Placearama

On the fringes of the formidable Thar Desert lies the Neemrana Fort Palace hotel, India’s oldest heritage hotel. Built in 1464, this was the 3rd capital of the descendants of Prithivraj Chauhan III (A famous ruler killed in a battle with the invader Muhammad Ghori in 1192). Neemrana stands on a hill in ten levels, and is an imposing combination of whaleback roofs, jharokhas (carved windows), jaalis (stone filigree screens), and balconies.  A ruin till it was renovated by French experts in the 1990s, Neemrana blends medieval and modern, East and West. The rooms, each one unique, are scattered across the entire palace.    [text source: igougo.com]

More info at Wikipedia.    Also, a nice slideshow of the renovation of the hotel (in 1991) is locatated at archnet.org.

The hotel’s main site (for more information or for bookings) is here.

Credit:  Niels J. Hoffmeyer Source:  panoramio.com

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The Chillon Castle (Château de Chillon) is located on the shore of Lake Geneva, at the eastern end of the lake, near Montreux, Switzerland. The castle consists of 100 independent buildings that were gradually connected and now form a single whole.

The oldest parts of the castle have not been definitively dated, but the first written record of the castle is in 1160 or 1005.   From the mid 12th century, the castle was home to the Counts of Savoy, and it was greatly expanded in the 13th century by Pietro II.  The Castle was never taken in a siege, but did change hands through treaties.   (from Wikipedia)

Tours are available and the Castle is also available for special functions (see their official site).

Credit:  mairabc Source:  flickr.com

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The California Academy of Sciences is one of the ten largest museums of natural history in the World. Remodeled in 2008, it is also one of the newest in the United States.  It is located in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, USA. (Wikipedia Article)

Credit: Tim Griffith Source:  archdaily.com

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Just 60 km south of Berlin, the German capital city, Tropical Islands Dome is a converted airship hangar that is now home to the Worlds largest indoor rainforest, a complete Tropical village with authentic houses, shops and restaurants, white sand beaches, a Balinese lagoon and Tropical sea for bathing – plus Germany’s highest water slide.  (Link to official site:  www.tropical-islands.de)

More information can be found on Wikipedia.

If you’d like to book a vacation here, why not try Sun Kiss Travel (their images used in this post, but no compensation received.)

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Mount Roraima is the highest of a group of table-top mountains, known as tepuis, in South America.

Reference:  Wikipedia

1600 x 1200  jpeg   263 KB   Credit: Jacek Staroszczyk Source: acaracas.blogspot.com

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Autana, the tree of life, is a spectacular tepui located in the Amazonas state in Venezuela. It stands 1,220 m (4,000 f) above sea level. A unique cave runs from one side of the mountain through the other.

1600 x 1097  jpeg   411 KB   Credit: Franfor Source: picassaweb.google.com

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Conguillío National Park is located in the Andes, in the provinces of Cautín and Malleco, in the Araucanía Region of Chile. Its name derives from the Mapuche word for “water with Araucaria seeds”. This national park covers about 608 square kilometers.

Among the attractions in the park are the Llaima volcano, Sierra Nevada and wild landscapes characterized by islands of vegetation completely surrounded by vast areas of basaltic to andesitic lava flows.  Wikipedia Article

3072 x 2304  jpeg   1.82 MB   Credit: Rocheer Source: panoramio.com

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Invernadero de Atocha (literally “Atocha’s Greenhouse“) is a tropical botanical garden in Atocha railway station (Madrid, Spain)

3264 x 2448 jpeg   4.08 MB   Credit: Daderot Source: wikimedia.org

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3648 x 2397 jpeg   3.11 MB   Source: panoramio.com Credit: TARO_0616

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More information on this very interesting community in Copenhagen may be found here: Wikipedia.org

Multiple Resolutions   Source: flickr.com Credit: seier+seier+seier

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