Philippines Outcrop of Palawan as the Most Exotic Island on Earth

Travellers has voted unfamiliar island Palawan as the most exotic on earth. The stunning island that charms crystal clear waters, unbelievable beaches and one of the newest natural wonders of the world has been named the best in the world by readers of a leading travel magazine.

Though the peaceful island of Palawan is claimed top spot based on over 76,000 votes in Conde Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards for 2014. The big thanks to its latest claim to fame “Puerto Princesa Subterranean” River a Unesco World Heritage Site, has been named one of the world’s best natural wonders. It is approximately 5 miles in length and the longest underground river in Asia and the second longest in the world.

Tourist on guided boat tours travel through a subterranean cave system featuring big chambers, stalactites and stalagmites.  The beautiful tranquil place is home to astonishing locations for snorkeling and diving, Palawan province has a 2nd Unesco World Heritage Site that is widespread spot for undersea adventurers Tubbataha Reef National Marine Park.

However Palawan's beauty and thrilling outdoor or undersea adventures are no secret to the world. Even it was once named of the best islands in the world by National Geographic Traveler. Well, to getting there isn't too problematic by air and the average flight lasts around 75 minutes but a ride on a ferry boat takes around 24 hours. This gorgeous island is recognized as the Philippines' “last frontier” because it is part of the far western Palawan province, with its southern tip just north of Malaysia.

Well, Palawan Island edged some of the most popular destinations in the world in this year's Conde Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards. Kiawah Island, South Carolina, came in second, followed by the islands of Maui and Kauai in Hawaii. Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique rounded out the top five, and on sixth through tenth were Great Barrier Reef and Whitsunday Islands in Australia, Santorini and Cyclades in Greece, St. John in the US Virgin Islands, Kangaroo Island in Australia, and Big Island in Hawaii. Amazingly none of the UK’s islands managed to crack the top 30. Source: dailymail

Wentworth Falls, New South Wales Australia

Wentworth Falls is a town at an elevation of 867 meters in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, located about 100 Kilometers west of the Sydney central business district, and approximately 8 kilometers east of Katoomba, Australia on the Great Western Highway, with a Wentworth Falls railway station on the Main Western line. Wentworth Falls is home to WFCC or Wentworth Falls Cricket Club, which is established in 1892 and one of the Blue Mountains' longest serving cricket clubs. There’re number of festivals and events hosts at Wentworth falls, some of popular events are Wentworth Falls Autumn Festival in April, the Wentworth Falls Public School Art and Craft Show in October and the Task Force 72 Annual Regatta in either November or December.

Wentworth Falls had a population of over 6,000 originally called The Weatherboard after the “Weatherboard Inn” built in 1814. Therefore in 1879, the village took its name from an adjacent system of waterfalls, which was in turn named for William Charles Wentworth, one of the men that headed the exploration to cross the mountains in 1813 and a friend of John Jamison.

Kings Tableland, a plateau located at the south-east corner of Wentworth Falls, contains areas of major archaeological importance, including the Kings Tableland Aboriginal Site. This area is highly significant to the Gandangara, Darug and Wiradjuri people. Used as a gathering place for at least 22,000 years, the region comprises of multiple cultural features, consisting of engravings, axe-grinding grooves, modified rock pools and an occupation shelter. Ingar Picnic Ground, one of the most picturesque picnic grounds in the Blue Mountains, just only 8 kilometers further east along Murphys Fire Trail. On the north side of the town is Pitt Park. The Bathurst Traveller, later renamed Weatherboard Inn, was built here in 1826.

The site, adjacent to the railway station, is now the location of the village war memorial. Charles Darwin was reported to have stayed there in 1836, walking from the inn along Jamison Creek to the cliff’s edge, about which he wrote ‘an immense gulf unexpectedly opens through the trees, with a depth of perhaps 1,500 feet’. The route he took was formally opened as Darwins Walk in 1986 and leads from Wilson Park opposite the School of Arts building to the northern escarpment of the Jamison Valley.

Moreover south along Kings Tableland are sunset lookout and McMahon’s Lookout, both of which offers long views over Lake Burragorang. The Kings Tableland area also once hosted a deer park that closed down in the late 1980s, with the site consequently falling into private ownership. Several deer were sighted around the area for some time until they were culled by National Parks rangers. This vicinity is also home to the site of the former Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital, once a major facility for the treatment of tuberculosis. Therefore ownership of the site has shifted between Government and several private interests over the decades since it was closed in the 1980s. Intermittent development proposals for the former hospital have been the source of some local concern, but the observatory is no longer in operation.

The other noteworthy point of local institutions includes the historic Grand View Hotel, the Wentworth Falls School of Arts, the Kedumba Gallery and Wentworth Falls Lake, a beautiful artificial lake formed in the early of 20th century to flow water for steam locomotives, which has been now turned into a reserve and recreation area. The School of Arts is a standard venue for local community events and theatre productions and also houses the local library. Well, there’s another landmark is Yester Grange, a heritage home in Yester Street. A sprawling, timber bungalow with extensive verandas, Yester Grange is now used as a function Centre for events like wedding receptions and is not open to the public.

There are many natural lookouts in the area including Breakfast Point Lookout, Princes Rock Lookout, Wentworth Falls Lookout and Rocket Point Lookout. A track through the Valley of the Waters leads to Empress Falls, Sylvia Falls, Lodore Falls, and Flat Rock Falls and, near the junction of Jamison and Valley of the Waters Creeks, the sheltered Vera Falls. Empress Falls is one of the most admired beginner commercial canyoning trips in the Blue Mounatins, and canyoners can be seen abseiling Empress Falls from the visitor track.

Moreover the most trendy walks in the region is the National Pass, skirts the top edge of the Valley of the Waters, sideways a narrow clay stone ledge perched halfway down the cliff, and then ascends the ridge through a series of sandstone steps built by Peter Mulheran and a group recognized as "The Irish Brigade" in 1908. The Conservation Hut is an information Centre and restaurant in Wentworth Falls leased from the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, and serves as a starting point for several of these walks.

Sgurr nan Gillean Scotland

Sgùrr nan Gillean is a 3162 feet (964 m) high mountain in the northern section of the Cuillin range on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, actually one of eleven Munros on the Cuillin ridge. The mountain is close to Sligachan, and its striking triangular profile is perceptible behind the Sligachan hotel, making it perhaps the most recognized peak in the Cuillin range. In November 2013 it was found that Knight's Peak is, in fact, six and a half inches too short to be classified as a Munro Top and is now considered a Corbett Top. Knight's Peak was named after W. Knight, who, with a guide, made the first recorded ascent in 1873.

Well, the most admired route of ascent is the Tourist Route, follows a path leading south from Sligachan, crossing a burn known the Allt Dearg Beag. This route continues up into a corrie, the Coire Rhiabhach. The ascent of the coire headwall is on loose rock and scree. The continuation up the southeast ridge to the summit is exposed, and calls for scrambling skill. The path up is very narrow so calls for single file when a party ascends. The top is a ridge which must be traversed to get to the final summit, and like the climb, requires few scrambling ability. Make sure, all sides are very exposed, and extra care is required if mist descends. The small airy summit platform is astonishingly flat and smooth with splendid views.

The other different route is the north ridge, recognized as Pinnacle Ridge, which is actually a rock climb that needs a climber to have a rope and harness and be skilled of abseiling, unless the third pinnacle is omitted by bypassing on the east side. Though rope is a sensible option for the moderate climb up Gillean, it is not necessary for Knight's Peak if the correct route is taken. So, to reach the base of the Pinnacle Ridge a climber starts in the similar place as for the route defined above but instead of crossing the burn continues up hill on the right hand side until just below the start of the Basteir gorge when the stream exiting the gorge is crossed to reach the base of the lowest pinnacle.

Another alternative route of ascent or descent is the West Ridge. The route leads from the summit down to a bealach separating Sgùrr nan Gillean from Am Basteir. About two-thirds of the way down, there is a particularly narrow and exposed section, which forms the remains of a large upright rock, known as the Gendarme which broke away due to the effects of frost shatter during the winter of 1986/87, leaving only the base. The narrow section can be avoided by abseiling down (or climbing up) a gully, known as Nicholson's Chimney, on the north side of the ridge.

Athabasca Falls Canada

The Athabasca Falls are among the most potent and breathtaking falls in the Rocky Mountains capture the brilliance of rainbow-hued spray or the dazzling sheets of ice suspended from jagged rock on film. Athabasca waterfall is situated in Jasper National Park on the upper Athabasca River, about 30 kilometers south of the town site of Jasper, Alberta, Canada, and just west of the Ice fields Parkway. Athabasca is a powerful waterfall, comprises unbelievable natural scenic beauty, and is not known so much for the height of the falls 23 metres.

The waterfall is recognized for its force due to the huge quantity of water falling into the gorge. Moreover in a cold morning in the fall, the river levels tend to be at their lowest, abundant amounts of water flow over the falls. The huge mountain poised over the falls is Mount Kerkeslin, which was named by Sir James Hector of the Palliser Expedition in 1859. 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 waterfall can be safely viewed and photographed from several platforms and walking trails around the falls. The approach to fall 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. Athabasca Falls is actually one of the major tourist attractions along the Ice fields Parkway and is a very busy place on a midsummer’s day. If you want to avoid the crowds it is best to visit early in the morning or after dinner time. Most of the trail system is paved but stairs limit access for people in wheelchairs. There is a perfect picnic area with ten picnic tables, kitchen shelter and washrooms are available and great cross-country skiing in winter.

The falls itself wasn't particularly mind-blowing, but it possessed enough power to carve out a bit of a gorge immediately downstream of it. The huge numbers of peoples visit Athabasca Falls but do not give it adequate time. They rush to the falls; snap a picture and they’re gone. Then why not poke around? This is ideal time to explore the area looking for signs of abandoned waterfalls and other water worn rock. Stand in the spray at the closest viewpoint, or just hang out and enjoy the view.

Ventisquero Colgante (Hanging Glacier) of Chile

Ventisquero Colgante, or the Hanging Glacier, is found in the Queulat National Park, in Chile. It is the biggest attraction of Queulat National Park. This is hanging above a ravine of bare rock; and it dominates a valley formed by mountains covered in valdivian temperate rainforest, and feeds a river at the bottom of the valley as it melts. The water melting from the glacier makes two towering waterfalls which drops around 600 meters on top of a massive slab of angled bedrock, and then flows beneath what appears to be a perpetual avalanche cone. When the stream leaves this underground section, it creates a beautiful small lake called “Laguna Témpanos” and then after around six kilometers it enters the Canal de Puyuhuapi. Well, the falls are noticeable and flowing all-round the year but due to the ablation of avalanches at the base of the falls, as much as half of the falls can be covered by snow and ice during the late spring and early summer.

The lovely Ventisquero Colgante falls was discovered in 1875, when an exploration led by Captain Enrique Simpson. The Captain Enrique reported that the snow of the glacier was fair 100 meters from the bank of Canal de Puyuhuapi, where Captain used to moor his boat. It is not completely clear whether he saw the waterfall or this waterfall was visible at all. In all probability, it wasn’t. The waterfall was formed much later, as the glacier retreated and the cliff wall became visible. If Captain Enrique observation is factual, then the glacier has retreated 8 kilometers during the last 140 years.