Nature Is Calm

Rapa Valley The Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden Visit Sarek National Park in northern Sweden and you’ll probably spend some time in the vast Rapa Valley. The wild and often rain-soaked valley is surrounded by towering peaks as Sarek National Park is home to hundreds of mountains, including some of Sweden’s tallest. Park officials suggest that first-time visitors to the valley arrange for a guide to accompany them – though it’s popular with climbers, hikers and mountaineers, there are no designated trails in the Rapa Valley, nor in Sarek Park. The Rapa Valley (Swedish: Rapadalen, Sami: Ráhpavágge) is a 35 kilometres (22 mi) long valley in Sweden and the largest in the Sarek National Park, part of the Laponian area. The Rapa River runs through the valley, which is surrounded by steep mountains. It's Laitaure river delta is one of the major tourist attractions for hikers in the area. Rapa Valley The beautiful Rapa valley is the artery of Sarek, which is normally knowned by ...

  Tamul Waterfalls Here in central Mexico, the Gallinas River spills into the Tampaón River gorge to create the spectacular 340ft Tamul waterfall. The rivers offer great swimming nearby, and boaters can float by on the Tampaón for close-up views. Both activities are best attempted between July and October though - during wetter months, the falls converge into a thundering cataract as the Gallinas rises to form torrential rapids. In the ancient Huastec language, Tamul means “place of pitchers”, comparing the cenotes - or underwater sinkholes - of the Gallinas riverbed to giant vessels being poured out by the gods. This corner of the state of San Luis Potosí was once a domain of the indigenous Huastecs, who settled the lands from here east to the Gulf of Mexico. By the early 16th century, the society crumbled as other Mesoamerican cultures gained influence and the Spanish began colonising Mexico. But many of their stone temples and earthen pyramids remain, as do tens of thousands of ...

Kanarra Creek slot canyon in southern Utah   Just outside Utah’s Zion National Park lies Kanarra Creek, a particularly photogenic slot canyon in a land rich with them. (In fact, it’s estimated that southern Utah has the highest density of slot canyons on earth.) Kanarra Creek is considered a relatively easy hike compared to some of the narrower, more boulder-choked slot canyons in and around Zion. It still has its challenges: lanky ladders like the one here may or may not be around to aid hikers, and the passage through Kanarra always calls for a good pair of ‘sticky’ river shoes.