Amazon River and Rain Forest

The Amazon is a region of superlatives. It spans the borders of eight countries and one overseas territory, is the world's largest river basin and the source of one-fifth of all free-flowing fresh water on Earth. Its rain forests are the planet's largest and most luxuriant, and home to - amazingly - one in ten known species on Earth.

In the last decades, scientific research has established a clear link between the health of the Amazon and the integrity of the global environment, but still only a fraction of its biological richness has been revealed. Today, rapid deforestation threatens the Amazon. At current rates, 55 percent of its rain forests could be gone by 2030—a looming disaster not only for the region’s plants and animals, but for the world.

The immensity of the Amazon's challenge, like the scale of its landscape, requires a long-term conservation vision backed by strong scientific expertise. WWF has been at the forefront in protecting the Amazon for more than 40 years. Our approach is succeeding because we engage local communities and partner with governments to identify mutual solutions that can bridge the needs of economic development and conservation.

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Chocolate Hills

The world-renowned cone-shaped Chocolate Hills is Nature's expression of beauty, mystery and romance. Spread over the municipalities of Carmen, Sagbayan and Batuan, the Chocolate Hills is the province's signature attraction. It consists of approximately 1,268 hay cock hills with heights ranging from 40 to 120 meters. Formed centuries ago by tidal movements, the hills are considered as a National Geologic Movement. During the summers, the dome-shaped grass covered limestone hills dry up and turn brown, transforming the area into seemingly endless rows of chocolate "kisses"
Two of the highest hills have been developed and provided with facilities such as a restaurant, hostel and view deck.

Legend has it that when giants live with mortals, a gentle giant fell in love with a beautiful village girl. Agoro , the giant was handsome and though a favorite among female giants, was also a loner. When everything and everybody sleeps, Arogo would sit by his favorite spot near the river to ponder or just watch the night pass by.

One night while Arogo was by his spot, he noticed a beautiful native girl with hair as black as the night by the river bank. He instantly fell in love with Aluya. After that night. Arogo would always wait by his place to take a glimpse at his beloved Aluya.

A rumor reached Arogo that Aluya would soon marry a man her parents chose for her.
The night before Aluya's wedding, Agoro kidnapped Aluya. Seeing a giant, Aluya screamed, kicked and cried, but to no avail. Arogo was successful in abducting Aluya.
In the giant's cave, Arogo tried to give Aluya food and water but the girl kept on crying. Her sadness reached her heart that she died with tears in her eyes. Arogo buried her and kept his vigil. He cried for days and months. Giant tears fell to the ground. He cried a thousand years for the loss of his love.
After sometime, Arogo's tears hardened and became what we know today as Chocolate hills. The Hills were witnesses of an unrequited love of the years go by.

Chocolate Hills dot the plains of Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan. There are at least 1,776 uniform hills that leave visitors no wonder how they came to be.

One could view and even count the hills its 210 feet above the ground view deck, Climbing the 214 steps of the view deck to the top is a rewarding exercise.
Chocolate Hills is also cited as a Geological Movement of the country and is also known as the Eight Wonder of the World. (www.luzpalma.com)

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The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River

The Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park is one of the most important conservation areas in the Philippines. It was created to protect the impressive cave systems, lush old growth tropical rainforest, interesting wildlife, unspoiled natural beauty of the area and one of the most impressive cave system in the world. Its main focus is 8.2 km. long underground river that flows beneath a spectacular limestone formation before directly emptying into the sea. 

It is a core area for the Palawan Biosphere Reserve and is designated as an Important Bird Area (IBA). It was also declared as a National Geological Monument. In recognition of global significance, the PPSRNP has been inscribed to the list of natural World Heritage Sites. 

As a natural area, the Park has attracted an increasing number of hikers, biologist, photographers, students and nature lovers. It is a source of pride and a key element in the identity of the people of Puerto Princesa in particular and of the Philippines as a whole.

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Kalahari Desert

The Kalahari desert is part of the huge sand basin that reaches from the Orange River up to Angola, in the west to Namibia and in the east to Zimbabwe. The sand masses were created by the erosion of soft stone formations. The wind shaped the sand ridges, which are so typical of the landscape in the Kalahari.

Only in recent geological history, 10 to 20,000 years ago, were the dunes stabilised through vegetation, so the area should actually be called a dry savannah. Unlike the dunes of the Namib Desert, those of the Kalahari are stable and not wandering.

The dominant vegetation: grasses, thorny shrubs and Acacia trees, can survive long drought periods of more than ten months every year.

The remarkable nests of the weaver birds in the camelthorn trees and in other acacias are a frequent sight in the Kalahari. These inconspicuous little birds, which resemble sparrows, live in huge communal nests with a diametre of up to two metres. At any given time, hundreds of lively little birds are breeding and feeding their youngsters in such a nesting colony. (southafrica-travel.net)

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Great Blue Hole

The Great Blue Hole is a large underwater sinkhole off of the coast of Belize. It lies near the center of Lighthouse Reef, a small atoll 100 kilometres (62 mi) from the mainland and Belize City. The hole is circular in shape, over 300 metres (984 ft) across and 120 metres (394 ft) deep. It was formed as a limestone cave system during the last ice age when sea levels were much lower. As the ocean began to rise again, the caves flooded, and the roof collapsed.[1] It is part of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System.

On-shore caves of similar formation, as large collapsed sinkholes, are well known in Belize.[2]

This site was made famous by Jacques-Yves Cousteau who declared it one of the top ten scuba diving sites in the world. In 1971, he brought his ship, the Calypso, to the hole to chart its depths.[3] Investigations by this expedition confirmed the hole's origin as typical Karst limestone formations, formed before rises in sea level in at least four stages, leaving ledges at depths of 21, 49 and 91 meters (69, 161 and 299 ft). Stalactites were retrieved from submerged caves, confirming their previous formation above sea level. Some of these stalactites were also off-vertical by 10°-13° in a consistent orientation, thus indicating that there had also been some past geological shift and tilting of the underlying plateau, followed by a long period in the current plane.

This is a popular spot amongst recreational scuba divers, who are lured by the opportunity to dive in crystal clear water and meet several species of fish, including giant groupers, nurse sharks and several types of reef sharks, such as the Caribbean Reef Shark or the Blacktip Shark. Other species of sharks, like the bull shark or hammerheads, have been reported there, but are not regular sightings. Usually, dive trips to the Great Blue Hole are full-day trips, which include one dive in the Blue Hole and two further dives in nearby reefs. (wikipedia.org)

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