Last national finalists should be announced and we are going to know the WLE winner of 2015. Meanwhile take a look at best photos from Bulgaria.

Iskar Gorge

The Iskar Gorge is a gorge passing through the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. It connects Sofia and Mezdra.

The road and railroad follow the course of the Iskar River through a winding, scenic canyon.

he Natural Park “Vrachanski Balkan” is the second largest of the country’s parks, which covers the Vratchanska Mountain and the massif of the Lakatnishki cliff rocks. It has a territory of 28 844 ha most of which is covered with karst limestones, 1 300 meters thick. Unique in their beauty caves and chasms can be seen in the park.

On the territory of the park have been registered about 950 species of high plants, of which more than 80 are rare species. From scientific and preservation point of view the most interesting species are the groups living in the caves (vertebrates and bats) and the day birds of prey. There are 214 registered species of vertebrates in the park.

Little bittern

The little bittern is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, native to the Old World, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Madagascar. Birds from temperate regions in Europe and western Asia aremigratory, wintering in Africa and further south in Asia, while those nesting in the tropics are sedentary. It is rare north of its breeding range.

Banded demoiselle

The banded demoiselle is a species of damselfly belonging to the family Calopterygidae. It is often found along slow-flowing streams and rivers. It is a Eurasian species occurring from the Atlantic coast eastwards to Lake Baikal and northwesternChina. Continue reading “Top-10 photos of Bulgaria”

We are impressed with Top-10 photos of Algeria. Such strong and clean shots. WLE photographers demonstrated great variety of landscapes and nature. Well done, Algeria!

Ahaggar National Park

Algeria’s Ahaggar National Park covers an area of approximately 450,000 square kilometers in the Saharan Algeria Region in the extreme south of the country.

The closest populated area near the park, which lies in a desert mountainous zone, is the oasis city of Tamanrasset. The Ahaggar Mountains, also known as the Hoggar, dominate the park, with the highest peak being Mount Tahat, measuring 3,003 meters above sea level.

Papaver

Papaver is a genus of 70–100 species of frost-tolerant annuals, biennials, and perennials native to temperate and cold regions of Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is the type genus of the poppy family, Papaveraceae.

The flowers have two sepals that fall off as the bud opens, and four (or up to six) petals in red, pink, orange, yellow, or lilac. There are many stamens in several whorls around a compound pistil, which results from the fusion of carpels. The stigmas are visible on top of the capsule, and the number of stigmas corresponds to the number of fused carpels.

Djebel Chélia

Djebel Chélia  is a mountain in Algeria. It is the highest point in the Aurès Mountains which straddle the border between Algeria and Tunisia, and it is the second highest peak in Algeria after Mount Tahat. Djebel Chélia is situated in the west of Khenchela, in Bouhmama county. Continue reading “Top-10 photos of Algeria”

Top-10 best photos of France most probably are the most diverse list of natural landscapes and life. Enjoy every single shot of it.

Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park

Jura Mountains Regional Natural Park is a French regional natural park located in the southwest of the Jura Mountain Range in France, on the French-Swiss border.

The park was created February 10, 1986, and at that time comprised 37 towns. As of 2005, that count is now 113 towns, with a total population of 71,000 inhabitants. The park covers an area of 165,000 hectares across three French departments: Ain, Doubs andJura.

Étang de Vaccarès

Étang de Vaccarès is a lake, or rather; a salt water lagoon (étang), in the wetlands of the Camargue in the delta of the RiverRhône in southern France.

The lake has an area of 65 km², and the depth is less than two meters. It is the northernmost, and also the largest of the lakes of the Camargue, and constitutes the principal element in the water control system of the Rhône delta, which depends upon a strict management of water resources, through pumping, irrigation and draining stations making a complex network of channels throughout the river delta.

Banks of the pond of Scamandre

Salazie

Continue reading “Top-10 best photos of France”

How many national parks and resorts one country can have? Looking at Thailand – a lot. This year finalist have shown great variety of natural parks.

Tham Sakoen National Park

Tham Sakoen national park is located in Pa Namyoaw and Pa Namsuad forest reserves in Song Kawae district in the northern part of Nan province, close to Laos. The 448 square kilometers park is comprised of north-south rugged mountains that cross the border between Laos and Thailand. The elevation ranges from 300 to 1752 meters above the sea level, the highest peak being Doi Jee at 1752 meters. The mountains are the head waters of Lamnam Yom and Lamnam Nan, two important rivers of the country.

Khun Chae National Park

Khun Chae National Park is a national park in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. This rugged park is home to high mountains and waterfalls.

Khun Chae National Park is located about 100 kilometres (60  Continue reading “Top-10 Photos of Thailand”

We getting closer to see winning photos of WLE 2015 and meanwhile you can check top-10 shots from Ukraine.

Carpathian Biosphere Reserve

Carpathian Biosphere Reserve (CBR) was established as a nature reserve in 1968 and became part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves of UNESCO in 1992. It consists of six separate massifs, two botanic preserves (Chorna Hora and Yulivska Hora) and regional landscape park Stuzhytsia, with a total area of 57,880 hectares (143,000 acres). The greatest part of the reserve is covered by virgin forests.

Administratively, the biosphere reserve is located in four districts of Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine. It is adjacent to the Carpathian National Nature Park.

Kinburn Foreland

Continue reading “Top-10 Photos Of Ukraine”

One more list of best photos came from Portugal this time. National winners were inspired with forests and mountains. Surprisingly but you will not find a lot of photos of the ocean. Enjoy!

Laurel forest

Laurel forest, also called laurisilva or laurissilva, is a type of subtropical forest found in areas with high humidity and relatively stable, mild temperatures.

The forest is characterized by broadleaf tree species with evergreen, glossy and elongated leaves, known as “laurophyll” or “lauroid”. Plants from the laurel family (Lauraceae) may or may not be present, depending on the location.

Serra da Estrela

Continue reading “Top-9 Photos of Portugal”

National winners of WLE Nepal showing us stunning mountain landscapes and a lot of space on their photos.

Tetang

Langtang National Park

The Langtang National Park is the fourth national park in Nepal and was established in 1976 as the first Himalayan national park. The protected area exceeds an altitudinal range of 6,450 m (21,160 ft) and covers an area of 1,710 km² (660 sq mi) in theNuwakot, Rasuwa and Sindhulpalchok districts of the central Himalayan region encompassing 26 Village Development Committees. It is linked with the Qomolangma National Nature Preserve in Tibet. The high altitude sacred lake of Gosainkundafalls within the park. The Gosainkunda lake (4,300 m (14,100 ft)) and the Dorje Lakpa range (6,988 m (22,927 ft)) bisect the park from east–west to south–east. The summit of Langtang Lirung (7,245 m (23,770 ft)) is the highest point in the park.

The northern and eastern border of the national park coincide with the international border to Tibet. The western boundary follows the rivers Bhote Kosi and Trisuli. The southern border lies 32 km (20 mi) north of the Kathmandu Valley. Continue reading “Top-10 best photos of Nepal”

Do you like some fantastic landscapes that look unreal? We enjoy them a lot. Brazilian team presented their Top-10 creative photos. Such a strong and clean shots will impress you a lot.

Sertão

The Sertão is one of the four sub-regions of the northeast of Brazil. Originally the term referred to the vast hinterlands of Asia and South America that Lusitanian explorers encountered. In Brazil it referred to backlands away from the Atlantic coastal regions where the Portuguese first settled in South America in the early sixteenth century. A Brazilian historian once referred to colonial life in Brazil as a “civilization of crabs”, as most settlers clung to the shoreline, with few trying to make inroads into the sertão. In modern terms, “sertão” refers to the semi-arid region inNortheastern Brazil comprising parts of the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Pernambuco, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Ceará,Maranhão, Piauí, and parts of northern Minas Gerais. The term Vaqueiro is similar to the generic use of “cowboy” in the United States.

Niterói City Park

The City Park in Niteroi is Located in an area of ​​environmental protection The place Reserve one of the best views of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi. From the top of the hill you can see the beaches of Niteroi (Camboinhas, Itaipu, Icarai and Jurujuba) and a spectacular view of Rio de Janeiro. If you want a little more emotion, on the Park you can jump from a gliding.

Abismo Anhumas

A cave in Bonito, Mato Grosso do Sul. This cave is equipped with a scuba diving platform and sunlight reaches down to the bottom during certain parts of the day.

Araucaria Forest

The Araucaria moist forests are a coniferous forest ecoregion of the Atlantic Forest Biome. The forest ecosystem is located in southern Brazil and northeastern Argentina. Continue reading “Top-10 best photos of Brazil”

Photographers from Andorra and Catalan speaking areas demonstrated patience and personal artistic vision on nature. Check out Top-10 best photos from Andorra and Catalan areas.

Sant Miquel del Fai

Sant Miquel del Fai is a cenobitic Benedictine monastery in Bigues i Riells, Catalonia, Spain. The 11th-century building was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural landmark in 1988.

The monastery is located in a well-preserved natural environment framed by rocky cliffs called Cingles Bertí in the Catalan pre-coastal mountain range which geographically separates the region of Vallès Oriental in the subregion of Moianés. The Natural Area Sant Miquel del Fai is located in the town of Bigas.

Ports de Tortosa-Beseit

Ports de Tortosa-Beseit, also known as Ports de Beseit, or simply as ElsPorts or Lo Port  by locals, is a limestone mountain massif located at the north-eastern end of the Sistema Ibérico, a complex system of mountain ranges and massifs in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Its highest point isMont Caro, 1,441 m. Rivers such as the Matarranya and the Sénia have their source in these mountains.

Cadí-Moixeró Natural Park

Continue reading “Top-10 best photos of Andorra & Catalan-speaking areas”