7 exotic places worth visiting

Do you like adventure to enjoy the amazing natural charm? Do you like hunting for photos of natural landscapes that can anesthetize your eyes? For those of you who like to travel around the world, there's nothing wrong with visiting seven exotic places that are able to offer this extraordinary view. Curious? Here we present seven exotic places that are worth a visit. Let's see together!

Guelta d'Archei

Guelta d'Archei is an oasis or rather a guelta - a typical desert wetland - in the heart of the Sahara Desert.

Gueltas form when underground water in a low-lying basin flows into a basin and creates permanent reservoirs or ponds. The beauty of the Guelta d'Archei is second to none. This natural destination, located on the Ennedi Plateau, is hidden behind a ravine.

Every day, hundreds of camels are herded into this oasis to drink and rest. Camel dung that has accumulated over hundreds of years in the oasis turns the water black. This oasis, as reported by amusingplanet, is also inhabited by a group of Nile crocodiles hiding in the black water. The Guelta d'Archei became one of the last remaining colonies of Nile crocodiles in the Sahara today.

The crocodiles usually feed on the fish that survive on the algae that thrive in the oasis - which thrives on camel dung. The Guelta d'Archei itself can be reached by traveling at least four days from N'Djamena, the capital of Chad.

Black Lake

Lake Karakul or also known as Black Lake, is located in the dry and high Pamir Mountains region of Tajikistan.

This area is one of the most beautiful and remote locations in Central Asia, which is much sought after by photographers. The Black Lake is still part of the Tajik National Park.

The brackish water lake lies in a closed basin at an altitude of 3,900 meters above sea level. Because it is surrounded by high mountain areas, the lake receives less than 30 mm of rainfall per year, which makes it one of the driest places in Central Asia.

Between October and May, the Black Lake, whose water color is not black, will be completely frozen. The surface of the lake will form a vast white expanse, when viewed from the village of Karakul, where a small community of Kyrgyz people survive by raising sheep and goats.

As reported by amusingplanet, this lake is believed to have formed when a meteor hit the earth about 25 million years ago. Melted water ice around the mountains then filled the basin and formed the lake we now know as the Black Lake or Karakul Lake. The lake, which is 25 km in diameter, was previously known as Lake Victoria until the early 20th century. However, the name changed with the advent of Soviet regulations in the 1920s.

The lake is very popular with photographers and tourists who like to venture into the wild. During summer, the color of the lake changes between dark green or dark blue.

Tongariro

Tongariro is New Zealand's oldest national park located in the center of the North Island. This national park area has three active volcanoes located at the southern tip; Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. These three mountains last erupted in August 2012.

Tongariro National Park also has two other active volcanoes in the far north, the last of which erupted more than 20,000 years ago. As reported by Amusingplanet, Ruapehu itself is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and also the largest active volcano in New Zealand.

Experiencing minor eruptions almost every year, Ruapehu began erupting at least 250,000 years ago. The biggest eruption that occurred on this mountain managed to give birth to a beautiful crater lake. The bright color of the lake is caused by dissolved minerals in the water that come from the surrounding rocks.

Not far from Rupehu, there is Mount Tongariro which consists of at least 12 volcanic cones. Geologically, Ngauruhoe is actually part of the volcanic cone of Mount Tongariro. This mountain is also considered the most active, and has erupted more than 70 times since 1839. Many craters have formed around this mountain as a result of massive explosions. Some of them have been filled with water called Blue Lake and Emerald Lakes.

For those of you who like to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Mount Tongariro, Ruapehu and the surrounding area are one of the several locations used to shoot the fictional film.

Birridas

At the westernmost point of the Australian continent, next to the Indian Ocean, there is a place called Shark Bay. This is an area that has amazingly beautiful natural features and has been recognized as a World Heritage Site.

Scattered around Shark Bay, particularly on the Peron Peninsula in Francois Peron National Park, are several gypsum salt lakes known locally as birridas.

Thousands of years ago, when sea levels were much higher than they are today, the birridas were landlocked salt lakes between the dunes. The lake water is rich in lime sulfate which settles at the bottom of the lake. When sea levels drop, lakes dry up and create saltwater basins, and the limestone sulfate below evaporates and turns into gypsum powder.

Birridas are circular or oval in shape and range in width from 100 meters to 1 km. They generally consist of a center shaped like a stage surrounded by some kind of depressed moat.

As reported by amusingplanet, most birridas are able to hold water for several months after rain. During this time, the eggs of the dormant, shrimp, horseshoe crabs and other invertebrates hatch around the birridas. The moment is then used by predators such as Calidris ruficollis and Limosa lapponica to party.

The birds have even migrated from places as far away as Siberia just to head for Shark Bay. Some of the birridas are connected to the sea and receive a supply of seawater, where they then form several shallow bays.

Ruby Falls

Named Ruby Falls, this waterfall is located at a depth of about 1,120 meters underground near Chattanooga, Tennessee, America. Ruby Falls is also known as the highest and deepest waterfall in the United States, which is at the end of the main part of Ruby Falls Cave. This cave was created because of the erosion of limestone by salt water millions of years ago.

Up to 44 meters high, water that falls from the top of Ruby Falls will gather in pools on the cave floor and then flow through the mountain until it finally empties into the Tennessee River at the base of Lookout Mountain. Ruby Falls, as reported by amusingplanet, is believed to be 30 million years old.

Ruby Falls Cave, like Lookout Mountain Cave, has no natural openings and was not entered until the 20th century. In 1905, the natural entrance to Lookout Mountain Cave had to be closed during the construction of a railroad tunnel. Then Leo Lambert, a cave enthusiast who knew about Lookout Mountain Cave, decided to re-open access to the place to the public and formed a company to do so. Shortly after drilling began in the fall of 1928, Leo's team discovered a tunnel 79 meters deep underground.

Leo along with his small team then entered the hallway to explore deeper. While continuing to explore the cave area, they found various beautiful and amazing cave rock formations. They also managed to find an amazing waterfall. In his next exploration, Leo invites several people, including his wife Ruby, to see the magic that he managed to find with his team. That's when he decided to name the waterfall Ruby Falls.

Unfortunately, the lack of public enthusiasm for the cave led to the closure of Lookout Mountain Cave in 1935. However, later Ruby Falls Cave was rebuilt and electric lights were installed in the cave area, making it one of the first caves in the world to be electrified. The installation of an elevator in the cave has also made it easier for hundreds of thousands of visitors to access the cave every year.

Takeda Castle

Takeda Castle is located in Hyogo Prefecture in the Wadayamacho district, Asago, Japan. It was built centuries ago on the top of a mountain perched at an altitude of 304.8 meters. Today, the remains of the castle ruins leave an area of ​​643 meters long and more than 91 meters.

Takeda Castle is known for its stunning views in the morning, especially in autumn (at sunrise or around 8:00 am). It was then that a thick fog seemed to hang in the sky, which made the castle seem like it was floating above the clouds.

As reported by odditycentral, this spectacular castle is thought to have been built by the daimyo ruler of the Yamana samurai in 1443. The castle changed hands several times, before finally being owned by Hirohide Akamatsu in 1600.

Hirohide was a warrior who fought for Tokugawa Ieyasu during the battle of Sekigahara. Unfortunately, a year later Hirohide committed Seppuku, a ritual suicide that was originally reserved only for samurai. He is also known as the last owner of the castle. The place was then left abandoned, shortly after his death.

To preserve the ancient castle, the local government has charged an entrance fee of 300 yen (Rp 33,153) for each visitor who wants to enter the castle. Visitors can reach this place after a 40-minute hike from the foot of the mountain. Meanwhile, the best time to visit the castle is during autumn, which is between September and November.

Painted Hills

Painted Hills is a natural wonder that is part of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, located in Wheeler County, Oregon.

This patterned hill is called Painted Hills because it looks like a painting painted in several colors. Painted Hills, as reported by amusingplanet, is estimated to have been formed more than 35 million years ago by a layer of volcanic ash when the area was still a river plain.

Over time, the ash layer containing different minerals becomes denser and various color degradations appear. The gray color comes from mudstone, siltstone, and shale, while the red and orange colors come from laterite soils formed by floodplain deposits when conditions were warm and humid.

Interestingly, the color of the rocks on this hill can shift and change over time. This is influenced by changes in seasons and weather, as well as differences in the angle of incidence of sunlight. The best time to visit this patterned hill is after a rainstorm. The colors that are often seen in this hill area range from red, yellow, orange, yellow, and gold, with black and gray stripes.