Tag Archives: Lakes

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National Geographic Traveller UK ‘Lakes & Mountains’ Issue 2022

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1. Alpine running in Canada

Keen runners seeking more inspirational landscapes can join a new tour by CMH Heli-Skiing & Summer Adventures to discover the wild beauty of the Bugaboos in the heart of the Canadian wilderness. Soar over verdant forest trails, rugged mountain tops and granite spires in a helicopter before being dropped on a summit. Runners will revel in the sunny skies, breathtaking panoramas and plenty of breaks, often in crystal-clear glaciated lakes. The day ends back at base camp, a spacious fly-in backcountry luxury lodge where guests can relax with a massage, sauna or a soak in a hot tub.

Where to stay: CMH Bugaboos log-hewn lodge at the base of Bugaboo Glacier offers gourmet dining, swimming and a rooftop hot tub. From $3,025 (£1,926) for three nights/four days including meals, helicopter flights, guide, equipment and local transfers. 

2. Heli-biking in New Zealand

Cycle far from the crowds in the Wanaka region past glaciers and lakes on gentle high-country trails and tricky single tracks that combine easy free-wheeling with adrenaline pumping fun. For seasoned cyclists, the four-hour Mount Burke trail is the holy grail of mountain bike trips with riders ferried to the top by chopper to avoid the uphill grind. Soak up the scenery at 4,593ft before braving the epic downhill descent through scenic valleys and farmland to the glassy waters of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea for a gourmet picnic. 

Where to stay: Minaret Station, an off-grid lavish four-chalet lodge accessible by only helicopter or boat, located at 7,000ft with a valley to one side and Lake Wanaka to the other. Five nights from £5,250pp, including four nights’ full-board at Minaret Station with return helicopter transfers, excluding international flights, with Black Tomato. 

Preparing to go heli-biking in New Zealand.

Preparing to go heli-biking in New Zealand.

PHOTOGRAPH BY FREDRIK LARSSON

3. Glacier hiking in France

Head to Saint Martin de Belleville to traverse the Glacier de Chavière and conquer not one, but three cols, or mountain paths, at altitudes of around 10,000ft. Set off at dawn, after learning how to use an ice axe and crampons, to begin an energetic climb attached by a rope to an expert guide. Enjoy incredible views of snow-covered ridges, steep couloirs and rock towers, but take care where you place your feet as some narrow paths come dangerously close to crevices with sheer drops. After reaching the three cols — Col de Thorens, Col Pierre Lory and Col du Bouchet — return to Val Thorens in the early afternoon for a leisurely lunch. 

Where to stay: The renovated four-star Hotel Lodji at the base of Saint Martin with cosy bar, restaurant, sunny terrace and spa. Rooms from €150 (£129) a night.

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Landscape, Travel, Videos, Views

Aerial Views: Landscapes & Waterways Of Finland (4K)

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Finland is a Northern European nation bordering Sweden, Norway and Russia. Its capital, Helsinki, occupies a peninsula and surrounding islands in the Baltic Sea. Helsinki is home to the 18th-century sea fortress Suomenlinna, the fashionable Design District and diverse museums. The Northern Lights can be seen from the country’s Arctic Lapland province, a vast wilderness with national parks and ski resorts.

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Lake Views: Oeschinensee, Kandersteg, Switzerland

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Lake Oeschinen, which lies above Kandersteg, Switzerland, is a pristine mountain lake, fed by the glacial brooks of the three-thousand-meter peaks of Blüemlisalp, Oeschinenhorn, Fründenhorn and Doldenhorn. People who love to swim, nature lovers and hikers can really enjoy themselves here.

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Lake Walks: Brissago In Ticino, Switzerland (4K)

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Brissago is a municipality in the district of Locarno in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. A wonder swiss town, lying at the lowest point in Switzerland, just 197 metres above sea level, and perched between the shores of Lake Maggiore and the steep mountains behind, Brissago is a small town on the Italian frontier.

The lowest and oldest part of the village is clustered around the beautiful Renaissance church of St. Peter and Paul, surrounded by centuries-old cypresses. In the narrow lanes leading down to the lake you will find some picturesque spots to admire: gardens where lemons, oranges and cedars grow in the open air, as well as beautiful mansions. Brissago is famous not only for its tobacco and cigar factory, but also for its islands, which seen from above look like bright green spots in the blue of the lake.

Between 1885 and 1928 Baroness Antonietta Saint-Léger, a Russian of German origin, planted a botanical garden designed as an earthly paradise, and her successor, the department store king Max Emden, continued her work. Today the neo-classical villa contains a restaurant and the administration offices of the Botanical Park of Canton Ticino. Their plants are still there, together with the Himalayan cinnamon with its scent of camphor, the Madagascar gladiolus, the bald cypress from the swamps of North America with its trunk under water, and numerous other exotic species.

Environment, Preservation, Travel, Videos, Views, Wilderness

Preservation: Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

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“When it comes to climate change, scale is essential. We need to be scaling up our work and being really bold and ambitious, and that’s exactly what Cairngorms Connect is.” Find out how Scotland’s largest landscape-scale restoration project is fighting back against climate change in our new film for Cairngorms Connect.

Cairngorms National Park is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, which was set up in 2002. The park covers the Cairngorms range of mountains, and surrounding hills. Already the largest national park in the United Kingdom, in 2010 it was expanded into Perth and Kinross.

Roughly 18,000 people reside within the 4,528 square kilometre national park. The largest communities are Aviemore, Ballater, Braemar, Grantown-on-Spey, Kingussie, Newtonmore, and Tomintoul. Tourism makes up about 80% of the economy.[4] In 2018, 1.9 million tourism visits were recorded. The majority of visitors are domestic, with 25 per cent coming from elsewhere in the UK, and 21 per cent being from other countries.

Travel, Videos, Views

Lake Walks: Blausee In Western Switzerland

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Blausee, Switzerland is a beautiful lake where the water is crystal clear with a lot of fish with relaxing music and nature sounds. Blausee is a lake in Bernese Oberland, Kandergrund, Switzerland. It is located near the Kander river. The lake has an elevation of 887 metres and an area of 0.64 hectares. The eyes of the beautiful maiden who died of a broken heart were deep blue. The Blue Lake is also deep blue, in eternal memory of the love of the maiden, which persists beyond death. The small Blausee, steeped in legend, is located in the midst of a small nature park.

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Aerial Views: ‘In Lombardia’ Of Northern Italy (4K)

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Lombardy is a region in Northern Italy. Its capital, Milan, is a global hub of fashion and finance, with many high-end shops and restaurants. Its Gothic Duomo di Milano cathedral and Santa Maria delle Grazie convent, housing Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of “The Last Supper,” testify to centuries of art and culture. North of Milan, Lake Como is an upscale alpine resort with dramatic scenery. 

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Aerial Views: Frozen Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia (8K)

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The Noor 8K remastered is a non-narrative short drone film shot entirely on DJI Mini 2 in beautiful landscapes of frozen Baikal lake in the Eastern Siberia region of Russia.

Noor (Нуур) is a Buryat word for lake, and Buryat is ethos people who have populated this area for many years, so it was appropriate to use their beautiful word for this short film.

The region of Baykal lake is famous for winter travels due to fact that this world’s largest pure water lake gets frozen and became one of the most beautiful sites in the world. Rocky clips froze during the storms and get white lower parts together with dark blue see-through ice make it amazing to photograph.