Achensee is the largest mountain lake in Austria at 6.8 square kilometres, and it sits in the Karwendel Alps in Tyrol, roughly 40 km northeast of Innsbruck. The lake is 929 metres above sea level. The water temperature in summer rarely exceeds 20 degrees Celsius. The mountains that surround it rise to 2,500 metres. The […]
The Grande Cascade de Gavarnie is the highest waterfall in France at 422 metres, and it falls in three stages from the Cirque de Gavarnie, a natural amphitheatre in the Pyrenees carved by glaciers. The waterfall is not a thin stream. It is a broad curtain of water, fed by the meltwater of the Gavarnie […]
Categories: France, Nature, Nature, Waterfalls
The High Tatras National Park is the smallest high altitude mountain range in Europe, but what it lacks in size it compensates for in drama and accessibility. These granite peaks rise sharply from the surrounding valleys, their jagged ridgelines cutting a distinctive profile against the sky. The park protects a landscape of glacial lakes, thundering […]
Categories: Mountains, National Parks, Nature, Nature, Slovakia
Words cannot prepare you for the first sight of Meteora. Enormous pillars of rock rise straight out of the earth like the fingers of a buried giant reaching for the sky. Perched impossibly on top of these stone monuments sit monasteries built by monks who sought solitude with God. A rope ladder was once the […]
The limestone peaks of the Julian Alps rise sharply against a sky so blue it feels painted just for you. At sunrise, the rock face of Mount Triglav catches the first golden light while the air stays crisp and thin, carrying the scent of pine and distant snow. Below, Lake Bohinj reflects the mountains in […]
Portugal has snow and the Serra da Estrela proves it. This mountain range rises to nearly two thousand metres and hosts the country only ski resort. In winter the slopes turn white and families arrive with sledges and skis. In summer the same mountains transform into a paradise of hiking trails and wildflower meadows. The […]
Pen y Fan rises to 886 metres above sea level as the highest peak in South Wales and the centrepiece of Brecon Beacons National Park. Its flat topped summit is visible for miles, a landmark that has drawn walkers for generations. The most popular route starts from Pont ar Daf car park and follows a […]
Categories: Mountains, Nature, Nature, United Kingdom
Snowdonia National Park welcomes millions of visitors each year and one look at its jagged skyline explains why. Mount Snowdon rises at the centre of this vast landscape and you can reach its summit on foot or by a scenic railway that has been running for over a century. The park stretches far beyond its […]
Categories: Mountains, National Parks, Nature, Nature, United Kingdom
The limestone ridge of Monte Cofano rises sharply from the turquoise sea, its cliffs streaked with ancient fossils and scattered with wild thyme. Below, hidden coves of white pebbles give way to water so clear that the shadows of fish flicker against the seabed. Kestrels circle overhead, riding the thermal currents that warm the Sicilian […]
Categories: Islands, Italy, Mountains, Nature, Nature, Nature Reserves, Sicily, Virtual Travel
Rising 764 metres above the shores of Clew Bay in County Mayo, Croagh Patrick is Ireland’s holiest mountain, a site of Christian pilgrimage for over 1,500 years. According to tradition, Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting on the summit of the mountain in 441 AD, and it […]