Interesting Tourist places and things

**minisoji** · 07-12-2010, 06:56 AM

Most Friendly Zoo

The Lujan Zoo, which is about 70km away from downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina has an entrance fee of $7 (£5) and allows its guests to interact with all of its animals from rabbits to adult male lions.

The tourists have a chance of an extremely close encounters with some of the most dangerous predators in the world. At the Lujan Zoo near Buenos Aires visitors can ride lions, cuddle bears, stroke tigers and feed cheetahs.

Visitors can even pick up the smaller animals and manhandle them at risk to themselves and the creatures. Shockingly there doesn't appear to be much in the way of safety regulations to protect either humans or animals.

Interaction between zookeepers and animals is also very intimate and it's not unusual to see keepers 'playing' in rough and tumble games with the predators

**minisoji** · 07-13-2010, 07:25 AM

Yellow River, China

**minisoji** · 07-13-2010, 11:15 AM

San Pedro de Atacama

San Pedro de Atacama is one of the most visited tourist places in all of Chile. It’s located in the Atacama desert which is the driest place on earth. Yet many unique plants and animals like flamingos, Llamas and Alpacas can be found there. The town is located close to many different and amazing archaeological, geographic and tourist areas. You canvisit such tourist attractions as Pukara (prehispanic fortress) Quitor, Tulor village (over 3,000 years old), the Tatio geysers, theAtacama salt lakes, Moon Valley as well as the picturesque Inca towns of Toconao, Peine, Socaire, Talabre and Caspana.

There are many mummies, known as the Mummies of Atacama, which have been found in this area. The driest of the desert, as well as the isolation and the saltiness of the soil are just some of the factors that helped in the natural mummification of the bodies.

In the middle of the desert you will come across the giant salt lake of Salar de Atacama. It is the world’s third largest salt flat and is inhabited by beautiful pink flamingos. Even if water is present, you should realize that the water would be toxic to humans because it has so much salt.

Some of the highest volcanoes in the South America and amazing volcanic hot springs with falls and pools are also located in theAtacama area. El Tatio Geysers are located more than 4000 meters above the sea level and are spectacular at dawn. You can also dip in the thermal pools of Puritama.

Valle De La Luna, Moon Valley, is a must see for any tourist. You will see breathtaking scenery over the desert area as well as many fascinating canyons, caves and sand dunes. The sunsets of the Moon Vally are unforgettable. Yes, people do “sand board” down the dunes.

**minisoji** · 07-15-2010, 09:08 AM

Petersburg - Russia’s Most Beautiful City

Pushkin’s account of the founding of St Petersburg in “The Bronze Horseman” describes Peter the Great “on a shore by the desolate waves” deciding to “cut a window through to Europe”. The city that arose from the swamps and rivers in the early 18th century became “the grace and wonder of the northern lands”. These walks visit two sites that date back to thecity's earliest days.

The Russian Versailles - Distance: about 5km

West of the city, surrounded by beautiful gardens on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, the palaces and fountains of Peterhof (pronounced “Petergof”) make an ideal venue for a stroll and picnic. Officially called Petrodvorets (“Peter’s Palace” sincePeter the Great originally had the palaces built here), the park has been dubbed the “Russian Versailles”.
The golden Neptune fountain is the focal point of the Upper garden with its neat, radiating avenues. Walk straight ahead and right round the gold-domed Grand Palace, reflected in the ponds.

The golden cascade of fountains lines the hillside down towards the sea. The central figure of Samson wrestling the lion represents Russia’s victory over Sweden. Walking on along the canal, past the sphinx-guarded Voronikhinsky Colonnade, turn left across the bridge towards the fountain of Adam set among summerhouses and the hedges of a “labyrinth”.
Go on along this avenue and left around the pond, passing more fountains, the 19th century Lion Cascade and the “Golden Hill”, to reach the Marly Palace, surrounded by bridges and flowerbeds. Turn right and right again back along the tree-lined embankment (great views) to the ornate Hermitage.

Go on along the seashore to the pier where the hydrofoils from St. Petersburg arrive. Beyond the canal, past idyllic woodland ponds, wild flowers and a lighthouse, you soon reach the elegant waterside Monplaisir Palace. The first wing of the palace that you reach was designed by the architect Francesco Rastrelli for the Empress Elizabeth, while the bathhouse on the far side was added by Giacomo Quarenghi in 1800.

Turn inland past yet more fountains and summerhouses to reach a statue of Peter the Great. Higher up, the “chess cascade” of fountains is patterned in black and white with statues of dragons. Walk left through the woods and right past the gothic mansions of a local sanatorium to reach the road where regular buses will take you back into town.

Warlike capital - Distance: about 1.5km
The oldest building in St Petersburg is the huge granite-walled Peter and Paul Fortress on its island in the Neva. Built by Peter the Great in 1703 to protect the yet-unbuilt city from attacking Swedes, its cannons remained more symbolic than martial.
A cannon is still fired at noon every day. In Pushkin’s words: “O warlike capital/ I love the smoke and thunder of your fortress…”

The Peter and Paul Cathedral, with its golden spike of a spire, has an unbelievably baroque interior, including the chapel where Tsar Nicholas II and his family are buried. Heading towards the far end of the fortress and bearing left, you reach the pentagonal Trubetskoi Bastion.

When you’re tired of museums, try walking along and outside the battlements. The days are already long in St Petersburg in the run up to the “white nights” so you have plenty of time to enjoy the evening light from the west-facing “beach”.
You can also take a boat from the Water bus stop and sail away up the Neva under the never-setting sun…

**minisoji** · 07-16-2010, 05:21 AM

400-Meter High Mount Roraima

Mount Roraima is a pretty remarkable place. It is a tabletop mountain with sheer 400-metre high cliffs on all sides. There is only one ‘easy’ way up, on a natural staircase-like ramp on the Venezuelan side – to get up any other way takes and experienced rock climber. On the top of the mountain it rains almost every day, washing away most of the nutrients for plants to grow and creating a unique landscape on the bare sandstone surface. This also creates some of the highest waterfalls in the world over the sides (Angel falls is located on a similar tabletop mountain some 130 miles away). Though there are only a few marshes on the mountain where vegetation can grow properly, these contain many species unique to the mountain, including a species of carnivorous pitcher plant.

**minisoji** · 07-17-2010, 09:31 AM

The Mitchell Corn Palace - South Dakota

As the only corn palace in the world, the Mitchell Corn Palace attracts over 500,000 visitors every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in South Dakota.

The Mitchell Corn Palace is not a palace made of corn, as many assume when hearing its name, but it is almost completely covered with it. The Arab-looking structure is adorned with Crop Art, specifically murals made from corn and other cereal.

**minisoji** · 07-20-2010, 06:46 AM

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the most popular palaces of Germany, situated in southwest Bavaria. It dates back to the 19th-century, when it was constructed on a rugged hill near Hohenschwangau and Füssen. It was built under the aegis of Ludwig II of Bavaria, who wanted it to serve as his retreat and as homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. Counted amongst the most visited tourist destinations of Germany, Neuschwanstein Castle opened to the general public only in the year 1886.

Interesting Facts About Neuschwanstein Castle

* The foundation stone of Neuschwanstein Castle was laid down on 5th September 1869.

* Christian Jank, a theatrical set designer and not an architect, was the designer of the castle.

* Public photography is not permitted inside the periphery of Neuschwanstein Castle. However, it is still the most photographed building in Germany.

* It is estimated that around 1.3 million people visit the caste annually, with the number of summer visitors being as high as 6,000 per day.

* Neuschwanstein Castle was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland Park.

* The castle is under the ownership of the state of Bavaria, which has spent more than €14.5 million on its maintenance, renovation and visitor services, since 1990.

* The conception of Neuschwanstein Castle was outlined by Ludwig II, in a letter to Richard Wagner, dated May 13, 1868.

* The castle was initially known as New Hohenschwangau Castle. It was only after the death of Ludwig II that it was re-named Neuschwanstein.

* Neuschwanstein Castle comprises of a gatehouse, a Bower, the Knight's House - with a square tower, and a Palas or citadel - with two towers to the Western end.

* The castle is featured on the cover of the Blur single "Country House".

* 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' and 'The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm' are amongst the movies in which the Neuschwanstein Castle has been featured.

* The castle has been heavily featured in the video game 'The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery'.

* Neuschwanstein Castle is all set to appear on a €2 commemorative coin, for the German Bundesländer series, in 2012.

* The castle was one of the finalists in the selection of the New Seven Wonders of the World.

* Neuschwanstein Castle is the most famous of three royal palaces built for Louis II of Bavaria.

* The Throne Room of the castle, created as the Grail-Hall of Parsifal, has been designed as per Byzantine style. Inspired by the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (now Istanbul), the throne room is 2-storied and is adorned with pillars of imitation porphyry and lapis lazuli.

* The towers and spires of Neuschwanstein Castle are reminiscent of the castles of medieval times.

* The Singer's Hall, a copy of the Minstrels Hall of the Wartburg Castle, occupies the entire 4th floor of the castle.

* Exquisite chandeliers can be seen adorning the interiors of Neuschwanstein Castle.

* The bedroom in the castle is carved in the Neo-Gothic style. It is said that it took 4.5 years to build this room.

**minisoji** · 07-22-2010, 06:41 AM

Maho Beach- Netherlands

Maho Beach is a beach situated in St Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles, on the Dutch side of the island. The location is known worldwide because of the Princess Juliana International Airport that is situated immediately adjacent to the beach.

Maho Beach is world famous and with good reason! Nowhere else can you get as close to aircraft landing on their final approach; not just small aircraft but 747 jumbos arriving on international routes. In fact, 'plane spotters' are drawn to Sint Maarten just for the thrill of being so close.

Incoming air traffic is known to have to touch down as close as possible to the beginning of runway 10 due to the short runway length of 2,180 metres/7,152 ft, resulting in low-flying aircraft on their final approach over the beach. Due to these low flying airplanes (including large passenger airliners such as the Boeing 747), the location is very popular with plane spotters.

**minisoji** · 07-23-2010, 04:57 AM

Freetown Christiania- Denmark

The Freetown of Christiania is a self-governing neighborhood in Copenhagen, Denmark's capital city, where the people actually live freely. Chritiania was created in 1971, and consists of the old Barracks and parts of the city ramparts.

After the barracks were abandoned by the military, the area was simply taken over by the locals in the surrounding neighborhoods, as a playground for their children. This was actually a protest against the Danish government of that time, started by the article of one Jacob
Ludvigsen.