Baatara gorge waterfall

The Baatara gorge sinkhole (Balaa gorge waterfall) is a waterfall in the Tannourine, Lebanon^[1] near Balaa.

The waterfall drops 255 metres (837 ft) into the Baatara Pothole, a cave of Jurassic limestone^[2] located on the Lebanon Mountain Trail.^[3] The cave is also known as the Cave of the Three Bridges.^[4] Traveling from Laklouk to Tannourine one passes the village of Balaa, and the Three Bridges Chasm (in French Gouffre des Trois Ponts) is a five-minute journey into the valley below where one sees three natural bridges, rising one above the other and overhanging a chasm descending into Mount Lebanon. During the spring melt, a 90–100-metre (300–330 ft) cascade falls behind the three bridges and then down into the 240-metre (790 ft) chasm.^[5]

Discovered to the western world in 1952 by French bio-speleologist Henri Coiffait,^[6] the waterfall and accompanying sinkhole were fully mapped in the 1980s by the Spéléo club du Liban.^[7] A 1988 fluorescent dye test demonstrated that the water emerged at the spring of Dalleh in Mgharet al-Ghaouaghir^[8][9] (located near Balaa).

Interlaken

Interlaken, Switzerland

Interlaken is a town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Swiss canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, and the main transport gateway to the mountains and lakes of that region.

The town is located on the Bödeli, between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and alongside the Aare river that flows between the two lakes. Transport routes to the east and west alongside the lakes are complemented by a route south into the mountains following the Lütschine river.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Argent a Semi Ibex rampant couped Sable langued Gules.

Interlaken's reputation as international resort started around 1800 due to the landscapes of Franz Niklaus König and other Swiss landscape artists. The success of the Unspunnenfest, a festival of Swiss culture, in 1805 and 1808 brought many tourists to Interlaken. Starting in 1820, they came for mountain air and spa treatment and the large Kursaal opened in 1859 to provide an elegant spa. The many hotels combined with good transportation links made it easy for these early tourists to visit. In 1835 a steam ship route opened along Lake Thun from Thun

, followed in 1839 by another along Lake Brienz from Brienz.

In 1872, the Bödelibahn railway opened from Därligen, on Lake Thun, to Interlaken. Two years later it was extended to Bönigen, on Lake Brienz. Initially this line was unconnected to the rest of the Swiss railway system, and served as a link between the steamships on both lakes. However, in 1893, the Thunersee railway opened alongside Lake Thun providing a direct rail connection to Thun, with onward connections to Bern and beyond. In 1888, the Brünig railway opened between Alpnachstad, on Lake Lucerne, and Brienz, on Lake Brienz, thus providing a through steamer and rail connection from Interlaken to Lucerne. By 1916, the Brünig railway had reached Interlaken from Brienz, and, together with an earlier extension at its eastern end, provided a direct rail route to Lucerne. In 1890, the Berner Oberland railway connected Interlaken to the tourist destinations of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald.

With the opening up of transport links, hotels developed along the route to the Jungfrau. In 1860-75 and 1890-1914 several luxury hotels were built with views of the Jungfrau and surrounding mountains. The current Kursaal was built in 1898-99 and remodeled in 1909-10.

Despite the emphasis on tourism a parquet factory operated from 1850 until 1935 and a wool weaving factory opened in 1921. In the late 20th century a woolen thread and a metal products factory opened in Interlaken. Since 1988, Interlaken has been connected to the A8 motorway.

Château de Marqueyssac

The Château de Marqueyssac is a 17th-century château and gardens located at Vézac, in the Dordogne Department of France. The château was built at the end of the 17th century by Bertrand Vernet de Marqueyssac, Counselor to Louis XIV, on cliffs overlooking the Dordogne Valley. The original garden à la française was attributed to a pupil of André Le Nôtre, and featured terraces, alleys, and a kitchen garden surrounding the chateau.

In the 1860s, the new owner, Julien de Cervel, began to plant thousands of boxwood trees - today there are over 150,000 - and had them carved in fantastic shapes, many in groups of rounded shapes like flocks of sheep. He also added linden trees, cypress trees, andstone pine from Italy, and introduced the cyclamen from Naples.^[1] Following the romantic style, he built rustic structures, redesigned the parterres, and laid out five kilometers of walks.

In the second half 20th century the house was rarely occupied and the gardens were not well maintained. Beginning in 1996, a new owner, Kleber Rossillon, restored the gardens to their old character and added some new features including an alley ofsantolina and rosemary and, in the romantic spirit of the 19th century, a course of water descending from the belvedere and ending in a cascade. The gardens were opened to the public in 1996.

Since 1997, the gardens have been classified amongst the Notable Gardens of France by the Committee of Parks and Gardens of the French Ministry of Culture.

INFINITY POOL

Swim on Top of the World

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Opening Hours: 6am - 11pm daily

The Subway,zion national park,Utah

The Subway,zion national park,Utah

There are two ways to explore The Subway (the Left Fork of North Creek). Permits are required regardless of the direction of travel. Both trips involve extensive route finding. Visitors are encouraged to do the trip with an experienced hiker of The Subway or obtain a detailed route description. The Subway is a day-use area only.

From the Bottom UpThis is a strenuous 9-mile round-trip hike through the Left Fork of North Creek that requires route finding, creek crossing, and scrambling over boulders. This hike begins and ends at the Left Fork Trailhead on the Kolob Terrace Road.

From the Top DownThis is a strenuous 9.5-mile hike that requires rappelling skills, 60 feet of rope, and extensive route finding experience. The route also requires swimming through several deep pools of very cold debris-filled water. The trail begins at the Wildcat Canyon Trailhead and ends at the Left Fork Trailhead. Both trailheads are located on the Kolob Terrace Road.

Osaka Castle Nishinomaru Garden

Osaka Castle Nishinomaru Garden

The Osaka Castle Tower was recreated in 1931, investing approximately 1.5 million yen (equivalent to 75 billion yen today) votive offerings by citizens. With this tower as its center, there is the Osaka Castle Park, which has 13 important cultural properties, including the Otemon gate, the Sengan'yagura turret, and the Enshogura magazine, along with an ume (plum) orchard and the Nishinomaru Garden. The Nishinomaru Garden, where the residence of Kita-no-mandokoro (wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a Japanese ruler in the 16th century) was formerly located, was opened in 1965 as a lawn garden of approximately 64,000 m2 in total area. Surrounded by greenery, the garden commands a beautiful view of the castle tower and the stone wall of a moat. The garden is also famous for its 600 cherry trees (including someiyoshino) that bloom gloriously in spring. The night cherry blossom viewing event is held during blooming periods, attracting a large number of viewers. In the northeast corner of the garden is the tea ceremony house Hoshoan, which was presented in 1969 by Konosuke Matsushita, the founder of Matsushita Electric Industrial (Panasonic).

Glacier National Park (U.S.)

Glacier National Park is a national park located in the U.S. state of Montana, on the Canada–United States border with the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The park encompasses over 1 million acres (4,000 km²) and includes parts of two mountain ranges (sub-ranges of the Rocky Mountains), over 130 named lakes, more than 1,000 different species of plants, and hundreds of species of animals. This vast pristine ecosystem is the centerpiece of what has been referred to as the "Crown of the Continent Ecosystem", a region of protected land encompassing 16,000 square miles (41,000 km²).^[3]

The region that became Glacier National Park was first inhabited by Native Americans. Upon the arrival of European explorers, it was dominated by the Blackfeet in the east and the Flathead in the western regions. Under pressure the Blackfoot ceded the mountainous parts of their treaty lands in 1895 to the federal government; it later became part of the park. Soon after the establishment of the park on May 11, 1910, a number of hotels and chalets were constructed by the Great Northern Railway. These historic hotels and chalets are listed as National Historic Landmarks and a total of 350 locations are on the National Register of Historic Places. By 1932 work was completed on the Going-to-the-Sun Road, later designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, which provided greater accessibility for automobiles into the heart of the park.

The mountains of Glacier National Park began forming 170 million years ago when ancient rocks were forced eastward up and over much younger rock strata. Known as the Lewis Overthrust, these sedimentary rocks are considered to have some of the finest fossilized examples of extremely early life found anywhere on Earth. The current shapes of the Lewis and Livingstonmountain ranges and positioning and size of the lakes show the telltale evidence of massive glacial action, which carved U-shaped valleys and left behind moraines which impounded water, creating lakes. Of the estimated 150 glaciers which existed in the park in the mid-19th century, only 25 active glaciers remained by 2010.^[4] Scientists studying the glaciers in the park have estimated that all the glaciers may disappear by 2030 if the current climate patterns persist.