Veliko Tărnovo is the historical soul of Bulgaria, the medieval capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396), dramatically perched on the steep banks of the Yantra River whose fortress of Tsarevets, cathedral, and traditional houses clinging to the gorge walls create one of the most spectacularly sited city landscapes in the Balkans. Often called the […]
The Nebrodi Mountains stretch across northeastern Sicily in a green wall that surprises most visitors. This region holds the largest forested area on the island, a fact that surprises those knowing Sicily only for sun-scorched coastlines. Ancient beech and oak forests cloak the slopes. Wild horses roam the high pastures. Black Nebrodi pigs root through […]
Categories: Islands, Italy, Mountains, Nature, Nature, Sicily
The Pieniny Mountains rise dramatically from the valley of the Dunajec River, their limestone peaks creating a landscape of extraordinary natural beauty on the border between Slovakia and Poland. Despite being the smallest and second oldest national park in Slovakia, established in 1967 and covering just 37 square kilometres, the Pieniny National Park is one […]
Categories: National Parks, Nature, Nature, Slovakia
Vintgar Gorge (Soteska Vintgar) is one of Slovenia’s most breathtaking natural attractions, a 1.6-kilometre-long chasm carved by the crystal-clear Radovna River through the vertiginous limestone walls of the Julian Alps, just a few kilometres from the iconic Lake Bled. A wooden boardwalk clinging to the cliff face takes visitors through a Tolkien-esque landscape of thundering […]
