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Top10VacationDestinations

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VacationDestinations

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The Himalayas

The colossal Himalayan Mountains form a border between the Indian subcontinent and the rest of Asia. !e Himalayas are the world’s

tallest mountains, towering more than "ve miles above sea level. Himalaya means “home of snow” because the tallest peaks of the Himalayas are always capped with snow.!e Himalayas include Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. Ever-est rises 29,028 feet above sea level on the border between India and Nepal. No plant life grows near the mountain’s peak

due to powerful winds, extremely cold tem-peratures, and a lack of oxygen. Many adven-turous people attempt to climb Everest every year. O#en their venture ends in sick-ness or death. Most people are unable to breathe 20,000 feet above sea level be-cause there is not enough oxygen in the atmosphere.

VeniceThe city of Venice, Italy, is simply

stunning and completely unique. Founded more than 1,500 years ago on 117 di$erent islands, Ven-

ice is linked by a series of over 150 canals, 400 bridges and many ancient pavements. !e historic city centre of Venice is divid-ed into six quarters (sestieri) - Cannaregio, Castello, Dorsoduro, San Marco, San Polo and Santa Croce. All buildings in Venice are supported on slender oak and pine piles (posts) which are driven deep into the ground to create a solid foundation.

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The Amazon RiverThe Amazon is the greatest

river in the world by so many measures; the volume of water it carries to the sea

(approximately 20% of all the fresh-water discharge into the oceans), the area of land that drains into it, and its length and width. It is one of the longest rivers in the world and, de-pending upon who you talk to, is any-where between 6,259km/3,903mi and 6,712km/4,195mi long.

Machu PiccuMachu Picchu stands 2,430 m

above sea-level, in the middle of a tropical mountain forest, in an extraordinarily beautiful setting.

It was probably the most amazing urban cre-ation of the Inca Empire at its height; its gi-ant walls, terraces and ramps seem as if they have been cut naturally in the continuous rock escarpments. !e natural setting, on the eastern slopes of the Andes, encompasses the upper Amazon basin with its rich diversity of %ora and fauna. Standing 2,430 m above sea level, in the midst of a tropical mountain forest in an extraordinarily beautiful setting, Machu Picchu was probably the most amaz-

ing urban creation of the Inca Empire at its height.

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Measure out: one part Hol-lywood; six parts tra&c; a bunch of rich pow-er-moguls; stir in half a

dozen colonial relics (use big ones); pour in six heaped cups of poverty; add a smattering of swish bars and restaurants (don’t skimp on quality here for best results); equal parts of may-hem and order; as many ancient bazaars as you have lying around; a handful of Hin-duism; a dash of Islam; fold in your mix-ture with equal parts India; throw it all in a blender on high (adding generous helpings of pollution to taste) and presto: Mumbai.

Mumbai

But not everyone made the guest list: more than half of the population lives in slums, and religious-based social unrest tugs at the skirt of Mumbai’s "nancial excess. It is the country’s "nancial powerhouse and its vogue centre of fashion, "lm and af-ter-dark frolics.

AmsterdamWhether winter or summer,

there are plenty of activities along the banks of the rivers to suit all seasons. Perhaps

the simplest pleasure of all is just sitting and watching the world %oat by! Spot tug boats, barges carrying coal, police boats, river cruisers, pleasure boats, and house boats. Incidentally, this is a great (and free) way to entertain children of all ages!

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Dublin

Decadent, delightful and full of surprises, Dublin packs a punch that, delivered correctly, will leave you reeling but still wanting more.

!at’s big talk for a small capital.Dubliners don’t mind a bit of hyperbole, especially if it’s to ‘big up’ their own beloved burg. Yet Dubs can also be brutally unsen-timental about the place, which mightn’t come across as sexy or as sultry as other European capitals, but aren’t pretty things as easy to like as they are to forget? Dublin, they’ll tell you, has personality, which is way more important than good looks, and will last far longer.Which isn’t to say that Dublin can’t do pret-ty. An amble through the landscaped parks corralled by the city’s rich Georgian heritage is enough to make anyone’s head turn, while even half a peek at the city’s myriad cultural o$erings will show that it has pedigree too, these days expressed as much through its

recently acquired multicultural cosmopoli-tanism as through its own traditional forms.Yet Dublin’s most enduring quality can be found in Dubliners themselves, both na-tive-born and blown-in. Garrulous, amiable and witty, Dubliners at their ease are the greatest hosts of all, a charismatic bunch whose soul and sociability are so com-pelling and infectious that at some point during your visit you could "nd yourself wondering if you could possibly "gure out a way of staying here permanently. And if you can’t, don’t worry: it’ll still be here when you come back.

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Grand Canyon

The north rim of the Canyon is sometimes referred to as the “oth-er” Grand Canyon. It’s a di$erent world up there on the north side.

!e scenery is di$erent, the climate is dif-ferent, the plants and animals are di$erent and even the people are di$erent.

!is is the part of the Grand Canyon that the wild west never le#. It is still very wild up there on the north side and the reason for that is probably because the place is so isolated. From the south rim, as the crow %ies, the north rim is only 12 miles away,

Cape Town

Cape Town and the Western Cape with its warm balmy summer days and mild winters is a year round business and leisure des-

tination which draws visitors back to its breathtaking shores time and time again. Add in friendly and welcoming locals, diverse cultures and scenery to die for and

you’re guaranteed a visit to remember! Cape Town and the Western Cape are undoubtedly regarded as among the most beautiful places to visit in the world. Rich in contrasting regions like the Overberg, the Cape

Winelands, the Klein Karoo, and the West Coast that present variations in weather, landscape and activities that encompass hiking, wine tasting, whale watching and helicopter %ips, the Western Cape has a distinctive appeal. Good-looking, fun-loving, sporty and sociable.

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Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, which boasts nearly 95 percent designat-ed Wilderness, is a 195-mile es-cape from urban San Francisco or

a 315-mile journey from Los Angeles. !e expansive park’s 747,956 acres or

1,169 square miles are home to hundreds of wildlife spe-cies and thousands of Yosem-ite plants. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1984, Yosemi-te is known for its granite cli$s, waterfalls, clear streams, giant sequoia groves and biological diversity. Two Wild & Scenic Rivers, the Tuolumne and Mer-

ced rivers, begin in the park and %ow west

to the Central Valley. Visitors experience the park’s 800 miles of hiking trails and 282 miles of road.Yosemite supports more than 400 species of vertebrates, including "sh, amphibians, rep-tiles, birds, and mammals. Insects abound as well, with the recent discovery of two species not believed to exist anywhere else in the world. !e high diversity of animal species falls in line with striking elevational gradient and topographic variability of the park. Move up or down in elevation and feel as though you are in another park. Vegeta-tion changes from oak woodlands to chap-arral scrublands to lower montane to upper montane to subalpine to alpine.