Taiping is among the top 3 most sustainable cities in the world, according to the 2019 Sustainable Top 100 Destination Awards, right behind Ljubljana, Slovenia and Vancouver, Canada in the “Best of Cities” category!
ITB Berlin hosted the most prestigious Awards Ceremony for Sustainable Destinations. This event is dedicated to recognizing innovation and good practices in tourism management: islands, towns, regions and whole countries. The award winners have been selected by a Jury representing 12 international organizations.
Taiping rated as one of the top green destinations.
The town’s Municipal Council president Datuk Abd Rahim Md Ariff received the award.
Taiping Municipal Council president Datuk Abd Rahim Md Ariff said, “This is the first time we received a prestigious international award. This achievement is due to the hard work of the community and all relevant governmental agencies.”
“The council always works hard to make Taiping a popular tourist destination,” Abd Rahim added.
The “Best of Cities” category of the awards recognizes cities that show leadership in urban sustainability and in avoiding disruptive over-tourism.
Taiping is the second largest town in Perak after the state capital Ipoh. The town also is known as the wettest town in Peninsular Malaysia. Its unusual rainfall has also blessed its Lake Gardens with a fertile and splendid collection of flora and century-old rain trees. Itis characterized by aging buildings and clear blue skies with high chances of rain.
Green Destinations, a non-profit organization that focuses on the efforts of creating sustainable tourism, leading global cooperation between experts, listed Taiping on its 100 Sustainable Cities list in December 2018.
Taiping used to be a thriving tin-mining town that lost its luster with the rise of Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur as cities.
Taiping has previously been recognized as the Best Destination Manager 2016 by the Tourism Promotion Board for the Asia Pacific; besides having received the Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2017 in Best Heritage and Eco Travel Destination Category and Malaysia Tourism Council Gold Award 2018 for the Best Tourism Promotion Campaign.
For those who have not visited Taiping, it is time to consider visiting this beautiful city!
North Queensland is the northernmost part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Centered on the city of Cairns, the region stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. Its offshore Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system, hosts thousands of marine species.
The region is home to three World Heritage Sites, the Great Barrier Reef, the Wet Tropics of Queensland and Riversleigh, Australia’s largest fossil mammal site. Cape Tribulation, Mission Beach, and Atherton Tablelands brings even more activities for adventure travelers with their own unique character.
The main population and administrative center of the region is the city of Cairns. Cairns is the heart of Tropical North Queensland, where you can enjoy the morning markets, have a drink in a small local bar, go for a swim in the sparkling Esplanade Lagoon or hike in one of the city’s shady parks and gardens. Cairns is close to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest, offering you a new adventure every day.
The first amber fossils were found in North Queensland, Australia – four-million-year-old fossils on a beach in the Cape York Peninsula.
North Queensland is home to the increasingly popular in the recent years known for its Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, and Cairns Festival held annually. Other arts activities include the Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns Civic Theatre, and Cairns Art Gallery.
The region supports a large tourism industry and is considered a premier tourist destination in Australia.
Tropical North Queensland | Things to do
Mountain biking
This is the only place in the world where you can ride alongside two World Heritage areas – the Wet Tropics Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. It’s the highest-profile rainforest trail system in the world.
Here you’ll find Australia’s oldest operating downhill trail, the Kuranda DH.
There is a 131-kilometer ride from Cairns to Port Douglas along the Captain Cook Highway in Far North Queensland. More than 30km of World Heritage scenery flanked both sides of the road with rolling hills covered in rainforests and turquoise seas.
The terrain in Tropical North Queensland covers an entire geographical and botanical spectrum, from coastal lowland to mountains. You can explore places like Mt Bartle Frere, Queensland’s highest mountain, the forests of Walsh’s Pyramid, the wet forest of Kahlpahlim Rock and Lambs Head or the savannahs of the Undara National Park.
Geological Wonders
Explore Tropical North Queensland’s geological wonders including dramatic gorges scoured from ancient rock to the world’s largest lava tube system and world-heritage listed fossil fields.
Explore the abundant corals and spot some turtles at Beaver Reef Dive Site. Located in the protected Beaver Cay Marine Sanctuary off Mission Beach, Beaver Reef is an unspoiled fringing reef. Beaver Reef is one of the most popular dive sites off Mission Beach with coral gardens. The most popular dive site off the northern side of Beaver Reef is Beaver Cay.
Abundant soft corals and large gorgonian sea fans, lots of giant clams, Green and Hawksbill turtles, helmet shells and bailer shells, large cod, big schools of spangled emperors, fusiliers, Whitetip reef sharks, barracuda are just a small part of the species you can see.
Explore North Queensland Australia aboard the Gulflander train
The Gulflander takes five hours to run 150 kilometers from tiny Normanton to even tinier Croydon. Enjoy a self-guided walk around the station precinct and museum. Built in 1889, the Heritage-listed Normanton Railway Station is a treasure trove of history and architecture.
Paluma Range is a national park located between Ingham and Townsville, in north Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the ‘southern gateway’ for the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
There are quite a few different places to camp in Paluma Range National Park. A very popular is lake Paluma, an attractive man-made lake surrounded by World Heritage Rainforest. You have a handfull of options for accommodation in Paluma including the award-winning eco-resort at Hidden Valley Cabins.
Mossman Gorge is part of the Daintree National Park in Tropical Queensland, Australia. The Mossman Gorge Centre is an Indigenous eco-tourism development and the gateway to Mossman Gorge. Nestled in the World Heritage Listed Daintree Rainforest, Mossman Gorge contains the oldest, continuously surviving rainforest on earth.
You can experience the wonders of the Daintree Rainforest National Park and discover Mossman Gorge walking through and swimming is a beautiful unforgettable experience.
The Wallaman Falls, a cascade and horsetail waterfall on the Stony Creek, is located in the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Wet Tropics in the locality of Wallaman, Shire of Hinchinbrook in the northern region of Queensland, Australia. Australia’s highest permanent single drop waterfall, in Girringun National Park, west of Ingham.
Explore the rainforest and enjoy spectacular gorge views on one of the short walking tracks near the falls. You can visit for a day to view the falls and relax or stay longer with an overnight camp beside Stony Creek.
Beaches are one of the most loved and visited places in Queensland. Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays and Nudey Beach on Fitzroy Island in Tropical North Queensland are just some of the stunning and pretty beaches that take out ‘most beautiful beach’ awards by Trip Advisor. Enjoy the luxury beach-side resorts, panoramic ocean views and family-friendly activities on the Sunshine Coast.
The Serengeti ecosystem is a geographical region in Africa. It is located in northern Tanzania. It was established in 1952 and spans approximately 18,600 sq miles.
The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is rich with wildlife, endless plains and it is home to some of the greatest wildlife spectacles on earth.
The park is known for its huge wildlife populations including lion, cheetah, elephant, giraffe, and almost 500 bird species. It is ranging from the very large ostrich, the Ashy starling, the Black crake, Ficher’s lovebird, Hartlaub’s turaco, the red and yellow barbet and very small finches. It is consisting of up to 2 million wildebeest, 200,000 zebras and 350,000 thompson, impala and grant’s gazelles migrating annually during the great migration from the plains of the Serengeti in Tanzania to the grasslands of the Maasai Mara in Kenya.
There’s a wide variety of accommodation available, from luxury lodges to mobile camps to stay in the Serengeti Ecosystem. Each camp is divided into each of the regions in the Serengeti National Park namely the Maasai Mara National Reserve, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, the Ikorongo and Grumeti Game Reserves, the Maswa Game Reserve and the Loliondo Game Control Area where you will find the Serengeti Ecosystem.
This Serengeti Map you’ll give you more information about the general size and area.
Following the Wildebeest migration from Serengeti National Park to Maasai Mara National Reserve, the best time is December to July. If you want to see the predators the best time is June to October and it’s recommendable to have three or four day’s safari, especially if you are interested in getting the ultimate photography.
Many travelers also visit Northern Tanzania to experience the vibrant Maasai culture in the Ngorongoro Highland, taking day trips to their villages to learn more about this enigmatic person who has lived in the area for centuries.
Popular Tanzania safari activities include safari game drives, walking safaris, balloon rides and local Maasai tribe village tours.
The park is divided into four distinct areas – the central Seronera Valley, the Western Corridor, the Northern Lobo and Kogatende areas, and finally the Southern Plains.
Below is a general description of the Serengeti’s four sections:
The Southern plains area of the Serengeti has easy to access and offers a great place to see the herds from about December to March and the calving season in February is particularly rewarding, but wildlife is generally much more scarce during the dry season.
The Central Serengeti and Seronera area is most visited as wildlife viewing is good all year-round and it has the most lodging options, but at the same time, it is the most crowded section of the park.
The Western area or Western Corridor offers decent wildlife viewing all year round with the migration reaching the Grumeti River around May or June and the river is also a great place to view crocodiles and hippos.
The Northern Serengeti area (Kogatende, Lobo, Loliondo) is the least visited and most remote section of the Serengeti but also offers some of the top luxury camps and lodges in the country. Possibility to see Mara River crossings here around July and August and several camps in the north offer walking safaris and off-road experiences.
Protecting of Serengeti Tanzania
As in many other areas in Africa, the Black Rhino was almost poached to extinction in Serengeti in the 1990s. Because rigid protection measures were put in place, the population of this endangered species grew again.
FZS is continuing its engagement in close collaboration with Tanzania National Parks, by providing critical financial and logistical support
To help ensure the effective long-term protection of elephants, rhinos, and other wildlife, FZS supports the Serengeti park authorities in coordinating anti-poaching and monitoring activities and in improving intelligence gathering capability
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