Ratha Yatra (World Largest Holy Gathering), Puri, Orissa, India

Ratha Yatra is a Hindu festival associated with Lord Jagannath held at Puri in the state of Odisha, India. It is the oldest Ratha Yatra taking place in India and the World, whose descriptions can be found in Brahma Purana, Padma Purana, and Skanda Purana and Kapila Samhita.This annual festival is celebrated on Ashadha Shukla Paksha Dwitiya (second day in bright fortnight of Ashadha month). RathaYatra is a colorful festival which draws millions of devotees from various parts of the country as well as from abroad to Puri, is held in June-July every year. Lord Jagannath, Lord of the Universe, comes out of His sanctum sanctorum to give Darshan to all Devotees belonging to all sects and communities. It is said that those who take part in the Car Festival 2015 earn their passage to the Heaven.

The festival commemorates Jagannath's annual visit to Gundicha Temple via Mausi Maa Temple (maternal aunt's home) near Saradha Bali, Puri. The three chariots of Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhdra are newly constructed every year with wood of specified trees like phassi, dhausa, etc. They are customarily brought from the ex-princely state of Dasapalla by a specialist team of carpenters who have hereditary rights and privileges for the same. The logs are traditionally set afloat as rafts in the river Mahanadi. These are collected near Puri and then transported by road.

The three chariots are decorated as per the unique scheme prescribed and followed for centuries stand on the Bada Danda, the Grand Avenue. The chariots are lined across the wide avenue in front of the temple close to its eastern entrance, which is also known as the Sinhadwara or the Lion's Gate. Around each of the chariots are nine Parsva devatas, painted wooden images representing different deities on the chariots' sides. Each chariot has a charioteer (Sarathi) and four horses.

'SnanaPumima' marks the beginning of this festival. On this day the three deities Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra take prolonged bath on an open platform known as 'SnanaBedi', Then they retire for 15 days popularly called the period of 'Anabasara' and remain in isolation. During this period, no public worship is performed. After 15 days of isolation, the Gods come out of the temple in a colourful procession to board their respective Chariots and thereafter begins the journey known as RathaJatra.

Reference to Car Festival in JagannathaPuri is available in various scriptures like those of Buddhists. Jains and Hindus. However, the present concept of Lord Jagannath is most popular. According to the prevailing concept, Lord Jagannath was originally worshipped by Savaras a Scheduled Tribe of Odisha.Car Festival symbolizes the Lord's desire to come out of the temple for a brief period to give Darshan to the 'Patitas' and redeem them. The chariots of Lord Jagannath and His brother Balabhadra and sister Subhadra are dragged by thousands of devotees in three gorgeously decorated chariots from the main gate of the temple to GundichaMandir near about 3 Kms. away. At Gundicha Mandirthe Lord along with His entourage remains for 7 days.

When the chariots move on the main thoroughfare  of Puri known as BadaDanda through a vast concourse of humanity that  usually throng to have His Darshan, the atmosphere is charged with sanctity. It is delightful to  witness the foreigners in saffron robes dancing and reciting musical compositions in  honour of Lord Jagannath and Krishna, to the accompaniment of cymbals and  mridangas.

The Gods perform their Return Journey on the 9th day and   this is known as Bahudayatra. The deities, after a seven-day stay at 'Gundicha Mandir' commence  their Return Journey, or the Bahuda yatra. On the tenth day of the bright fortnight of Asadlia. The  Return Journey of the chariots takes place in the same order as in the RathaJatra. Balabhadra's  chariot moves first, followed by those of Subhadra and Jagannath. On His way back,  Jagannath slops for a while at Ardhasani temple popularly called MausiMaa Temple or the  Temple of Aunt. He accepts his favourite rice-cake, PodaPitha from the  Aunt.

The three chariots, pulled by thousands of devotees, reach back the Singhadwara in the late afternoon of the Bahuda day. On the next day the BadaEkadasi, the three deities are attired in costumes of glittering gold ornaments and are worshipped by lakhs of devotees. This form of the deities Is known as the 'SunaVesha'. On the Dwadasi day, the three deities go back to their original place of the temple, the 'RatnaSinghasana', in the Pahandi style. Their arrival into the sanctum sanctorum marks the end of the RathaJatra, the grand festival of chariots.

Redhead Day , Dutch Summer Festival, Nederlands

Redhead Day (Roodharigendag in Dutch) is the name of a Dutch summer festival that takes place each first weekend of September in the city of Tilburg, and up to 2018 in the city of Breda, in the Netherlands. The two-day festival, which inaugurated in 2005, is a gathering of people with natural red hair, but is also focused on art related to the colour red.

Activities during the festival are lectures, workshops and demonstrations which are aimed specifically at red-haired people. The festival attracts attendance from fifty countries and is free of charge due to sponsorship of the local government. To be classified a 'Redhead', each participant must not have altered their natural hair colour. Additionally it is encouraged (but not required) to have red clothing.

The festival was started in 2005 unintentionally by the Dutch painter Bart Rouwenhorst in the small Dutch city of Asten. As a painter, he was inspired by artists like Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Gustav Klimt. Both of these artists created dramatic portraits of women, and both artists made famous paintings depicting redheaded women. To follow in the footsteps of his favourite painters, Rouwenhorst planned an exhibition of fifteen new paintings of redheads. Finding models was problematic, since redheads are rare in the Netherlands where only two percent of the population has natural red hair. To find models, an advertisement was placed in a local newspaper. However, instead of 15, 150 models volunteered.

Not wanting to turn down so many potential models, Rouwenhorst decided to choose 14 models, organize a group photo shoot for remaining redheads, and have a lottery to decide by chance who would be the 15th and final model. Thus began the first Red head day.

That year, the focus was on red-haired women only, since they were asked to volunteer to pose for the paintings. At the events in later years, the aim was to attract redheaded men as well as women, but still the sexes are not equally distributed. The first meeting attracted 150 natural redheads.

The weekend-long festival is free to attend, and you don’t have to be a redhead to go friends, family, and admirers are all welcome. Photographers set up tents all over town, poised to do individual photo-shoots. There are speed-meeting sessions, art exhibits, fashion shows, a high heels race, lectures on the history of red hair, an Irish whiskey tasting, and beauty tutorials. An assortment of food trucks park around Kasteelplein (Castle Square), prepared to feed the crowds, and of-age attendees can quench their thirst at the Saturday night pub crawl.

The only event that requires crimson tresses is the group photo, which is taken on the last day of the festival. In 2015, the last time an official count was done, 1,721 redheads wearing blue were included in the group shot, breaking the festival’s own 2013 Guinness World Record of 1,672 redheads in one place. 

What started as a small gathering has grown into a major event attended by upwards of 5,000 people from more than 80 countries. While a number of similar festivals have popped up across Ireland, London, Portland, Chicago, and Georgia, Breda claims the title of the original and the largest.

The Red River, Province of Canchis, Cusco, Peru

The Red River is located in the province of Canchis in the region of Cusco, about three hours southeast of the city of Cusco. This entire province lies in the shadow of the great Mount Ausangate, one of the highest peaks in the country and an important regional apu (traditional deity of the Andean mountains). Red River in Cusco is just one more example of the amazing landscape that Peru has to offer.

The Red River in Cusco is known locally as Palquella Pucamayu, from the Quechua palquella (“small branch”) and pucamayu (“red river”). This peculiar waterway runs red for about 5 kilometers before combining with some other local streams and small rivers, at which point the color becomes more diluted and loses its unique shade.

The source of the Red River is located in the nearby valley of Arco Iris Palcoyo Mountain, which together with the other mountains in the region form the Vilcanota Mountain Range. This chain is in turn part of the wider Andean mountain range that extends along the entire spine of South America, forming the longest continental mountain range in the world.

These numerous small tributaries end up flowing into the Vilcamayo River, which crosses the Sacred Valley of Cusco and passes through the famous citadel of Machu Picchu. Further down, this river is known as the Urubamba River before passing through the middle of the notorious Pongo de Mainique canyon as it enters the jungle and finally feeds into the mighty Amazon River.

Cusco’s Red River is formed by rainwater runoff from nearby Rainbow Mountain Palcoyo. The range of colors of this vibrant valley is the result of the different mineral contents of the different soil layers, which have become visible by erosion. The ‘Red’ colour is we see is the because of the presence of red sandstone full of iron oxide. This mineral-rich sedimentary rock gets washed off the hillsides when it rains and turns the water a distinct red or pink hue (the exact tone depends on the volume of rainfall). Now since the colour is visible by erosion (which is caused by rain run-off), this so-called red or pink river can only be visible during Peru’s rainy season months. During the rest of the year, the river’s water level is much lower than during monsoon and its colour is, therefore, kind of muddy-brown.

The dry season, which lasts from May to November, is generally considered the best time to visit Peru in order to avoid any logistical problems due to the climate. However, the Red River of Cusco is only visible during the months of Peru’s rainy season, which lasts approximately from December to April. If you want to see this impressive pastel colored river for yourself, one of the best times to visit is in April, when the rains have started to dissipate but the river water level is still high.
 
During the rainy season in the Peruvian Highlands, you will get to see how the cherry red waters of Palcoyo’s Red River cut across the emerald green hills and serene farmland, providing a stark contrast against the surrounding pastoral scenery. 

For those who want to extend their adventure into this beautiful part of the Cusco countryside, there are several other interesting things to see in this area, including the classic Vinicunca Rainbow Mountain, the fascinating Q’eswachaka Inca rope bridge, and the majestic Waqrapukara ruins. A visit to this area is easily incorporated into any Cusco itinerary.

Jasper Creek, Municipality of Bolivar State, Venezuela, South America

Jasper Creek is the name of a river and a series of cascades and waterfalls in Venezuela. Jasper Creek, known also as Quebrada de Jaspe. The name jasper is derived from the fact that the water flows over a smooth bedrock of mostly red and black jasper. The river is located in the Gran Sabana Municipality of Bolívar State, Venezuelan Guayana. They can be reached from the town of Santa Elena de Uairén. 

Jasper Creek is the name of a stream and a progression of falls and waterfalls. a perfect paradisiacal place to relax, bathe and enjoy the wonders of the mother Nature.

A semi-valuable stone of for the most part quartz and silica,  with a solid red shading because of the nearness of iron. Jasper is utilized all through the  world to make adornments and  decorations.

Quebrada de Jaspe, is a large slab of 300 meters in length, composed of quartz and silica, of a very strong red and black color, with a water level that does not exceed five centimeters; To the right, there is a small waterfall that is an excellent place to take a pleasant hydrotherapeutic massage or simply enjoy the water.

The National Park Institute (Inparques), has been a faithful guarantor of the preservation of this space, since it constantly carries out days of sanitation to the stream, as well as pruning of the bushes, and continuous talks to tourists so that they do not break or extract quartz, because within the rules of use of this spring, the extraction of the semi-precious stone Jasper is prohibited.

This monument has a parking lot and from there the visitor must walk through a small wooded tunnel that will lead to the ravine, which is surrounded by huge trees over 20 meters (meters) high loaded with flowers.

One of the peculiarities of this spring is that because it is a very slippery slab, very well polished by the passage of water, tourists are often seen sliding down the slab, which has been called “The Jaspe Slide”. Additionally, when the sun is very high, its rays hit directly on the Jasper stone which causes a burst of light that looks like stars and this entire semi-precious river turns bright red captivating its visitors.

Auyán Tepui (The Lost World), Bolívar state, Venezuela, South America,

Auyán Tepui is also spelled Ayan, is a tepui in Bolívar state, Venezuela. It is the most visited and one of the largest (but not the highest) tepuis in the Guiana Highlands, with a summit area of 666.9 km2 (257.5 sq mi) and an estimated slope area of 715 km2 (276 sq mi). The word tepui means "house of the gods" in the native tongue of the Pemon, the indigenous people who inhabit the Gran Sabana. The unevenly heart-shaped summit plateau of Auyán-tepui is heavily inclined, rising from around 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) in the northwest to a maximum of 2,450 m (8,040 ft) in the southeast. It is incised from the north by a vast valley, the Cañón del Diablo (Devil's Canyon), formed by the Churún River. The larger western portion of the plateau is partially forested, whereas the eastern part comprises mostly bare rock with only patchy vegetation cover. The mountain hosts a number of extensive cave systems.

Auyán-tepui gives its name to the Auyán Massif, which also includes the tiny peaks of Cerro El Sol and Cerro La Luna to the north, and the satellite mountain of Uaipán-tepui to the south. The massif has a total summit area of roughly 670 km2 (260 sq mi) and an estimated slope area of 795 km2 (307 sq mi). It is situated entirely within the bounds of Canaima National Park. Auyán-tepui means "Devil's House" in the local Pemón language.

Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world, drops from a cleft near the summit. The falls are 979 meters (3,212 ft) high, with an uninterrupted descent of 807 meters (2,648 ft) a drop nineteen times higher than that of Niagara Falls.

Auyán-tepui achieved international fame in 1933 when Angel Falls was accidentally discovered by Jimmie Angel, a bush pilot searching for gold ore. Attempting to land on the heart-shaped mesa in 1937, Angel crashed his small Flamingo plane on top of Auyán-tepui and was forced to hike down the gradually sloping backside, a trip that took him and his crew 11 days to complete; he was immortalised when the waterfall was named after him.

Around 25 species of amphibians and reptiles are known from the summit plateau of Auyán-tepui,as well as numerous birds. Like many tepuis, the mountain hosts a rich assemblage of flora.

Just Room Enough Island (Smallest Inhabited Island in World), Thousand Islands Chain, belonging to New York, United States

Just Room Enough Island, also known as Hub Island, is an island located in the Thousand Islands chain, belonging to New York, United States. The island is known for being the smallest inhabited island in world, which appears to be around 3,300 square feet (310 m2), or about one-thirteenth of an acre. Purchased by the Sizeland family in the 1950s, the island has a house, a tree, shrubs, and a small beach.

The island was bought in the 1950s by the Sizeland family, who  wanted a holiday getaway and built a house there. Because of the island's small size, in 2010, the  Washington Post stated, "One misstep and  you're swimming".

Just Room Enough lies on the Saint Lawrence River between  Heart  Island and Imperial Isle, close to the US border with Canada. The island belongs to  Alexandria  Bay, a village part of the town of Alexandria, Jefferson County, New  York.

While the Sizelands had hoped for their quirky little getaway to be a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of city life, it soon attracted hordes of sightseers and tourists who broke their placid solitude.

In order to be considered an island in the region, the land must be larger than one square foot, it must remain above the water level year round, and it must sustain at least one tree. Just Room Enough Island meets these criteria, but really it’s more house than island. The islands are just five hundred feet away from Boldt Castle, the iconic storybook mansion that George Boldt began building in 1900.