Asturias, best-kept secret places in Spain

Located between the mountains and the sea, Asturias awaits you, a destination whose countryside and varied landscapes will leave you speechless. Nevertheless, this is not the only reason for coming to visit. In this part of Spain you will also find a rich and important array of cultural heritage.

Asturias, officially Principality of Asturias, Spanish Principado de Asturias, comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) and historic region of Spain that is coextensive with the northwestern Spanish provincia (province) of Asturias. It is bounded by the autonomous communities of Cantabria to the east, Castile-León to the south, and Galicia to the west. The Cantabrian Sea lies to the north. The autonomous community of Asturias was established by the statute of autonomy of Dec. 30, 1981. The capital is Oviedo.

Asturias, best-kept secret places in Spain

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Perast, Montenegro

Perast is an old town in the Gulf of Kotor, Montenegro. The place is a few kilometers northwest of Kotor and is known for the views of the islands of St. George and the Mother of the Rocks. Perast is one of the most beautiful little places in Boka Bay, located just a few kilometres from Kotor. It looks like a piece of Venice that has floated down the Adriatic. This tiny town boasts 16 churches and 17 formerly grand palazzos. Perast’s most famous landmarks are actually right in the middle of the waters- two picturesque islands with quite the story behind them.

Throughout history, many have struggled to conquer this place (Byzantine Empire, Venetian and Hungarian, French, Austrian …). Each has left a significant mark on this marvelous, beautiful little place. Our Lady of the Rocks (Gospa od Škrpjela) sits on a man-made island. The story begins on July 22, 1452: two sailors, returning to Perast from a difficult voyage, discovered an icon of the Madonna and Child resting on a rock in a shallow part of the Bay. No visit to Perast would be complete without taking a boat trip (leaves regularly from the quay) to the islands of St George and Our Lady of the Rocks. They both have a chapel. Legend has it that Our Lady of the Rocks was built after some sailor’s found a picture of the Virgin Mary on a rock in the middle of the bay.

Perast, Montenegro

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The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea – bordering Israel, the West Bank and Jordan – is a salt lake whose banks are more than 400m below sea level, the lowest point on dry land.

Its famously hypersaline water makes floating easy, and its mineral-rich black mud is used for therapeutic and cosmetic treatments at area resorts. The surrounding desert offers many oases and historic sites.

The Dead Sea

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Sewu Temple

Sewu Temple or Manjusrighra is a Buddhist temple built in the 8th century just eight hundred meters to the north of Prambanan Temple. Sewu Temple is the second largest Buddhist temple complex after Borobudur Temple in Central Java. Sewu temple is older than Borobudur and Prambanan Temple. Although the original has 249 temples, by the local community this temple is called "Sewu" which means one thousand in Javanese. This naming is based on the legend of Loro Jonggrang.

Administratively, the Sewu Temple complex is located in Dukuh Bener, Bugisan Village, Prambanan Sub-district, Klaten District, Central Java Province.

This temple was badly damaged by the earthquake in May 2006 in Yogyakarta and southern Central Java. Damage to the structure of the building is very real and the main temple suffered the most severe damage. Fractional rocks scattered on the ground, cracks and fractures between stone connections visible.

To prevent the collapse of the building, an iron frame is installed in all four corners of the building to support and retain the body of the main temple. Although the site reopened for visitors a few weeks later after the earthquake in 2006, all parts of the main temple remained closed and should not be entered for security reasons.

Now that it has been restored, the main temple metal framework has been removed and visitors can enter the room in the main temple.

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Indonesia's Glorious Enchantment: Komodo Island

Komodo Island is an island located in the Flores Islands. The island is included in the area of Komodo National Park located in District Komodo, West Manggarai Regency.

To get here from Komodo Airport, you have to travel overland to Labuan Bajo Port and ready to go to Komodo Island by using fishing boats.

Once you get to Komodo Island, you can see the Komodo dragon grows well. Recent census results show that the population of the island dragons reaches about 2,000 more tails. The population of Commodities continues to be maintained, with a well-preserved nature reserve. With a savanna nature that produces an exotic charm, many domestic and foreign tourists who come to this island.

Komodo Island was designated as a world heritage site in 1986 by UNESCO because the Komodo dragon can only be found in this region. In addition, Komodo Island is also awarded as the New Seven Wonders of Nature which is a tribute to seven of the best natural attractions in the world. Determination of winners based on voting and research experts.

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Puglia, Italy

Puglia, a region in southern Italy, is known for its sunny weather, whitewashed hill towns, centuries-old farmland and hundreds of miles of Mediterranean coastline. Alberobello and the surrounding Itria Valley are home to unique stone huts with conical roofs (called trulli), while the city of Lecce is known as “Florence of the South” for its numerous examples of baroque architecture. Also known as "Le Puglie" in the plural form, Apulia is a charming region that can be visited all year round and is suspended among nature, history, tradition, tastes and spirituality.

People are understanding that this beauty of a region is magical and countless articles and publicity in the media is starting to do the trick. The landscape and culture of Puglia are definitely Mediterranean and there are a wealth of towns and villages to explore, such as Ostuni, Alberobello, Otranto, etc. The crowning glory of the region is its beautiful coastline with miles of sandy beaches and sand dunes that are not overcrowded – think the Amalfi Coast without the crowds! This region offers some perfect coastal towns such as Polignano and Gallipoli. Puglia offers a refreshingly different and affordable holiday destination and is a food and wine lover's paradise.

Puglia, Italy

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Provence, France

Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône River on the west to the Italian border on the east, and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the south. Point of interest in Provence such as : a Lavender fields in Senanque Abbey, French Riviera, Verdon Gorge, Aix-en Provence, Marseille and many more.

It largely corresponds with the modern administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, and includes the départements of Var, Bouches-du-Rhône, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and parts of Alpes-Maritimes and Vaucluse. The largest city of the region is Marseille.

The Romans made the region into the first Roman province beyond the Alps and called it Provincia Romana, which evolved into the present name. It was ruled by the Counts of Provence from their capital in Aix-en-Provence until 1481, when it became a province of the Kings of France.While it has been part of France for more than five hundred years, it still retains a distinct cultural and linguistic identity, particularly in the interior of the region.

 Provence, France

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