Ice Parks To Visit this Winter

Some families prefer to travel during winter time.  My family and I tried that idea but traveled few weeks before Christmas so we don't get in the holiday rush. However, the excitement of spending winter in a different country or away from home is an inviting idea to try for a change.

If you are one of those who want to travel this winter time or would like to see and feel what winter is like in other countries, then visiting ice parks will be a good idea. I live in a perpetually sunny place so snow is so alien to us and so is the cold winter. I have been dreaming of spending winter time in a really cold place so ice parks will be a good bet to try.

Some countries will have longer winter season than others. Choose the one depending on your time availability to make the most of your wintertime vacation.

Here are some famous ice parks in the world to visit:

Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in China

Harbin Ice and Snow Festival is one of the most famous winter festivals around the world. It is famously known for the beautiful ice sculptures and play area for everyone to enjoy so much snow and cold in one place. It starts on 5 January 201 and will run for a month.

Harbin is located Heilongjiang Province in the northeastern part of China. The location of the place makes it a perfect place for snow and ice festivals due to its arctic climate which provides natural ice and snow.

Taebaeksan Mountain Snow Festival in South Korea

Taebaeksan Provincial Park in Jungang-ro Street of Taebaek-si, and Hwangji Pond Taebaek-si, Gangwon-do provide a wide array of events and activities for winter fun!  Guests can even participate in the Snowman Festival and snow sledding with the scenic Taebaeksan Mountain as a nice backdrop for the whole event.

The event runs for almost 2 weeks from January 21-31, 2016. 

Ouray Ice Park in Colorado, USA

The Ouray Ice Park is a very unique and interesting winter attractions in the world. It is a human made climbing area in a gorge in Ouray, Colorado.  The best thing about this man-made attraction is that is is free and open to the public. Many activities will run from January to February 2016. 

Sapporo Snow Festival in Hokkaido, Japan

This is a festival held yearly in Sapporo, Japan. It is one of the famous winter festivities there that millions of visitors check out the festivities. It runs for a short period of time compared to the other winter festivals in other countries. The Sapporo Snow Festival will run from February 6 - 11, 2016.

Quebec Winter Carnival, Canada

Quebec, Canada is one of the wintry places in the world to enjoy ice and snow during the cold season. For the last 60 years, it has been home to fun and festivities due to the Quebec Winter Carnival. This year, the whole festivities will start from 29 January to 14 February, 2016.

Ice Music Festival in Geilo, Norway

(Photo credit: Hufftingtonpost.com/Photo by Emile Holba/Ice Music Festival)

If other  ice and snow festivals in the world evolve around sculptures, this event takes on a different turn in Norway as artists are required to make a musical instrument out of ice. These ice musical instruments will accompany the artists with their performances as they use them to make beautiful melodies.

It will run from 21-24 January, 2016 in Geilo, Norway.

World's Top Scary Cliffs

Are you afraid of heights or you're the kind of adrenalin junkie who loves daring activities while on vacation? Well, if you belong to the latter then welcome to the world's top scary cliffs. You may want to visit them and test your fear factor.

While the views are breathtaking from the cliff area, I know that no matter how beautiful mother nature is from where I will be standing; I guess I won't have the guts to even go there. I'll just be satisfied looking at their scenic vista through the internet.

Daring tourists and thrill seekers may find this list helpful. Go ahead, book your next trip to the world's top scary cliffs.

Faro de Los Morrillos, Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico

Don't be fooled by the beautiful white limestone cliffs of Faro de Los Morrillos. They may look solid but they could only be few inches and some may even have holes which can be very fragile. One step on the wrong limestone ledge and you will plunge to the ocean below and can become one of the many people who have perished in this place.

Preikestolen, Ryfylke, Norway 

This ledge is like a big squarish stone atop the mountain with no safety rails nor barriers to deter curious people from getting too close to the edge. The flat surface is almost 2,000 feet above the Lysefjord.

Chang Kong Cliff Road, Huashan Mountain, China 

Only wooden boards were nailed to the cliff for visitors to hold on to with added safety harness. Visitors are advised to think twice before ascending on the cliff to visit the temple attraction on the top as only one person is allowed to traverse it at a time. 

Tianmen Mountain, Zhangjiajie, China 

Here is another scary cliff attraction in China. This attraction is a cliff walk that is attached 4,000 above sea level on Tianmen Mountain. The cliff walkway is a mere 2.5 inch thick glass and 3 ft. wide which separate you from the precarious fall below.

Slieve League Cliffs, Donegal, Ireland 

Reaching the Slieve League Cliffs will require visitors to traverse the One Man's Path. It is aptly named because only one person can wal at a time in the narrow path. If you slip, a quick tumble of almost 2,000 feet awaits you down into the open ocean. Ireland is known to have wet weather most days in a year so it is very dangerous to go there because of the misty weather which makes walking very slippery.

Cliffs Of Moher, Galway, Ireland 

The narrow paths along the cliffs are very hazardous. Plenty of visitors choose to ignore the warnings and get close to the edges and are blown off and fall 700 feet into the open ocean. Bikers are not recommended to go here because some of the ledges are unstable and some have already collapsed.

(Photo credit: all photos from yahoo images)