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By Gemma Earnshaw
Ever since the man could walk, he traveled. At first, we
traveled to escape harsh climate and find food, but as we
evolved, we started traveling for fun. Thus appeared travel
destinations and travel guides. As time passed, more and more
people started traveling to various locations, for the
landscape, traditions and thrills.
Here are a few travel locations that are sure to give you your
thrills and kicks, somewhat like a top five, I guess, but
don’t
trust me - go check them out yourself out!
1. Himalaya
By far the greatest mountain range in the world, the Himalaya
have captured the imagination of philosophers, mystics,
mountaineers and empire builders from the earliest ancestors
of
contemporary Hindus and Buddhists to the present day. Mount
Kailash, home of the greatest of the gods, and Meru, centre of
the Hindu and Buddhist universe, rise from their surrounding
ridges of the central Himalaya. From the high slopes to the
foothills, people have carved out an often-meager existence in
the harshest of environments with determination, subtlety and
imagination enriched by powerful cultural identities. Tribal
peoples living often at high altitudes have made their living
from their tough environment through trade over the highest
passes in the world, while farmers have developed agriculture
on the man-made terraces of the warmer, lower-lying valleys
and
hills of the southern ranges. Although the mountain
environment
gives a common character to the whole region, each hamlet has
its own identity. The villages of the arid high-altitude
plateau of Ladakh could scarcely be more different from the
homesteads of the monsoon forests of Arunachal Pradesh.
2. Kilimanjaro Climb
Just three degrees south of the Equator is the 5,895m
(19,340ft) high, permanently snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro,
Africa’s highest mountain. It offers one of the best
opportunities in the world to climb a peak at high altitude
without needing technical climbing ability. Any normally fit,
healthy person prepared for some physical exertion and
exercise
should be able to complete the ascent to Uhuru Peak, which
involves approximately 70 kilometers of walking in total, and
no technical climbing.
3. Torres Del Paine in Patagonia, Chile
Near the fjord area of Tierra Del Fuego and the Beagle Channel
one may visit the famous Torres Del Paine National Park on the
southern edge of the Patagonia Ice Cap. The area is easy to
get
to from Punta Arenas with transportation of buses, taxis and
minibuses. It is possibly the most famous national park in
South America with 60,000 visitors last season. It is some 100
km north of Puerto Natales. A 2422 sq. km park was given the
World Heritage status in 1978 by UNESCO.
It gets it's name from three wonderful and very prominent
polished columns of pink granite, the Towers of Paine (Torres
Del Paine).
Here you may go backpacking and trekking, or you can join
programs to do the mountain climbing as well. Nandu and
Guanaco
(Ostrich and Alpaca like animals) are frequently seen in the
park refuge. There is a broad diversity of fauna y flora.
Backpackers should have experience with overnight trips in
rough country; those who desire to make ascents should have
mountaineering ice and snow climbing experience.
4. Amboseli Safari
Amboseli National Park is one of Kenya’s most popular parks
because of the stunning view it displays of nearby Mount
Kilimanjaro, the world’s tallest freestanding mountain. When
you go on your Amboseli Safari, be sure to get the famous
photograph of elephants with the unforgettable views of
Kilimanjaro in the background!
Streams from Kilimanjaro surface in the centre of Amboseli,
creating swamps that attract and support a rich diversity of
wild animals and birdlife.
As Amboseli is easily accessible, it forms a popular part of
many of our safari itineraries.
Amboseli is one of the smaller game parks in Kenya and the
vegetation ensures that the animals are easy to spot. Lions
can
easily be found and can occasionally be watched stalking their
prey.
Buffalo, zebra, giraffe, gazelle and other plains game are
plentiful in the park and hippos live in the open waters and
swamp channels. The elephants found here are surprisingly
relaxed around safari vehicles; they were largely unaffected
by
ivory poaching and have some of the largest tusks.
Nothing beats the experience of adventure travel, so pack up
your rucksack and give it a go!
About The Author: Gemma Earnshaw is editor of
www.bctraveladventure.com - a website dedicated to
providing adventure travel resources.
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