Category Amazing Places

In the 1990s, the rise of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir affected tourism in Gulmarg. With the abatement of terrorism in the area, tourism started to recover in late 1990s. Work on the cable car project between Gulmarg and Apharwat Peak, which was commissioned in 1988 by Government of Jammu and Kashmir but was subsequently abandoned due to militancy in 1990, was resumed in 1998. In May 1998, Phase 1 of the project, between Gulmarg and Kongdori, began its commercial operation. In May 2005, Phase 2 of the project was also inaugurated making it one of the longest and highest rope ways of Asia. The chairlift installed as a part of Phase 3 of the project began its operations in 2011. The National Winter Games were held in Gulmarg in 1998, 2004 and 2008. In 2014, Government of Jammu and Kashmir drafted a Master Plan–2032 for Gulmarg. The plan includes development of a solid-waste treatment plant on 20 acres of land close to Gulmarg.

The first ever Khelo India Winter Games will begin from March 7 at Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir. Around 900 participants will take part in the 5-day event. Organised by Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council in collaboration Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Games will be held in various sports disciplines at famous ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir from March 7 to 11.

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Victoria Falls also known as Mosi-oa-Tunya (‘smoke that thunders’), is a breathtaking waterfall located in Africa. A World Heritage Site, the waterfall is formed as the river Zambezi drops over the edge of a 100m deep chasm. One of the tourist attractions at the Victoria Falls is the Devil’s Pool.

The Devil’s Pool is a naturally formed pool located near the edge of the falls. Every year, when the dry season reduces the water level and makes the current safe, tourists take a dip in the pool and swim as close as possible to the edge of the waterfall.

The Devil’s Pool is definitely not for the faint-hearted. It takes a rocky walk and swim in the Zambezi to reach the pool before slipping into the adrenalin-pumping swimming hole. When people jump or step into the waters they face the terrifying prospect of being pulled by the water currents towards the edge before the rock wall stops them just a few feet away from the 100m fall!

The view from the edge is totally exhilarating as you feel the force of the Zambezi flowing past you and crashing down over the precipice; a hundred metre drop.

Picture Credit : Google

    The Great Wall of China was built in the Third Century B.C. to keep out the raiding Tartars of Mongolia. It is 20 to 30 feet high and 15 to 25 feet wide at the top, with towers 60 feet high every few hundred yards.

   The wall stretches from Shamhaikwan on the yellow Sea to the borders of Kansu and Sinkiang in the west, crossing high mountains and deep valleys. Probably over 500,000 workers were employed to build it. Even today, the wall is in a wonderful state of preservation.

    This marvelous structure is constructed of brick and stones. The sides have battlements-parapets with openings or embrasures through which weapons could be discharged.

   All large cities of China were provided with similar walls, and the gates were closed at night to give the citizens protection against surprise attack. For China has been envied by her neighbors throughout history. Many times these neighbors have invaded the country, seized the capital and begun a new dynasty.

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          The great Flavian Amphitheatre, or Colosseum, was built between A.D. 69 and 81 by the Emperors Vespasian and Titus on the site of an artificial lake in the grounds of Nero’s palace, the Golden House. The name Colosseum was bestowed on it, because of its colossal size, sometime after the 8th century.

         In its full magnificence the Colosseum must have been one of the most imposing buildings in the Roman Empire, a gigantic oval measuring 620 feet by 513 feet with a height of 160 feet. Round the actual arena-287 feet by 180 feet-tiers of marble seats provided accommodation for 50,000 spectators.

          The building was constructed to the house gigantic spectacles organized by the authorities for the entertainment-and distraction-of the public. It became a scene of much bloodshed. Here were staged gladiatorial combats (fights to the death between men) and contests between wild beasts or between men and animals. And here, too, many of the early Christians met martyrdom with a courage that helped greatly to spread their faith.

        The highest tiers of seats and the fourth storey were rebuilt in the 3rd century, and the building was seriously damaged by lightning and earthquakes during Roman times and the middle ages. For hundreds of years this symbol of Roman power was used as a quarry. But even today its ruins form one of the most famous buildings in the world.

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In ancient legends about the Norsemen, Valhalla was the place where all the brave warriors went when they died.

     The kind of man they most admired was one who had great courage and a spirit of adventure. The warriors who went to Valhalla were supposed to lead a very happy life, eating boar’s meat daily and amusing themselves by fighting each other. They were supposed to live in Valhalla till Doomsday, led by Odin, father of the gods, they would march out of the 640 doors of the palace to fight against the giants.