Cenote Ik Kil, Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico.

Cenote Ik Kil is a cenote outside Pisté in the Tinúm Municipality, Yucatán, Mexico. It is located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula and is part of the Ik Kil Archeological Park near Chichen Itza. It is open to the public for swimming. The cenote is open to the sky with the water level about 26 metres (85 ft) below ground level. There is a carved stairway that leads down to a swimming platform. The cenote is about 60 metres (200 ft) in diameter and about 48 metres (157 ft) deep.

Cenote Ik Kil is near the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, on the highway to Valladolid. Ik Kil was considered sacred by the Mayans who used the site as a location for human sacrifice to their rain god, Chaac. Bones and pieces of jewelry were found in the deep waters of this cenote by archaeologists and speleologists. The cenote is part of a complex that includes a restaurant, giftshop, bicycles for rent, changing rooms, and a hotel in site. As of 2020, the price of admission to the cenote Ik Kil is 80 pesos (USD 4) for adults, and 40 pesos (USD 2) for minors.

 

Cenote Ik Kil is one of the most beautiful of the natural wells that stud the jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula. Tour the incredible Mayan ruins of nearby Chichén Itzá and then cool off with a dip in these vibrant turquoise waters. Get a sense of why the Mayans considered the cenotes to be sacred places. 

Cenotes are deep natural swimming holes that are often joined to caves. Many of them are in wells many feet below ground level and the water-filled parts stretch far down into the depths of the earth. Leap into Cenote Ik Kil and you certainly will not be able to touch the bottom.

Descend the staircase carved into the rock and stop at the viewing windows to take photos of the ethereally beautiful bright water and sun-dappled rock face as you go. Take advantage of the cenote’s facilities, which include showers and changing rooms. Step into the pool, or be brave and dive from one of the many platforms provided for the purpose. Once in the water, look up at the lush green vines that dangle from above. Try not to worry if something brushes your leg. The pool is inhabited by catfish, which are completely harmless. 

Imagine this magical place as it would have looked over a thousand years ago, when the Mayans conducted religious ceremonies here. Unlike the nearby Cenote Sagrada, Ik Kil is not known to have been used for human sacrifices. Visit Cenote Ik Kil on the same day that you visit Chichén Itzá. The cenote is only a few minutes’ drive away. There is a small entrance fee. Join one of the many guided tours that includes both this cenote and Chichén Itzá and all entry fees will be included.

Sandhan Valley (The Valley of Shadows), Ahmednagar District, India,

Sandhan Valley, "The Great Canyon" in the Sahyadri ranges which is combination of a canyon and a valley. Located in the Ahmednagar district, India, near the famous fort Ratangad. Sandhan valley is undoubtedly The Valley of Shadows.

It can be reached from Samrad village which is the base village. Samrad is approx. 30 Kms from Bhandardara and 3 Kms off the Ghatghar Dam road. Sandhan Valley is known by many names viz. Valley of Suspense, Valley of Shadows, and Grand Canyon of Maharashtra. However, Sandhan is no comparison to the Grand Canyon in the Arizona State of USA which is a 445 Kms long canyon cut by the Colorado River, Sandhan is barely 2 Kms long. Sunrays reach the gorge only for a short span of time during the day when the sun is directly above the gorge, thus the gorge remains in shadow for most part of the day. There is no suspense in the gorge or the valley beneath. Sandhan Valley is a wonder of nature with stunning views, chilly weather and the spellbound majesty of nature.

Best time to visit Sandhan Valley is during winters from November till February. Sandhan valley is inaccessible in the monsoons as the area witnesses heavy rainfall.

Sandhan Valley is a gorge cut by wild water streams gushing down ferociously from nearby mountains during the monsoons for past thousands of years. The streams fall in to the valley beyond the gorge and form a pond. To reach the pond one has to rappel down from the far end of the gorge in to the valley. The views from the far end of the gorge are truly breath taking and the experience is amazing.

Sandhan valley and Bhandardara region is surrounded by mighty mountains from all sides offering challenging treks. The trekking grade could be ‘Moderate’ or ‘Difficult’ thus requiring good endurance and experience. Treks in this region are not recommended for novice trekkers. The most challenging trek is a trek popularly known as the AMK named after the three mountains Alang, Madangad and Kulang to the northern side of Samrad. Far north is Mount Kalsubai, the highest peak of Maharashtra at 5400 feet ASL. At close proximity from Samrad in the east direction is the famous Ratangad and to the south stand high the Ajoba and the Bann peaks. All the peaks are amongst the mightiest peaks in the Sahyadri range.

Being a remote village there are no hotels in Samrad. The locals make homestay arrangements. Trekkers and Mountaineers can opt to stay in their own camping tents carried along.

Jacob's Well, Northwest of Wimberley, Texas

Jacob's Well is a perennial karstic spring in the Texas Hill Country flowing from the bed of Cypress Creek, located northwest of Wimberley, Texas.

Jacob’s Well Natural Area consists of five land surveys that all use the spring as a corner to tie the properties together. These surveys were conducted in 1847 by a prominent surveyor names Bartlett Sims. In the early 1850’s William C. Winters, a San Jacinto veteran and early settler of Wimberley, hiked up Cypress Creek searching for its source and found an overflowing spring. It is said that Mr. Winters exclaimed “like unto a well in Bible times.” Thus it was named ‘Jacob’s Well’. The property changed hands many times over the next 100 years and became a popular recreational destination. Jacob’s Well Natural Area remains a popular recreational destination today.

The spring is located on the property of Jacob's Well Natural Area (JWNA), managed by the Hays County Parks Department. The visitor entrance for JWNA is located at 1699 Mt. Sharp Road, Wimberley, TX 78676. The 12-foot (3.7 m) diameter mouth of the spring serves as a popular local swimming spot. From the opening in the creek bed, Jacob's Well cave descends vertically for about 30 feet (9.1 m), then continues downward at an angle through a series of silted chambers separated by narrow restrictions, finally reaching an average depth of 120 feet (37 m). Until the modern era, the Trinity Aquifer-fed natural artesian spring gushed water from the mouth of the cave, with a measured flow in 1924 of 170 US gallons per second (640 L/s), discharging 6 feet (1.8 m) into the air.

Due to development in the area, the level of the Trinity Aquifer has dropped affecting the flow of water through Jacob's Well. In the modern era, what remains visible of the spring is a faint ripple on the surface of Cypress Creek. The spring ceased flowing for the first time in recorded history in 2000, again ceasing to flow in 2008. This resulted in now ongoing measures to address local water conservation and quality. Hays County purchased 50 acres (20 ha) of land around Jacob's Well in 2010, in an attempt to protect the spring from development. An additional thirty-one acres was transferred to the county from the neighboring Jacob’s Well Natural Area (administered at the time by the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA)), the new, eighty-acre (32 hectares) named the Westridge Tract. 

The system has been explored and mapped by cave divers of the Jacob's Well Exploration Project and has been shown to consist of two principal conduits. One passageway measures approximately 4,500 feet (1,400 m) from the surface with a maximum depth of 137 feet (42 m), and a secondary one extends approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) in length from the point where it diverges from the main conduit.

The cave is also an attraction for open-water divers, some of whom are inexperienced with the specialized techniques and equipment used in cave diving.

 

For more information  - Jacobs Well Natural Area

Prairie Smoke Flower, North America from northern Canada to California and east to New York

Geum triflorum, prairie smoke, three-flowered avens, or old man's whiskers, is a spring-blooming perennial herbaceous plant of North America from northern Canada to California and east to New York. The flowers bloom from mid-spring to early summer. 

 

Prairie smoke has pinnately divided leaves with 7–17 primary leaflets; there are also a few smaller secondary leaflets inserted between some of the primary leaflets. They are arranged in a rosette at ground level and are semi-evergreen: some basal leaves remain over the winter and often turn reddish purple.

The flowers bloom in spring. They appear on short reddish purple-tinged stems 15 to 41 cm (6 to 16 in) high and are arranged in umbels of 3 to 5 flowers. At the base of the umbel are leaflike green to reddish purple bracts. Sometimes there are also pairs of leaflike bracts on the stem below the umbel or on the stems of individual flowers. While blooming, the flowers nod downwards and remain mostly closed and bud-like, except for a tiny opening at the bottom. The five petals are cream to yellowish, suffused with pink or purple, but are mostly covered by the five red sepals. Between the sepals are five narrow bractlets. Hidden within the flower are a central cluster of pistils and a ring of many stamens around them.

Pollinated flowers turn upwards and open up. The pistils in the middle of the flower develop into heads of seeds with long fuzzy hairs that point upwards. The hairs resemble mauve smoke, hence the name prairie smoke. The leaves and flowers grow from a caudex. The plant spreads by short underground rhizomes.

 

 

In the United States, Geum triflorum occurs in the west, midwest, and the state of New York. In Canada it is reported as growing in every province west of Ontario as well as the Yukon and Northwest Territories. The species prefers to grow in dry, well-drained soils in full sun in most of its native range. It prefers cool summer climates, but it is intolerant of wet soils during the winter.

The flowers produce both nectar and pollen. They are visited mainly by bumblebees, which are able to force their way into the mostly closed flowers and reach the nectar. They also buzz-pollinate to dislodge pollen from the stamens and gather it to feed their young. Smaller bees such as sweat bees from the genus Lasioglossum feed on pollen grains from the opening of the flower. Bumblebees are the only effective cross-pollinators. Various insects chew holes in the top of the flower, near the stem, to reach the nectar. 

Jatayu Earth's Center Nature Park, Chadayamangalam, Kollam district of Kerala, India

Jatayu Earth Center, also known as Jatayu Nature Park or Jatayu Rock, is a park and tourism centre at Chadayamangalam in Kollam district of Kerala. Its world's largest bird sculpture and it stands at an altitude of 350m (1200ft) above the mean sea level. Jatayu Nature Park holds the distinction of having the world’s largest bird sculpture, which is of the mythological bird Jatayu.

The sulpture measures (200 feet (61 m) long, 150 feet (46 m) wide, 70 feet (21 m) in height and occupies 15,000 square feet (1,400 m2) of floor area). It was sculpted by Rajiv Anchal. 

This rock-theme nature park was the first Public–private partnership tourism initiative in the state of Kerala under the BOT model. The park is about 38 km (24 mi) away from the city of Kollam and 46 km (29 mi) away from the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram. After completion, it opened to visitors on 17 August 2018.

The park located near the town of Chadayamangalam (Jatayumangalam), which was named for Jatayu. Jatayu was a demi-god in Ramayana (a Hindu epic) who had the form of a vulture.

According to the Ramayana epic, Ravana abducted Sita to Lanka. Jatayu had tried to rescue Sita from Ravana while Ravana was on his way to Lanka. Jatayu fought valiantly with Ravana, but as Jatayu was very old, Ravana soon defeated him. Rama and Lakshmana while on the search for Sita, chanced upon the stricken and dying Jatayu, who informed them of the battle with Ravana and told them that Ravana had headed South. Legend says that Jatayu fell on the rocks in Chadayamangalam, after his wings were clipped by Ravana. The statue is a representation of a mythological story, and symbolizes the protection of women, and their honour and safety. It was designed and sculpted by Rajiv Anchal

The park is located on a hill-top in Kollam district in Kerala. No special transportation is required to get in to the park, however visitors required to use a cable car to reach the top of the park. Visitors intending to enter the park must obtain a paid ticket. Tourists may only bring cameras, and no bags are allowed. Lockers are provided for other items and there will be a security screening process before entering the top.

For more information - Jatayu Park

Dharavi (Asia's Biggest Slum Area), Mumbai, India

Dharavi is a locality in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, considered to be one of Asia's largest slums. Dharavi has an area of just over 2.1 square kilometers (0.81 sq mi; 520 acres) and a population of about 1,000,000. With a population density of over 277,136/km2 (717,780/sq mi), Dharavi is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.

The Dharavi slum was founded in 1884 during the British colonial era, and grew in part because of an expulsion of factories and residents from the peninsular city centre by the colonial government and from the migration of poor rural Indians into urban Mumbai. For this reason, Dharavi is currently a highly diverse settlement religiously and ethnically.

Dharavi has an active informal economy in which numerous household enterprises employ many of the slum residents leather, textiles and pottery products are among the goods made inside Dharavi. The total annual turnover has been estimated at over US$1 billion. Dharavi has suffered from many epidemics and other disasters, including a widespread plague in 1896 which killed over half of the population of Mumbai. Though large sums of money have been borrowed by the Indian government in the guise of improving sanitation in Dharavi, none of these have materialized into any development on the ground.

In the 18th century, Dharavi was an island with a predominantly mangrove swamp. It was a sparsely populated village before the late 19th century, inhabited by Koli fishermen. Dharavi was then referred to as the village of Koliwada.

 

 

In the 1850s, after decades of urban growth under East India Company and British Raj, the city's population reached half a million. The urban area then covered mostly the southern extension of Mumbai peninsula, the population density was over 10 times higher than London at that time. The most polluting industries were tanneries, and the first tannery moved from peninsular Mumbai into Dharavi in 1887. People who worked with leather, typically a profession of lowest Hindu castes and of Muslim Indians, moved into Dharavi. Other early settlers included the Kumbars, a large Gujarati community of potters. The colonial government granted them a 99-year land-lease in 1895. Rural migrants looking for jobs poured into Mumbai, and its population soared past 1 million. Other artisans, like the embroidery workers from Uttar Pradesh, started the ready-made garments trade. These industries created jobs, labor moved in, but there was no government effort to plan or invest in any infrastructure in or near Dharavi. The living quarters and small scale factories grew haphazardly, without provision for sanitation, drains, safe drinking water, roads or other basic services. But some ethnic, caste and religious communities that have settled in Dharavi at that time helped build the settlement of Dharavi, by forming organizations and political parties, building school and temples, constructing homes and factories. Dharavi's first mosque, Badi Masjid, started in 1887 and the oldest Hindu temple, Ganesh Mandir, was built in 1913.

At India's independence from colonial rule in 1947, Dharavi had grown to be the largest slum in Mumbai and all of India. It still had a few empty spaces, which continued to serve as waste-dumping grounds for operators across the city. Mumbai, meanwhile, continued to grow as a city. Soon Dharavi was surrounded by the city, and became a key hub for informal economy. Starting from the 1950s, proposals for Dharavi redevelopment plans periodically came out, but most of these plans failed because of lack of financial banking and/or political support. Dharavi's Co-operative Housing Society was formed in the 1960s to uplift the lives of thousands of slum dwellers by the initiative of Shri. M.V. Duraiswamy, a well-known social worker and congress leader of that region. The society promoted 338 flats and 97 shops and was named as Dr. Baliga Nagar. By the late 20th century, Dharavi occupied about 175 hectares (432 acres), with an astounding population density of more than 2,900 people per hectare (1,200/acre).

A Dubai-based firm, SecLink Group, has planned to redevelop the slum into a completely new area. On setting up of the SPV, the private firm will have to bring in the equity of Rs 400 crore, while the state government will invest another Rs 100 crore. The company planning to do it is also building infrastructure and affordable housing projects in Singapore and Dubai. Following the empowered committee's nod, the senior state officials said that an MoU will soon be executed between the state government, and the Dharavi Redevelopment Project Authority (DRPA) and the company. With an almost estimated cost of over Rs 26,000 crore, the Dharavi makeover project is the biggest brownfield redevelopment project in India. To make the redevelopment more economically viable, the state government's plan is involving transforming the region into a hub for commercial and business activity. Dharavi is close to the Bandra Kurla Complex, which is India's richest business district and one of the richest in Asia. 

 

The total current population of Dharavi slum is unknown, and estimates vary widely. Some sources suggest it is 300,000 to about a million. With Dharavi spread over 200 hectares (500 acres), it is also estimated to have a population density of 869,565 people per square mile. With a literacy rate of 69%, Dharavi is the most literate slum in India. About 30% of the population of Dharavi is Muslim, compared to 13% average population of Muslims in India. The Christian population is estimated to be about 6%, while the rest are predominantly Hindus (63%), with some Buddhists and other minority religions. Among the Hindus, about 20% work on animal skin production, tanneries and leather goods. Other Hindus specialise in pottery work, textile goods manufacturing, retail and trade, distilleries and other caste professions – all of these as small-scale household operations. The slum residents are from all over India, people who migrated from rural regions of many different states. The slum has numerous mosques, temples and churches to serve people of Islam, Hindu and Christian faiths; with Badi Masjid, a mosque, as the oldest religious structure in Dharavi.

Dharavi is a large area situated between Mumbai's two main suburban railway lines, the Western and Central Railways. To the west of Dharavi are Mahim and Bandra, and to the north lies the Mithi River. The Mithi River empties into the Arabian Sea through the Mahim Creek. The area of Antop Hill lies to the east while the locality called Matunga is located in the South. Due to its location and poor sewage and drainage systems, Dharavi particularly becomes vulnerable to floods during the wet season. Dharavi is considered one of the largest slums in the world. The low-rise building style and narrow street structure of the area make Dharavi very cramped and confined. Like most slums, it is overpopulated. Compared to Mumbai's urban floor space index (FSI) of a range from 5 to 15, in Dharavi it is about 13.3. Government officials are considering changing the Dharavi's floor space index to 4. The rent in this shanty houses ranges from ( 3500Rs - 8000Rs ) with deposit from 20000Rs to 50000. Also it's price starts from 15 lakh to 2r lakh. While, The rent in buildings here ranges from ( 10000 Rs to 25000 ) with deposit 1lakh to 5-10 lakh. And it's price starts from 30 lakh to 1.5 Crore Rs.

In addition to the traditional pottery and textile industries in Dharavi, there is an increasingly large recycling industry, processing recyclable waste from other parts of Mumbai. Recycling in Dharavi is reported to employ approximately 250,000 people. While recycling is a major industry in the neighborhood, it is also reported to be a source of heavy pollution in the area. The district has an estimated 5,000 businesses and 15,000 single-room factories. Two major suburban railways feed into Dharavi, making it an important commuting station for people in the area going to and from work. Dharavi exports goods around the world. Often these consist of various leather products, jewellery, various accessories, and textiles. Markets for Dharavi's goods include stores in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. The total (and largely informal economy) turnover is estimated to be between US$500 million, and US$650 million per year, to over US$1 billion per year. The per capita income of the residents, depending on estimated population range of 300,000 to about 1 million, ranges between US$500 and US$2,000 per year. A few travel operators offer guided tours through Dharavi, showing the industrial and the residential part of Dharavi and explaining about the problems and challenges Dharavi is facing. These tours give a deeper insight into a slum in general and Dharavi in particular.

Dharavi was most notably used as the backdrop in the film Slumdog Millionaire (2008). It has also been depicted in a number of Indian films, including Deewaar (1975), Nayakan (1987), Salaam Bombay! (1988), Parinda (1989), Dharavi (1991), Bombay (1995), Ram Gopal Varma's "Indian Gangster Trilogy" (1998–2005), the Sarkar series (2005–2008), Footpath (2003), Black Friday (2004), No Smoking (2007), Traffic Signal (2007), Aamir (2008), Mankatha (2011), Thuppakki (2012), Thalaivaa (2013), Bhoothnath Returns (2014), Kaala (2018) and Gully Boy (2019). Dharavi, Slum for Sale (2009) by Lutz Konermann and Rob Appleby is a German documentary.[46] In a programme aired in the United Kingdom in January 2010, Kevin McCloud and Channel 4 aired a two-part series titled Slumming It which centered around Dharavi and its inhabitants. The poem "Blessing" by Imtiaz Dharker is about Dharavi not having enough water. For The Win, by Cory Doctorow, is partially set in Dharavi. In 2014, Belgian researcher Katrien Vankrunkelsven made a 22-minute film on Dharavi which is entitled The Way of Dharavi.