Category Archives: Travel

Home for Elephant – Pinnawala or UdaWalawe Elephant orphanage National park

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Have you ever listened home for orphanage elephant most of people not aware of it but you can see the Elephant transit home in UdaWalawe National Park or called Pinnawala national park located in Sabaragamuwa Province and surrounded by UdaWalawe Sri Lanka.170 km south east of Colombo. National Park is stretch in 30,821 hectares.

National park established in 1995 for rehabilitate orphaned elephant back in to the natural home wild. UdaWalawe National park also home for other animals and birds.

In the national park visitors can experience many different activities of the care and daily routine of the elephants including watching the babies being hand fed from super size bottle and medical care of the elephant.

Mammals There are many mammals? species in the National Park with large Elephant, The Rusty-spotted Cat, Fishing Cat and Sri Lankan Leopard, Wild Boar, Water Buffalo, Jackal and many species of deer such as spotted Deer, Sambhur, Barking deer.

Birds?UdaWalawe National Park is also the good place for bird watcher. Many species are available here such as Lanka Spurfowl, Red-faced Malkoha, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill, and Brown-capped Babbler. Painted Storks are among the many water birds that migrate to the park.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

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Great Smoky Mountains national park established in June 1934 so the National Park (GSMNP) successfully completed 75th years of his born this year. National Park situated in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. The park is one of the largest in eastern United States and Park covers 521,086 acres of area. This natural wonder entertains almost 10 million hikers, birders and drivers last year.

When you visit in Great Smoky Mountains National Park it?s very difficult to believe that how much natural diversity can be found in one place. Looking to waterfalls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is not difficult because Waterfalls can be found on nearly every stream and river in the park. There are many lovely and famous waterfalls available like Abrams Falls, Mingo Falls, Grotto Falls, Mouse Creek Falls, Hen Wallow Falls, Rainbow Falls, Indian Creek Falls, Ramsey Cascades, Juney Whank Falls, Tom Branch Falls, and Laurel Falls. Smoky is heaven for the bird watcher. Park counts 200 species of birds, 66 species of mammals, 50 species of fish, 39 species of reptiles, and 43 species of amphibians. Great Smoky Mountains national park are one of the most attractive holiday destinations in the eastern US. With all the scenic mountain landscapes, rivers, streams, forests and rich diversity of plant and animal life found in the area, the Great Smoky Mountains is a paradise for hiker and nature lover.

The Great Smoky Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world. An unbroken, miles and miles chain of ridges over 5,000 feet in elevation runs the length of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Forest is the main attraction of the park. 1000 species of plants and wildflowers are available there. The cove hardwood forest contains thousands of species of shrubs and vines. Dominant species in the Smokies include the redbud, dogwood, rhododendron, mountain laurel, and hydrangea. The northern hardwood forests are dominated by yellow birch and beech. White basswood, mountain and striped maple, and buckeye are also present. The spruce-fir forest? also called the “boreal” or “Canadian” forest? is a relic of the Ice Ages, when mean annual temperatures in the Smokies were too cold to support a hardwood forest.

Activities: There are many activities within the park include scenic drives, hiking, camping, cycling, horse riding, bird-watching, fishing, wildlife viewing, mountain biking Wildflower watching etc. Hiking?is the best way to explore Park natural beauty. Choose from over 800 miles of trails ranging from quiet walkways to multi-day backpacking treks through the backcountry.

Facts about the Park

? Weather: Summer temperature is normally in between 80s to 50s and. Winter temperature is very low in night normally in between 50s to 10s but it can be low as -20s (F).

? Operational Timings: Great Smoky Mountains National Park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Some roads and other facilities close in winter.

? Entrance Fee: Entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park is free.

? Activity Fees: Fees are charged for activities such as overnight camping ($14-23 per night)

Faroe Islands, Denmark

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Faroes

The Faroe Islands are group of islands located 800 miles north of Copenhagen (Denmark) in the North Atlantic between Iceland and Norway. The 18 green islands rise from the sea in the middle of the North Atlantic. These isolated islands are flush in natural beauty with rugged green mountains range, fjords and countless waterfalls. They are dotted with medieval churches, fishing villages and old farmhouses. The Faroe Islands are breathtakingly beautiful, utterly unspoilt, and are teeming with animal and plant life. They offer a truly different holiday destination.

Vestmanna is a town in the Faroe Islands that used to be a major ferry port, until an undersea tunnel was built from Vagar to Kvivik to Stykkio. It is surrounded by major mountain ranges such as the Haegstafjuall, Okslin, Loysingafjall and Moskurfjall. These mountains draw tourists for their majestic beauty and wildlife exploration and photography opportunities.

leirvik_nature

Attraction

The Faroes have close traditional ties to Iceland and Greenland, but they are a part of the Danish delegation. Hiking and sailing are very popular adventures to do in the summer time, while enjoying the beautiful landscape.

?Dolphin HuntingWhale and Dolphin hunting has been the tradition for the people of Faroe Islands (located in Denmark) since the 10th century. Approximately there are 17 villages in the Island that have these kind of scenario every year which are authorized to conduct such massacre.

Fishery, fish farming and fish processing are the main industry of the Faroe Islands accounting for more than 97% of Faroese exports. As a fishery nation and one of the world?s largest salmon farming countries, estimated 300,000 whales and dolphins are caught and killed each year).

Fernando de Noronha

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Noronha

Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago made up of one 11-square-mile chunk of volcanic rock and cluster of Island (20 small and 1 main island). The main island, rising to 1,089 feet (332 meters), has an area of 10 square miles (26 square km) and is of volcanic origin. Fernando de Noronha island, 545 km away from the coast of the Brazilian State of Pernambuco, some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, a bit more than 2,000 inhabitants and where the tourism is developed in a sustainable way, creating the opportunity of an equilibrated meeting between man and nature in one of the most important ecologic sanctuaries of the world. Population of Noronha is only 2100. It?s National Marine Park since 1988, in order to protect land and marine vegetation as well as land animals and marine life.

Attractions

The main attraction at Fernando de Noronha is its islands and beaches. Besides Fernando de Noronha itself you can find other 20 islands and you can divide the beaches in two groups: the ones pointing Brazil (10 beaches and a Dolphin golfinhos-noronhaBay) and the ones pointing Africa (4 beaches, lot of swimming pools and one creek).Some famous beach and bays are Sancho beach, Conceicao beach, Cacimba do Padre beach and Golfinhos bay. Noronha is a great place for aquatic sports and also perfect places for diving, surfing and fishing. Noronha is one of the best places in the world for diving due to the clear and calm waters of the sea. The visibility exceeds 40m (120feet) and you can easily see sharks, dolphins, turtles, stingrays and various species of multicolored fishes.

Thornybush Game Reserve, South Africa

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?Game Reserve-

The Thornybush Game Reserve lies of over 10,000 hectares of pristine African Bushveld. The game reserve is situated in the centre of the Lowveld and adjacent to the world-famous Kruger National Park. Thornybush Game Reserve is the home of Big Five and a variety of other African wildlife species. The reserve is predominantly open near year round but best time to visit in April to September.

Thornybush Game Reserve is the ideal destination for the wildlife and safari lover because Thornybush Game Reserve has every thing which is expected by any wild lifer.

Attraction?
Game viewing in Thornybush Game Reserve is of very high standard and one of the best in the world. Thornybush is Game Reservefamous for the big five and is home to more than 60 species of wildlife, including lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo, rhino, hyena and cheetah as well as a multitude of general game, antelope species, giraffe, zebra and incredible birdlife. The reserve is paradise for the birdwatchers, where more than 280 bird species have been recorded. Expert rangers and trackers lead all game activities.

A safari to the Thornybush Game Reserve is unique in that we go off-road to track and find the animals and night safaris using a spotlight are also permitted

The Thornybush Game Reserve offers a variety of camps and lodges. Visitor?s favourite lodges are Chapungu Luxury Tented Camp & Thornybush Main Lodge.

How to reach
?
By Air?
There are daily flights from Johannesburg International to Hoedspruit Airport (also called Eastgate).

By Road
All the Thornybush Game Reserve lodges are accessible via road with a sedan rental car from anywhere in South Africa. Obviously the drive time depends on where you are driving from! To self drive from Johannesburg will take approximately 6 hours

Climate
Summer is very hot, humid and rainy and Winter is cool and dry in the Thornybush Game Reserve.