5 colourful destinations to brighten your day
These five corners of the planet captivate with their beautiful colors, from cherry blossom pink to jungle green. When imagining your perfect vacation destination, what colors come to mind? Can you imagine emerald forests, azure oceans, golden sands?
Color can have such a profound impact on a place's character and its appeal to us. Wassily Kandinsky once wrote: "Color is a power that directly influences the soul". Artists may think about the meanings and moods of different hues, but our response to color is deeply personal - and the planet offers us the most dazzling of palettes to explore.
Here we share five enticing destinations more defined by their colors than most ...
Red: Jordanian Wadi RumLawrence of Arabia described Wadi Rum as "vast, resounding, and godlike", and it's easy to see why. Although nicknamed the 'Valley of the Moon', this part of southern Jordan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, looks more like the terrain of Mars (in fact, it was a replacement for the 'red planet' in the 2015 film "The Martian"). Streaked sandstone peaks punctuate the vast desert plains, forming an otherworldly landscape of red, pink and peach hues. Rather than Martians, nomadic Bedouin tribes inhabit this region, as they have for centuries. If you want to experience life as a tribe member, visitors can choose to camp under the stars at one of the Wadi Rum desert camps. Alongside Petra and the Dead Sea, this awe-inspiring valley is a must-see when vacationing in Jordan.
Even if it's not Holi - the Hindu festival of color - India is home to a rainbow spectrum of cities. Perhaps the most famous of all is the "White City" of Udaipur, the "Pink City" of Jaipur and the "Blue City" of Jodhpur. Jodhpur's cityscape is teeming with morpho-blue houses, and although apocryphal stories abound, no one knows exactly what started this trend. What is certain is that it gives a refreshing atmosphere to this semi-arid region. In addition to its characteristic hue, the second largest city in Rajasthan is famous for its temples, palaces and forts.
You might think that being located between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific would make Costa Rica's ocean blue color. But this pioneer of ecotourism in Central America is pretty in green, thanks to lush tropical forests teeming with biodiversity. Costa Rica's Corcovado National Park is the wildest and most verdant country. The 424 square kilometer park sits on the Osa Peninsula, and its canopies, lagoons and rivers are home to two and three-toed sloths, scarlet macaws, coatis, tapirs, crocodiles, jaguars; capuchin monkeys, howler and white-faced squirrels; among other fascinating and rare creatures. Costa Rica is also known for its forest covered volcanoes - 16 in total - many of which are open to the public.
In Japan, the arrival of spring is marked by the flowering of cherry trees - or Sakura in Japanese. From around March to May, frothy blossoms of pink and white enliven avenues, woods and gardens across the country, before sinking their petals in a whirlwind of snow. Locals have celebrated this natural exhibition for centuries. There is even a specific word for the traditions honoring the event: hanami. During cherry blossom season, people gather day and night in the most picturesque places to take photos, have picnics and have parties. It is one of the most popular attractions among visitors and locals alike, so it is worth booking the best placed traditional hotels and inns ( ryokan) well in advance.
In the middle of a sunny plateau on the outskirts of Cairo, the famous Pyramids of Giza point skyward. The ancient Egyptians believed that gold was "the skin of the gods," and the relics of the pharaohs were soaked in it. Yet gold seems to characterize the very landscape here. The limestone used to build the pyramids appears amber in color, as if it were formed by the very desert that surrounds them. However, it is believed that the exterior of the Giza Pyramids was once brilliant white, wrapped in a layer of polished white stone to better reflect the sun. Time and the temptation to reuse this finer material elsewhere exposed the yellower stone underneath, giving the last of the surviving wonders of the ancient world their distinctive color.
