The Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park

The Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is located 340km to the south-west of Minsk in the Brest region of Belarus It is one of five National Parks in Belarus and the largest forest in the lowlands of central Europe. This is most beautiful unspoiled national parks in Europe. Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a National Park covers the Belarussian part of the forest. Mammals such as Bison, Wild Boar, Elk and Wild Horses in habit the forest, which was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 & extended in 1992, and in 1993 it was granted UNESCO Biosphere Reserve status.

There are several reasons that make this park appealing to the 21st century eco-tourist such as the one fact is cars are not allowed on site.  There are five buses a day to Kamenyets from Brest, but Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park is still a taxi ride away.You may have the group of someone who knows the area, and have knowledge of the park’s history. You will learn about notable areas that are worth seeing and give you a greater insight into everything from the local flora to fauna, of which there are plenty worth seeing. Green travelers who have a special interest in flowers and trees will be at home here as there are nearly 1000 different species growing.

On the other hand, it is most likely the ancient and imposing Oak trees that are the highlight of the plant world in this park. For the animal lovers out there a plentiful variety of different shapes and sizes await. From otters to lynx to woodpeckers, there are plenty that wonder the park by day or night with the highlight being that of the European Bison.  The National Park is rarely visited by large tourists due to a lack of facilities and infrastructure, the Białowieża National Park, which covers the Polish part of the forest, may prove easier to access.

There are rare species in larger numbers in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park than anywhere else on the continent.  There is a library, zoo and a museum all of which will aid in gaining a far greater understanding of the park. There are a couple of hotels for those tourists looking to spend their entire vacation at the park. What better way to enjoy and feel right at home.

Ancient Cave of Hands in Patagonia Argentina

Ancient handprints, rock paintings started appearing on rock walls around the world at least 30,000 years ago. Cave of the Hands is famous for the paintings of hands. Numerous waves of people occupied the cave, and early artwork has been carbon-dated to ca. 9300.

A Cueva de la Manos in Patagonia Argentina contains a brilliant assemblage of cave art. Cueva de las Manos”, exactly “the Cave of Hands”, is situated in Río Pinturas, in the province of Santa Cruz, Argentina, about 163 kilometer south of the town of Perito Moreno. The cave of hands gets its name from the cluster of stenciled outlines of human hands that appear on the cave walls. These beautiful rock paintings were made by hunter-gatherer communities estimated to have lived between 13,000  to 9,200 years ago, as determined from the leftovers of bone-made pipes used for spraying the paint on the wall of the cave to make silhouettes of hands. The cave entrance is screened by a rock wall, which is well covered by many hand stencils. Therefore; most of the hands are left hands that suggest painters detained the spraying pipe with their right hand.

Moreover hand prints; are also depictions of human beings, and animals such as guanacos, rheas, and felines, as well as geometric shapes, zigzag patterns, representations of the sun, and a number of hunting scenes, which portray a variety of hunting strategies with animals being surrounded, trapped in ambushes, or attacked by hunters using their throwing weapons, round stones known as bolas. Several views show individual hunters and others groups of more than 10 men. The paintings belong to three distinct cultures. The first human group was long-distance hunters whose focal prey was the guanaco. Approximately 7,000 BC a 2nd cultural level can be recognized, distinguished by hand stencils. Hunting scenes are no longer found during this age. There are also some examples of stencils of the feet of the American ostrich. This culture lasted until circa 3300 BC, when the art became more schematic and included highly stylized zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures. The last cultural started about 1,300 BC. Its art executed in bright red pigments, concentrated on abstract geometric figures and highly schematic representations of animals and humans. It is supposed to have been the work of the historic Tehuelche hunter-gatherers who inhabited the vast area of Patagonia when the first Spanish traders and settlers arrived.

Sigiriya Rock Fortress, Sri Lanka

Built over 1,500 years ago between AD 477 to 495, the rocking Sigiriya, also known as ‘Lion’s Rock’, is an ancient rock fortress and palace ruin located on the island of beautiful Sri Lanka. Sigiriya is a popular tourist place, and this fantastic outcrop is surrounded by what is left of extensive & lovely gardens and reservoirs. Sigiriya is one of the 7 World Heritage Sites of the island, renowned for its ancient fresco, akin to those of the Ajanta Caves of India. Therefore; Sigiriya is believed one of the most foremost urban planning sites of the first millennium, and the site plan is considered very elaborate and imaginative. The plan combined idea of symmetry and asymmetry to intentionally interlock the man-made geometrical and natural forms of the surroundings. The Sirgiriya Gardens of the Sigiriya are one of the most important aspects of the site, as it is among the oldest landscaped gardens in the world. These gorgeous  gardens are divided into 3 distinct but linked forms, Cave & boulder gardens, water gardens, and terraced gardens.

Waw-an-Namus Libya

The beautiful Waw an Namus is an extinct volcanic crater situated in one of the remotest destinations in Libya, deep in the Sahara desert almost at its geographic center. The stunning Waw n-Namus volcanic field is about 4 kilometer wide, surrounded by a 10 to 20 kilometer wide dark-black deposit of ash that stands out starkly against the yellowish desert. On the floor of the caldera there is a 120 meter high cinder cone, the apparent source of the ash, as well as three little salty, colored lakes. The so called name “Waw an-Namus” means the "Oasis of Mosquitoes", or "The Crater of the Mosquitoes", from the fact that the surrounding undersized lakes are infested with mosquitoes, and as a result camping nearby requires nets or repellents. In the last two decades. A general phenomenon in the Sahara is the occurrence of practically potable water close to, and at nearly the same elevation as, salt lakes. This scarce supply of water feeds the lakes and was also used by travellers in the older days. Due to the existence of fresh water at this remote volcano, the mindblowing Waw An-Namus was always a vital watering point for the caravans en route from Waw Al-Kabir to Rebiana and Al Kufrah oases further southeast in Libya.Waw An-Namus has became one of the foremost destinations for the majority of tourists who visit the Libyan desert in general and the Fezzan region in particular.

The picturesque volcano was first reported to the outside world by Karl Moritz von Beurmann in 1862 and then Gerard Rohlfs in 1881, however they never visited the site. most likely the first European to visit this volcano and report it was a Frenchman, Laurent Lapierre in 1920. Lapierre was a military officer who was captured in combat and taken in captivity to Kufra via Waw Al-Kabir and Waw An-Namus, and so had the chance to report his adventure after his release a few years later. About 11 years later an Italian geologist, Ardito Desio, reached beautiful Waw An-Namus during his famed long camel journey. On his geological expedition, Desio also visited Jalu, Maradah, Waw Al-Kabir, Tmassah and Kufra and published a geological description of the volcano for the first time in 1935. After the 2nd World War, numerous scientists visited the volcano, as well as the geographer Nikolaus Benjamin Richter who undertook a number of trips to the volcano and published a book on his journey to the area in 1960. Since that time, and as the Libyan government started awarding petroleum concessions in Libya, several geologists, geophysicists and tourists have visited this amazing Waw An-Namus, either to explore the nearby areas or because they were attracted by descriptions of the volcano.