Mount Yoshino in the Nara Prefecture is one of Japan’s most popular spots for cherry blossom (sakura) viewing. There’s a wide range of varieties and approximately 30,000 cherry trees and according to Japan Travel, they were planted over 1300 years ago. In spring, the area gets extremely busy with people traveling to see the light pink to white flowers with a backdrop of the region’s stunning natural landscape peppered with historic temples, hillside towns, and must-visit cities. This other-worldly natural phenomenon is so famous that people plan bucket-list vacations to Japan during the season in order to see the trees in full glory. But if you don’t like the idea of walking through crowds of people on cramped paths, you might want to consider a more luxurious way to enjoy the sakura and book a helicopter flight with AIROS Skyview. Matador Network reached out to AIROS Skyview to chat about the various routes they offer and how you can tailor-make your own cherry blossom voyage to take in the collage of colors from the sky.
7 ways to get the most out of Slovakia’s High Tatras
16.09.2024 - 17:50 / lonelyplanet.com
Sep 16, 2024 • 5 min read
The iconic mountains that lend their name to Slovakia’s most striking national park, the High Tatras (Tatranský národný park) have been baiting outdoor lovers for over 75 years. Still, surprisingly few overseas visitors arrive in this accessible and beautiful range.
The flurry of peaks and the ease with which you can be up among them – whether getting your adrenaline fix on their serrated, snowy slopes, or spying many of the continent’s most phenomenal animals who call them home – mean it’s high time more people turned their heads in the direction of this unique, upland adventure playground.
Here are the best things to do in the High Tatras.
The High Tatras are unique among Europe’s myriad mountain ranges. They don’t just constitute highest terrain in Slovakia, but in the entire 1500km(932-mile)-long Carpathian range and, indeed, in Eastern Europe. Despite these superlatives, the compactness of the area makes it the smallest mountain chain of this altitude in the world. One of the standout features here is the sheer abundance of peaks cresting 2500m (8200ft), at 25 in total. Outside of the Alps themselves, this is one of the rare pockets of Europe with alpine characteristics, offering a vivid topographical palette across five contrasting ecological zones.
At around 700m (2300ft) you’ll find lush valleys, while inky forests of Carpathian beech or spruce ascend to the 1500m (4920ft) mark. Pale green expanses of kosodreviny (dwarf pine) sprawl at the 1500–1700m (5580ft) mark. High-altitude grasslands known as luky rise to 2000m (6560ft); from there on up to the peaks, it’s swathes of tarn-spattered tatry – barren, stony ground from which the word “Tatras” is thought to derive. Because of the close proximity of these zones, any one panorama here can encompass the jagged grays, whites and blacks of the tatry, the deep blue of the tarns, and the lusher hues of luky, kosodreviny and forest underneath. A single hike can whisk you through all five ecosystems in just a few hours.
Happily, a longstanding commitment to preservation has kept the environment pristine: authorities on both the Slovak and Polish sides of the mountains collaborated to form the world’s first cross-border protected region here in the early 1950s.
Nothing can show off the Slovak outdoors quite like a High Tatras hike, with a medley of red (challenging, or long-distance), blue (intermediate), or green and yellow (interconnecting) trails crisscrossing the slopes. Multi-day treks are especially inviting thanks to the welcome placement of mountain huts, offering both accommodation and food, at intervals roughly corresponding to a day’s tramp.
The real rites-of-passage experience is the Tatranská Magistrala, a
The Auto Train Is the Most Unique and Unexpected Train in the Whole Amtrak Fleet
When you board Amtrak’s Auto Train, you’re doing something unique that happens on no other train within the Amtrak system. First of all, you and your vehicle (car, motorcycle, van, small trailer, or SUV if it meets the measurement limits) must both be on board. You can’t go without it and it can’t go without you.
This 25-Minute Train Ride Is the Most Romantic Way to See Japan’s Cherry Blossoms
If you time it right, there are several dozens of great places to enjoy cherry blossom season in Japan — and not just in Tokyo, but in Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Sendai, Aomori, and more. And the blossoms are not just found in parks, but also around temples, shrines, castles, etc. Few cherry blossom viewing experiences, however, are as cool as the one you get from the Sagano Scenic Railway. West of the city of Kyoto, the Sagano Scenic Railway, nicknamed the Romantic Train, offers a beautiful 25-minute ride amongst cherry blossoms. It might just be the loveliest way to take in the millions of delicate pink flowers that make spring in Japan so special.
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The Most Famous Cafe in Paris Preps for a New Generation
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TravelPulse Podcast: Fall 2024 Travel Trends
Welcome back to another episode of the TravelPulse Podcast!
The Most Famous Cafe in Paris Preps for a New Generation
Les Deux Magots began as the Colette of the mid-19th century, a purveyor of silks and notions, fashion and accessories to a stylish clientele. Eclipsed by the rise of department stores, it reopened in 1884 as a modest cafe and liquor counter.
I'm American and traveled to Europe for a month. I love how I can take my kids out for dinner late and no one bats an eye.
As a citizen of three countries , the United States, Poland, and Portugal, I am acutely aware of cultural differences. These differences extend to different attitudes towards raising children.
I visited Kraków this summer. 'Emily in Paris' gave it a bad reputation, but my family liked the Polish city better than Rome.
On season four of Netflix's "Emily in Paris," the titular character flies to Rome for a date. But to throw her boss off her trail while requesting time off, she tells the office she's actually going to Kraków.
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TravelPulse Podcast: The Growth of Sports Travel
Welcome back to another episode of the TravelPulse Podcast!