 80 within the park with the biggest lake being the Bucara Lake and the deepest being the Zanoaga Lake. The park was often nominated as one of the seven natural wonders of Romania due to its expectional scenic beauty and was included in the international network of biosphere reserve of UNESCO in 1979. The park also shelters one of Europe’s last remaining primeval forest and largest single area of pristine forest in the continent.

Aerial view of the Retezat National Park and mountains
Aerial view of the Retezat National Park and mountains

The Bucara Lake is the largest glacier lake among the 80 lakes in the park
The Bucara Lake is the largest glacier lake among the 80 lakes in the park

Camping site near the Bucara Lake
Camping site near the Bucara Lake

History :
The Retezat National Park was first created in 1935 when the Romanian Government set aside an area of the Retezat Mountains to create the first ever national park in the country. In 1979, it was included into the international network of biosphere reserve in the Man and Bioshpere program of UNESCO before the national park was formally establish in 2000.

Beautiful flowers complement the scenic national park
Beautiful flowers add further compliment to the scenic national park

The Lolaia Waterfalls located at the north of the park
The Lolaia Waterfalls located at the north of the park

One of the last remaining intact primeval forest in Europe
One of the last remaining intact primeval forest in Europe

Getting there :
The nearest airport to the Retezak National Park is the Sibiu International Airport which is about 182 km away from the park which takes about 3 hours by car or bus to reach the destination.

Bagan in Myanmar, Mandalay region

 Myanmar - Mandalay  Comments Off
Jun 012013
 

Introduction :
Bagan is an ancient city situated in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar and was historically home and capital to the Kingdom and Pagan during the 9th to 13 century. Bagan is renowed for its mass amount of temples, pagodas and cultural monuments built over a period of 6 centuries and was known by many as the Land of two thousand pagodas with the numbers currently standing at 2200. The area of the ancient city measures 104 square kilometres. Today it is one of the main attractions in Myanmar’s tourism industry and is believed to be visited by more than 300,000 international tourists annually. Despite its magnificence and importance, it did not make it into the list of World Heritage Sites in UNESCO due to some modern restoration works, however the ancient city of Bagan remains as impressive as any world wonders in the world.

The overall landscape of Bagan is its monuments
The overall landscape of Bagan is its monuments
Image attribution to macloo @ Flickr

Closer look at the Bagan pagodas
Closer look at the Bagan pagodas
Image attribution to sugarmeloncom @ Flickr

One faced temple built during the 12th century
One faced temple built during the 12th century
Image attribution to JialiangGao @ Wiki

The Gubyaukgyi Temple is a Indian-style spire like 13th century Mahabodhi Pagoda
The Gubyaukgyi Temple is a Indian-style spire like 13th century Mahabodhi Pagoda
Image attribution to Gerd_Eichmann @ Wiki

The Sulamani Temple is built in 12th century by King Sithu II
The Sulamani Temple is built in 12th century by King Sithu II
Image attribution to bessieandkyle @ Flickr

The Shwesandaw Pagoda is a series of five terraces topped with a stupa
The Shwesandaw Pagoda is a series of five terraces topped with a stupa
Image attribution to macloo @ Flickr

History :
According to Burmese history, Bagan was founded as a city as early as the 2nd century but was fortified during the 9th century. It was the capital city to the Pagan Empire from the 11th to 13th century where over 10,000 religious monuments were constructed in the Bagan plains over an area of 104 square kilometres. After the collapse of the Pagan Empire by repeated Mongal invasions in 1287, it became a place for pilgrimage and human settlement. Due to its location in an active earthquake zone, many of the religious architecture has been destroyed and underwent restoration works by the government during the 1990s.

Beautiful sunset on the landscape of Bagan
Beautiful sunset on the landscape of Bagan
Image attribution to Martin Sojka @ Flickr

Ancient palace site believed to be of the Pagan Empire
Ancient palace site believed to be of the Pagan Empire

Frescos in one of the temples
Frescos in one of the temples

The Ananda Temple is one of the surviving four major temples in Bagan
The Ananda Temple is one of the surviving four major temples in Bagan

The Ananda temple is one of the surviving four major temples in Bagan
Buddhist statue nside the Manuha Temple

Getting there :
The nearest international airport to Bagan is the Mandalay International Airport which is around 65 km away from the ancient city of Bagan and serves flights from the capital city of Yangon as well as China and Singapore. The nearest airport to Bagan would be the Nyaung U Airport (NYU) which is only 6 km away from the attraction.

West Lake in China, Zhejiang

 China - Zhejiang  Comments Off
May 262013
 

Introduction :
The West Lake is also known in by the Chinese as Xi Hu is located in the historical region of Hangzhou which is the capital city of Zhejiang province in China. The West Lake was considered by the Chinese for thousands of years as a water wonderland and is the most well known lake in the whole of China. It is also the source of inspiration in the design of Chinese gardens as well as playing an influential part in the design of Japanese and Korea gardens. The West Lake is so popular and well known among the Chinese that it has appeared various times on the notes of Chinese currency. Famous poets and painters often include the West Lake in their poems and art works and the natural scenic beauty was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011. The total area of the West Lake is 6.5 square kilometres with an average depth of 2.27 metres.

One of the signature scenery views of the West Lake
One of the signature scenery views of the West Lake
Image attribution to serapio @ Flickr

The Five Pavilion Bridge
The Five Pavilion Bridge
Image attribution to thewamphyri @ Flickr

The Bao Chu Pagoda was built centuries ago
The Bao Chu Pagoda was built centuries ago
Image attribution to jaaronfarr @ Flickr

Beautiful reflections from the surroundings on the water
Beautiful reflections from the surroundings on the water
Image attribution to pondspider @ Flickr

History :
The earliest name of the West Lake was known as the Wulin Water is part of the Qiantang River. The first true emperor of Chinese, Qin Shi Huang also visited the lake and moored the boat personally to a stone known as the Qin Shi Huang mooring stone today. During the Sui Dynasty’s engineering reforms, the West Lake was connected to the major rivers of China and tourism has since flourished as early as 610 AD. The cultural landscape of the lake took shape during the Five Dynasties period where the Wuyue Kingdom founded various Buddhist and Taoist temples and pagodas around the lake and during the Southern Song Dynasty, Hangzhou was made the capital of the kingdom making the west Lake the most popular attraction in the city. Famous Italian explorer Marco Polo once complimented that the Hangzhou city with the West Lake was the most splendid heavenly city in the world.

Lotus around the West Lake
Lotus around the West Lake
Image attribution to pedronet @ Flickr

Traditional rounded gateway around the West Lake
Traditional rounded gateway around the West Lake
Image attribution to Greudin @ Wiki

Sunset at the West Lake
Sunset at the West Lake
Image attribution to blese @ Flickr

Beautiful lights on the lake at night time
Beautiful lights on the lake at night time
Image attribution to kycheng @ Flickr

Getting there :
The nearest international airport to the attraction is the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport which is around 27 km east of Hangzhou City and a 1 hour ride away from the West Lake.

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