7 unique places in the neighboring countries that are worth seeing with your own eyes

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

It is not necessary to go to distant lands for new impressions. Wonderful places nearby.

1. Ile-Alatau National Park, Kazakhstan

Where is: the slopes of the Zailiyskiy Alatau, south of Alma-Ata.

Ile-Alatau Park is a kingdom of pristine nature with a length of 120 km. It was created to preserve unique natural landscapes, as well as rare species of animals and birds. And tourists have the opportunity to enjoy this beauty.

There are 15 natural monuments in the park, including several pristine lakes, two waterfalls, glaciers and relict moss spruce forests. More than 1,000 plant species grow here, many of which are included in the Red Book. There are more than 2,000 species of fauna in the reserve. You can see eagles, wolves, foxes, deer and even a snow leopard.

2. Flame Towers, Azerbaijan

Where is: Baku, st. Mehdi Huseynzade, 1a.

Let's move from the reserved park to civilization. Flame towers of Baku are a symbol of the state, because the second name of Azerbaijan is "the land of fires". In ancient times, tribes worshiping the flame lived on its territory, and "Azer" means "fire" in translation.

The Flame Towers are both a monument and a functioning building. They are the highest in the country, moreover, they are located on a hill, so you can see them from anywhere in the city. In the evenings, the towers include lighting and LED screens that show moving tongues of fire.

3. Garni pagan temple, Armenia

Where is: 28 km from Yerevan, Kotayk region, Azat river valley, Garni village area.

The pagan temple of Garni was built in the 1st century AD by the Armenian king Trdat I. The building is dedicated to the sun god Mithra and is made in the ancient Greek style. It is very reminiscent of its brother - the temple of the goddess Athena in Greece. Skillful carving, bas-reliefs and decoration have been well preserved to this day.

Not far from the temple is the ancient fortress of Garni, as well as the ruins of the royal palace and baths. Ancient Armenian rulers loved this place very much and built their residence here. In one of the baths, an amazing ancient mosaic with a mythological plot, made of semiprecious stones, has been preserved.

4. Belovezhskaya Pushcha, Belarus

Where is: Brest region, Kamenets district, Kamenyuki agro-town.

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is located on the territory of two countries: Belarus and Poland. In this place, a primeval relic forest grows, which has not been preserved anywhere else on our planet. Belovezhskaya Pushcha is the oldest nature reserve in Europe, and it was considered the old one back in the 900s. This ecoregion is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Belovezhskaya Pushcha is a virgin nature, giant trees and wild animals in the wild and in open-air cages. There are hotels, restaurants, and a huge number of thematic excursions for every taste. And in the reserve there is the Estate of the Belarusian Father Frost, which will be especially interesting for children to visit.

5. Wine town of Cricova, Moldova

Where is: Cricova, Chisinau municipality.

Moldova is famous for its wines, and its wine cellars are places so unique and large-scale that sometimes they turn into whole cities. The most famous of them are Cricova and Malye Milesti. They are even listed in the Guinness Book of Records. They are called cities for a reason: there are streets and roads, including automobile roads, traffic lights, signposts and wine pipes. Only instead of houses - giant wine barrels.

In order not to get lost, it is better to use the map here. On it you can see Champagne Avenue, Chardonnay Boulevard, Cabernet Street. There are factories and a museum here. Wines can be tasted and purchased. The cost of some collection drinks with aging up to 100 years reaches several tens of thousands of dollars. The wine town of Cricova amazes with the scale and quality of its products, even the French, who, as you know, know everything about wine.

6. Hill of Crosses, Lithuania

Where is: 12 kilometers north of the city of Siauliai, the Kaliningrad-Riga road.

In this famous place of pilgrimage for Christians already in the 90s of the twentieth century, there were more than 50 thousand crosses. The history of the Hill of Crosses dates back to the 19th century. It is not known exactly where this shrine came from. There are many versions and legends. Perhaps there used to be a monastery or a pagan temple here. However, there has never been a cemetery here.

Folk legend says that the first man to erect the cross on the hill was a man from a local village. He begged God for recovery for his terminally ill daughter. They say that a miracle happened and the girl recovered. And this place has been considered miraculous ever since.

Anyone can leave their cross here and pray. The crosses on this hill are very diverse: from huge carved ones to underwear. An excursion to the Hill of Crosses will be of interest to both Christians and history buffs.

7. "Stone Forest" in the Jarakuduk tract, Uzbekistan

Where is: Kyzyl Kum desert, Mingbulak depression.

The "Stone Forest" is located in the middle of the desert, so it is not so easy to get to it. But it is worth it if you are interested in seeing the unique nature of the area. Jarakuduk is a real paradise for those interested in paleology, as well as for lovers of picturesque views and photographs.

The place itself is quite small: about 20 meters in length. But the number of the oldest fossils in it is enormous: up to 200 species of organisms that are millions of years old. Among them are the remains and prints of ancient dinosaurs, fish, turtles, sharks, lizards, birds, molluscs and plants. You can even find traces of teeth of some of them.

By the number of such finds, the "stone forest" is unique. But what the stone pipes themselves are, scientists cannot say for sure. Most likely, these are ancient tree trunks, but there are versions that these are nodules (displaced mineral rocks) or even frozen gas. In any case, here you can touch a piece of the prehistoric world that existed long before the appearance of mankind.