5 tons of water fall off into the ravine every single moment, roaring, raising steam and disseminating spatter in all directions. ‘Liquid wall’ of Iguazu Falls extends its crescent on the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.
Noise of stream, as if someone forgot to turn off tens of thousands taps, can be heard from the distance of several kilometers to fade in… Finally, a valley filled with numerous cascades (275, to be precise) greets your eyes. Tourists, vested in raincoats, gather on viewing platforms, add amazed exclamations to the sounds of falling water and wonder who has created such beauty.Photo freepik.com
There are a couple of answers to that. Local legend has it that waterfalls are the outcome of unshared feelings of ancient Indians’ supreme god who fell in love with a native woman called Naipi and demanded that the chieftain of the tribe, and concurrently the father of the girl, give him his beloved. The severe father, who didn’t dare to stand up to the “Great One” agreed, of course, despite entreaties of the heiress to leave her alone for she had already got herself a groom, although not a divine one. On reception of a square ‘no’ the couple decided to run away. Their way went through a river. They were oaring in attempts to get to land as soon as possible and hide in impenetrable jungles but the rejected potential husband noticed them, got outraged and put his huge foot down into the river – and this was how the waterfalls emerged. Trivial scheme as for myths: gods + mortals + unhappy love = wonder of nature.Photo steppestravel.com
In opposition to the fairytale, scientists, as always, suggest their own theory. In this case – the one of the falls being volcanogenic. Out of enormous amount of lava high rocks were formed and later rains ‘overfilled’ local river so it started falling over blocks to create a tremendous complex.
“Poor Niagara…” – that’s all that the first lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt managed to utter on visiting the place. Yet, she wasn’t even looking at the entire panorama from a helicopter! For present day’s tourists it won’t be a problem, well, except, perhaps, a financial one – the flight will cost 110 dollars. Those who want not only to see but also to literally ‘feel’ the waterfalls will have to lay out half the price. Tourist boats will take them for a tour along rivers that tons of water fall off into. When speeding together with the rapid flow of Parana that waters on the side of Paraguay, or Iguazu itself, that stems from the territory of Brazil and Argentina, it is as if one is melting in the huge stream and feels like its part.Photo travellocal.com
275 water points of interest are joined by another one… When we were children running out after a summer rain, abruptly replaced with clear weather, we used to admire a colorful arc bestriding the blue sky, not understanding how and why it appeared. When we found out that it is a reflection of sun rays in steam or fog, its mysteriousness in our imagination faded a little. But a rainbow over Iguazu is something special, first of all, because it is there almost all the time, even after dark. Formation of the night ‘septicolored’ is nearly the same as of the day one, only Sun and Moon exchange places to create natural illumination. But particularly religious local Indians perform their rituals, chant praises for the multicolored celestial rim that is believed to be a secret shaman sign…
Ancient Fez medina is firmly holding time in a criss-crossing maze of tiny alleyways and picturesque shops. The medieval town of craftsmen does not recognize modern technology, however, it is not difficult to trace a full production of cute handbag with embossed lettering. The leather for souvenir is produced there, in courtyards, and at a reasonable cost a tannery owner would reveal details of folk art with a millennial history.
Kyrgyzstan is called Middle Asian Switzerland. Mountains, rivers, waterfalls, caves, cols and green meadows aren’t a speck inferior in terms of aesthetics to European ones yet travelers haven't duly appreciated this country so far. Across-the-board exploration of the land by the state’s guests has only just begun. And alongside hotels that are being swiftly erected, ordinary yurts are still offered for residence to feel local natural.
Six million years ago, in faraway Mongolia a deep crater of an extinct volcano was gradually filled to the brims with water, turning into a wonderful lake. Water ran high with gusts of wind, and sparkled in the sun like precious jewel, so no wonder that along with the official name of Hövsgöl Lake, this nature wonder has a more poetic name of the Dark Blue Pearl.
To build a settlement on flatland - is this such a hard trick to pull off? A completely different story is when land is self-willed and rock-ribbed both directly and metaphorically speaking. People have been trying to master land and have own say in in-rock urban development for centuries. But only those who succeded in finding common ground with Earth managed to create true novels in stone.
Finally, one of our favorite categories reached the city, where dollars are considered as the main currency. Thus, we will not have to go around exchange offices and constantly convert prices. So, we go to such a different and exciting New York to spend our 10 dollars.
When I, as a little girl, for the first time passed my hand over trimmed bush, my palm got scratched with sharp edges of twigs and lasting arborvitae fragrance hit my nose. Mesmerized, I was not able to take my eyes away from the cones, balls and squares that surrounded me in the park of a small resort town. I felt like being inside a fairy tale, where behind the leaves I could notice a smile of the Cheshire Cat.
The architecture of temples has interesting and sometimes controversial history. Quite often the novelties and fundamentals of movements in architecture started with the building of temples with sophisticated design. The Polish Roman Catholic churches are rather bright in their beauty.
A function of UNESCO World Heritage Committee is to work in the most careful manner year after year on studying objects that constitute outstanding culture civilizations and are unique in their origins. Under number 569 of an impressive list of the organization city of Gjirokastër, the one from the south of Albania, is located – it is it we are going to study today through the length and breadth.
The Times newspaper edition recognized Ålesund as the most beautiful town in Norway. It is not without reason: wayward sea, mesmerizing northern nature, famous fjords, fabulous multi-coloured houses in the Art Nouveau style and the legendary Trolls' Path, beckon those wishing to see the stunning wild landscapes.
Marina Orlova is a project manager in a cultural and public organization. Working on one of her international projects, she met her love - Wim, a guy from Belgium. She succeeded to visit his country only when Ukraine obtained visa-free regime and Marina shared with OUTLOOK her observations about how the Belgians live, what they eat for breakfast and how they relax.
Iceland is a ‘country of ice and fire’, ‘country of thousand rivers and lakes’, countless waterfalls and geysers. There, like in a fairy tale, again and again, you feel like pinching yourself to check if you are dreaming or does it all really exist…
Impressions of this city depend much on what you have visited before being introduced to it. After Los Angeles it may seem very business-like and culturally rich, after New York – provincial and old-fashioned somehow. In any case, it has a bright and memorable face of a gentleman from Massachusetts.
Lighthouse - this word evokes beautiful associations: sea adventures, storms, huge ships. And we do not want to dispel these thoughts, but rather to add fuel to the fire. There is a great amount of them in the world, they are striking by their beauty and inimitable. Today we are sharing with you the quintet of amazing lighthouses!
Each of us wants to escape rush of a city from time to time and lie low somewhere far from everything and anything. And it better be a place where one can listen to whisper of waves, feel light breeze and forever make friends with inimitably loud silence that muffles every disturbing thought…
Someone compares Jaipur with lace tablecloth; others with a box of pink marshmallows; and some admirers claim this is a hive densely inhabited by bees. However, everyone agrees on one thing: there is the wonderful air full of freedom which cannot be found in Europe. It fills the lungs and breathing it a traveller loses count of hours and even centuries.
As a child I could spend hours gazing at the sky and spying majestic flocks of birds winging their way south. For a kid this movement was a real magic. Today my bookshelf hosts almost no books about magic, though I am still excited about feathered tribes travelling in hope to land on their winter grounds.
Ice and snow has long been used by artists to create different figures and objects, and only 1960, this age-old skill became a new trend of a land art! The largest number of winter artworks is created during special festivals about which we will tell our readers.
On this great holiday for all Christians of the Orthodox rite, we want to present you a video about the holy places of Palestine, namely the city of Bethlehem.
The cold season brings not only such important things as wrapping into a reindeer sweater, drinking hot chocolate and once again reviewing Christmas comedies. Thus, sport has not been canceled yet, so OUTLLOK compiled top five ski resort bucket list for you to cheer up and get out of your winter sleep.