Nature's Art at Vesturdalur, Northern Iceland

For travelers to northern Iceland, whether as part of the Ring Road or otherwise, Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon should be part of your itinerary. Formerly a national park on its own, it now falls under Vatnajökull National Park.

If you had planned to visit Dettifoss or Ásbyrgi canyon, then you're essentially visiting Jökulsárgljúfur already. Basically, Ásbyrgi marks the northern while Dettifoss marks the southern end of Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon. However, what I found the most interesting is in the middle - Vesturdalur.

Vesturdalur is prime hiking area, with weaving trails leading to many lava rock formations all around. In particular, Hljóðaklettar (Echo Rocks) and Rauðhólar (Red Hills) trails can be easily done from the carpark in a 2-3 hour loop. The basalt rock (formed by rapidly cooling lava) formations at Hljóðaklettar is the highlight for me. You may have seen the basalt columns in Vik, or the many lava fields all around Iceland, but nothing quite like this. Here, the basalt rock lined horizontally (hence columns is not the right word eh), and even at bizarre angles. Parts of the rock formations are also being cut off yielding eye-catching honeycomb patterns! It's mind-boggling how rapidly cooling lava can produce such "art pieces"! There are also lava caves formed by these basalt formations.

Rauðhólar is a crater row which provides a wonderful panoramic view of the canyon, and itself offers some colorful touch to the landscapes. It is easily done together with the Hljóðaklettar trail. For those who have more time and energy, there is a popular 2-day trek that goes from north (Ásbyrgi) to south (Dettifoss). Otherwise, there are parking lots on all 3 sections of the Jökulsárgljúfur Canyon.

Colorful Rauðhólar

If you are using public transport, there are summer buses going to all these places from Akureyri or Mývatn but do check the schedules carefully at http://www.sba.is/

Check Hljóðaklettar out !

Valbonë and the Accursed Mountains

Albania may not be that well-known as a tourist attraction in Europe, let alone as a trekking & hiking destination. But its Albanian Alps is not just any hiking destination - it's a truly spectacular one.

Also known as the 'Accursed Mountains', the most popular trek/hike is between the villages of Theth & Valbonë. Unfortunately, I visited Valbonë in early spring, and the mountain pass between the two villages are still closed due to heavy snow, so I couldn't do the trek. In fact, the two days I was there, it was snowing and raining intermittently, and so the day-treks that I could do around Valbonë itself was also limited. Nevertheless, the mountain scenery was still breathtaking even if the canvas was a cloudy grey.

Hiking in the Albanian Alps

Hiking from this.....

...to this! Too much snow for further hiking

Beautiful clear pools too

The best resource for this region is the website Journey to Valbona. Catherine, the driving force behind that setup, is a pot of energy and enthusiasm. Accommodation info, trekking maps, friendly chatter and all-round hospitality is available at her place. When I visited her, she was busy with the preparation for the official start of the trekking season due in a week. (Yes, I was early by 1 week! :( )
She even arrange local volunteers to check the hiking trails to ensure that the signs and markers are still visible. I stayed at the 'Farmhouse' just to savor Nene Sose Selimaj's homecooked food! A truly pleasant stay.

Guesthouse in Valbona

Homecooked food by Mother Sose Selimaj

Local minivan transport is available between Shkodra (a place to visit in is own right) and Theth, while Valbonë is similarly reached via the town of Bajram Curri. The lonelyplanet guide highly recommended the Koman Ferry route from Shkodra to Fierza (on Lake Komani) and then to Bajram Curri by minivan. Otherwise, if you are in Tirana, there are minivans plying between Bajram Curri and Tirana, but note that the route goes through Kosovo (ie you will go through entry and exit immigration to Kosovo!). For me, it worked out great as I planned on visiting Kosovo after Valbonë and it was just 2hours between Bajram Curri and Prizren.

Visitors to Albania would no doubt usually cover Tirana and the UNESCO sites south of it (Berat, Gjirokastr, Butrint) but for those who love nature and hiking, check out Valbonë and the Accursed Mountains up at the north!

Alpenglow

Pelister National Park & Dihovo, FYROM

Visitors to the Republic of Macedonia (or Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia FYROM) would be well familiar with Lake Orhid, their number one tourist attraction. However, just about 2 hours away is another attraction well worth a visit, especially for outdoor enthusiasts - Pelister National Park.

One of the best places to stay when visiting Pelister, would be in the village of Dihovo, just at the edge of the national park. Various family guesthouses and homestays are available in Dihovo, but I stumbled onto Villa Dihovo, which happened to be what the Lonely Planet guide declared as one of the best stays in FYROM.

Villa Dihovo

 The villa is a restored traditional stone-and-wood Macedonian house. Beautifully decorated, with a wonderful lawn and outdoors area, the place will immediately make you feel cosy. But it is the hospitality of its owners that will completely make you feel at home. The highlight, undoubtedly, would be the homemade food that Petar ply you with, with most of its ingredients homegrown in the garden. The homemade goodness include the beer and wine!! To top it off, the price of the stay is "to be decided by the guests at the end of their stay"! (excluding the alcoholic drinks of course).

Garden salad, homemade sausages, dolma etc.. fantastic homecooked food

Pelister National Park is FYROM's oldest national park, and contains a diverse variety of flora and fauna. It also contains plenty of hiking and trekking trails, perfect for those on outdoor pursuits. There are trails that start from Dihovo and into the mountains in the national park. However, there is also one hotel within the park itself that you may consider staying in, especially if you want convenient access to the more popular trails. Hotel Molika may be a little aged, but the rooms are clean and facilities pretty good, and during non-peak seasons, the deals are pretty good too!

Hiking through forests

Beautiful views of the park

Beautiful nature's light

Morning mists as viewed from Hotel Molika

Getting to Dihovo or Pelister National Park by public transport is possible only until the city of Bitola. Unless you have your own vehicle, from Bitola, the easiest way to get there is by taxi. Luckily it's not too expensive - from Bitola to Dihovo is about 2.5 euros while to Pelister National Park entrance/Hotel Molika is about 5 euros.

Enjoy Pelister!

Durmitor National Park, Montenegro

Most travelers to Montenegro would make a beeline to its coast, notably to Kotor or Budva. And why not? Easily accessed from Dubrovnik in Croatia, Montenegro's tourism could easily benefit from Dubrovnik's popularity. But for those who love mountains, Montenegro has something to offer too!

Up in the northern part of Montenegro, Durmitor National Park is Montenegro's biggest national park. It is also inscribed in UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Within the park are 18 glacier lakes and the Durmitor mountain range consists of 48 peaks. 3 river canyons meander through it, of which the Tara river canyon is the biggest at 80km long and 1300m deep! So in terms of scenery, sights, and activities, there are certainly no lack of it for tourists.

Zabljak - early "spring"

The access town to Durmitor National Park is Zabljak. During winter, most tourists come for skiing and in summer, there are plenty of hiking opportunities to keep tourists happy. In fact, just a short distance away from the town is one of the most popular of Durmitor's 18 glacier lakes - Black Lake. Numerous hiking trails surround the lake too, and so, makes for an easy and excellent outing from Zabljak.

Black Lake

Aside from glorious mountain views, the Tara river provides another avenue for a popular tourist activity - river rafting. Set within the Tara canyon, the river shone like a turquoise snake in the mountainside. And one of the best views of the canyon, river and mountains is from the Curovac viewpoint, 9km from Zabljak. However, when I was there in early spring, there was still heavy snow, and I couldn't quite make it to the viewpoint. Even then, from a rest-point along the trail, the views were already stunning!

Rest point with a view

Trail to Curovac viewpoint

The Tara River and Canyon

Durmitor National Park - winter to spring

Zabljak is easily reached from Podgorica, and Kotor even. For those who are touring the Balkans, try the border crossing from Bosnia and Herzegovina into Montenegro. Take the Sarajevo-Niksic bound bus. While not as popular, the scenery at the border crossing is fabulous!

Do check out the mountains of Montenegro!

Kazbegi Georgia

The Caucasus Mountains is a range of mountains stretching through Eurasia, and one of the easiest ways to visit part of the mountains is through the town of Stepantsminda in Georgia, more commonly known as Kazbegi.

Respite in glorious mountain scenery

Just about 3+hours northeast from Tbilisi, Kazbegi sits at an altitude of about 1750m, and is an excellent mountain getaway. Most prominently, Mt Kazbek rises beautifully west of town, and together with Gergeti Trinity Church, perched atop the surrounding mountain at 2000+m, forms an almost iconic image of Kazbegi and Georgia.

Tsminda Samebis Church, with Mt Kazbek as backdrop

Gergeti Trinity Church, also known as Tsminda Samebis Church, can be easily visited by jeeps from town, but the best way is probably taking a hike up. In fact, many travelers come here for the wonderful trekking opportunities, and even the short hike up provided a glimpse of the scenic potential. And for the slightly more hardy, you can even trek further into the mountains to the Gergeti Glacier. For multi-day treks, make sure you are properly equipped.

Trekking in awesome mountain country

Summer wildflowers and snowcapped mountains

Reaching the Gergeti Trinity Church

View of the town of Kazbegi, surrounded by mountains!

The town itself is small and easily covered by foot. There are two museums in town, one of which is dedicated to the man who the town is named after - Alexander Kazbegi, a famed Georgian writer. However, the magic of the place is still the mountain scenery, and so hiking and trekking would be the best activities I would think. To make a mountain town stay complete, stay in one of the many homestays and guesthouses available. Most come with great homecooked food, and I enjoyed staying in these locals' homes. The moment you stepped off the marshrutka, you would be accosted by the owners, so no worries about finding them.

By public transport, reaching Kazbegi from Tbilisi is via marshrutkas from Didube station. For a group of you, perhaps it is better to charter your own vehicle as the journey there goes through the spectacular Georgian Military Highway, and you can have your own photo stops. Whichever the case, a trip to Kazbegi is highly recommended for visitors to Georgia/Tbilisi, and for the matter, a daytrip would probably not do the place justice. Do yourself a favor and enjoy Kazbegi!

Ayder & The Kaçkars

Situated in northeastern Turkey, the Kaçkar Mountains is a mountain range that separates the Black Sea coast from the Anatolia region. One of the easiest visit to these mountains is the summer resort town of Ayder.

Ayder in the Kaçkar mountains

Misty day in Ayder

Ayder may be considered 'touristy' as many local tourists come over for weekend holidays, and for good reason. Surrounded by lush green forests, and cool mountain air, it is such a pleasant place for an outdoor break from the city. I visited just off-season, and there was virtually no crowd. However, it was very drizzly and very very misty, though it does give the place an idyllic charm.

There are plenty of hiking trails, streams and waterfalls in the region that cater to various levels of participation - from hiking daytrips to multi-day treks to Mt Kaçkar at almost 4000m. I had contemplated about a trekking trip to another village Yaylalar, reputed to be even prettier, but the weather was just not cooperative. I had to settle for simple hikes, which was really quite enjoyable as well. With the cool mountain air, I could also just relax in the many comfortable resort guesthouses and pansiyons (pensions).

Ayder can be reached by dolmush (minivan) from the town of Pazar. To Pazar, there are buses from the major towns like Trabzon and Rize, and even from Batumi Georgia, which was what I did! I had too much humid heat in the city, and Ayder provided much relief for me. For those who are traveling to eastern Turkey, and love mountain greenery, check out Ayder (and probably Yaylalar as well)!

Cappadocia Turkey

Outside of Istanbul, Cappadocia is probably the next best known and popular tourist attraction in Turkey. And it's not hard to see why.

Cappadocia light and landscape

Famed for its geological features, visitors would be treated to a variety of sights rarely seen elsewhere. Rock-hewn houses, cave churches, underground dwellings, and bizarre-shaped rock formations scattered over a moonscape - there are definitely enough things to impress most people. To further add to the tourists' favorable impressions, accommodation options include 'cave hotels', where you stay in actual cave rooms natural to this region. And these cave rooms can cater to all budgets. From beautifully furnished and decorated hotel rooms to hostel dormitory rooms!!

Visitors queuing to take a peek into the cave houses in Goreme Open Air Museum

A hotel built inside one of the phallic-shaped stone formations

Ancient frescoes inside one of the cave churches

There are a couple of towns within the Cappadocia region, though Goreme seems to be the favourite for backpackers. Being close to the Goreme Open Air Museum, and hiking trails certainly helps. Hiking through Rose Valley, Pigeon Valley, or visiting the Uçhisar Castle in Uçhisar - these are all common itinerary for most visitors. And photographic wise, the lighting and opportunities are all to die for. But one of the best experiences though, both in terms of travel as well as photography wise, would be to take a hot-air balloon flight!

There are quite a number of hot-air balloon companies in Cappadocia and most agencies can arrange flights with them. However, there seems to be some syndicate operation going on, as there had been reports of tourists signing up flights with a specific company but ended up with other companies instead. So ask and verify carefully. Flights last about an hour, and you get to witness sunrise over the surreal landscape in a hot-air balloon. Spectacular!! It's hard not to come away impressed.

Imagine flying higher than the sun...! ;)

Floating above the surreal landscapes of Cappadocia

On a typical morning, hot-air balloons fill the skies of Cappadocia

So if you are thinking of doing a hot-air balloon once in your life somewhere, Cappadocia is a good bet!

Dilijan National Park, Armenia

Of the two National Parks in Armenia, Lake Sevan in Sevan National Park seemed the more popular. However, I found myself in the other - Dilijan National Park, and really enjoyed myself there.

Covered by a large expanse of forest, Dilijan National Park is a fairly new National Park, being only established in 2002 (formerly known only as a 'Reserve'). But all along, it had been known for its flora and fauna, as well as hosting some cultural monuments (mainly monasteries and churches). It is also no wonder that hiking through the park a common activity.

Dilijan National Park in Autumn

Within the park is also a small lake, Parz Lich (Lake Parz), from where a popular hiking trail starts. It is an image of this lake in autumn that got me to this place. And indeed, the autumn foliage in Dilijan is amazing! Certainly one of my higher-ranked autumn foliage sceneries! And I was lucky that I met a group of hikers from a local outdoor/hiking group in Yerevan out on an outing. So I managed to join them for a wonderful hike ending at one of the cultural monuments in the park, Goshavank Monastery.

Autumn foliage at Parz Lich

The hike, was of course, an amazing way to enjoy the sceneries of the park, and passing through some villages, we were also treated to their hospitality. It happened to be fruiting season, and the villagers were collecting loads of plums and we were welcomed to help ourselves. Truly refreshing! Apparently, the forests of Dilijan not only contain many fruits trees, but medicinal plants as well!

Hiking

Rest break

Villagers picking plums (of some sort)

Goshavank Monastery is a 12-13th century Armenian monastery complex consisting of several churches, chapels as well as a bell tower. The buildings looked well preserved, as it is now a popular tourist attraction. When we ended our hike there, there were quite a few local tourists there as well. Within the autumn backdrop, it was really pretty.

Goshavank Monastery

However, there was no public transportation there now from what I'm aware of. I had arranged a car/taxi ride to Parz Lich, and had hoped to hitched a ride back to Dilijan town at Goshavank. But as I said, luck was on my side since I managed to join the hiking group for the hike, and got my ride back with them! (They had a specially chartered van from Yerevan). However, it's easy enough to arrange a car/taxi dropoff at Parz Lich and pickup at Goshavank.

Remember next time, for autumn foliage, consider Dilijan National Park!