Manikaran ( Hot Springs), Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Manikaran is located in the Parvati Valley on river Parvati, northeast of  Bhuntar in the  Kullu  District of Himachal Pradesh. It is at an altitude of 1760 m and is located about 35 km from Kullu.

This small town attracts tourists visiting Manali and Kullu to its hot springs  and  pilgrim centers. An experimental geothermal energy plant has also been set up here.

Manikaran is a pilgrimage center  for  Hindus and Sikhs. The  Hindus  believe  that  Manu  recreated  human  life  in  Manikaran  after the  flood, making  it  a  area. It has  many temples and a gurudwara. There are temples of the Hindu deities Rama, Krishna, and Vishnu. The area is well known for its hot springs and its beautiful landscape.

According to legend, when the Hindu God Shiva and his consort Parvati were walking in the valley, Parvati dropped one of her earrings. The jewel was seized by Shesha, the serpent deity, who then disappeared into the earth with it. Shesha only surrendered the jewel when Shiva performed the cosmic dance, the Tandava and shot the jewel up through the water. Apparently, jewels continued to be thrown up in the waters at Manikaran until the earthquake of 1905

Dudhsagar Falls ( Literally Sea of Milk), Mandovi River, Karnataka, India

Dudhsagar Falls is a four-tiered waterfall located on the Mandovi River in the border of the Indian state of Karnataka, India. It is 60 km from Panaji by road and is located on the Madgaon-Belgaum rail route about 46 km east of Madgaon and 80 km south of Belgaum. Dudhsagar Falls is among India's tallest waterfalls with a height of 310 m(1017 feet) and an average width of 30 meters (100 feet).

The falls is located in the Bhagwan Mahaveer Sanctuary and Mollem National Park among the Western Ghats. The waterfall forms the border between Karnataka and Goa states. The area is surrounded by a deciduous forests with a rich bio diversity. The falls are not particularly spectacular during the dry season but during the monsoon season however, the falls are fed by rains and form a huge force of water.

The nearest rail station accessible by road to the falls is Castle Rock station. Visitors could get in a train from here and disembark at the Dudhsagar stop. It is to be noted that the Dudhsagar rail stop is not a station where passengers can expect a platform. Passengers and visitors have to climb down the steep ladder of the rail compartment in a short 1-2 minute unscheduled stop. From this rail stop, visitors have to walk about a kilometer on the tracks to arrive at the falls. While the walk itself is something unexpected for a popular tourist destination, there is a 200 m train tunnel that is totally dark which makes the walk a bit tougher. Recently Indian Railways has banned people from boarding/deboarding passengers at Dudhsagar railway. There is no availability of fresh drinking water nor clean rest room facilities anywhere in the vicinity of the falls including at the rail stop. There is absolutely no access to power or cellular signal at this location just as there is no access to road transportation.

One can reach the Doodhsagar Water falls with the help of Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife sanctuary Taxi near a Goan Village called Molem. This Association will take you through lush green forest and some heavy  flowing  streams  and  get  back  to  you  same  place. Currently  this  is  the  only access to the Waterfall. The plus point of going through Association is One can see the full view of Doodhsagar Waterfall were as if you go by Indian Railway you will see half of waterfall view only.

Nohkalikai Falls ( Tallest Plunge Waterfall in India), Cherrapunji, India

Nohkalikai Falls is the tallest plunge waterfall in India. Its height is 1115 feet (340 meters), making it as the highest waterfall in India. The waterfall is located near Cherrapunji, one of the wettest places on Earth. Nohkalikai Falls are fed by the rainwater collected on the summit of comparatively small plateau and decrease in power during the dry season in December - February. Below the falls there has formed a plunge pool with unusual green colored water.
Nohkalikai Falls

The name of the falls in Khasi language meaning "Jump of Ka Likai" is linked to a legend about local women Likai who jumped off the cliff next to the falls; According to legends, in a village called Rangjyrteh, upstream from Nohkalikai Falls, a woman named Likai resided but had to remarry after her husband died. Ka Likai (Ka is the prefix given for the female gender in Khasi) was left with her infant girl with no means of income. So she had to become a porter herself. Her work required her to leave her daughter unattended for long intervals but when she would be at home she would spend most of her time taking care of her infant. Ka Likai, who married a second time, couldn’t pay attention to her second husband. The jealous husband killed the infant and cooked her meat after throwing away her head and bones. When Ka Likai returned home, she saw nobody in the house but except for a meal that had been prepared. She wanted to go look for her daughter but she ate the meat as she was tired from work.

Ka Likai usually had a betel leaf after her meals but she found a severed finger near the place where she usually cut betel nuts and betel leaves. Ka Likai realized what had happened in her absence and went mad with anger and grief and started running as she swung a hatchet in her hand. She ran off the edge of the plateau and the waterfall where she jumped from was named Nohkalikai Falls after her

Krem Liat Prah Cave, Meghalaya, India

Krem Liat Prah is the longest natural cave in India. Prah (Krem is the Khasi word for "cave") is one of approximately 150 known caves in the Shnongrim Ridge of the East Jaintia Hills district in the state of Meghalaya, northeast India. Explored and surveyed as part of the ongoing Abode of the Clouds Expedition project, its current length of about 34 kilometers will likely be increased as nearby caves continue to be connected. Liat Prah's dominant feature is its enormous trunk passage, the Aircraft Hangar.

Monsoon rains have given way to a mind-boggling system of caves that are found on the limestone plateau of Meghalaya. The discovery of this cave goes back to the time when the cave was discovered by the Shillong-based Meghalaya Adventurer Association which was formed in 1990. That means, you literally get to explore the unexplored, and meet the wild unknowingness of this North Eastern Cave land of India.

Monarch Butterfly Migration (Most Spectacular Natural Phenomena in the World), Across North America

Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) perform annual migrations across North America which have been called "one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world".

Starting in September and October, eastern/northeastern populations migrate from southern Canada and the United States to overwintering sites in central Mexico where they arrive around November. They start the return trip in March, arriving around July. No individual butterfly completes the entire round trip; female monarchs lay eggs for the next generation during the northward migration and at least four generations are involved in the annual cycle.

Similarly, the western populations migrate annually between regions west of the Rocky Mountains including northern Canada and overwintering sites at the coast of California.

Monarchs also perform small distance migrations in Australia and New Zealand. There are also some populations, for instance in Florida and the Caribbean, that do not migrate. Recently discovered overwintering sites have been identified in Arizona and northern Florida.

Not all monarchs migrate. Migrating populations and non-migrating populations coexist in many areas. Monarchs are year-round residents in Florida and monarchs migrate to Florida and Gulf coast areas, and can often continue to breed and survive the winter. The monarch population in Florida may be a result from migratory butterflies that do not to migrate north in the spring. These locations provide access to nectar plants. If there is a hard frost in these areas they do not survive. Asclepias curassavica, an introduced annual ornamental, provides larval food if native species are unavailable, although because of the risks to monarchs from the spread of the parasite, OE, this plant is not recommended for planting. Year-round breeding of resident monarch populations exist in the Caribbean, and in Mexico as far south as the Yucatán peninsula. Surprisingly, monarchs do not migrate over most of their global range. Tagging records demonstrate that the eastern and western populations are not entirely separate. Arizona butterflies have been captured at overwintering sites in both California and Michoacan, Mexico. In some instances monarchs from Arizona and New Mexico were found overwintering in California and in Mexico.

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The Potala Palace in Lhasa (Highest Ancient Palace in the World), Red Hill in Lhasa, Tibet

The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. It is now a museum and World Heritage Site.

The palace is named after Mount Potalaka, the mythical abode of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. The 5th Dalai Lama started its construction in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (died 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. It may overlay the remains of an earlier fortress called the White or Red Palace on the site, built by Songtsän Gampo in 637.

The building measures 400 meters east-west and 350 meters north-south, with sloping stone walls averaging 3 m. thick, and 5 m. (more than 16 ft) thick at the base, and with copper poured into the foundations to help proof it against earthquakes. Thirteen stories of buildings containing over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and about 200,000 statues—soar 117 meters (384 ft) on top of Marpo Ri, the "Red Hill", rising more than 300 m (about 1,000 ft) in total above the valley floor. Tradition has it that the three main hills of Lhasa represent the "Three Protectors of Tibet". Chokpori, just to the south of the Potala, is the soul-mountain (Wylie: bla ri) of  Vajrapani, Pongwari that of Manjusri, and Marpori, the hill on which the Potala stands.

The site on which the Potala Palace rises is built over a palace erected by Songtsän Gampo on the Red Hill. The Potala contains two chapels on its northwest corner that conserve parts of the original building. One is the Phakpa Lhakhang, the other the Chogyel Drupuk, a recessed cavern identified as Songtsän Gampo's meditation cave. Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the construction of the modern Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel (died 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old city of Lhasa. The external structure was built in 3 years, while the interior, together with its furnishings, took 45 years to complete. The Dalai Lama and his government moved into the Potrang Karpo ('White Palace') in 1649. Construction lasted until 1694, some twelve years after his death. The Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time. The Potrang Marpo ('Red Palace') was added between 1690 and 1694.

The new palace got its name from a hill on Cape Comorin at the southern tip of India—a rocky point sacred to the bodhisattva of compassion, who is known as Avalokitesvara, or Chenrezi. The Tibetans themselves rarely speak of the sacred place as the "Potala", but rather as "Peak Potala" (Tse Potala), or usually as "the Peak".

The palace was slightly damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the Chinese in 1959, when Chinese shells were launched into the palace's windows. It also escaped damage during the Cultural Revolution in 1966 through the personal intervention of Zhou Enlai, who was then the Premier of the People's Republic of China. Still, almost all of the over 100,000 volumes of scriptures, historical documents and other works of art were either removed, damaged or destroyed.

The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994. In 2000 and 2001, Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka were added to the list as extensions to the sites. Rapid modernization has been a concern for UNESCO, however, which expressed concern over the building of modern structures immediately around the palace which threaten the palace's unique atmosphere. The Chinese government responded by enacting a rule barring the building of any structure taller than 21 meters in the area. UNESCO was also concerned over the materials used during the restoration of the palace, which commenced in 2002 at a cost of RMB180 million (US$22.5 million), although the palace's director, Qiangba Gesang, has clarified that only traditional materials and craftsmanship were used. The palace has also received restoration works between 1989 and 1994, costing RMB55 million (US$6.875 million).

The number of visitors to the palace was restricted to 1,600 a day, with opening hours reduced to six hours daily to avoid over-crowding from 1 May 2003. The palace was receiving an average of 1,500 a day prior to the introduction of the quota, sometimes peaking to over 5,000 in one day. Visits to the structure's roof was banned after restoration works were completed in 2006 to avoid further structural damage. Visitorship quotas were raised to 2,300 daily to accommodate a 30% increase in visitorship since the opening of the Qingzang railway into Lhasa on 1 July 2006, but the quota is often reached by mid-morning. Opening hours were extended during the peak period in the months of July to September, where over 6,000 visitors would descend on the site.

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