One of the coldest and most uninhabited places in the world is also one of breath taking beauty. The white continent of antartica is the fifth largest continent in the world and covers the south pole .It wasn’t until 1820 that this continent was first discovered. Also a cold desert situated within the antarctic circle and surrounded by southern ocean the continent stretches over 14 million sq kms . Of this 98% is covered with thick ice sheets antartica has 70 % of all the world’s freshwater frozen as ice and 90 % of worlds ice . In fact the antarctic ice sheet is the single largest mass of ice on the planet . The remaining 2 % of ice free areas are where you would find research stations which are about 4000 in short summer and 1000 in winter . In 1983 antarctica recorded the lowest ever temperature on earth of -89 c . The continent is witness to many unusual spectacles. Like the aurora australis a curtain of red or green light that appears in the sky . Another beautiful phenomenon is diamond dust . This occurs when water vapour condenses in the cold air and forms tiny ice crystals . When the sun rays glint off these crystals as they fall to the ground it presents a lovely sight . Hiding under the antarctic ice is an entire freshwater lake . Lake vostok is buried beneath 3.7 kilometers of solid ice . This world of ice and snow is a nestling ground for variety of wildlife. Like migratory birds , penguins and many marine animals like seal , whales , krill and fish . Penguins are most common bird in antarctica and live in large colonies . Each of these animals have different adaptive features for surviving the continents extreme cold . The lack of moisture and low temperature make it hard for plants to grow . There are no trees or shrubs and only two species of flowering plants are known to grow here . However some species of lichen , moss and algae that can survive the hash conditions are found here . Like the artic to the north most of the continent is completely dark during the winter . But during summer more sunlight reaches the south pole than over a similar duration at the equator. 

The red fort complex or lal qila complex in delhi was built by mughal king shahjahan in mid 17 th century. Enclosed within the massive red sand stone walls which stands 75 feet high punctuated by turrets and bastions is a complex of palaces , entertainment halls , projecting balconies , baths indoor canals , geometrical gardens as well as an ornate mosque . Among the most famous structures of the complex are the hall of public audience ( diwan -i- am ) which has 60 red sandstone pillars supporting a flat roof and hall of private audience ( diwan – I- khas ) which is smaller with a pavilion of white marble. The planing of the palace is based on islamic prototypes but each pavilion demonstrates architectural elements typical of mughal building reflecting a fusion of persian , timurid , and hindu tradition. Spread over 255 acres this whole complex was designated as UNESCO World Heritage site in 2007 .

The mighty himalayan chain stretches from arunachal pradesh in north east india to jammu and kashmir the northern most tip of india . Generally the himalayas the karakoram and the hindu kush are considered to be a part of one chain . However when one makes a reference to the indian himalayas . It more often than not refers to that part of the himalayan chain which falls within indian territory. Starting from the east the indian himalayas originate from a knot between china and india where the brahmaputra river enters arunachal pradesh . The chain continues until the borders of bhutan . Beyond that lies sikkim which is home to many peaks including the third highest peak in the world khangchendzonga . The himalayan ranges to the west fall within nepalese territory until the border of kumaon and grahwal. From here the ranges extend without a break in indian territory- kinnaur , spiti , kullu, lahaul , zanskar , ladakh , and east karakoram . The ranges further west are part of pakistan and afghanistan. A climbing or trekking trip in the indian himalayas can be more enjoyable if you acquaint yourself with the regions rich geography , history and biodiversity. 

Regions of the indian himalayas broadly consists of following regions:
1 . Kumaon ( Central Himalayas Uttarakhand State ) 
2 . Garhwal ( Central Himalayas Uttarakhand State ) 
3 . Kinnaur ( North West Himalayas Himachal Pradesh) 
4 . Spiti ( North West Himalayas Himachal Pradesh) 
5 . Kullu ( North West Himalayas Himachal Pradesh) 
6 . Lahaul / Northern Valleys ( North West Himalayas Himachal Pradesh ) 
7 . Kishtwar ( Western Himalayas) 
8 . Kashmir ( Western Himalayas) 
9 . Zanskar ( Western Himalayas) 
10 . Ladakh ( Western Himalayas) 
11 . East Karakoram ( Western Himalayas) 
12 . Sikkim ( Eastern Himalayas )
13 . Arunachal Pradesh ( Eastern Himalayas )

The himalayas have played an important role in shaping indias history in many ways the two are inextricably linked . For thousands of years the himalayas have protected the indian subcontinent from marauding central asian tribes .Their height prevent the moisture rich clouds of the south western monsoon from completely by passing the country .The mountains also black cold wings from central asia that would have turned the great indian plains into a cold desert . All the great rivers in north india originate from glaciers high up in thee mountains .The rivers also carry rich alluvial soil from these ranges down to the plains which result in extremely fertile soil that support high agricultural yields .

Located in old locality on hyderabad . Built in between 1590 and 1591 the charminar is a true masterpiece of qutub shahi architecture and is now used to represent hyderabad pictorally . Made out of limestone and mortar the charminar has four imposing arches each 11 m wide and 11.5 m high . Above the arches lies the first floor with arcaded balcony that runs around the structure with openings to both its interior and exterior sides . There are accounts of the first floor once being used as madrasa and chambers here are meant for students.  On the second floor is a mosque with five arches that display exquisite stucco designs . The mosque has prayers hall’s that can accommodate 45 people in all . A large open space in front of it was utilised during friday prayers . On the eastern end of the mosque a dome and petal shaped flutings  

The pentagon the headquarters of the us dept of defence located just outside washington in arlington. Virginia is one of the world’s largest office buildings. The building was designed by americian architect george bergstrom and has five sides five floors above the ground two basements levels and five ring corridors per floor with a total of 17.5 mi ( 28.2 km ) of corridors . The central five acre ( 20,000 sqm ) pentagonal plaza is nicknamed ground zero on the presumption that it would be a prime target in a nuclear war . Completed in jan 1943 after 16 months of construction the complex has 19 escalators , 284 restrooms , 691 water fountains three times the floor space of the empire state building and houses about 26000 employees. In the buildings main concourse is the hall of heroes a room dedicated to people who have received the medal of honor the united states highest military decoration. The pentagon memorial also known as the 9 / 11 memorial located outside was built to remember the people who lost their lives in the attacks of 9 / 11 .

Venice spread over 118 islands and founded in the 5 century became a major maritime power in the 10th century. The whole city and its lagoon is an extraordinary architectural masterpiece in which even the smallest building contains work by some of the world’s great artists such as giorgione , titian , tintoretto , veronese etc . The most famous place in venice is piazza san marco , or st marks square the centre from which rises the homonymous , five domed st marks basilica . Bronze horses dominate its main entrance while the interior is covered in mosaics ( mostly in gold ) that recounts scenes from the bible.  Next to basilica is ducal palace which has the elaborate and lavish higher council hall . The bell tower in front was constructed in 1902 . Bridges here are distinctly different such as rialto bridge and bridge of sigh . The city of venice and its lagoon which covers 50, 000 sq km were designated a unesco world heritage site in 1987 .

The darjeeling himalayan railway which is also known as a toy train runs between new jalpaiguri & darjeeling . Running on the narrow gauge it was built between 1879 & 1881 . The distance is around 78 kilometers with 13 stations enroute . The most interesting part is that it travels over the elevated terrain from 100 meters to 2,200 meters . The most outstanding example of a hill passenger railway.  It’s designed applies bold and ingenious engineering solutions in connecting beautiful mountainous terrain . This unesco world heritage site railways has a station named ghum which is the highest railway station in india.  All the three railways are fully operational till date .

Petronas towers the world tallest twin towers located in kuala lumpur are 88 storey buildings designed by cesar pelli & associates that are joined at the 41 st and 42 nd floor ( 175 m above the street level ) by a 58 metre long double decker sky bridge . Standing 452 meters tall the architecture of these buildings was inspired by malaysian and Islamic culture and primarily house the corporate headquarters of petronas company and other offices.  After 6 years in construction the towers were completed in 1998 and consists of 89000 sq ft of laminated glass to reflect harmful UV rays . The petronas towers are placed on the world’s largest foundation that is 120 meters approx 400 ft and the sky bridge can move independently from the towers . The towers taper towards the antennas that are placed on top to stabilize the towers structurally.  A reflection and homage to the dominant islamic culture of malaysia these towers are a major landmark of kuala lumpur. 

The great wall of china is a series of fortifications made of stone , brick , tamped earth , wood and other materials generally built along an east to west line across the historical northern borders of china to protect the chinese states and empires againist the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups of the eurasian steppe . Apart from defense other purposes of the great wall have included border controls allowing the imposition of duties on good transported along the silk road regulation or encouragement of trade and the control of immigration and emigration. In 220 b.c . under emperor qin shi huang of china sections of earlier fortifications were joined together to form what we call the great wall today . Construction continued up to the ming dynasty ( 1368 – 1644 ) and the name great wall was actually given in 1877 . The great wall stretches from dandong in the east to lop lake in the west along the arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of inner mongolia.  The great wall is not only because of the ambitious character of the undertaking but also the perfection of its construction an absolute masterpiece. The only work built by human hands on this planet that can be seen from the moon the wall constitutes on the vast scale of a continent a perfect example of architecture integrated into the landscape.  About one forth of the length of the wall consists solely of natural barriers such as rivers and mountain ridges . Nearly all of the rest ( about 70 percent of the total length ) is actually constructed wall with the small remaining stretches constituting ditches or moats .There is a section of the great wall where it goes up extremely steep slopes in jinshanling and is one of the most striking section of the wall , though earth and stone are mostly the materials used to build the wall glutinous rice ( sticky rice ) was put on the mortar.  The amylopectin which makes this rice sticky can probably take credit for the endurance of the wall over the thousands of years.  While many portions near beijing have been renovated some parts of the wall have disappeared over the years . It was included under the new seven wonders of the world in 2007 and a unesco world heritage site in 1987 .

Big ben is the name given to the massive bell inside the clock tower that weighs 13.7 tonnes stands 7.2 ft ( 2 .2 meters) tall and has a diameter of 8.9 ft ( 2.7 meters) . The bell hammer weighs 200 kgs . Each dial on this clock is seven meters in diameter and numbers are approximately 60 cm long . The hour hand is 9.2 feet long ( 2.8 m ) in length the minute hand is 14 feet ( 4.3 m ) . Each clock dial is illuminated by 28 energy efficient bulbs at 85 watts each bulb has a lifetime of 60, 000 hours . In june 2012 this clock tower was renamed as the elizabeth tower to mark the diamond jubilee of elizabeth 2 and stands 315 ft ( 96 meters) tall with 11 floors .