The Ashikaga Flower Park (Oldest Wisteria Tree), Tochigi, Japan

The Ashikaga Flower Park is a home of 144 years old wisteria in Tochigi, Japan and its home of more than 350 wisterias and other flowering plants covering 23 acres. At the center of the park is its main attraction: a 144-year-old tree believed to be the oldest living wisteria in Japan. The plant, named the "Great Miracle Wisteria," was recently highlighted in a video from Great Big Story. This particular tree features curtains of purple wisteria, but the park is also a great place to see white wisteria and the rarer yellow wisteria. 

The pink and purple blooms typical to the wisteria tree are spread wildly throughout, extending far and wide. The ginormous vines stretching out of the tree are held up by steel rods placed throughout. Otherwise, the weight of the branches would cause the tree to collapse in on itself–potentially trapping awed visitors inside.

This plant, located in Ashikaga Flower Park in Japan, is certainly not the largest in the world, but it still comes in at an impressive 1,990 square meters (or half an acre) and dates back to around 1870 (the largest, at about 4,000 square meters, is the wisteria vine in Sierra Madre, California). Although wisterias can look like trees, they’re actually vines. Because its vines have the potential to get very heavy, this plant’s entire structure is held up on steel supports, allowing visitors to walk below its canopy and bask in the pink and purple light cast by its beautiful hanging blossoms.

In all seriousness, the steel rods make it possible to venture beneath this tree and see how stunning it looks from the underside. From inside, the light pours in through the brightly colored vines, reflecting off of the flowers in unimaginable ways.

Tourists and locals come to visit this tree, the sights that it offers never get old. Not only is the tree fun to gawk at from all angles, but the vines give off a lovely aroma, reminiscent of grapes. Wisterias look like they have regular tree branches, but they are actually vines. These vines can climb up any nearby support systems, and can grow as tall as 20 meters.

Bamboo Forest, Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan.

Sagano Bamboo or Arashiyama Bamboo Forest is a natural forest of bamboo in Arashiyama, Kyoto, Japan. The forest is comprised mostly of Moso Bamboo and consists of several pathways for tourists and visitors. The Ministry of the Environment considers it a part of the soundscape of Japan. Prior to 2015 there was a charge to access the area. The forest is not far from Tenryū-ji Temple, which is the location of Rinzai School, and the Nonomiya Shrine.

Arashiyama district is located at the base of the so called “Storm Mountains”, in northwest Kyoto. Its main street and Togetsu-kyo Bridge have been called a “tourist circus,” but beyond this thoroughfare, Arashiyama offers an authentic and unforgettable Japanese experience.

  

Arashiyama’s Sagano Bamboo Forest, or Bamboo Grove, is both locall famous and world-renowned. Visitors can stroll paths lined with endless rows of towering bamboo. The experience has been described as other-worldly, serene, and dreamlike. The sound of the rustling bamboo within this forest has been named one of the “100 Soundscapes of Japan” by the Japanese Ministry of Environment. Together with Fushimi Inari and the Kinkaku-ji, it offers a Kyoto experience not to be missed. The bamboo grove is open 24 hours a day and boasts no admission fee, so it is recommended that during peark season, you visit it early in the morning or at sunset.

Right outside the Bamboo Forest entrance is the northern gate of Tenryu-ji Temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Kyoto-gozan -- five major temples of Kyoto. This is no coincidence. In Japan, Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples are often situated near bamboo groves, which are viewed as a clever means of warding off evil, while the bamboo is seen as a symbol of strength.

Built in the 14th century by a shogun in honor of the passing of Japan's emperor, Tenryu-ji has one of the country's most incredible Zen gardens and is today the headquarters of the Rinzai School of Zen Buddhism. At the other end of the Bamboo Forest trail sits Okochi-Sanso Villa (open daily, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.), the former home of late silent film star Denjiro Okochi.A massive complex of gardens with plants and trees that are famed for catering to all four seasons, there's also a temple, study, tea hut and museum highlighting the life of Denjiro.

The best way to explore the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is by following our Arashiyama Bamboo Grove Walking Tour, which outlines the best route to follow.

Lohagad Fort, Maharashtra State, India.

Lohagad (iron fort) is one of the many hill forts of Maharashtra state in India. Situated close to the hill station Lonavala and 52 km (32 mi) northwest of Pune, Lohagad rises to an elevation of 1,033 m (3,389 ft) above sea level. The fort is connected to the neighboring Visapur fort by a small range. The fort was under the Maratha empire for the majority of the time, with a short period of 5 years under the Mughal empire.

Lohagad has a long history with several dynasties occupying it at different periods of time: Satavahanas, Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Yadavas, Bahamanis, Nizams, Mughals and Marathas. Shivaji Maharaj captured it in 1648 AD, but he was forced to surrender it to the Mughals in 1665 AD by the Treaty of Purandar. Shivaji Maharaj recaptured the fort in 1670 AD and used it for keeping his treasury. This fort was used to keep the loot from Surat. Later in Peshwa time Nana Phadnavis used this fort for living for some time and built several structures in the fort such as a big tank and a step-well.

The lohagad fort also has caves on its south side facing Lohgadwadi. In September 2019 an inscription in Brahmi script in Prakrit language dating back to the 2nd or 1st century BC was discovered by team of trekkers from Pune in the cave on the cliff. The inscription was studied by Dr.Shreekant Pradhan (an ancient Indian paintings scholar working at Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute),Abhinav kurkute and Vivek Kale. The inscription was found on the outside wall of a rock-cut cave on the eastern side cliff of the Lohgad fort, close to Lohgadwadi village.

The inscription is written in the Brahmi script and the language is Prakrit influenced Sanskrit. The inscription is similar to, but more descriptive than, an inscription discovered at Pale caves (Maval)by Mr. R.L.Bhide and studied by archaeologists HD Sankalia and Shobhana Gokhale in 1969. It starts with ‘Namo Arihantanam’ which is commonly used by Jains, pointing to the fact that the Lohgad cave is a Jain rock-cut cave. The inscription at Pale caves also begins in a similar manner and based on Sankalia and Gokhale’s study, it was assumed to be a Jain inscription.

The inscription mentions the name "Ida Rakhita", meaning Indra Rakshita, who donated water cisterns, rock-cut benches to settlements in the area. The inscription at Pale also mentions the same name. The newly discovered inscription is 50c m-wide and 40cm-long and is written in six lines. The Lohagad Jain cave is near the fort. The fort has been declared as a protected monument by the government.

 

 
Lohagad is part of the Western Ghats. It rises to an elevation of 1,033 m (3,389 ft) above sea level, and is located to the southwest of the larger Visapur fort. The range divides the basins of the Indrayani river and Pavana lake. Lohagad overlooks the Pavana reservoir, located to the south of the mountain. The hill extends to the northwest to a fortified spur, called Vinchukada (Scorpion's tail) because of its resembling shape. The four large gates of Lohagad are still in good condition and reasonably intact.

During the monsoon, the top of the fort is covered with mist and clouds and becomes particularly wet with growing moss. The roads and trails leading to the hill are quite slippery at this time of the year and precautions are necessary to be taken while venturing the routes. Lohagad fort can be accessed by various modes of travel. The nearest airport is the Pune International Airport. The proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport will serve as the nearest airport in the coming future. The nearest train station is Malavli, which can be accessed by suburban trains between Lonavala and Pune. The nearest major train station is Lonavala, on the Mumbai-Pune railway line. Lohagad is connected by the Mumbai-Pune Highway and can also be accessed from Paud via Kolvan and Dudhiware Khind for all vehicles.

People can also hike all the way to the fort. Bhaja Caves is on the way to Lohagad if a small diversion is taken. This walk is a particular favorite of trekkers, especially in the monsoon season. It is a simple, very scenic and pleasant trek and the distance from Malavli and Lohagad can be covered in around two hours. A tar road exists all the way to the top from Malavli station and one can hire a tempo or cab to the top. The best season to visit the fort is in the monsoons. It is absolutely safe and many vendors selling onion fritters and lemonade are present by the roadside. One can cut across the hills as well. However, it is not recommended to play in the waterfall as there is a risk of slippage and injury. The Fort has around 350 steps from the base , and it is not advisable to take a personal car as the road is single lane, steep & very Bad. A variety of birds and insects can also be spotted in these hills.

Paros, Greek Island, Aegean Sea, Greece

Paros Island is a Greek island in the central Aegean Sea. One of the Cyclades island group, it lies to the west of Naxos, from which it is separated by a channel about 8 kilometres (5 miles) wide. It lies approximately 150 km (93 miles) south-east of Piraeus. The Municipality of Paros includes numerous uninhabited offshore islets totaling 196.308 square kilometres (75.795 sq mi) of land. Its nearest neighbor is the municipality of Antiparos, which lies to its southwest. In ancient Greece, the city-state of Paros was located on the island.

Historically, Paros was known for its fine white marble, which gave rise to the term "Parian" to describe marble or china of similar qualities.Today, abandoned marble quarries and mines can be found on the island, but Paros is primarily known as a popular tourist spot.

Paros' geographic co-ordinates are 37° N. latitude, and 25° 10' E. longitude. The area is 165 km2 (64 sq mi). Its greatest length from N.E. to S.W. is 21 km (13 mi), and its greatest breadth 16 km (10 mi). The island is of a round, plump-pear shape, formed by a single mountain (724 m (2,375 ft)) sloping evenly down on all sides to a maritime plain, which is broadest on the north-east and south-west sides. The island is composed of marble, though gneiss and mica-schist are to be found in a few places. To the west of Paros lies its smaller sister island Antiparos. At its narrowest, the channel between the two islands is less than 2 km (1 mi) wide. A car-carrying shuttle-ferry operates all day. In addition a dozen smaller islets surround Paros.

Paros has numerous beaches including Golden Beach (Chrissí Aktí) near Drios on the east coast, at Pounda, Logaras, Piso Livadi, Naousa Bay, Parikia and Agia Irini. The constant strong wind in the strait between Paros and Naxos makes it a favoured windsurfing location.  

Islands

• Gaiduronisi – north of Xifara
• Portes Island – west of the town of Paros
• Tigani Island – southwest of Paros
• Drionisi – southeast of Paros

 

The story that Paros of Parrhasia colonized the island with Arcadians is an etymological fiction of the type that abounds in Greek legends. Ancient names of the island are said to have been Plateia (or Pactia), Demetrias, Strongyle (meaning round, due to the round shape of the island), Hyria, Hyleessa, Minoa and Cabarnis. The island later received from Athens a colony of Ionians under whom it attained a high degree of prosperity. It sent out colonies to Thasos[9] and Parium on the Hellespont. In the former colony, which was planted in the 15th or 18th Olympiad, the poet Archilochus, a native of Paros, is said to have taken part. As late as 385 BC the Parians, in conjunction with Dionysius of Syracuse, founded a colony on the Illyrian island of Pharos (Hvar).

Shortly before the Persian War, Paros seems to have been a dependency of Naxos. In the first Greco-Persian War (490 BC), Paros sided with the Persians and sent a trireme to Marathon to support them. In retaliation, the capital was besieged by an Athenian fleet under Miltiades, who demanded a fine of 100 talents. But the town offered a vigorous resistance, and the Athenians were obliged to sail away after a siege of 26 days, during which they had wasted the island.It was at a temple of Demeter Thesmophoros in Paros that Miltiades received the wound from which he died.By means of an inscription, Ross was able to identify the site of the temple; it lies, as Herodotus suggests, on a low hill beyond the boundary of the town.

Paros also sided with shahanshah Xerxes I of Persia against Greece in the second Greco-Persian War (480–479 BC), but, after the battle of Artemisium, the Parian contingent remained inactive at Kythnos as they watched the progression of events. For their support of the Persians, the islanders were later punished by the Athenian war leader Themistocles, who exacted a heavy fine.

Under the Delian League, the Athenian-dominated naval confederacy (477–404 BC), Paros paid the highest tribute of the island members: 30 talents annually, according to the estimate of Olympiodorus (429 BC). This implies that Paros was one of the wealthiest islands in the Aegean. Little is known about the constitution of Paros, but inscriptions seem to show that it was modeled on the Athenian democracy, with a boule (senate) at the head of affairs. In 410 BC, Athenian general Theramenes discovered that Paros was governed by an oligarchy; he deposed the oligarchy and restored the democracy. Paros was included in the second Athenian confederacy (the Second Athenian League 378–355 BC). In c. 357 BC, along with Chios, it severed its connection with Athens. From the inscription of Adule, it is understood that the Cyclades, which are presumed to include Paros, were subjected to the Ptolemies, the Hellenistic dynasty (305–30 BC) that ruled Egypt. Paros then became part of the Roman Empire and later of the Byzantine Empire, its Greek-speaking successor state.

Paros unrivalled natural beauty, beaches with crystal clear waters, unrivalled Byzantine footpaths connecting traditional villages and breathtaking landscapes make Paros, located at the heart of the Cyclades, one of the best loved holiday destinations in Greece. Paros is connected by ferry to Piraeus, Rafina, Lavrio and the rest of the Cyclades. You can reach Paros by aeroplane from the airports of Athens and Thessaloniki.

 

For more information -Paros