The Brihadishwara Temple at Thanjavur, India is the world’s first complete granite temple by patron RajaRaja Chola I. The temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Great Living Chola Temples”. The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were probably added in the 16th century.

The ‘Vimana’ – or the temple tower – is 66 m high, the Kalash or ‘Shikhara’ (apex or the bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is of monolithic granite weighing 81.25 tons. There is a big statue of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet long and 13 feet high. The entire temple structure is made out of hard granite stones, a material sparsely available currently in Thanjavur area where the temple is located. The surrounding shrines has a number of Shivlingas. It is still a place of worship. One can have ‘laddu’ as prasad from the temple counter.

Since ancient times, Miyajima, the island itself, has been worshipped as a god. This belief, passed down from generation to generation, has protected Itsukushima Shrine, many other shrines and temples as well as the island’s unique culture, and its sacred nature. Renowned for being a world cultural heritage site today, Miyajima is an island where people and gods dwell together. Located off the coast of Hiroshima, the serene beauty of the island is an essential coda to that city.

Miyajima has been considered a holy place for most of Japanese history. In 806 AD, the monk K?b? Daishi ascended Mt. Misen and established the mountain as an ascetic site for the Shingon sect of Buddhism. In the years since, the island’s Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines have maintained a close relationship.
In the past, women were not allowed on the island and old people were shipped elsewhere to die, so that the ritual purity of the site would not be spoiled; in fact, the island’s real name is Itsukushima (??), and Miyajima is just a popular nickname meaning “Shrine Island”.
These days, strict measures are taken to ensure that the island’s sole town retains a classically Japanese Edo-era look. Deer wander freely through the streets and parks. There are still a few bits of concrete warren that have snuck in, but the seafront promenade is particularly attractive, especially later in the day when the rampaging tour groups head home and the stone lanterns are lit.

The floating torii gate

One of the landmarks on Miyajima, Japan, besides the main gate of the Itsukushima Shrine, is a five-story tall pagoda called, unimaginatively enough, “five-storied Pagoda” (In Japanese: ???, gojyuunodou). There are a number of large pagodas on the island, but this particular one is centrally located on relatively high ground, so it gets all the glory.

One of Portugal‘s most beautiful hotels is the former monastery of St. John the Baptist founded in 1485. The magnificence if the manueline, gothic building is revealed only once you pass through the relatively simple baroque facade. The monastery was disbanded in 1834 and the building put to various uses, including housing conscripts, but in 1965 it became one of the Portugal’s historic state inns or pousadas.

The guests sleep in thirty-one well-appointed monks’ cells. There is no longer communal washing in the lavatorium, however every third cell has been divided in two to make bathrooms for the rooms on either side. The dining room is on the lower level of the two-story former cloister, next to the sacristy, with its stunning double-horsehoe manueline door. The restaurant offers Alentajano specialties, such as Porco preto ham and typical desserts include pao de rala. Naturally the emphasis is on the red and white wines of the Alentejo region. Splash out and try Pera Manca, Evora’s most prestigious wine.

staying at dos Loios gives visitors a chance to explore the World Heritage site of Evora. Its whitewashed buildings covered in blue tiles suggest very little has changed here since the eighteenth century. Location: Evora, Portugal.

La Bandita is a Tuscan farmhouse, with light white spaces and modernist infinity pool overlooking a Val d’Orcia nature reserve. This is a chic urban place, full of fresh air and clean space, contemporary furniture, and bold slabs of pure colour. No frills, no clutter, no rough edges and not a hint of wrought iron. The owner is a New Yorker escapee John Voigtmann, who has worked with Christina Aguilera.

Each white room is washed up with stencils of colour – red or green trims on white pillow-slips, for example or textured walls of resin cement in deep shades (yellow for sunlight, blue for bathrooms, red for fireplaces). And there is natural colour too: squares of warm sunlight cast on pale surfaces, or picture windows that frame a true-blue sky, a perfect landscape. They are all furnished in the same style with extra-high ceilings, extra-large walk-in showers, baths and air-conditioning.

There is no restaurant in the area, so the chef David Mangan is on hand to rustle up lunch or dinner on request. He and John serve a relaxed ‘family-style’ meal twice a week – when the mood takes them (for new arrivals, possibly, or last nighties). On warm evenings, dinner is served at a long candlelit table under the pergola on the terrace. If you want a more intimate dinner, somewhere more private, just ask. Breakfast features a healthy selection of whole-grain cereals (granola, muesli), seasonal fruit smoothies or fruit salads, yoghurt and, when it’s hot, iced lattes.

The village, where is villa sited is a UNESCO World Heritage site, consisted a wonderful collection of 15th—16th century buildings, a charming piazza, the Gardens of Piccolomi, and narrow streets of touristy shops. When you feel a bit tired John’s wife could refresh your mood. She is a yoga instructor and is available for private classes for all levels. Or have a massage with a therapist. The hotel is also within easy distance of the medieval hot springs at Bagno Vignoni, or southern Tuscany’s wine capitals, Montalcino and Montepulciano.

Location: near Pienza, south of Siena, in Southern Tuscany, Italy. When to go: Spring, summer or autumn (La Bandita is closed from November to 15 March).  Go out of season for cooler weather and fewer tourists, in spring for lambs, and autumn for the wine harvest.

Constructed in the style of the old Han and Tang dynasties, the Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel is a remarkable architectural accomplishment, as well as a contemporary reminder of the grandeur of centuries past. It is also conveniently situated just a ten-minute drive from the center of Dunhuang, an oasis town west of Xian on the edge of the Gobi Desert.

Long corridors typical of Han design and Tang dynasty touches, such as large roofs with extensive eaves, all surround a traditionally enclosed courtyard. The hotel is conveniently situated close to some of the most significant religious and historic sites in China, including the World Heritage-listed Magao Grottoes, hundreds of caves carved into a 4,250-foot- (1,6000-m-) long cliff face and containing a priceless collection of Buddhist statuary, manuscripts, and murals.

The beautiful Mingsha sand dunes, famous for the ‘singing’ they produce when graced by Turpan‘s desert winds, and Crescent Moon Lake, which they surround, are just a short walk from the hotel. The view of the dunes can be had from the expansive rooftop patio, a perfect vantage point from which to witness the spectacular sunsets while you imagine ancient camel trains heading westward to trade spices and cloth with the nations of Europe.

Location: Dunhuang, Gansu, China.

Situated in the South Pacific Ocean, 700km north-east of Sydney, Australia. Lord Howe Island is a small, breathtakingly beautiful island, just 11 km long and 2.8 km at its widest point. Included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, the island is bordered by a reef-fringed lagoon, rolling surf, and the world’s southern most coral reef. Capella Lodge is the only Lord Howe Island accommodation with lagoon, mountain and ocean views.

 The spacious suite interiors are designed to capture the mood of a sophisticated beach house. All suites feature en-suite with bath and dump shower, king beds, superior cotton linen and towels, daily housekeeping and evening turn-down service, beach towels, bathrobes, premium toiletries, iron, hairdryer, CD player, television, DVD player, telephone, room bar, ceiling fan, backpacks or beach bags and snorkeling gear.

 Facilities: Bar on Premises, Restaurant, Bicycle Hire, Communal Lounge, Day Spa, Pool – Heated, Library, Resort Shop.

 The Capella Spa will make sure your vacation is a relaxing one with yoga, reiki massage, and several luxurious face and body treatments. The Dreaming is a 3 hour complete face and body treatment which includes Mala Mayi exfoliation and body wrap, Kodo massage.

Island activities include swimming, canoeing, cycling, golf, tennis, glass bottom boat rides, mountain climbing, hand feeding fish and scenic flights.

In 1309, the Grand Master Sigfried von Feuchtwangen moved the capital of the Teutonoic Order from Venice to a monastery at Malbork. The fortified monastery, constructed in the preceding three decades, was due for redevelopment. The subsequent periods of construction only truly finished with the purchase of the castle by the Polish king in 1457, by which time the fortress had become the most powerful in Europe. Photo by: roj czech

It is divided into three main sections, the High, Middle, and low Castles. The High Castle is an extraordinary fortress defended by multiple circuits of moats and curtain walling dotted with numerous towers. The Middle Castle consist of the former bailey converted into residential quarters, the Infirmary, the fan-vaulted Great Refectory, and the Great Masters’ Residence. The caste underwent a further program of improvements that took another century to complete, involving enlargement of the Low Castle area, which included St. Lawrence’s Church, workshops, an armory, stables, and other buildings. Photo by: LeszekZadlo

The complex is beautifully executed in brick with figurative friezes, fine windows traceries, and sculpted portals, all built in an imposing scale. Malbork Castle is one of the largest brick structures ever built, and was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Location: Malbork, Poland. Photo by: LeszekZadlo

A stunning seventeenth-century colonial harbor town on Brazil‘s Costa Verde, Paraty is a perfectly preserved UNESCO World Heritage site. Paraty meaning ”river of fish” in the Tupi language, was founded in 1667. The town’s growth was based on its location at the end of the Gold Trail connecting Rio and Europe to the gold mines in Minas Gerais by the sea. Photo by: Rodrigo_Soldon

After the gold business ended, Paraty became the center of the famous Brazilian rumlike drink, cachaca. The town became so synonymous with the drink that for a while the beverage was known as a Paraty. Today it is beautiful town surrounded by a tropical forest and remote beaches. Photo by: Claudio Barbosa

Wander the colorful, cobbled, car-free streets where horses and carts still make deliveries and take in jaw-droppingly beautiful architecture. Churches like the Capela de Santa Rita or the Igreja Matriz da Nossa Senhora dos Remedios are immaculately preserved. Admire the pastel-painted homes and the riot of color that are the shop fronts flaunting bright hammocks. Photo by: Eriberto Almeida Jr

Paraty is all about food, music, and, of course, cachaca. Try the local cuisine: fish and banana gratin or banana-and-cheese-stuffed squid in coconut milk. Spend the night in any of the basic yet beautiful pousadas: simple rooms with antiques and local art on display. With no motels or fast food outlets to be seen, this is a low-key as it gets. Although quite and remote it is not undiscovered. Mick Jagger, Linda Evangelista and Tom Cruise have all been known to visit this world and nobody cannot blame them. Photo by: neofito

Photo by: André Pipa

On the edge of a small fishing village in the heart of a natural park, Picinguaba Pousada is a relaxing hotel in a former colonial mansion run by unpretentious Brazilian couple. It sits on the stunning Costa Verde (green coast), a UNESCO World Heritage Site full of spectacular landscapes. Photo by: Jacada Travel

The ten comfortable rooms are decorated with Brazilian native art. Each has a balcony with a hammock and views onto lush subtropical gardens. It is an excellent place to disconnect because there are no television, no Internet access, and no cell phone signal. Ceiling fans and natural sea breeze provide all the air-conditioning needed. Photo by: hiddenpousadasbrazil

Lounge by the pool on the deck by the ocean or enjoy massages carried out in a linen-draped pavilion in the gardens. Guests are encouraged to enjoy drinks and canapes together at night, although flexibility is paramount and you can eat breakfast late, or ask for a dinner in a different settings. Organic food is served buffet-style using locally sourced fruit and vegetables. Fish is specialty, from seviche to Picanha Churascos, a South American barbecue. Photo by: hiddenpousadasbrazil

The adventurous can borrow the hotel’s kayaks and cross the bay to Praia Fazenda, a deserted 3 km stretch of gorgeous beach ideal for walking. Guided treks, surfing classes, fishing, diving and boat trips to deserted island can be arranged. For a taste of town life, there are eateries, street markets and classy boutiques a twenty-five-minute drive away in the colonial port of Paraty. Alternatively, stay in your bikini and sip the house lemonade while daydreaming. Photo by: indexorama

Photo by: cwipp33

Photo by: hiddenpousadasbrazil

Fernando de Noronha is one of Earth’s peerless places. It was a stop on Charles Darwin’s famous 1839 Beagle expedition, become a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001 (with nearby Rocas Atoll), and is one of Brazil‘s top scuba-diving spots, with spectacular flora and fauna. Its environmental fragility means it is monitored by Brazil’s Environmental Protection Agency. Visitors are limited to 700 a day, and Fernando de Noronha‘s sixteen beaches are kept immaculate with clear waters giving visibility of up to 50 m. Photo by: alexrobinsonlightbox

Pousada Maravilha has only eight exclusive rooms (five bungalows and three deluxe apartments), with huge beds, outdoor showers (and bamboo hammocks), Japanese hot tubes, and furniture from top Brazilian designers Artefacto. The infinity pool is one of the few places, you may actually see a fellow guest before having a dinner that has been lovingly prepared by chef Adriana Sala. Organized activities include guided island tours, scuba diving, surfing, and the magical experience of watching baby Green Sea turtles hatch on the beach in the middle of velvet night, just as Darwin did almost two hundred years ago. Photo by: Zumk

Photo by: ngaala

Understated luxury in the order of the day at Hospes Palacio del Bailio. Hidden among the narrow backstreets of the ancient city of Cordoba, the beautiful hotel is housed in a sixty-century mansion that has also served as a military headquarters and a stables.

Like many Andalucian buildings, it is set around a central courtyard in the Moorish style, this one filled with the tangy scent of citrus from the immaculately orange and lemon trees and the soothing trickle of an eighteenth-century stone fountain. As well as being stunning the hotel conceals a rare treasure: the remains of a Roman house, discovered by chance by a previous owner.

Today the remains lie underneath the five-star restaurant’s glass floor and are lit up to spectacular effect at night.

A dip in the infinity pool is the perfect antidote to the effects of the hot southern European sun. The Bodyna spa is a major feature of the hotel, part of it situated in a courtyard flanked by stone columns with a further tree spas on the lower ground floor built around original Roman thermal baths. Just a fifteen-minute walk away you will find the wondrous Cordoba mezquita, the most magnificent mosque built by the Moors and rightly deserving of its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Location: Cordoba, Andalucia, Spain

An Eden for the eco-conscious, Dominica‘s Morne Trois Pitons National Park offers some of the most spectacular hikes in the Caribbean, with more than 483 km of trails. A designated World Heritage site, the park sprawls over 6,870 ha of steams, waterfalls, unspoiled tropical rain forest, and mountains, not to mentioned five volcanoes, fifty fumaroles, and numerous hot springs. The park’s star attraction, sitting beneath a thick vapor cloud, is Boiling Lake, the second largest lake of its kind in the whose milky-colored waters range in temperature from 180 to 197 Fahrenheit (82 to 92 Celsius).

”Trois Pitons” refers to the triple-peaked mountains that top 1,424 m and are shrouded in mist. No mammals live in the park, but expect to see plenty of insects, birds, crustaceans, reptiles, and, if you are lucky, one of two endemic parrots. One of these, the Imperial, is Dominica’s national bird.

Walkers normally head to the park’s Valley of Desolation, a grueling seven- to eight-hour trek that involves scrambling over rocks and tackling wet and slippery steep ascents. Starting form the village of Laudat, hikers venture through lush rain forests teeming with rare exotic birds. For back-to-nature spa treatments, walkers can slather on mud masks and relieve their aches and pains by bathing in hot spring waterfalls or swimming in cool lakes.

The Blue Mountains in Australia are almost beg to be visited. The blue haze that is visible as you look out over the valley is created by the ninety-one species of eucalyptus that thrive in this UNESCO World Heritage site. The area covers more than 10,000 sq km and includes seven national parks. They are so vast and it is very easy for urbanites to escape into nature. Photo by: Nelson~Blue

The diversity of the region, taking in as it does ancient rain forest, heath land, dramatic canyons, and tall forests, make it a natural paradise. Adrenalin enthusiasts will be thrilled to go exploring in the huge cave system, rock climbing, rapelling, mountain biking and more. Those who prefer more sedate experience can choose from one of the 140 km of scenic walking treks. The less intrepid may prefer to view one of the Australia‘s most impressive waterfalls at Kanangra Falls. Photo by: Tr1xx

The Wollemi Pine, the world’s oldest tree and a true living fossil, flourished here undetected until it was discovered in 1994. As well as being rich in flora, the area is also home to hundreds of species of endangered animals, including long-nosed pototoos and of course koalas. The Blue Mountains offer visitors an escape into nature that is also easily accessible. Photo by: bodean2024

Photo by: jo-jo-jo

Kaziranga National Park is a home of the Great Indian One Horned Rhinoceros and a shelter to a variety of wild lives. Kaziranga National Park get inscribed in the World Heritage Site List in 1985. The Kaziranga National Park is situated in the two districts of the river Assam (India) – Golaghat and Nagaon. The park covers an area of approximately 430-sq-kms with its swamps and tall thickets of elephant grass. Photo by: gozef

Beside the Indian Rhino, the other major wild attractions include a large population of Indian Elephants, Indian Bison, Swamp Deer or Barasingha, Hog Deer, Sloth Bears, Tigers, Leopard Cats, Jungle Cats, Otters, Hog Badgers, Capped Langurs, Hoolock Gibbons, Wild Boar, Jackal, Wild Buffalo, Pythons, Monitor Lizards, etc. Photo by: arunchs

Kaziranga National Park is also a birding paradise. Some of them are the Oriental Honey Buzzard, Black-Shouldered Kite, Black Kite, Brahminy Kite, Pallas’s Fishing Eagle, White Tailed Eagle, Grey-Headed Fishing Eagle, Himalayan Griffon, etc. Large numbers of migratory birds descend on the parks lakes and marshy areas during winters, including Greylag Geese, Bar-Headed Geese, Ruddy Shelduck, Gadwall, Falcated Duck, Red-Crested Pochard and Northern Shoveller. Photo by: spo0nman

When to go: Kaziranga is best for a visit from mid-November to early April months. Sub-Tropical Monsoon with average rainfall of 1320 mm and  temperature ranging from 8° C in Winter to 38° C in Summer. Photo by: shankygup

 The park is best known for being one of the most important dinosaur fossil beds in the world.  Now known as the Dinosaur Provincial Park, was established on June 26th, 1955 under the name, Steveville Dinosaur Provincial Park as part of Alberta‘s 50th Jubilee year. Stands of cottonwoods, a variety of animal life, and, most important, the extensive bone-beds, were instrumental in UNESCO’s designation of the park as a World Heritage Site in 1979. The park boasts a very complex ecosystem including three communities: prairie grasslands, badlands, and riverside cottonwoods.

The property is unmatched in terms of the number and variety of high quality specimens, over 60 of which represent more than 45 genera and 14 families of dinosaurs, which date back 75-77 million years.

 The Centrosaurus Bone Bed Hike provides the tourist a chance to see this backcountry and enjoy a rare opportunity to view dinosaur bones in a natural setting while hearing a fascinating story of scientific discovery. Their bones were buried and preserved under layers of sand and mud deposited in the deltas of sluggish rivers which became the present soft sandstone and bentonite clay shale rocks.

Cottonwood trees are found in abundance and they support a special group of wildlife: scorpions, black widow spiders and rattlesnakes.