Wonderful World

🌸 Shikisai no Oka, Japan 🇯🇵 Shikisai no Oka, meaning “Hill of Four Seasons”, is located in the hills of Biei on Japan’s Hokkaido Island. From April to October, its slopes are covered with blooming flowers. 🌷 Depending on the season, visitors can see tulips, lupines, lavender, sage, sunflowers, dahlias and Japanese anemones. Because the flowers bloom at different times, the landscape keeps changing throughout the season. #wonderful_world #Japan #Hokkaido #flowers #nature

Vathy, Greece 🇬🇷 Vathy is the capital and main port of the Greek island of Ithaca, tucked deep inside the narrow Gulf of Molos. Because of the shape of the bay, the town is almost hidden from the open sea until a ship gets close to the harbor. 🏡 Vathy is surrounded by green hills and mountains, with a compact waterfront lined with small houses and boats. 🏛 The town is home to an Archaeological Museum and a Folklore and Cultural Museum, preserving artifacts and objects connected with the history of Ithaca. #wonderful_world #Greece #Ithaca #Vathy #travel

🌋 Lanzarote, Spain 🇪🇸 Lanzarote is known as the Island of Fire because of its extraordinary volcanic landscape. The island is covered with hundreds of craters and vast lava fields created by the eruptions of 1730. 🌋 The island's main natural attraction is Timanfaya National Park. The ground is still extremely hot in some areas, with temperatures reaching several hundred degrees below the surface. This heat can even ignite dry vegetation placed into certain openings in the ground. Black lava, red volcanic rocks and bright white villages make Lanzarote look like another planet. 🚀 #wonderful_world #Spain #Lanzarote #volcano #nature

🦜 The Cactus Parakeet - A Desert Dweller The cactus parakeet lives in the dry regions of northeastern Brazil 🇧🇷. It often nests inside cavities of large cacti, using them as shelter from extreme heat and predators. 🌵 Even more interesting, these birds can use natural cactus cavities as ready-made nesting sites instead of building a nest from scratch. Inside these protected spaces, they lay eggs and raise their chicks. #wonderful_world #Brazil #parrots #birds #nature

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🕌 The Prophet’s Mosque - Medina, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 Al-Masjid an-Nabawi is one of Islam’s holiest sites and the second-holiest mosque after Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. It contains the burial place of Prophet Muhammad, along with the graves of Abu Bakr and Umar nearby. ☂️ The mosque is famous for its enormous retractable umbrellas in the surrounding courtyards. There are 182 umbrellas, designed to open automatically and protect worshippers from the intense sun and rain. Today, the complex covers about 400,500 m² and has 10 minarets, with the tallest reaching 104 meters. #wonderful_world #SaudiArabia #Medina #architecture #Islam

🏔 Egikal - the Ancient Tower Village of Ingushetia 🇷🇺 Egikal is located in the Dzheyrakh District of Ingushetia, on the southern slope of Mount Tsuy-Loam above the Assa River valley. It was once one of the largest settlements in the mountainous region. 🏰 The site preserves a remarkable complex of residential and defensive towers. Ingush towers served not only as homes but also as fortifications, and their positions allowed warning signals to be passed between neighboring settlements. Today, Egikal is one of the best-known historical landmarks of the Dzheyrakh Valley. #wonderful_world #Ingushetia #Russia #Egikal #history #architecture

🏔 Mürren - a Car-Free Alpine Village 🇨🇭 Mürren is a small Swiss Alpine village located at around 1,650 meters above sea level. There are no roads for cars here, so visitors can reach the village on foot or by cable car. 🚠 🎿 Mürren is famous as a ski resort and as a gateway to Schilthorn, a 2,970-meter mountain peak. At the summit stands Piz Gloria, the revolving restaurant made famous by the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. #wonderful_world #Switzerland #Murren #mountains #travel

🏖 Iceland’s Black Beach 🇮🇸 Iceland’s southern coast is famous for its dramatic black-sand beaches. The dark color comes from basaltic lava, which cooled after volcanic eruptions and was gradually broken down by water into tiny grains of volcanic rock. 🌋 One of the most famous beaches is Reynisfjara, near the village of Vík. Along with its black sand, you can see basalt columns, sea stacks and powerful Atlantic waves. #wonderful_world #Iceland #volcano #blackbeach #nature

🏰 Fort Alexander I is a historic defensive structure in Kronstadt, Russia 🇷🇺. Built between 1838 and 1845 on an artificial island in the Gulf of Finland, it was designed to protect Kronstadt’s southern shipping channel. The fort could accommodate around 1,000 soldiers. 🦠 Its most unusual chapter came later. From 1899, the fort housed a plague laboratory where scientists studied the disease and produced therapeutic sera. After outbreaks among the staff, it became known as the “Plague Fort.” #wonderful_world #Russia #Kronstadt #history #fortress

🦔 The pangolin - an animal that literally “rolls up” The name “pangolin” comes from the Malay word pengguling, meaning “the roller”. When threatened, it curls into a tight ball, protecting its soft belly and head with overlapping scales. 🛡 Those scales are made of keratin, the same material found in human hair and fingernails. Pangolins are the only mammals in the world covered entirely in true scales. #wonderful_world #pangolin #animals #wildlife

🦭 Seals are not quite as peaceful as they look Seals live in oceans around the world, from the Arctic to Antarctica. Some species spend weeks at sea, hunting fish, squid and other marine animals. 👀 And those “tears” don't mean sadness. Seals produce tear fluid that helps protect and moisten their eyes. During the breeding season, some species can also become surprisingly aggressive, with males fighting for access to females. #wonderful_world #seals #animals #nature

🦝 Raccoons - Clever Omnivores of North America Raccoons are native to North America, but they have also been introduced to other parts of the world. They are highly adaptable and can live in forests, wetlands and even urban areas. 🏠 Raccoons rarely dig their own dens. Instead, they use tree hollows, rock crevices and abandoned shelters made by other animals. Their varied diet can include berries, nuts, insects, eggs, fish and small animals. 💧 Their famous habit of handling food in water is linked to their extremely sensitive front paws, which help them explore objects by touch. #wonderful_world #animals #wildlife #nature #raccoons

🦘 Rock Wallabies - Masters of the Cliffs Rock wallabies live in Australia, making their homes among rocky gorges, cliffs and boulder fields. Their feet have rough, highly textured pads that provide excellent grip on rock. 🐾 Their long tails help them keep balance while making quick jumps across steep terrain. These agile marsupials can move through rocky slopes that would be extremely difficult for most animals. #wonderful_world #Australia #wildlife #nature #rockwallaby

Algarve - Portugal’s Dramatic Coast Algarve in southern Portugal is famous for its golden limestone cliffs, sea caves and crystal-clear Atlantic waters. 🌊 💎 Its famous arches and caves were shaped over millions of years by waves and wind. The coastline around Lagos, Lagoa and Albufeira is especially spectacular. 🌊 Fun fact: some of the caves can only be properly seen from the sea, as the tides constantly change the coastline. #wonderful_world #Portugal #Algarve #ocean #nature

🐏 Bighorn Sheep Don’t Like Being Alone Bighorn sheep live across North America, from Canada to Mexico. They are highly social animals and usually stay in groups. For much of the year, adult males form separate bachelor groups. ⛰️ Their specially adapted hooves help them climb steep rocky slopes, while a ram’s massive horns grow throughout its life. During the breeding season, males crash their horns together to compete for females. #wonderful_world #animals #wildlife #bighornsheep #nature

🌳 The Natural Hydrant of Montenegro 🇲🇪 In the village of Dinoša, near Podgorica, grows an unusual mulberry tree estimated to be around 100–150 years old. After heavy rainfall, water can suddenly gush from an opening in its trunk! 💦 But the tree isn't actually producing the water 😄 Underground springs lie beneath the area. When heavy rain raises groundwater pressure, water is forced through a hollow section of the trunk and emerges about 1.5 meters above the ground. Locals have observed this phenomenon since the 1990s, usually after periods of heavy rain. 🌧️ A natural water tap - no pipes, pumps, or plumber required! 😄 #wonderful_world #montenegro #nature #trees #amazingnature

🐸 A Hotel for Frogs Large dahlias can become surprisingly cozy shelters for tiny frogs 🌸🐸 Their many layers of petals create a cool, protected place where frogs can hide from the sun and predators. Gardeners often spot frogs resting among dahlias, especially in moist gardens with few pesticides. Dahlias are also valuable sources of nectar and pollen for bees, butterflies and other insects 🐝 So the same flower can provide shelter for one creature and food for another. Nature really knows how to build a hotel without architects! 🌿✨ #wonderful_world #nature #frogs #flowers #dahlias

🌅 A Sky Split in Two In Florida, you can sometimes witness an incredible optical effect: one side of the sky glows with fiery orange sunset colors while the other remains dark blue. It looks as if someone drew a perfectly straight line across the sky 😮 It's not editing or a real "biome boundary." The secret is the clouds ☁️ Different layers of the atmosphere can be illuminated differently: some are already in Earth's shadow while higher clouds are still catching the last rays of the setting Sun. Sometimes nature really does beat Photoshop ✨ #wonderful_world #sky #sunset #nature #florida

🐦 Tiny Hummingbird Chicks Hummingbirds are among the smallest birds on Earth, and their newborn chicks look unbelievably tiny compared with their adult parents 😍 The eggs of many hummingbirds are about the size of a small pea or coffee bean. The chicks hatch featherless and helpless, relying on their mother for nectar and tiny insects. The amazing part is how quickly they grow: after just a couple of weeks, the young birds are ready to leave the nest and begin learning to live on their own 🥹 And some adult hummingbird species weigh less than 2 grams! ✨ #wonderful_world #hummingbird #birds #nature