Archive for January, 2010
January 27th, 2010 | 
Author: Though there are many beautiful places to visit in Canada, no other city comes close to Toronto in terms of sightseeing and grandeur. Toronto is easily the most populated city in Canada and is the capital of the province of Ontario. Toronto, with two and a half million citizens, ranks in at number five in the most populated cities in North America. If you include the Golden Horseshoe (the region of Southern Ontario that Toronto is a part of), youve got a whopping eight million people that call the Greater Toronto Area home! This is a quarter of Canadas entire population contained within earshot of Americas Great Lakes.
Toronto commands a very large cache in the global financial sphere and for good reason. The Toronto Stock Exchange is one of the ten largest stock exchanges in the world. The Big Five banks of Canada all call Toronto home and Bay Street, in the Financial District, is known the world over for having some of the most important brokerage firms on the face of the planet. With such wealth, it is little wonder that Toronto is one of the most expensive cities to live in within Canada. This high cost does have an upside, though, as Toronto is one of the safest cities in North America when it comes to crime rates. Much of this has to do with the citys stringent policies regarding gun laws but, regardless, the low incidence of crime is even more remarkable when one considers how diverse the population of Toronto is. No one nationality is dominant in Toronto, though people of European descent (British, Irish, and the like) make up just over half of the population. Nearly a quarter of Toronto is made up of Chinese and South Asian people, and the fact of the matter is that Toronto is incredibly diverse and there is no real majority. This is made even more evident when one sees how multilingual the city is; though English is the dominant language, there are enough French, Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, and many more foreign tongues that the emergency services are able to respond to over one hundred and fifty languages!
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The Umtamvuna Nature Trail is located on the road between Port Edward and Izingolweni approximately twenty minutes drive 
south of Margate, South Africa. This paradise of natural riverine bush and associated plentiful wildlife within the 3257 hectare Umtamvuna Nature Reserve offers a variety of short and long trails that may be taken freely with or without a pre-booked guide. The main geographical feature is the riverine forest that surrounds the high cliffs along the steep sided Umtamvuna River Gorge, as well as the plentiful crystal clear streams that drop down through a variety of sparkling waterfalls.
Mammals that may be seen while following the nature trails include baboons, reedbuck, blesbuck, duiker, serval, caracal and many other smaller mammals. Over two hundred and fifty bird species have been spotted in the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve: these include raptors such as crowned eagles, fish eagles, peregrine falcons, a breeding colony of Cape Vultures, and many others besides. Many different plants abound, including the rarer wild rubber fig, ironwood tree and natal cycad.
Facilities at the entrance gates include toilets, babeque facilities, a map and information leaflets. The Umtamvuna Nature Reserve is only open during the day and no over-nighting is permitted. Health warnings include avoiding visiting on exceptionally hot summer days, taking sunscreen and water with you, and avoiding swimming in the water which may contain bilharzia. With all these wonderful things to see at the end of a short drive from Margate, you’ll need a comfortable bed and a peaceful night’s sleep at the end of the day.
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Steep mountain range, green verdant of tea plantations and splendid backdrop of the Himalayan panorama are premier tourist draw-card of the Darjeeling. It is one of the most important and organized hill resorts in Eastern India perched on the Lesser Himalaya at an average elevation of 2128 meters. Apart from the natural scenic beauty, this place is known for its colonial mansions and churches, Buddhist and Hindu temples, botanical gardens and a zoo of Himalayan fauna. Another internationally known attraction of this place is the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and tea plantation industry.
Fascinating Attractions
Kalimpong: – This is a sleepy town situated on the slope of lush green mountain at an altitude of 1200 meters. The quiet atmosphere, peaceful ambience and natural vistas are the striking features of this place. It is known for the Durpin Dara Observatory which is situated at an altitude of 1402 metres. This observatory offers breathtaking views of the snow capped Himalayan Ranges. It also provides awe-inspiring view of sunrise over the Mt. Kanchenjungha. The well known tourist destinations of this place include Orchid flower nurseries, Mangal Dam, Pedong Monastery and many more. It is a major centre for traditional handicrafts, known for its wood curving, thanka paintings, metal crafts, Tibetian and Leptcha jewellery.
Ghoom:- The indistinguishable attraction of this hilly boondock is the world’s second highest railway station situated at a height of 2,225 meters and the Ghoom monastery. This monastery is one of the holiest places in Darjeeling. The prominent attraction of monastery is the15 ft tall gold polish statue of the Maiterya Buddha (coming Buddha) embedded with precious stones.
Batasia Loop:- It is interesting track-loop on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway between Ghoom and Darjeeling. Steep turn of the Toy Train over hill slopes excellently attract tourist’s attention. This is an engineering splendour where the train corkscrews through a tunnel. During the turn slow puffing Toy Train gives breathtaking view of the lush green valley, which is the most awaited moment of this joy ride. The picturesque beauty of this place makes it a photographer’s paradise. Other attraction of this place is the War Memorial which was constructed in memory of the brave sons of Darjeeling who died for the country. This place also has a very good market where tourists can buy purses, bags and other decorative items made by the local women at reasonable price.
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Visit Ooty - the ‘Queen of Hill Stations in South India’ – at an altitude of 2240 m amidst misty blue hills of the Nilgiris. Offering a number of picturesque picnic spots, Ooty was earlier the popular summer and weekend getaway for the Britishers. Later it emerged as a renowned tourist destination with the establishment of numerous tea estates. A mountain train journey is recommended to guests on a tour to Ooty. This journey lets you explore verdant vegetation, gurgling streams and tea gardens in the nearby regions. The fascinating factors in Ooty that draw tourists from all over the world are:
Botanical Garden
Consisting of regionally exclusive and ornamental plants, the Botanical Garden hosts a huge ‘Flower Show‘ every year in the month of May. A fossil tree trunk dating back to over 20 million years is the major attraction of the garden.
St. Stephen’s Church
Built in 1829, St. Stephen’s Church boasts of being one of the oldest churches in the Nilgiris. The eastern side of the church is adorned with stained-glass paintings, which depict a portrait of Mary holding baby Jesus in her arms and other people with the crucifixion of Christ. The western wall is decorated with a huge painting of the Last Supper.
Government Museum
If you are a history buff, of all the places to visit in Ooty, this museum is an ideal place for you that showcases a number of tribal artifacts, sculptures and crafts of Tamil Nadu.
Ooty Lake
This artificial lake is a wonderful place to enjoy boating with family, friends or partner. Moreover, the lake garden runs toy trains for complete recreation.
Trekking
When it comes to explore the exotic mountain ranges of Ooty and the picturesque landscapes, trekking is unbeatable. Rugged mountainous terrains of the Nilgiris hills offer a wide range of trek routes.
Nature Walk
Nature lovers can spend some quality time in nature walks in several spectacular gardens like the Rose garden.
Hand-Gliding & Angling
Looking for a thrilling experience? Try hand-gliding in Ooty and you will experience the joy of flying high like a bird in the vast expanse of the open sky. You are guided by experts during the activity. While on a relaxing vacation, you can also go for angling as there is an ample scope for fishing in the clean streams and swift flowing rivers of the Ooty hills.
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Kopacki Rit is a nature park located in the eastern part of Croatia, within the Baranja area. It is also situated near the country’s border to Serbia. In 1993, it was designated as a Wetland of International Importance, considered to be the largest of its kind in the continent. This designation stems from the fact that the park supports a large number of wildlife species, including birds, and lush vegetation. Among the birds frequently sighted in the area are wild ducks, wild geese, black storks, white storks, white-tailed eagles, seagulls, terns, and kingfishers. The area also bears the moniker as the pearl of the Drava, being located along the river Drava. This Croatian nature park is home to numerous animal species, even the rare and endangered ones. This has lead to the designation of a part of Kopacki Rit as a special zoological reserve. In fact, a lot of effort and research have been done to document the species living in the area. Another example of the ecological importance of the park is during spring when the flooding of the wetland occurs. It is during this time that freshwater fishes from the Danube river come to the area to spawn. Because of this, Kopacki Rit enjoys a special status granted by the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is also during spring that the whole area comes alive with the cacophony of noise made by thousands of frogs.
Guided Tours – The Best Way To Explore The Park
Most explorations of the park are done through organized tours, where visitors are lead away from some of the dangerous parts of the park. In these parts, de-mining is still an ongoing process. Most of these tours are organized and depart from the city of Osijek, and may include outdoor activities like boating, hiking, and fishing during the designated months. Interested visitors only need to inquire with licensed tour operators to know of the activities awaiting them. Since this park is also located on the confluence of the rivers Drava and Danube, much of the wetland is influenced heavily by these bodies of water. The periodic inundation and recession of water has led to a dynamic landscape of the Kopacki Rit. There are also several lakes that add to the uniqueness of this environment. The biodiversity and unique ecosystem supported by this park are the factors that contribute to its ecological value. After the period of fish spawning, birds flock to the wetland to feast on the smaller fishes and to mate. Animals such as otters and boars also feast on the amphibians and fishes left behind when the water recedes. This is also the time when vegetation proliferates, with the soil rich with minerals left behind by the floodwater. The area is also home to numerous plant species, some of which found nowhere else in Europe and in the world. Though the area has suffered damages due to armed conflicts in the country, there is still no arguing of the ecotourism potential of Kopacki Rit. This fact is well recognized by its local administrators and foreign organizations seeking to preserve this wetland for posterity.
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