How do these Root Bridges Come to Life?

Root Bridges grow from the roots of the rubber fig tree (ficus elsatica). Jainta and Khasi Art (both southern Meghalaya tribals) make these roots grow into a natural bridge to cross the river. Due to their organic material, these bridges get more solid and stable over the years. These bridges are able to maintain themselves for centuries if circumstances are right. Altogether a very fascinating process that shows how to live in unity with nature in a way only indigenous peoples are able to.

Ritymen Root Bridge in Tyrna bei Cherapunjee

There are several root bridges in and around Cherapunjee and in the Jainta Mountains. We visited the Ritymen Root Bridge.

You can reach Ritymen Root Bridge from the little village Tyrna from Cherapunjee (12 km, 30 min). We stayed in a hotel in Cherapunjee and like that reaching Tyrna was easy. You can also go there from the more popular Shillong (ca. 2 ½ hours). But you need a driver, you are far from all the big cities and should not rely on public transportation.

At first comes the Ritymen Root Bridge. If you continue descending, you reach a double root bridge called Umshiang Double Decker Bridge. Double means there are two natural bridges with on top of each other.

Descending the Ritymen Root Bridge

A sign at the entrance says “3 km to Double Bridge”. That is a bit of an understatement, it means 3 km of stairs. The descend is exhausting, we only walked to the first bridge, the single Ritymen Bridge.

Descending these stairs is still doable. We were there with a larger group of people, most of them athletes and fit. We had to walk down hundreds of stairs and that made all our thigh muscles shiver. But that was still ok.

There is a local tour guide who walks the group downstairs. At the entrance they rent bamboo sticks. Makes sense, of course there is no handrails at the stairs.

There are several smaller buildings every now and then that also sell beverages. Locals charge a small fee to see the bridge, 10 Rupees per person, 10 more for every camera. Close to nothing, even if they make you pay for every camera and phone you carry. Altogether it would still be less than 1 Euro (30 Rs about 45 cents).

Bridge and River With a Natural Pool

After a long, you finally reach the bridge with crystal clear water below where you can either swim or enjoy the sun while sitting on a rock. Swimming is only for men, I would discourage women from swimming here.

If you feel strong and energetic enough, you can continue your route to the double bridge. I cannot tell you anything about this. We were in a group of 9, nobody wanted to walk any further. The links at the bottom provide some more information about that.

Ascending From the Bridge

What stopped us from moving was the ascend that was waiting for us. We already had a 2000 steps descend, it’s supposedly another 1500 step to the double bridge.

I consider myself fit above average, I work out regularly and think I can do quite an amount of walking. There were marathon runners, football players and other athletes in our group. Yet, the way back was hard for all of us. It’s a steady 2000 steps ascend. It takes a long time and is exhausting. On the way back, we met several untrained but wealthy Indian families that had huge problems to walk back. Some of them were visibly suffering, looking quite unfortunate and only continued walking because there was no choice.

Our tour guide praised our fitness, said we were better in walking upstairs than the Indian tourists. How seriously you have to take this is another matter. Yet, you should know what you are getting into.

View from the Stairs and the Region’s Climate

In particular during descend,the view of the valley and the mountain is great: pristine nature that is indeed green and clean everywhere, for India very unusual.
The region is rather wet, Cherapunjee is called the “Wettest Place on Earth” (sometimes refered to as “Scottland of the East”).

It’s wetter and cooler than in the rest of India. Many Indians call it cold, but that’s a relative thing. To me, it still felt like summer, in particular around midday it was really warm. All those many steps don’t make it any better. It’s warm and the sun is burning. Definitely bring sunscreen and something to cover your head. We did not have any rain during our three days in Cherapunjee. Even the grass was partly brown and visibly dry.

How To Reach and Some Final Remarks

The root bridges are a spectacular play of nature, something totally different and new. The surrounding nature is nice, pristine, green and clean. All of this shows a very different face of India than the one in the big cities. Definitely worth a trip!

You reach Meghalaya from Assam. The best option is to fly from Delhi to Guwahati and take a driver from there (ca. 160 km, 5 hours). There are also public busses. From Guwahati, spend the night either in Shillong or Cherapunjee and make a day trip to the root bridges. We left it up to the drive how to reach the bridge that was the easiest way.

As usually in the Northeast, you are off the main tourist routes. Some Indians from other states spend their holidays here. We have not seen any other Europeans. Everything is relaxed, people are friendly and open. They let you be and don’t annoy you.

You can buy beverages everywhere, even Coke and other sweet sugar sodas. Yet, I would take a bottle of water just to be sure. But that is all you need, you don’t need to carry a bagpack full of water bottles with you.

Der Beitrag Root Bridges in Cherapunjee (Sohra) in Meghalaya’s South erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Kanchenjunga in the Himalayans

Kanchenjunga has 8586 meters and is located partly in Nepal and India. The little state of Sikkim is far in India’s north right between Nepal and Bhutan at the Eastern Himalayans. Sikkim is one of the smallest and most-unknown states of India and was, for many years, and independent kingdom.

The Himalayan Mountains stretch far from the West in Pakistan to northwest India (Kashmere, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh) to a piece of land between Nepal and Bhutan which is Sikkim. Sikkim’s Kanchenjunga is the third-highest mountain in the world, only Mount Everest and K2 are higher.

When you want to see an eight-thousender but have no real experience in mountaineering, this is the right place for you.

View from Pelling in Sikkim

The view from Pelling is great: in the mornings, the sun slowly rises and the mountain appears in many different red colors. You definitely should not miss this spectacular nature phenomenon.

Sikkim is now more than a secret for mountaineers. Sikkim has many ways to see and experience the Kanchenjunga. When you enjoy hiking, you can go to Gangtok. Here, you find many tour companies for hiking and mountaineering. Gangtok is the state’s capital. You need to plan enough time for the region: all the paved roads end in Yuksom. If you want to do some hiking from Gangtok or Pelling, you should plan several weeks for that. We could not simply do some hiking in the heights, I think you should always consider the altitude and be careful.

The see the mountain anyways, you can travel to Pelling. Traveling there is a bit exhausting, but Pelling itself has many hotels and a tourist infrastructure. After all, Pelling is basically a long road full of hotels. Choose a hotel with a good view (in fact, all of them have a great view) and you can see the sunrise in the morning from the rooftop terrace. In the end a very comfortable and easy way to see the sunrise at an eight thousander.

Traveling to Pelling: Crossing an Inner-Indian Border

Pelling is a bit difficult to reach. The best thing is to combine it with Darjeeling, in the more southern state Bengal. From Darjeeling it’s 90 km to Pelling but you need at least 4 hours for that.

In Bengal, the streets are still reasonably good but as soon as you cross the Sikkim border, the streets get much worse. For Sikkim, foreigners need an extra permit, the standard India visa is not enough. The borderline appears to be the one of a new country: policemen are everywhere with loaded machine guns, they check your passport and you need to fill out some forms. It helps to have a copy (Xerox) of your passport. The lady at the border was friendly and helpful, the paper work went quite smooth but it’s anyways something that has to be done. When leaving Sikkim, you need to go back to the counter return some of the forms and get a stamp in your passport.

This extra permit is enough to travel to all the developed areas, most importantly the towns of Pelling and Gangtok. All areas further north, most of them nature conserve areas, are restricted and require another extra permit. You can ask the tour companies to do the paper work for you.

All of these regulations are subject to change. Ask Sikkim Tourism for updated information:

http://www.sikkimtourism.gov.in

Driving from Melli to Jorethang and Pelling

We did cross the Sikkim border at the Melli border control. After Melli, you drive along a valley for some time right next to the Rangeet River which also marks the border between Sikkim and Bengal. This part of the trip is still nice and relaxing even though the street is rather narrow. The next thing you reach is Jorethang, a very nice little town that makes a nice stop.

After Jorethang, the exhausting part of the trip starts: from now on the road constantly climbs up the mountain. For the last 60 km, you need three hours. There are no bridges or tunnel you just drive on a mountain street, sometimes on serpentines. We had a driver, driving ourselves would have been totally impossible, it was already exhausting the way it was. A big adventure! I have never driven that close to an abyss. The valley and mountain area are very beautiful: only a few streets and apart from that largely undeveloped area.

In Pelling: Khecheopalri Monastery and Kanchenjunga Water Falls

The following day, we went to see a Buddhist Monastery and a waterfall. The Khecheopalri Monastery and the waterfalls are close to Yuksom. Yuksom is, in East Sikkim, the last village that can be reached on roads. You can only do hiking to move further north.

Further information on the Monastery can be found in this article.

There are also the Rabdentse Ruins, leftsovers from the fallen Sikkim Kingdom and right next to it, the Pemayangtse Monastery. For Pelling, I would recommend to stay an entire day. Because reaching there is rather exhausting, you need an entire day for sightseeing in two nights in Pelling.

Hotels in Pelling

It’s not difficult to find a hotel in Pelling. Second only to Gangtok, Pelling has the most tourist infrastructure in Sikkim. There are also more fancy hotels. We did stay in the Seven Summit. Many of the other hotels were fully booked, the Five-Star-Hotel was all that was left for us. The rooms were clean, the hotel was really good. But even this place did not have a heating system. We had a heating pillow, a heating element for the mattress and warm water in the shower. But the rooms were still cold, really cold and the only warm place was under the blanket. Definitely consider that and bring warm winter clothes.

How To Reach Pelling

Sikkim currently does not have an airport, the closest airport in Bagdhora in Bengal. That is why most tourists travel from Darjeeling to Sikkim. There are busses from Darjeeling but also Shared Jeeps (Jeeps that come to meeting points and transport everybody who wants to). There are also train connections from Bengal. In the end all the standard ways to travel in India are available.

I would anyways recommend only two of them: per plane to Bagdhora and a driver from there. It takes a while to travel, distances are not long but slow. Driving yourself in the mountains is impossible; a driver is the easiest and least-stressful way to travel. We would not have made it without a driver.

Sikkim – A Big Adventure

Sikkim was a big adventure for us, an outstanding trip to more undeveloped areas at the outskirts of an Eightthousender. At the beginning I was not sure if all of that is worth it: all the time it takes, the border formalities and that exhausting drive. But I would not want to miss any of it. Sikkim is absolutely beautiful, great valleys and mountains, nature, plants and Buddhist monasteries and shine in sparkling beauty. We have by far not seen everything, but I would always comeback. It was a unique experience!

Der Beitrag Kanchenjunga: the Third-Highest Peak of the World in the Himalayans (8586 m) erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Darjeeling – A Village of World Reputation

Darjeeling – a word that sounds strangely familiar. Everyone has already heard the name. Darjeeling is very well-known ever since the English have started making tea here that gets exported it into the world. But: most people don’t neither know where locate it on the map or nor anything else about Darjeeling.

Here is some basic information about the little town:
Darjeeling has about 130,000 residents, In Europe that would count as a town, in India that is only a village. Darjeeling is on an elevation of 2000 meters in the state of Bengal (sometimes referred to as West-Bengal) at the foot of the Himalayans and usually serves as the gateway to the mountain area. Darjeeling is never really warm but mostly rainy. Its seasons are similar to the ones in Europe, June to August are the warmest time of the year, but temperature reach only 20 degrees on average. Winters are mild, temperatures don’t go below freezing point. The only real difference is the monsoon that makes summers usually wet.

Darjeeling – Home of the Famous Tea

Of course, first thing that comes to mind about Darjeeling is the famous black tea. Tea plantations are everywhere in and around Darjeeling. There are 150 tea plantations in Darjeeling, not all of them are open to public. You can do a tour on some or even book an overnight stay on others. We visited Happy Valley Tea Plantation. Happy Valley is right in Darjeeling, easy to reach and the best thing to do for a short tour. Full travel packages from the German travel agencies often include a visit to Glenburn Tea Estate. But there are many more tea estates to visit.

You can find a list here:
https://www.darjeeling-tourism.com/darj_00008b.htm

Anyways, some of the plantations on the list are rather far from Darjeeling.
We did not do much planning in advance, we just asked the driver and that worked quite well.

At the market place (end of Mall Road, easy to find) there is a “Tea Tasting”: a tea shop with a café where you can try several kinds of tea. The shop owner is Golden Tips, you find all kinds of tea here (black, green, white tea) to buy but also to try.

Toy Train: Small Railway in the Mountains

The English have built are narrow-gauge railway in Darjeeling. This was a way to manage the areas ascends: the train moves in circles up the hill. This means no bridges and tunnel are necessary. Today, this narrow-gauge train is still a tourist attraction, a classic steam train that drives from Ghoom to Darjeeling.

We did not take the train but saw it in Ghoom and Batasia Loop. Batasia Loop is a viewpoint from which you can see quite nicely how the train moves up the mountain in a circle. The train makes quite some noise and leaves a huge steam cloud behind. I would definitely recommend visiting Batasia Loop but I think you don’t really need a ride on the train.

Tiger Hill Viewpoint

Another very famous spot is the Tiger Hill Viewpoint. You can already see the Kanchenjunga from here. Tiger Hill is 11 km from Darjeeling but you still need 30 minutes to reach. Sunrise is at 5 am, you need to leave at 4.30 am. We were unlucky: it was rainy and cloudy, no view to the mountains at all. The following day was better; we could see the mountains but have missed the sunrise. We saw that later in Pelling.

The view from Tiger Hill is very good and very nice. If you are in Darjeeling, definitely try to find and see Kanchenjunga. If you travel further to Sikkim, you will have another change. But in the mountains, always use any opportunity the weather permits.

Tibetian Refugee Center and Japanese Peace Pagoda

Two more interesting spots are the Tibetian Refugee Center and the Japanese Peace Pagoda. Driving to the Tibetian Refugee Center (from 1959) is a steady climb on a hill. This center has several exhibits about the history of Tibet, its art and craft. There is some wooden and woolen work available, as well as carpets and leather. You can buy all these products in a store which is much cheaper than anything you find in town. The Refugee Center is definitely worth a visit.

Japanese Peace Pagoda (also called Japanese Temple and Peace Pagoda) is a spiritual place on Jalapar Hill. The Buddhist monastery was built as a sign of peace for people all over the world, no matter which race, religion or color. It wants to remind of peace and friendship, there are several peace pagoda worldwide. Darjeeling’s Peace Pagoda has a very good view.

Darjeeling Ropeway and Mall Road (Chowrasta)

There is a ropeway from Darjeeling to the valley. The rope did not work for us, because it was cloudy with no view at all. I’m sure the view to the valley is great on a good day. You can go down to a lower stop and visit a tea plantation.

Mall Road is Darjeeling’s center. Here, you find stores and restaurants the area is mostly blocked for cars and only open to walking traffic. There is a CCD (if you don’t know, that stands for Café Coffee Day, the Indian equivalent to Starbucks) with a very good valley view. A few steps further, you find the Golden Tipps tea store I mentioned above.

Traffic in Darjeeling

If you have ever been to India, you know the big mess traffic is there. Take all this mess, put it into a little mountain village with narrow streets and you have Darjeeling. Plus, there is a lot of walking traffic. Residents from Darjeeling quite often simply walk, and there are many kids in school uniforms walking around. Everything else, “typically Indian” is also there: rikschas, shared jeeps, busses, cars and scooters. Darjeeling has become a popular holiday destination for Indians that means many tourist cars (usually Toyota Innova) are everywhere. The toy train also drives every now. Parts of its tracks are on the street that means everyone needs to share the road with the train as well. As soon as the toy train comes, the entire traffic stops and collapses. But even without the toy train, traffic is very slow and you get stuck in traffic a lot, and only move very, very slowly.

How To Reach Darjeeling

Darjeeling does not have an airport. The closest airport is Bagdhora. You can reach Bagdhora easily with all Indian carriers. In Bagdhora, you should take a driver. There are no busses to Darjeeling and everything else is too exhausting and takes too long. There is a tourist counter at Darjeeling airport that was very helpful in organizing a driver and a tour. The drivers already wait at the airport. That is what we did, everything worked quite well.

It’s only 70 km from Bagdhora to Darjeeling but it takes 2 ½ hours. Driving along the mountains makes a nice road tour. You should stop every now and then to enjoy the view.
If you feel uncomfortable like this, you can book a driver in advance through your travel agency. You will not have a different driver, but maybe you have more security or feel you have more.

If you dare and have the nerves to do so, book when you are there. It’s not a problem at all, that is how things are done in India and you can trust it. It’s definitely much cheaper than anything you get from your travel agency.

Sightseeing in Darjeeling

The driver took us around and showed us everything that is important in Darjeeling. That was the right thing to do, without him we would not have seen that much. There is basically no parking anywhere. The drivers stop at the roadside, somehow turn around (I don’t know how they do it in these narrow streets.) and wait at the car. Things are such a mess; you need to leave these kind of things up to locals.

How to Combine Things:

You can go to Ghoom, on the way you pass Batasia Loop. The Samten Choling Monastery is right next to it. Tiger Hill Viewpoint is a bit further, also reachable via Ghoom.
At the other end of Darjeeling, there are Happy Valley Tea Estate, the Zoo and the Mountaineering Institute.

Resume Darjeeling

If you only know India’s large cities, you will see an entirely new and different India here. It’s colder, you are at the Himalaya outskirts and things are somehow, much more relaxed. People are very friendly, a bit of a chaos is there, but the mood is good and friendly. Even the street dogs look healthier and fitter. I have never seen any landscape that can be compared to Darjeeling. Tea Plantations are everywhere on steady mountains. There are thousands of visible power lines, but no bridges or tunnel. Definitely an extraordinary place and a good starting point for tours to the Himalaya Mountains.

Der Beitrag Darjeeling: a Popular Home of Tea at the Foot of the Himalaya Mountains erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Animal Conversation Projects and Diversity of Species in Kaziranga

Kaziranga Nationalpark has had some great success in the last years and decades in terms of protecting the one-horned rhino. About two thirds of its worldwide population can be found here. After being threatened by extinction for years, its population has now recovered.

Apart from the rhino, the park also has wild Asian elephants and wild water buffaloes. There are also several deer species and three spectacular wildcats in the park: the Bengal tiger, the Indian leopard and the clouded leopard. Last but not least several smaller species of monkeys. This list is incomplete, the park has many more mammals and reptiles.

The park is also known for its vast number of bird species: water birds, swamp birds, birds of prey and many more. Even India’s national animal, the kingfisher lives here.

More information about Kaziranga’s animals can be found here:

http://www.kaziranga.co.in/mammals.php (list of mammals)
http://www.kaziranga.co.in/reptiles.php (list of reptiles)
http://www.kaziranga.co.in/birds.php (list of birds)
http://www.kaziranga-national-park.com/wildlife-in-kaziranga-national-park.shtml

Which of These Animals Will I Really See?

During our safaris, we saw many wild elephants. The rhino was everywhere and we could see the water buffalo on several occasions and spots.

The safari takes place on a private jeep. You drive on an unpaved road and can see several animals simply by looking look left and right. Several jeeps take a tour, everyone on a slightly different route; you don’t meet the other jeeps a lot. But the tours are fixed the jeeps take a pre-determined tour. All the animals know the vehicles and do not feel disturbed. For example a rhino was sleeping right next t o the street. A group of elephants was walking with all their baby elephants close to the road. The jeeps stop as soon as there is something to see and wait.

I would not expect to see a tiger. Tigers a shy and prefer to be alone. They don’t live in herds. Tigers usually walk away as soon as humans appear. At one of these tours, all the jeeps stopped because allegedly there was a tiger somewhere. But that either was not the case of the tiger long gone. You need to be very lucky to see a tiger.

Entrances to Kaziranga Nationalpark

There are three entrances to the national park:

• the main entrance in Mihimukh, Kohora
• at the West in Baori
• at the East in Agartoli

Kohora is the touristic center of the national park. Here, you find some hotels, shops and souvenir stores. It’s the park’s main entrance.

There is a second, smaller entrance in Agartoli. This is where we had our first safari because our hotel was only 5 minutes from the gate. This area is not busy at all; we had our best safari here.

Agartoli in the east is particularly important to see many species of birds. For everything else, you can also take one of the other two gates.

We decided to do the west and main gate. Agartoli was too far from the hotel. You can reach all the gates on road 715 at the same time southern boundary of the park.

Taking a Safari Tour

There are many full packages available online. I think you don’t really need it. A hotel is enough; you can book a safari here. That is how we did it and it worked quite well.
In India, a car usually has a driver and an owner. Drivers a usually not well-off, rather poor, making little money and do not speak English (or very, very little). The safaris were not sold out at all. We had a jeep for 6 with only the two of us. Accordingly, the tour was a bit expensive, because we had to pay for the entire jeep. But it was a good thing to be alone on the jeep, not get disturbed and we could see very well in all directions, no one blocking our view.

The driver picked us up at the hotel, was in time and took us to the western entrance. One of us had to go to the park administration there we had to pay a second time and a ranger got in the car. A very unusual thing, from a German point of view was the fact that he was carrying a loaded rifle. In India, this kind of means we take care of our guests’ safety. From my point of view, there animals were not dangerous at all. The ranger tells the driver which road to take and they stop on several occasions.

At the end of the tour, the ranger left at the national park gate and the driver took us back to the hotel. There were demanding tip, demanding is too weak. They insisted on getting tip! As far as I know, India is not a “tip-country” (like e.g. the US). Claiming tip that strongly is unusual.

How To Reach Kaziranga

Kaziranga is a bit difficult to reach. You can go by plane to Guwahati, Assam’s capital. From here, it is another 4-hour-drive to Kaziranga, even though it’s only 200 km. Shortly after Guwahati, you need to drive up a mountain; these things are always rather slow in India. You need to plan an entire day to reach.

How Much Should I Book in Advance?

A basic rule is: you can do many things spontaneously and short-term in India. If it makes you feel better, book a hotel. But even that is not really necessary. You can easily organize the safaris when you are there. That’s what I would do. Traffic in India is unpredictable; you never know when exactly you reach.

Kaziranga – India’s Most Beautiful Nationalpark

Kaziranga was, to me, the most beautiful national I have seen in India. It was rather quiet, not too crowded and most importantly, we did indeed see animals. I never really expected to see a tiger. Our hotel room neighbors saw one, but that one was very far away and only became visible on the photo because of the big camera lens. For that, they were on the road for 12 hours straight with nothing but a short lunch break. I would not have made it twelve hours on that bumpy road and jeep.

One thing is very obvious: you are off the main routes, an area that is of no interest for all the big travel agencies. There were no travel groups from Europe of the US, there were rarely any other white people, but many well-off Indians on a holiday trip in their own country. This made everything more relaxed, friendlier, everyone was nice and open to foreigners.

Der Beitrag The Kaziranga Nationalpark in Assam: a Park at the Brahmaputra River in India’s Northeastern State erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

What is Sian Ka’an?

Sian Ka’an is a vast protected area, a UNESCO World Nature Heritage that stretches along a huge area of 5200 sqm. The area is on the eastern coast of Yucatan, south of the main tourist areas in Playa del Carmen. The Sian Ka’an coastline is almost non-settled and is thereby stands in contrast to the entire Yucatan Peninsula and its famous city of Cancun in the north or the Playa del Carmen holiday area further south. Also, there is very little infrastructure. The only “town” is Punta Allen can only be reached on am offroad path, there are no solid streets. On the way to Punta Allen, you can see a few smaller places to spend the night. But there aren’t many of them.

Yucatan’s east coast is rather tightly populated and has almost no empty space at all. Sian Ka’an makes the only exception: a huge piece of land with no buildings, streets or people, a highly complex system of water streets and mangroves in a swamp. It offers shelter for many species, animals and birds.

Doing a Tour to Sian Ka’an

For 100 dollars (or more) you can book a tour in a minibus to Sian Ka’an. It takes two hours (130 km) from Playa del Carmen to reach.

Sian Ka’an is huge and two routes are possible: driving along the coastline to Punta Allen or off the coastline in the swamp to Muyil. When we booked the tour, only one option was offered: driving along the coastline. The latter was never even mentioned. We could choose between two others options: a 10-person-minibus with a driver or driving in a Jeep ourselves.

According to our travel agency, the tour does not take place every day. We could only choose between Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. They said, jeep tours were not available for the day we picked. More about that follows later. It was ok for us; we wanted to go by minibus anyways. The tour started very early, we left at 5 am. The bus makes its tour, collects several people on the way and things are rather easygoing for the first two hours. The bus drives to Tulum where we meet all the other busses all vehicles continue the route together, heading to the park.

Several Hours of Offroad driving: Tour to Punta Allen

At this point, the tour gets interesting. The bus drives very slowly on a totally uneven, bumpy “road”. Calling it a road is already too much. There are huge bumps, the street is an uneven, unpaved mess and big trees and branches are everywhere. The ride itself is very, very bumpy. Thick branches get very close to the windows and things are getting exhausting. All the vehicles can only go very slowly. After 30 minutes, there is a stop at a viewpoint. After that the adventurous ride continued for another 3 hours. Nobody felt really good in the bus, everyone was eagerly waiting for the ride to end. If you have problems with this, make sure to sit in the first row on one of the passenger seats. We only had a Spanish speaking driver, the tour guide was somewhere else and the two front row seats were empty.

In Punta Allen, everyone was just exhausted and tired. I have to admit, I did not see a lot during the ride.

In Punta Allen, they have a short break for everyone and a smaller snack is served. If you fancy crab in the evening, you can order now. The restaurant itself is very nice, a rustic wooden construction with only a roof to offer shade, not even a solid building.

Boat Tour to A Coral Reef and Bird Island

The entire group (about 40 to 50 people) is not split into a Spanish speaking group and an English speaking group. We are to sit in little motorboats in groups of six. All the boats are leaving, not all together but in blocks. We saw dolphins (not so much of a surprise). The salespepople told us we would see sea turtle, that’s their way to promote the tour. But these sea turtles are very shy, you have to be very lucky to see them. One came up very shortly, saw all the boats and disappeared into the depth within seconds.

The boat ride on the ocean is anyways really nice. The sea shines in many different colors of blue and green, the coastline is very pretty. After a while, we reach a riff. Now it’s time to snorkel. Our little boat had one guide who also did the snorkeling tour. He really did jump into the water with all his clothes on (long pants, long shirt) and that is how he swam. After a few minutes, the snorkeling is over and you get back on the boat.

The second boat stop is “Bird Island”: two mangrove islands full of birds. You can see many different species here; Sian Ka’an has 379 different bird species. All the boats circle the small islands slowly, the birds don’t care about the boats and you have time to take some pics.

After that the boats stop in a lagoon, you are still deep in the ocean but the water is flat (only about 1.5 meters) and you can walk to the beach. After a short time to swim, the boats go back to Punta Allen.

Back in Punta Allen: Dinner and Driving Back

In Punta Allen, things get a little messy because everyone takes off their swimming clothes and changes. A dinner buffet is served and after that the bumpy drive back starts.
This trip is much worse than the first because now you know what’s waiting for you. After a long, bumpy ride you reach road 307 and Tulum. While we were driving back, we met the Mexican Army, on the same bumpy road, driving equally slow. But several soldier with machine guns were standing on the pick-up.

More Tour Varities: Self-Drive Offroad Tours

As mentioned above, they told us Jeep tours are not available for that day. But: several jeeps were driving with us. I seriously doubt that this makes a cool trip. Every jeeps has four passengers, if there is only two of you, you need to share the car and the driving experience with strangers. The jeeps tour was even more expensive than the bus tour. Before you book a jeep tour, you should definitely be aware of the fact that the jeep is not just for you but needs to be shared.

On the way to Punta Allen, at the viewpoint, some tourists did not get back to the bus but in several boats and reached Punta Allen by boat. Why nobody ever offered us this option, I really don’t know. It would have been great to spend less time in the bus on that shitty street.

Muyil Entrance

Muyil is another entrance further south. Here, you can find more Maya ruins and more countryside: fresh water, mangroves, manatees, the jungle, swamps and many animals. We did not do this tour but I would like to do it someday.

Nature Protection and Animal Preserve Area

It becomes very obvious that this is a protected area: swimming with sea turtles is not possible (very good) also dolphins are never chased or surrounded. All boat drivers did that very well. Also, there are very few buildings anywhere, for most parts it’s simply pristine nature.

About the Tour: Information and Some Advice

Our tour guide shortly introduced himself in Tulum and was not seen again till Punta Allen. He was the only English speaking tour guide for the whole group. In Punta Allen, he talked to us again, and apologized that he cannot be in all the busses at the same time. Our bus driver was very nice but knew close to no English whereas we know only very little Spanish. Communication in the bus was only possible because two guests from Spain who knew English very well, were translating for all the other 5 English-speakers. They could translate some stories and anecdotes which was actually great.

When it comes to these organized tours you never need to worry about food. Dinner and lunch is not a five star meal but it’s ok.

Driving took a long time, we did a day trip from Playa del Carmen. I would not do it again, I would rather stay in Tulum and go from there. Maybe even two or three nights in Tulum, for tow day trips one to Muyil and one to Punta Allen.

A second way to do it is to sleep in Punta Allen or somewhere else in Sian Ka’an. I find some offers online, for example sleeping in a tent on the beach. I’m sure that is a great thing to do: being here in the mornings and evenings with only a few people, before all the day trippers arrive. I’m not sure a how you can reach by yourself: my first guess is a rental jeep supposedly, there is also a collective.

I would not book the off-road jeep tour for four; I find it too expensive for too little. I would ask if I can reach Punta Allen partly or entirely per boat and try to avoid the long, exhausting ride.

In conclusion, I really want to recommend Sian Ka’an to everyone. It is so beautiful, considering some of the organizational remark I have made, and you will definitely be able to enjoy a trip here. I would come back any time!

Der Beitrag Sian Ka’an: an ecological biosphere and UNESCO World Nature Heritage South of Tulum erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Punta Sur: How to Reach

Punta Sur is south of the ferry and the cruise port in Cozumel. From the ferry port in San Miguel de Cozumel it is 35 km and 45 minutes (from the cruise port further south the ride is 10 minutes less).

You can either take a cab, rent a car or a scooter. A scooter is sufficient to get there. Until the cruise port, you share the road with the rest of the traffic, in particular with the locals. But they definitely are considerate and take care of tourists on scooters. A little south of the cruise port, the street splits into two: there is a regular (“big”) road and on the right a smaller version of it. On a scooter, the smaller road is the best place for you. This small street ends shortly before Punta Sur.

The Punta Sur entrance is on the west, the nature-protected area is at the eastern side (ocean) of the island. They charge 14 dollars and after that you can drive along a sandy coast-road. We could easily do this on a bike; the street was unpaved but good. I think you don’t necessarily need a car. See also here – an artcile on renting a scooter on Cozumel.

The Coastal Road in Punta Sur: Coast, Mangroves, Lagoons and Beaches

Some advice to find your way: there is a reggae bar right at the entrance where they sell all kinds of cheesy tourist items. From here, a 4-km-road leads to the lighthouse the island’s southern peak. On this way, you have already overshot a little lagoon that you will further circle on the way to the beaches.

After another 4 km along the coastline, you reach the final destination of the park: Punta Sur Beach. The beach has a restaurant, sun beds, umbrellas and several snorkeling and diving options. The sun beds are for free (basically included in the 14 dollar entrance fee you had to pay).

The Punta-Sur-Coast road is about 8 km, you need approximately 20 minutes. It’s definitely worth to go slower and stroll around a bit. You can even stop, check the inland or enjoy the view. You see the ocean but also a lagoon with mangroves and fresh water where alligators live. If you are lucky enough you can see many rare birds. Several spots have wooden bridges and platform that offer a good view at the swamps and lagoons.

There is also a smaller riff, right in front of Punta Sur. The larger ones can only be reached by boat, though. You don’t need to come to Punta Sur for the riff, the boat leave even further north at the hotels.

There are some more offers we did not do: taking a boat tour in the lagoon, taking and offroad jeep tour.

I would definitely visit Punta Sur again, we liked it so much, we even came twice.

Der Beitrag Eco park Punta Sur in Cozumel: A beach area full of dunes, mangroves, forest and coral reefs erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

3 public entrances

The swamp expands to 180.000 hectares and is mostly protected. There are 3 entrances to the swamp – all three are located in Georgia: by Folkston in the East, in the South by Fargo and in the North by Waycross.

In the Stephen C. Foster State Park which is located south you can rent canoes, kayaks and motor boats, go fishing, enjoy a guided tour or go hiking. The Fargo Folkston entrances are used mainly by adventurers for canoe tours – there are several spots in the swamp to spend the night at.

Boat tour at Okefenokee Swamp Park

We visited Waycross, Georgia in November where the Okefenokee Swamp Park is located. Right at the entrance we had an encounter with a huge alligator which obviously enjoys to rest on a small island within a narrow channel left of the visitor parking lot. The visitor center provides information about the tours.

One of these tours is a boat tour with a small motor boat using the swamp’s water roads. We were lucky: due to a hurricane the previous  day, visitor load was very low, the park was basically empty. The tour guides has information about flora and fauna and tells stories about the park while we were travelling cozily in the channels of the park. Alligators are everywhere, quite likely right next to us. We saw some young alligators which were nurtured at the sides of the channels. We did not spot fully grown alligator during the tour.

The water tour stops once – at an observation tower reachable by a walk on a bridge. The tower is approximately 30 meters high and provides a stunning view over the vastness of the swamp and the high tree tops where many different bird species live. After 45 minutes the tour ends.

Train tour and animal encounters

As a second tour option is a ride on the small train with a little steam engine. The tour goes 1,5 miles through the park. The train drives very slowly – almost walking speed. It stops on a little island where an exhibition about the early settlements of the swamp is shown. It is a nice tour, although the first one is a little more spectacular. Maybe you should first do the train first tour and the boat tour after that.

Back at our starting point, the visitor center, we watched a 30 minute presentation in which animals of the swamp where shown. At least it is NOT some kind of circus thing – the animals (snakes, baby alligators e.g.) are just shown for a moment while some interesting facts about the species and life of these animals are given. Afterwards they go back into some boxes. We sa some baby alligators, very little ones that are only a few months old and slightly older ones that are still tiny. I asked where they come from an the answer was: 2 animals per year can be held in captivity for educational purposes.

Having this presentation at all and presenting these animals at all is debatable and maybe questionable. Of course it is interesting to learn about the animals of the swamp. But do you really need to see a living animal for demonstration purposes? The animals were looking fine, they did not seem to suffer (as far as I can judge). To me, this presentation is not a reason to boycott the park because they treated their animals respectfully. 2 alligators per year are arguable – there are also living alligators in zoos for example. The animals were not severely bothered during the presentation, so I can accept this (in other parks I have a different opinion).

During the train tour we could see some Christmas decoration. The typical Santa Claus Figures, reindeer, sleighs etc. where positioned near the tour. In the South it’s obviously only Christmas when some fancy decoration is arranged – just like the snow fits to Christmas in Germany. I personally don’t need to see that but it didn’t really bother me.

See also article on Atlanta

Atmosphere of the swamp

Remarkable in the swamp is the very dark prevailing mood. Despite of bright daylight everywhere else the water is almost black and you always expect some alligator beneath every water lily. The black color of the water comes from the many dead plants and derives from the fact that it is marsh land (“Blackwater River”). According to the tour guide a lot of water was evaporated during the summer – consequently, the level was too low. Because of that the water appeared even darker. The atmosphere of the Okefenokee Swamp is very unique, difficult to describe and capture in words. It is dark and mysterious – like from a louring fairy tale.

Organisation Tips

Due to the size of the swamp it is necessary to pick one entrance. It is not possible to drive to more than one entrance in a day. Within the swamp there are no roads, only waterstreets. A car doesn’t help here. By car, the only option is to travel the long distance around the swamp. In the swamp, only boat traveling is possible. Okefenokee is not really easily accessible. We traveled from Tallahassee but it takes around three hours till Waycross (150 Miles). In the South, distances are always long and that is something that has to be considered – we started to travel early that day so we reached early enough to spend enough time in the Okefenokee Swamp Park.

From Jacksonville, the swamp area is easier to reach by the North entrance in Folkston. But here it is best to rent a canoe and go paddling. That would be surely a great adventure but for us not the right thing for the first visit. I wouldn’t want to paddle and suddenly an alligator is swimming right next to me. Moreover the swamp is a huge maze consisting of water streets, moor, swamp, land and lagoons. I would have quite some problems to know where I am and I would defintely need a tour guide. But anyway, it would certainly be a great adventure to once do a canoe tour with someone who knows the area!

Der Beitrag Okefenokee Swamp at the Border of Georgia/Florida: A Blackwater River Swamp erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Perdido Key – Perdido Key State Park and Gulf Island National Seashore

Perdido Key State Park is in the Panhandle, Northern Florida, close to Pensacola and stretches all the way to the Alabama state border. The island does not have one but two protected areas. That is why this area tends to be a bit confusing too outsiders.
The western part of the park is in Florida and is one of Florida’s state parks, protected by the Florida law (even though Florida is east of the island). The eastern part belongs to the Gulf Island National Seashore, a US National Park. Perdido Key is part of a much larger area that already starts in the state of Mississippi.

To find you way, always consider if you are in the eastern part (Gulf Island National Seashore) or the western part (Perdido Key State Park).

The eastern part of the island can be reached on highway 292 (Perdido Key Drive). The island’s “town” is here: the island gets a little less narrow here and offers enough space for a small town with restaurants, hotels and a golf course.

You need to make a cut at this point. This is where the Gulf Island National Seashore starts. The entire western part of the island is a protected area with only one little street.

Perdido Key is a narrow but long-stretched island (a 26-km-coastline). Because the island is so small, you can reach both coastlines easily and quickly. But that is at the same time a bit confusing. The southern coastline faces the ocean, open water and the Gulf of Mexico. The salt water bathing beaches are here. From the northern coastline, you can see the mainland. You find two landmarks here: Big Lagoon in the East (borders to the Big Lagoon State Park) and all water streets and ports in the west leading to Mobile, Alabama.

Perdido Key: Sand Dunes and Hiking

Sand dunes are a typical landmark in Perdido Key. Many protected plants grow here. There are primary dunes, facing the ocean and more inland secondary dunes. These are particularly important to grow plants and maintain the ecosystem. We got an information sheet about this at the entrance. You are not allowed to walk or hike the dunes. You can reach the beaches on timber walking bridges and wooden walking paths.

Due to the islands special location in front of the coast, many animals find shelter and protection from predators. There are many rare birds, reptiles, amphibians, water turtles, etc. The Gulf Island National Seashore provides information on their website when to find which species on Perdido Key.

https://www.nps.gov/guis/planyourvisit/brochures.htm

Gulf Island National Seashore and Rosamond Johnson Beach

Gulf Island National Seashore and Rosamund Johnson Beach are at the very east of the island. Its protected area starts at Johnson Beach, from here on the only available road is Johnson Beach Road. But even this road ends after 3 km. From then on you can only hike the island or reach the lagoon per boat.

From Johnson Beach Road, you can reach Escambia Beach, a beach open to public. This beach has a riff and is good for snorkeling. It also has man picnic options, many of them roofed.

The name Gulf Island National Seashore is a bit confusing. In the context of Perdido Key, it refers to the eastern part of the island. But the park does not end at Perdido Key but continues after that. All the areas further west (the next island) are called Gulf Island National Seashore as well. From East to West, these areas are called: Fort Pickens, Pensacola Island and Santa Rosa Beach. I don’t describe any of these areas in this article; this article focuses on Perdido Key.

Perdido Key: Hotels and Camping

Perdido Key, the town, has several hotels. Apart from that, there is mainly camping available on the island. There is also the Big Lagoon State Park (at the mainland facing Perdido Key) with more than 75 camping areas and long hiking routes.

Perdido Key: Comments and General Information

The fact that Perdido Key is one island that belong to two different protected areas tends to be confusing. Unfortunately, the second national park is not restricted to that one island but includes a much larger area. All of that makes things a bit difficult. But if you manage to navigate your way through all this information, Perdido Key is absolutely stunning. Its pristine nature, long hiking paths and rare species are so beautiful. Google Maps and Tripadvisor show pics of big hotels from Perdido Key. I saw something entirely different. Perdido Key is mainly pristine nature, only the town has a few hotels, apart from that mainly camping.

It’s not an island full of entertainment. You can rent a boat or surf but for example kite surfing is not allowed in summer because it upsets the animals. There aren’t many tourist facilities like beach bars, bike rentals, offroad driving or other adventure tours. It is very obvious that protecting and maintaining the nature is the main focus here. They largely refrain from entertainment and big programs. I definitely recommend coming here; you can swim, hike or relax at the beach and enjoy nature and tranquility without action and entertainment.

Der Beitrag Perdido Key – An Island Near Pensacola erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.

Valley of Fire State Park

The Valley of Fire State Park is 80 km northeast of Las Vegas and can be reached in 50 minutes. Lake Meade is southeast of it. The Valley of Fire State Park has two entrances: one in the east and one in the west. The Valley of Fire Road goes all the way through the park.

Elephant Rock and Trails

The most interesting rock is the elephant rock. That is a red colored rock that resembles an elephant. Erosion over many centuries has caused this very odd shape.
Hollywood has used the Valley-of-Fire-Mars-atmosphere several times for movies. The mars scenes of Total Recall with Arnold Schwarzenegger were shot here, also the scene in Star Trek VII when Captain Kirk dies.

The park has several hiking paths. Information is available in the visitor center at the park entrance. It also has a small exhibit about rocks, geology and the region’s history.

Is Hiking possible?

We were there in November, even in Las Vegas it was relatively cold (10 – 15 degrees) and in the Grand Canyon, there was snow. But in the Valley of Fire it was warm, spring weather as we say. That means a T-shirt is enough, no pullover needed. It’s really very warm here, much warmer than anywhere else in close distance. I would only recommend to go hiking if the weather is right. In November it would have been possible but in summer not at all. The driving route along the main road is great. The red rocks create very special atmosphere in the middle of the desert. I have never seen anything alike. Definitely one of the best day trips from Las Vegas.

I would definitely recommend doing a day trip from Las Vegas, it’s not far and you get to see something very special. It’s also a common background for weddings and wedding pictures. When we were there, a couple was taking pictures. I’m sure these pics are spectacular.

Der Beitrag Valley of Fire: A Mars Landscape 80 km Northeast of Las Vegas erschien zuerst auf travelspotting.