Kashmir sapphire mines: source of the best blue sapphire

Now legendary, abandoned sapphire mines where the best sapphire in the world was mined.

Hunter Spring

Hunter Spring is 1st magnitude spring with an output of 878.4 l/s. This is subaquatic spring, the area around it is covered with park and housing.

Tarpon Hole (King’s Spring)

One of the best places to see manatees in nature is King’s Spring or Tarpon Hole – a subaquatic spring in King’s Bay. The spring has an output of 1,213 l/s.

Antakya Church of Saint Peter (cave church)

One of the oldest churches in the world, constructed the latest in the 3rd or 4th century AD. Rock-hewn buildings, with fine facade built by Crusaders sometimes around 1100 AD. Rock-cut passages extend from the church.

Blue Nile Falls – Tis Abay

Enormous waterfall, 37 – 45 m high, up to 400 m wide. Now part of the water is used by hydropower plant.

Mount Erebus – the southernmost active volcano

One of the few constant glowing lava lakes in the world. Here are found large anorthoclase crystals in the center of the caldera of the volcano.

Olakkannesvara Temple – the old lighthouse

Olakkannesvara Temple now is just a base part of an early 8th century temple on the top of granite hill. It was used as a lighthouse in earlier times.

Leppaluði borehole

Often tourists mix up two hot springs or geysers – the artificial and more active Leppaluði borehole and dormant Grýla – once impressive…

Grýla – geyser near Hveragerði

Now Grýla is dormant or even extinct geyser – but some decades ago it was one of the most impressive Icelandic geysers, up to 10 m high.

Maxixe Mine – unique blue beryl find

The first find of deep blue beryl – maxixe, discovered in 1917. Stones quickly discolored and lost their value, thus the mine was abandoned.