Travel Digest #63

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Welcome to the 63rd edition of #traveldigest! Enjoy!
As always all posts featured here will be put on our Editors Choice Map.

Hi. It's @choogirl here, bring you my last post for the year from Panama! On Sunday I'm flying back in Australia for Christmas and New Year. Next week I'll also be travelling from Brisbane (my home city) to one of my favourite places in Queensland, Cairns. Whether it's worthy of a travel post, time will tell.

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#1 Sagada, the Philippines

Travel digest regular @junebride is back with another gorgeous post. Today she's in Sagada, in the Philippines. A three hour trip from Batad, Banaue was required to get to this fascinating place, including a stopover at the famous Banaue Rice Terraces where locals still wear traditional costumes. The highlight of her trip, however, was to discover the mysterious hanging coffins in the cliffs of Echo Valley. The area got this name because if someone shouts, there will be multiple echoes returned back. The coffins are hung from the cliffs because locals believe this will bring their dead closer to heaven, while allowing them to watch over their families below.

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#2 Jiuzhaigou, China

Staying in Asia, we head to south-west China next. @burkulese takes us up into the mountain region of Jiuzhaigou. This nature reserve and National Park is full of beautiful lakes, waterfalls and breathtaking views of the tree-covered mountains. @burkulese notes that the water here is so clear it provides the illusion that it is shallow when it is actually quite deep (up to 12m). He then heads to Huanglong, which is three hours further up into the mountains, to admire the gorgeous water-filled terraces. Unfortunately, Jiuzhaigou was devastated by an earthquake a few months ago, leaving most of the area destroyed.

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#3 Vatnajökull, Iceland

Finally, we head to Iceland where @peterkkim96 takes us to the country's largest glacier, Vatnajökull, to visit some ice caves. After a bumpy ride along the glacier in a modified vehicle, @peterkkim96 then hiked a further three hours to reach his destination. Safety here is paramount since slipping into cracks would mean almost certain death. However, once you're inside the caves it is a very calming and surreal experience, given the beautiful blue hue everywhere. This is caused by the compactness of the ice meaning all the air is squeezed out, allowing only the reflection of the blue end of the light spectrum. It's also a lot colder than outside so you need to dress appropriately.

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Honorable mentions

• Hong Kong Snapshots with @aaronli
• Siam Reap, Cambodia with @travelman
• Pai, Thailand with @bypaul
• Bangkok, Thailand with @stephen-somers
• Hanoi Attractions, Vietnam with @inseasia
• Seasonal windows, New York City, USA with @tattoodjay
• Abisko National Park, Sweden with @equites
• Andenes, Norway with @equites
• Ulm, Germany with @extremejogging
• Gloucester, England with @theexplorer
• Norwich, England with @floatinglin
• Rotterdam, the Netherlands with @ravv
• White Mountain, Crimea with @amikphoto
• Shah-e-Cheragh Shrine, Shiraz, Iran with @joythewanderer
• Sydney, Australia with @tomatom

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