Gifford Pinchot National Forest

Lower Lewis River Falls

The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is one of the oldest National Forests in the United States. Included as part of the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve in 1897, this area was set aside as the Columbia National Forest in 1908. It was renamed the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1949.

Whether you seek solitude, social activity, creative inspiration, wildlife, forest products or scenic beauty, you can find it in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We invite you to enjoy the many different aspects of your National Forest.

Located in southwest Washington State, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest now encompasses 1,312,000 acres and includes the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument established by Congress in 1982.


The Lewis River Valley will delight any explorer who comes looking for spectacular waterfalls surrounded by old-growth forest. This is an area packed with some of the most spectacular and interesting waterfalls on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Trails, ranging from easiest to most difficult, provide paths of discovery through this diverse landscape. Easy wheelchair accessible trails allow close approach to Big Creek, Curly Creek, Miller Creek and Lower Lewis River Falls. Other waterfalls are viewed from the Lewis River Trail, which follows the Lewis River for over 15 miles.

Socotra

Socotra has been described as one of the most alien-looking place on Earth, and it’s not hard to see why. It is very isolated with a harsh, dry climate and as a result a third of its plant-life is found nowhere else, including the famous Dragon’s Blood Tree, a very-unnatural looking umbrella-shaped tree which produces red sap. There are also a large number of birds, spiders and other animals native to the island, and coral reefs around it which similarly have a large number of endemic (i.e. only found there) species. Socotra is considered the most biodiverse place in the Arabian sea, and is a World Heritage Site.

Chefchaouen, the Blue City of Morocco

Chefchaouen is a small charming city of about 40,000 inhabitants located in northeastern Morocco near the Mediterranean Sea. Situated in the heart of Morocco's Rif Mountains, Chefchaouen is a tourist’s delight with affordable accommodations, and above all, a picturesque town set against the dramatic backdrop of the Rif Mountains filled with white-washed homes with distinctive, powder-blue accents.

Chefchaouen was painted blue by the Jewish refugees who lived there during the 1930's. The beauty of Chefchaouen's mountainous surroundings are enhanced by the contrast of the brightly painted medina (old town). It is this beauty and the relaxed atmosphere of the town that makes Chefchaouen very attractive to visitors. The main square in the medina is lined with cafes and filled to the brim with locals and tourist mingling easily. Another reason why backpackers love Chefchaouen is the easy availability of drugs. Tourism in Chaouen is driven by its reputation as center of the marijuana plantations region in North Morocco. During the summer approximately two hundred hotels cater to the influx of European tourists.

Chefchaouen is a popular shopping destination as well, as it offers many native handicrafts that are not available elsewhere in Morocco, such as wool garments and woven blankets. The goat cheese native to the area is also popular with tourists. The countryside around it has a reputation for being a prolific source of cannabis. The Chefchaouen region is one of the main producers of cannabis in Morocco. Hashish is subsequently sold all over town, but is mostly the domain of native Chaouenis.

Skaftafell Ice Cave

Ice caves are temporary structures that appear at the edge of glaciers. They look amazingly beautiful from the inside. This particular cave is located on the frozen lagoon of the Svínafellsjökull glacier in Skaftafell, Iceland. The centuries old ice coming down the slopes of Öræfajökull via Svínafellsjökull glacier has metamorphosed into highly pressurized glacier ice that contains almost no air bubbles. The lack of air means that it absorbs almost all visible light, apart from the blue fraction which is then visible to the naked eye. However, this blue ice can be seen only under certain circumstances. It can be seen in winter after long periods of rain when the surface layer of the glacier has been washed away. It can be seen in ice-caves like this one and on floating icebergs that have recently rolled over.

This cave in the glacier ice is the result of glacial mill, or Moulin where rain and melt water on the glacier surface are channeled into streams that enter the glacier at crevices. The waterfall melts a hole into the glacier while the ponded water drains towards lower elevations by forming long ice caves with an outlet at the terminus of the glacier. The fine grained sediments in the water along with wind blown sediments cause the frozen meltwater stream to appear in a muddy colour while the top of the cave exhibits the deep blue colour. Due to the fast movement of the glacier of about 1 m per day over uneven terrain, this ice cave cracked up at its end into a deep vertical crevice, called cerrac. This causes the indirect daylight to enter the ice cave from both ends resulting in homogeneous lighting of the ice tunnel.

The cave is accessible through a 22-foot entrance on the shoreline. At the end it tapers to a tight squeeze no more than four feet high. Ice caves are in general unstable things and can collapse at any time. They are safe to enter only in winter when the cold temperatures harden the ice. Even so one could hear constant cracking sounds inside the cave. It was not because it was going to collapse but because the cave was moving along with the glacier itself. Each time the glacier moved a millimeter loud sounds could be heard.

Chamarel Falls and the Colored Earth

The Seven Coloured Earths, a small region near the village of Chamarel, Mauritius, is a geological curiosity and a major tourist attraction of Mauritius. This relatively small area of about 7,500 square meters comprises of sand dunes of seven distinct colours (approximately red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow).

The sands were formed from the decomposition of volcanic rock (basalt) gullies into clay, further transformed into ferralitic soil by total hydrolysis (chemical break- down of minerals by water). The two main elements of the resulting soil, iron and aluminium, are responsible for red/anthracite and blue/purplish colours respectively. The different shades of colour are believed to be a consequence of the molten volcanic rock cooling down at different external temperatures.

An unusual property of the sands is that they settle in different layers even if mixed together that gives the dunes a surrealistic, striped colouring. This strange phenomenon can be observed even on a smaller scale, if one takes a handful of sands of different colours and mixes them together, they'll eventually separate into a layered spectrum. The cause of their consistent spontaneous separation is yet to be explained. Another interesting feature of Chamarel's Coloured Earths is that the dunes seemingly never erode, in spite of Mauritius' torrential, tropical rains.

Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite

Winter is one of the most romantic times to visit Yosemite National Park where snow blankets the landscape and turns it into a picture postcard. Tenaya Lodge is just the place to spend time outdoors enjoying the winter playground and later in a cozy sanctuary with your special someone.


Kissed by natural beauty all around, Tenaya Lodge is the perfect place for a romantic California getaway. Pounding waterfalls, exhilarating hikes and starry Sierra nights. You'll be closer to nature and to each other. Touch the smooth, cool scrape of a trailside granite boulder, breathe in the sweet pine scent of a riverside forest. You'll engage every sense, including the sense of wonder, with romantic California getaways from Tenaya Lodge. Enjoy horse-drawn sleigh rides, a spa suite with jetted bath-tub, champagne and chocolate dipped strawberries, Ascent Spa bath kit, private dinner for two and rose-petal turn-down service.

Montaña Mágica Lodge

Montaña Mágica Lodge, also known as Magic Mountain Lodge, is located within Huilo Huilo, a 232 square mile natural reserve in southern Chile. Covered in rainforest moss and vines, this manmade volcano-like structure spews water and is only accessible by a monkey bridge. And if this isn’t sufficiently magical and surreal, outside are hot tubs, carved from hollowed out tree trunks, with ideal vantage points for wildlife sightings.

Verzasca River

The Verzasca is a Swiss 30-km long mountain river originating at Pizzo Barone and flowing into Lake Maggiore. It is known for its clear turquoise water and vibrant colored rocks, as well as its treacherous currents. The Verzasca Dam is a few kilometers upriver from this lake.

Baobab Avenue

The amazing baobab (Adansonia) or monkey bread tree can grow up to nearly 100 feet (30 m) tall and 35 feet (11 m) wide. Their defining characteristic: their swollen trunk are actually water storage – the baobab tree can store as much as 31,700 gallon (120,000 l) of water to endure harsh drought conditions.

Baobab trees are native to Madagascar (it’s the country’s national tree!), mainland Africa, and Australia. A cluster of "the grandest of all" baobab trees (Adansonia grandidieri) can be found in the Baobab Avenue, near Morondava, in Madagascar.

Waitomo Glowworm Caves

The Waitomo Glowworm Caves attraction is a cave at Waitomo on the North Island of New Zealand, known for its population of glowworms, Arachnocampa luminosa. These glowworms are found exclusively in New Zealand and are around the size of an average mosquito. This cave is part of the Waitomo Caves system that includes the Ruakuri Cave and the Aranui Cave.

Library at Strahov Monastery

It isn't often the splendour and perfection of architecture has the opportunity to house a collection of books as rare as they are valuable. But such is the case in the Library of the magnificent building which is the Strahov Monastery. The monastery can trace a brave and resilient history all the way back to 1142 when no less a personage as King Vratislav II decided that the approach to his Castle headquarters would be well served by having a cloister along its route to add a little gravity and serenity to the area. When the - impossible to pronounce quickly - Premonstratensians settled in and made the cloister, or monastery, their own he was well pleased. Like all important buildings that adorn a city its fortunes rose and fell down the centuries alongside those of Prague in general, but today just like all those years ago the Premonstratensians are still to be found in this tranquil and astonishing place.

The Library of Strahov, of which we will speak of in detail here does not have, nor ever did have books, which go back to the very origins of the monastery. It did however contain an impressive collection accumulated during the late years of the sixteenth century and early seventeenth century the fruits of the labours of Abbot Questenberg and his successors. However the lengthy and very destructive Thirty Years War which had Swedish forces stationed in and around Prague for long periods meant that when the Swedes got around to plundering and pillaging the monastery they carted most of the collection back to Sweden, the Abbot's entreaties and his Swedish sounding name notwithstanding. New attempts were made after the Peace of Westphalia 1648 to build up a repository of sacred and non-theological books in the monastery and from 1679 onwards this was performed with exceptional care and diligence. With an eye to any further disruptive invasions many books were put in storage in basements and by and large hidden from view. But with the strengthening of the monastery's defenses not to mention the entire building's massive overhaul to resemble the Baroque masterpiece we see today the books were ready to be carefully dusted down and placed on sturdy shelves in the newly constructed Library Hall. Library rules were drawn up, strict in the extreme, books were permitted to be taken down and consulted only by the most deserving and so it was that a great aura built up around them. To be prefect of the Library was a position of no little prestige among the Premonstratensians and many a monk coveted it passionately.The acquisitions of more and more books especially in the second half of the 17th century and throughout the 18th century meant that the ever expanding library required another mighty hall (the Philosophical Hall). This was at the end of the 18th century.

Rácz Hotel & Thermal Spa

The spa adjacent to the hotel uses local thermal water in its 16th-century Turkish baths and Habsburg dynasty pools. The ambience will plunge guests back in time, with the added advantage of fully restored spaces. Saunas, pools, 21 rooms for massages and traditional treatments…enough to relax the day away! Don’t forget to visit Buda Castle, just a 10-minute walk away, before returning to one of the 67 rooms and suites for some well-deserved rest.

Jalousie Plantation

Our luxury St Lucia resort is set within over 100 acres of lush rainforest on the site of an 18th Century sugar plantation, the lushly landscaped grounds sweep down to the stunning white sand Sugar Beach and the glimmering Caribbean Sea. The plantation's luxury villas and villa suites, and luxury Sugar Mill rooms boast elegant plantation styling, four-poster beds, luxurious Egyptian cotton linens, personalized butler service and every modern amenity for a pampering stay. Each of our St Lucia resort's villas and villa suites affords spectacular views of the Pitons or the Caribbean sea.

The indulgent, world-class Rainforest Spa, a full PADI dive facility, sumptuous waterfront dining, and chic bars and lounges ensure the quintessential St Lucia resort vacation experience, all close to the isle’s top tourist attractions.

Offering space enough for families and honeymooners alike, The Jalousie Plantation Sugar Beach, St Lucia is the premier choice among Soufriere hotels for discerning travelers seeking seclusion and tranquility amid unsurpassed natural beauty.

Yadis Ksar Ghilane Campement

A luxurious camp for your excursion in the Sahara.

A welcoming sight awaits you in the Tunisian desert - nestled in the shade of a private oasis - Yadis Campement Ksar Ghilane ushers you in to this hospitable land of colours and contrasts, spices and scents.

The permanent tents are made of stone and canvas - reminiscent of traditional Bedouin dwellings. Yadis Campement's location at a former Berber castle (ksar) features a restored watchtower that offers guests breathaking views of the Great Eastern Erg desert dunes.

Camp Yadis Ksar Ghilane is surrounded by its own desert oasis near the other saharan oases of Ksar Guilane; southeast of Zaafrane in southern Tunisia. The camp is also near a hot spring (swimming possible) and beverage outlets.

60 comfortable tents pitched in a star formation around the swimming pool and observation tower feature:

Air conditioning and heating with individual control.
Double bed or twin beds (with mattresses and bed linen that you would expect to find in a hotel).
Possibility of additional third and fourth beds for families (with 1-2 children under 12 yrs).
Private bathroom with hot running water, shower and toiletries (hairdryer on request).
Living room with wrought iron furniture.
Traditional floor coverings.

The main restaurant serves typical cuisine of the south of Tunisia (such as briks and lamb dishes cooked in a stone oven) and Mediterranean cuisine. Breakfast, lunch and Dinner is available at set times but flexibility is provided according to guest arrivals/departures.

At the bar you can expect a variety of cocktails and drinks throughout the day in a unique setting that overlooks the pool.

The outdoor swimming pool, fed by a nearby spring, has sun loungers with mattresses and parasols (towels on request).
Entertainment can be provided by folklore groups on request.
For wellness, there is the nearby thermal spring and massages.
Camel trekking, horse riding, dune drives and a visit to a Roman fort (3 km away) are also possible from the campsite.
Motorbike hire is available from a company nearby.

Booking Office Bar and Restaurant

The fantasy of time travel is simply a daydream one never expects to embark upon. But as you step into the stately venue of the former ticketing headquarters for London’s St. Pancras Rail Station, murmurs of hurried travelers beginning their journeys linger in the air and you begin to believe time travel is possible. The grandiose new resident occupying the former booking office of the British railway services transports you back, far back, to a time when travel was a luxury and preparation for it was a social experience. The appropriately titled, Booking Office Bar and Restaurant in the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, is an architectural statement of British heritage and history. Gothic arched windows frame the dramatically high ceilings while the 100ft marble bar spans the length of the palatial cathedral-like hall. Rich, stylish furnishings and dark wood décor are the backdrop to the show stopping centerpiece of the room, the original ticket booth, magnificently restored and a true testament of the respect taken during restoration, celebrating both the ephemeral lifestyle of a jet-setter and the legacy of English traditions.

The unique appeal of the Booking Office is reflected in the clientele, a revolving door of diverse guests ranging from business suits to fashionable socialites all with varying purposes and schedules. Patrons can arrive fresh from their Eurostar journeys and nibble on a selection of bar snacks, like haggis bon-bons and modern interpretations of time-honored British recipes. The drinks menu, a declaration of praise and admiration of the Victorian era, features an array of bespoke and seasonal cocktails with contemporary novelties such as Billy Dawson’s punch, served in hand made copper punch bowls. Continuing down the path of reverence to English heritage, there is an abundance of wines, ales and ciders sourced from local and historical breweries. Afternoon tea can be enjoyed on the outside seating area overlooking the platforms of St. Pancras Station.

A ubiquitous café echoing the transient spirit of its patrons, the Booking Office Bar and Restaurant is not just a passage until your next destination, it is your destination.

Pigeon Hole Cafe

Pigeon Hole is as much a social scene as a café. You go there expecting that you will know many of the customers - and that is partly because the place is always crowded with regulars who return again and again for Emma's great coffee and Jay's perfectly-pitched food.

This café would be right at home in New York's Lower East Side or the 11th in Paris. It is quite small with less than 20 seats inside and a few more on the footpath outside. It sits on the fringe of the city in a residential area where people walk to work, stopping in here for their first fix of coffee for the day.

Saturday morning is a real buzz with regulars and visitors claiming tables here from early in the morning. The tables turn over regularly so there is rarely a long wait.

Dishes for the day are chalked on a blackboard on the wall. There are usually three or four breakfast dishes and a similar number of lunch offerings.

Pigeon Hole is famous for its panini which anchor both the breakfast and lunch menus. The fillings tend to vary from day to day but you can usually be assured that the sought-after breakfast panino filled with long-cooked onions and gruyere cheese will be available.

Two other long-time favourites at breakfast are the house-cooked baked beans and the baked eggs with onions and jamon. There is also a comforting dish of yoghurt with fruit and crunch from nuts such as pistachios. A recent addition has been a flavour-packed dish of baked eggs with taleggio and parsley and preserved lemon. The interplay between the tang of the preserved lemon and the punch of the cow's milk cheese from northern Italy form a perfect backdrop to the richness of the perfectly baked eggs.

At lunch there is always a soup and a savoury panino available. We fondly remember a chicken, carrot and trofie soup which consisted of shreds of chicken, circles of carrot and the rolled pasta swimming in a very good stock, punctuated with green flecks of parsley. The trofie is a pasta that is hand-rolled and twisted to form short, tapered shapes that are ideal for a soup.

We have also enjoyed a panino stuffed with meat balls and slathered with grated cheese. The flavour packed into this parcel was amazing.

Jay has increased the bread production now, working as a baker at night and a chef during the day! Every morning the shelves now groan with his flavoursome loaves of perfect bread which you can buy any time of day. The sourdough loaves are particular favourites and you can be assured that they are the 'real deal' with no shortcuts taken.

Gelateria dei Gracchi

Gracchi looks spare—clinical even. But a just-delivered crate of wild strawberries fragrantly reassures you. So does Gracchi’s pistachio gelato, considered Rome’s best. It’s alive with the flavor of fresh-roasted Bronte nuts from the slopes of Mount Etna. The gelatiere, Alberto Manassei, is a Neoclassicist whose fruit flavors follow the seasons and whose chocolate-and-rum frozen sensation draws on pure fondant (not just the usual cocoa powder).

Le Jardin des Biehn

First La Maison Biehn in Provence - now Le Jardin des Biehn in Fez. Catherine and Michel Biehn lovingly restored the summer palace of a Moroccan Pasha in the heart of the old Medina of Fez. Their boutique hotel, an authentic riad set in a large Andalusian garden, welcomes you with nine suites, a restaurant, a hammam and spa, a sophrology centre, and a gallery space where Michel Biehn displays his collections of antique textiles and costumes.

After 30 years spent scouring the globe for rare and exquisite objects, antiques collector Michel Biehn retreated to Fez’s ancient medina to open a small hotel in a restored riad that once served as a pasha’s summer palace. The result: the highly curated Le Jardin des Biehn (doubles from $140 to $200), whose nine guest rooms are an intoxicating whirl of textures and patterns. A crimson armoire from Sichuan is displayed near a concubine’s chair from Beijing; a wall-size Uzbek tapestry sets off an 18th-century mirror from Persia. Tying it all together are Moorish architectural details, including a courtyard framed by Moghul archways, walls overlaid with mosaic tiles, and a garden that provides many of the ingredients for the hotel’s Fez Café. Hicham, one of the chefs, moonlights as a maker of leather babouches (from $30), crafting them to order in hues ranging from ocher to pale blue. Guests are also welcome to peruse the Islamic textiles (from $180) in Biehn’s on-site gallery—where, for a price, you can begin a collection of your own.

Le Sirenuse

The San Pietro may be flashier, but nothing beats archrival Le Sirenuse for traditional, dignified luxury. In 1953, two years after it opened, John Steinbeck described it as “an old family house converted into a first-class hotel.” More than half a century of overexposure later, that impression remains at this storied hotel, now in its second generation of Sersale family management. Nearly all the rooms in the poppy-red, 18th-century villa, with museum-quality antiques and hand-painted ceramic-tile floors, have a private balcony or patio overlooking the bay. Diversions include an alfresco champagne-and-oyster bar, a pool and Aveda spa, and a vintage wooden speedboat for tooling up and down the coast in 1950s-starlet style. The Neapolitan menu at the restaurant, La Sponda, was devised by Don Alfonso, southern Italy’s first chef to garner three Michelin stars (for his restaurant in nearby Sant’Agata sui Due Golfi).

Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II

The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II is a double arcade in the center of Milan, Italy. The structure is formed by two glass-vaulted arcades intersecting in an octagon covering the street connecting Piazza del Duomo to Piazza della Scala.

The Galleria is named after Vittorio Emanuele II, the first king of the Kingdom of Italy. It was originally designed in 1861 and built by Giuseppe Mengoni between 1865 and 1877.

The street is covered by an arching glass and cast iron roof, a popular design for nineteenth-century arcades, such as the Burlington Arcade in London, which was the prototype for larger glazed shopping arcades, beginning with the Saint-Hubert Gallery in Brussels (opened in 1847), the Passazh in St Petersburg (opened in 1848), the Galleria Umberto I in Naples (opened in 1890) and the Budapest Galleria.

The central octagonal space is topped with a glass dome. The Milanese Galleria was larger in scale than its predecessors and was an important step in the evolution of the modern glazed and enclosed shopping mall, of which it was the direct progenitor. It has inspired the use of the term galleria for many other shopping arcades and malls.

In the central mosaic there is a depiction of the bull from Turin Coat of Arms. The tradition tells that if a person put its right heel on the bull's genitals and turn on himself three times, this will bring good luck. This practice causes damage to the mosaic: a hole developed on the place of the bull's genitals.

The Galleria connects two of Milan's most famous landmarks: The Duomo and the Teatro Alla Scala, but the Galleria is a landmark in its own right.

El Garzon

Our restaurant is enhanced by the romance and taste of fire, our food is cooked on a old Andean technique called “infiernillo” (little hell) were we cook in between two wood fires, on different sized iron griddles, that go to the table with the sizzling delicacies. The result is very special, with the added flavors of simplicity; olive oil and fresh herbs from our garden are the added luxury to our food.

A classic Wood oven were we bake our breads and desserts is the last step of this restaurant that reaches as close as possible to our soul of south-American produce and history.

Knife & Fork

According to the knife & fork website it “is a restaurant that minimizes its impact on the environment and maximizes its impact on local economy by sourcing nearly all ingredients and materials from extremely local growers and suppliers.

The menu offers only seasonal and sustainable dishes that reflect the traditions and culture of the mountains or North Carolina.”

The restaurant is run by a husband and wife team, Chef Nathan Allen and his spouse Wendy. They opened knife & fork restaurant in July of 2009 after both leaving careers in Los Angles. Chef Nate studied at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. He was on the opening culinary team of the James Beard Award winning Chef, Suzanne Goin, in her restaurant AOC (achieving “Most Popular Restaurant” – Los Angles/Zagat 2005-2006). He followed that up by working as a chef to many elite patrons for about five years. Wendy worked as a restaurant manager at high profile restaurants learning the ins and outs of the administrative side of managing a dining room.

Half of the dining room in knife & fork
Together they make an incredible team that covers all the bases. Both consistently refer to what they think the guest is looking for when they come to the restaurant. The guests don’t even have to come in the door to get a sense of a different style of restaurant. Wendy leaves several tables set without table cloth for those customers that feel more comfortable going without. Anticipating the guests’ needs and how they will dine doesn’t just happen. It comes with experience, knowledge, forethought and the willingness to work hard to make it happen for the guest. This team does it.

The two dishes I tried were fascinating studies in the use of local ingredients with a very few exceptions. Starting with a prosciutto wrapped rabbit livers skewered atop chili popcorn and pralines drizzled with reduced balsamic. The farmer who provides the rabbit provides all that he raises for knife & fork. I’m not the fondest of liver to begin with but the ingredients melded together to raise the bar for me. I could still taste the rich earthiness of the rabbit liver but it was rounded out by the prosciutto and balsamic. The pralines and chili popcorn added a sweet and spicy element to the dish to make it even more fascinating. When Chef was asked why he added a drizzle of olive oil to the plate. He said that he anticipated the diner to get just a little of the olive oil on each bite as we negotiate the bite and ingredients on the fork adding another hint of flavor.

The second dish was the crispy pulled pork with corn shoots and sautéed mustard greens and red Russian kale. This appeared more like a salad when it arrived with the pulled pork under the greens. The first item I tried was a corn shoot and it offered that sweet light corn profile that is so refreshing. The pork was prepared so that it was all crispy adding a nice texture to each bite. The greens added a bit of spice and the corn shoots gave their touch of sweetness giving the dish a more complete appeal for the senses.

In the two dishes the following ingredients were not from around these parts: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, chili spice and prosciutto. Chef Nate almost seemed apologetic that he acquired the pork from about an hour away and the popcorn from South Carolina. There is a true farm to table mentality at knife & fork that is hard to come by even in this local food haven of Western North Carolina. Nate and Wendy take their business serious and their passion is obvious.

I highly recommend taking the time to visit knife & fork. There are just over 40 seats, they do take reservations and walk-ins and they are closed on Mondays. I understand the Sunday Brunch is wonderful but also very busy. It is much easier to get in during the week.

Taj Safaris

Taj Safaris invites you to experience the unparalleled beauty of the Indian jungle. With its towering, ancient trees, enchanting chorus of forest birds, and herds of gentle chital, this is a travel experience unlike any other. Enjoy twice-daily jungle drives, conducted in the comfort of an open 4x4 safari vehicle, direct from our unique and luxurious safari lodges - Mahua Kothi in Bandavgarh National Park and Baghvan in Pench National Park, Banjaar Tola in Kanha and Pashan Garh in Panna

This is an unforgettable opportunity to glimpse some of India's most prized fauna and flora in their pristine surrounds. Test your spotting skills as our naturalists take you on exhilarating game drives. Lookout for the shy sambar (large forest deer), identify the lodges' ten unique Star Birds, journey through ever-changing habitats and, if luck is on your side, catch a glimpse of India's most famous and endangered predator, the Bengal tiger!

Golden Rock Inn

The hillside plantation inns in Nevis may lack in sand and sea, but they more than make up for it with lush tropical surroundings, luxurious pampering, fine dining and sweeping vistas of the coastline below. It’s a fine combination for romance, which was readily apparent to me when we stopped in for a quick visit to one such hillside plantation inn called The Golden Rock Inn.

A former sugar plantation dating back to 1801, The Golden Rock Inn extends across 100 acres of pristine Nevisian hillside in the Gingerland section of the island, so named for the crop that once sustained the area. It’s enough room for a sprawling mega-resort, but there are just seven cottages here, plus a fine restaurant, a spring-fed swimming pool, and one of the most special room accommodations in all of the Caribbean.

Six pastel cottages containing 11 rooms tucked into the sides of a lush green hill. Early mornings and cocktails taken at sunset on the terrace of the Golden Rock Inn are perfection. A generous panorama from the dining pavilion takes in the hills and the distant ocean.

Falaknuma Palace

One of the finest palace in Hyderabad, Falaknuma Palace, located in Falaknuma, 5km.from Charminar, built by Nawab Vikar-ul-Ulmara, the then Prime Minister of Hyderabad. An Italian architect was designed this palace and the foundation for the construction was laid on 3rd March 1884. The palace took 9 years to complete the construction, totally made with Italian marble and it covers a total area of 9,39,712-sq-metre. It was purchased by Nizam VI in 1897 and was used as a royal guesthouse has a commanding view of the entire city. It was sure that the Falaknuma palace was gifted to the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mehboob Ali Khan by the generous Nawab. Falaknuma houses a large collection of rare treasures collected by the Nizam including paintings, statues, furniture, manuscripts and books. The Jade collection of the Palace is considered to be unique in the world.

One of the highlight’s of the palace is the state reception room, whose ceiling is decorated with frescoes and gilded relief’s. The ballroom contains a two-ton manually operated organ said to be the only one of its kind in the world. This apart the palace has as many as 220 lavishly decorated rooms and 22 spacious halls. The palace has some of the finest treasures collected by the Nizam.

The famed dining hall of the palace could seat 100 guests on a single table. The furniture is also very aesthetic. The chairs are carved rosewood with green leather upholstery. The tableware was made of gold and crystal to which fluted music was added. The ground floor of the palace houses the living quarters. The marbled staircase leads to the upper floor. It has carved balustrades which supports marble figures with candelabra at intervals. On the walls of the landing are excellent oil paintings of the Asaf Jahi family, past ministers and notable personages, the whole forming a very interesting historical picture gallery which adds greatly to the imposing effect of the staircase.

Since the palace was the private property of the Nizam family till very recently, visitors weren’t allowed. Occasionally, however, the venue is opened for public view. The Taj group has taken over the palace now and it has been converted into a 5-star hotel.