Earth's wonders
The Amazon is the largest river in the world by volume, with a total river flow that accounts for approximately one-fifth of the world’s total. The river has over 3,000 recognized species of fish and new species are still being discovered. The Amazon Rainforest represents over half of the planet’s remaining rainforests. As the largest tropical rainforest it has has an unparalleled biodiversity. One in ten known species in the world live in the Amazon Rainforest.
One of the great natural wonders of the world, Iguaçu Falls is situated on the border between Brazil and Argentina. The waterfall system consists of 275 falls along the Iguazu River. The majority of the falls are about 64 meters (210 ft) in height. The most impressive of them all is the Devil’s Throat a U-shaped, 82 meter high (269 ft), 150 meter (492 ft) wide and 700 meter (2300 ft) long waterfall.
The Galapagos Islands are a small archipelago of volcanic islands belonging to Ecuador in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The islands are quite remote and isolated, lying some 1000 km (620 miles) west of the South American continent. The archipelago is world renowned for its unique island ecosystem which was the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection. Seeing the amazing sites and wildlife is best done by joining a boat tour. Booking a Galapagos Islands cruise with a company in your home country is usually the most convenient, but is often more expensive. There are also a lot of companies that can book Galapagos Islands tours either in Puerto Ayora or from Guayaquil or Quito.
At 8,848 meters (29,029 ft), Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth. It is located on the border between Nepal and Tibet. The highest mountain in the world attracts climbers of all levels. Although other eight-thousanders such as K2 are much more difficult to climb, Mount Everest still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. People who die during the climb are typically left behind and it is not uncommon to find corpses near the standard climbing routes.
Ha Long Bay is situated in north Vietnam round a 120 kilometer long coast line and is literally translated as “Bay of Descending Dragons”. The bay features thousands of islands, each topped with thick jungle vegetation, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves, others islands include lakes and some support floating villages of fishermen.