Natural Paradise Laos
If there’s a paradise anywhere on earth, it’s surely in Laos, one of the (still) most secret and yet most beautiful travel tips for a vacation in Asia. Thailand’s small neighbor has only been sufficiently developed in terms of infrastructure for about 10 years, allowing travelers to reach it by road and waterway. This is noticeable: with adventurous travel routes and paths, but also with incredibly enchanting landscapes.
Anyone who wants to travel from northern Thailand, for example, from Chiang Mai to Laos, needs a lot of patience – or a willingness to take risks. There are two main alternatives for traveling from northern Thailand to Laos: a slow boat tour and a speed boat tour. The fast boat only takes about six hours by water to reach the Laotian city of Luang Prabang, but it’s considered relatively dangerous even by the Thais. Several of the small speed boats have capsized on the Mekong in recent years. It is not without reason that all passengers on board must wear protective helmets for the entire journey. The slow boat, on the other hand, takes a full two days to reach Luang Prabang. Anyone who groans at the supposed travel delay of this multi-day trip will be disabused of this notion: on the journey into Laos, the proverbial journey is the destination. And that is no empty phrase. The boat trip to Laos is like a journey through times long gone. Lush green landscapes stretch along the banks, and rolling hills alternate with striking mountains. Wild cattle rest on the banks, and here and there, you can even spot gold panners in the river. One feels as if they’ve been transported back centuries, or at least into a movie set. The pristine and beautiful nature leaves many speechless. Travelers have even reported bursting into tears at the unusually untouched nature.
Incidentally, Laos can also be reached by bus from southern Thailand. However, those who prefer this mode of travel, which is very common in Asia, are missing out on the best of it.
Hiking in Andalusia
Far away from the hustle and bustle along the Spanish coast, hikers and nature lovers find soothing peace in Spain’s largest natural park. The Sierra de Cazorla, as it is locally known, occupies the entire eastern part of the Andalusian province of Jaén and extends far into the neighboring provinces of Granada, Murcia, and Albacete. Long discovered by the Spanish as a popular holiday destination, this magnificent mountain wilderness remains relatively unknown in other European countries.
But if you’re a hiking enthusiast looking to book your next holiday in Spain, you’ll definitely get your money’s worth here: the “Spanish Switzerland,” as insiders have dubbed this massive mountain range, is not only fascinating for its bizarre rock formations, whose peaks reach over 2,000 meters, but also surprises with its extensive forests – and, above all, with an abundance of water that’s unusual for southern Spain. It’s hard to believe, but the Sierra de Cazorla is one of the wettest regions on the entire Iberian Peninsula, even though it lies just over 100 km north of the dry, desolate desert of Almeria. The mountain range is essentially a gigantic reservoir and the source of the two great rivers, the Rio Guadalquivir and the Rio Segura.
Under these conditions, an incredibly diverse flora and fauna have developed, one that would be hard to find anywhere else. Around 1,500 plant species have been identified so far, including several endemic species like the famous Cazorla violet (pictured), and the number of orchid species alone amounts to over 60. The birdlife is also very well represented, with particularly well-known birds of prey such as various eagles and the large colonies of griffon vultures. A rich wildlife population can also be observed year-round – red and fallow deer, as well as entire herds of Iberian ibex, are the absolute stars here. A true El Dorado for all nature lovers. You can find a very comprehensive and lovingly designed German website about this nature park at Hiking in Andalusia, with all the information you need for an eventful holiday in the Sierra de Cazorla.
The area of Andalusia, designated a nature reserve in 1986, covers 214,000 hectares, but the entire mountain range is similar in size to the Black Forest. Its inland location gives the Sierra a distinctly different climate, depending on the season: Mediterranean in summer and thus, like almost everywhere in Spain, hot and dry; in winter, however, a continental climate prevails, with occasional heavy rainfall of up to 2,000 mm between November and April. Snow and frost are also not uncommon at higher elevations. It is not for nothing that the Sierra de Cazorla was dubbed the “Black Forest of the South” by GEO magazine (February/March 2002). Although wonderful hikes are also possible during the winter months, a longer stay during this time of year always carries a certain risk of bad weather.
viola_cazorlensis During the summer holiday season, however, there is a real hustle and bustle in some places, although this is limited to a few tourist hotspots, such as the eponymous town of Cazorla, or the leisure centers near Cotorros and Arroyo Frio on the large Tranco de Beas reservoir. The most beautiful time for long hikes and nature observation is, of course, spring, when the air is still pleasantly mild, and the entire Sierra is literally drowning in an endless sea of flowers. And those traveling through Andalusia at Easter can experience the Toros Ensogados in the village of Beas de Segura, an authentic local feria with plenty of authentic local color and a bloodless bullfight. Or the Semana Santa processions against the impressive medieval backdrop of the Renaissance town of Ubeda.
