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!
Saba is an unspoiled relaxing island in the Dutch Antilles located just 12 minutes flight away from Dutch/French St. Maarten/St. Martin. You can get to St. Maarten via direct flights from Amsterdam, Paris, New York, Boston, Miami, Dallas, and Toronto.
Saba is the northernmost island of the volcanic inner arc of the Lesser Antilles and was formed about 500,000 years ago, making her relatively young compared to other islands in this region. There is still a lot of geothermal activity.
The volcano Mount Scenery, which at 887 meters (2,910 ft) is the highest point within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
This friendly and charming with exquisite natural beauty both above and below her waterline island, at around 5 square miles, is home to the Saba Marine Park, scuba divers, and snorkelers can see large coral formations, turtles, dolphins, and sharks. The lovers of hiking can enjoy breathtaking views!
There are a variety of shops and markets on the island, as well as a post office, police station and library. You can buy local Caribbean art at The Peanut Gallery, The Little Green Shop Saba or El Momo, or get your diving gear and sportswear at Sea Saba Dive Center. Visits the Harry L. Johnson Museum, which is a 160-year old sea captain’s cottage. You have the opportunity to see hot glass art, jewelry, and beads being made.
Photo credit: Radioflux Wikipedia
Even there are no franchises on the island, you still have plenty of choice for accommodation local hotels, lodges, villas and cottages that will satisfy your travel needs. One of the great places to stay on Saba is the Queen’s Garden Resort. It is a truly unique place with antique furnishings and artwork, and exotic furniture from the West Indies. It has the largest swimming pool on the island, a fine breakfast lunch & dinner restaurant, panoramic views of the turquoise blue Caribbean, and nearby mountains.
Another great thing about this island is that there are no mosquitoes.
This island is perfect for a serene and intimate getaway!
Saba is also known as the “Unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean”, with less than 2,000 residents and no crime, no high rises, neither traffic nor traffic lights, no pesty insects, no crowds, no fast-food restaurants, no casinos, no cruise ships. You can enjoy a true life experience with the local residents in some of the local eclectic bars and restaurants after a hike in the mountain rainforest.
Hikers on the island can ascend to Mount Scenery, the island’s highest point, or take a more extreme North Coast hike that passes by old town ruins and culminates in ocean vistas.
The capital Bottom, St. Johns, Windwardside, and Zions Hill are the four villages of Saba.
Photo credit:Mark Yokoyama
The island’s flora and vegetation are lush, with tropical rain forests where one can find orchids, mahoganies, palms, as well as mango, orange, and many other fruit trees. Saba is a paradise for the scuba enthusiast. This island’s beauty extends below the waterline into an exciting marine environment rich in corals and active with fish life.
Saba Divers is an award-winning dive center with its main priority on non-crowded, safe and fun dives. They organize all you need on the beautiful island.
There are not so many islands in the Caribbean that offer such rich biodiverse as Saba for its size, with its three ecosystems (rainforest, cloud forest, and coral reef) and seven vegetation zones.
Check this video from John Coffey about why Saba is a paradise above all others!
Check our others blog posts and learn more about other sustainable cities.
Costa Rica is a small country in Central America bordered by Nicaragua, Panama, the Pacific Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea. Nearly 30% of Costa Rica is protected as a national park, wildlife refuge, or private reserve.
Costa Rica is inhabited by 5 percent of all of the world’s species. During your eco-vacation, you can see coral reefs, cloud forests, and mangrove estuaries. Costa Rica is one of the world’s frontrunners in sustainable travel, and while you’re here you can book ecologically friendly tours and hotels.
The benefits for the local economy through environmental tourism go to local communities and replaces industries harmful to the landscape as logging and mining. You can either go on your own, or you can join an organized eco-tour.
The eco-tours available in the country, causing a minimal impact on the environment, offered in Costa Rica attract people who have a common interest in nature, culture, and wildlife. These tours provide environmental education, allowing tourists to get involved in conservation projects.
But with so many options for things to see and do, it can be hard to decide which of the many Costa Rica eco tours is right for you.
One of the best ways to explore all of the beauty of Costa Rica is a few nights stay at one of the country’s jungle lodges.
Costa Rican coffee has grown to be much more than an economic boost to the local culture and plays an important role in the history of coffee. Some of the reasons Costa Rica produce quality coffee beans are the combination of ideal conditions such as higher altitudes, fertile soils of volcanic origin combined with cool climates and steady rainfall.
100% of the coffee produced in Costa Rica is arabica beans.
The government gave anyone who wished to grow the beans their own land and plants to get started and the industry quickly surpassed tobacco and cacao as the leading crop.
Whitewater Rafting Down the Pacuare
Rafting on the Pacuare River – rated one of the most exotic and scenic rivers in the world is an amazing experience due to thrilling rapids coursing through rugged canyons and verdant tropical rainforests.
The Pacuare is home to colorful toucans, parrots, sloths, frogs and morpho butterflies. You’ll experience some of the best whitewater that Costa Rica has to offer.
The river has been divided into three sections, the Upper Upper Section, the Upper Section, and the Lower Section. The most commonly rafted section is the Lower Section.
Arenal Volcano is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western of the country. Arenal is considered a young volcano and most active of all the volcanoes, and it is estimated to be less than 7,500 years old. It is one of the few historically active Costa Rican volcanoes along with Poás, Irazú, Miravalles, Orosí, Rincón de la Vieja complex, and Turrialba.
Travelers to Arenal will still enjoy its bountiful sights, sounds and activities— there are mountains to be hiked, lakes to be fished and rivers to be floated. If you are visiting this area consider an exciting and scenic trip to the national park surrounding Arenal.
Many visitors do not realize that Arenal National Park is actually home to not one, but two volcanoes.
Manuel Antonio was listed by Forbes among the world’s 12 most beautiful national parks. Located on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica, Manuel Antonio is easily one of Costa Rica’s most famous tourist attractions. It’s the country’s smallest National Park, complete with exotic toucans, lizards, howler monkeys.
This park has impressive landscapes and several coves with many white-sand beaches and lush foliage amidst great mountains and forests. our beaches are contained within the limits of the park: Manuel Antonio, Espadilla Sur, Teloro, and Playita.
The Central American squirrel monkey, Panamanian white-faced capuchin monkey, black spiny-tailed iguana, green iguana, common basilisk, white-nosed coati and many snake and bat species are also common in the park.
Mario Boza lead the effort to preserve the region and to have the government declare the volcano a protected area.
Active volcanoes are the most exciting features of Costa Rica’s geological composition. The Poás Volcano is an active 2,708-metre stratovolcano in central Costa Rica and is located within Poas Volcano National Park. It has two unique crater lakes – lake Botos to the south is an inactive crater with cold clear lake water and the north is Laguna Caliente, a mile wide volcanic crater filled with water so acidic that no plant or aquatic life can survive.
Tamarindo Estuary Kayaking Tour, Guanacaste
This tour gives you the unique opportunity to enjoy the spectacular views of the beautiful mangrove in Tamarindo and observe the wildlife. You can observe abundant wildlife of the tropical dry forest while learning about the unique ecosystem of the mangrove forest. You will see brown pelicans, brown booby, magnificent frigate birds, and neotropical cormorants.
During your tour, you can stop and have a deeper explanation of the local flora and fauna, specifically the famous local Guanacaste trees, Costa Rica’s National tree.
Tortuguero is a village on the Northern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica in the Limón Province. Tortuguero National Park can surprise you with its network of canals, rivers, lagoons, beaches, and dense rainforest here are interlinked. You can explore these canals and observe the wildlife by boat, kayak or canoe and it makes it a great and relaxing way to experience nature.
Its beaches are famous nesting grounds for sea turtles, including endangered green turtles. The surrounding rainforest is also rich with wildlife with many bird species. During September and October many local “guides” will offer tourists the opportunity to watch turtle nests hatch.
The National Park is also host to an incredible biodiversity of insects, resident and migratory birds, and mammals, including jaguar and four species of monkey.
Some of the tours also includes a stop at the world-famous Wildlife Rescue Center, a not-for-profit organization that rescues wild birds and exotic animals, helps them rehabilitate and then releases them back into the wild.
The passion of the owners, the dedication of their staff and the generosity of volunteers and donors makes everything possible.
It was established in 1978 as a biological reserve, but due to the growing popularity after 1990 its status was changed to a national park. Carara is one of Costa Rica’s most popular National Parks, mostly because it is located close to San José.
You can watch for the 150-200 scarlet macaws that nest and feed throughout the reserve. There are two hiking trails in Carara. Bordering the Pan-American Highway, this park is unique as the Amazonian and Mesoamerican ecosystems.
This national park has 10 of the most uncommon and rare hardwoods in the country.
Also, it can be found in the park many pre-Columbian archaeological sites dating back 2,000 years.
Leatherback Turtles National Park was established in 1991 to protect Leatherback turtles species from extinction. The park is part of Caravan’s Costa Rica eco tours.
Leatherback turtles can grow as long as six feet and weigh up to 1100 pounds or more. Along with the Olive Ridley and Hawksbill turtles, Leatherback turtles use this area of Costa Rica as their annual nesting grounds and each year thousands of turtles return here to nest.
Although sea turtles live most of their lives in the ocean, adult females must return to land in order to lay their eggs. Scientists believe that nesting female turtles return to the same beach on which they were born.
The flora in the area includes mangrove trees that are greatly common and for instance monkeys and crocodiles can be observed in the park area. The park is the ideal place for hiking and after that sunbathing and relaxing at the lovely Playa Grande.
During your visit to the park you are not allowed to use flash cameras or flashlights, and to approach a turtle.
Featured image photo credit: Coral Blanche Hummer / Flickr
