Papudo, Petorca, Chile

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Papudo is a Chilean commune in the province of Petorca, 175 km from Santiago and 98 km north of Valparaiso. Its main town is the resort of the same name, which has 2 beaches for swimming, Big Beach and Little Beach, and other more distant like Lilen, Playillas and Salinas Puyally. There are also several trails for hiking or horseback riding and to observe the flora and fauna, like the French way, the Maqui and the Tigris way. The site offers many activities also that enjoy the beach and sun, you can go hiking, horseback riding, do underwater expeditions, surfing, mountain biking, etc. There is a beautiful pedestrian promenade along the beach called The Terrace from the grotto of the Virgin to Glorias Navales Avenue. Sto see: Recart Chalet, the church of Our Lady of Mercy, the temple of St. Peter the Fisherman, the Pirate Cave, Pullaly Park, among others.

Tips

A nice excursion to do is go around the bay by boat, about 40 minutes that covers places of major tourist attraction, such as Punta Pite and the Island of Wolves, where you can see marine life in all its splendor, with important colonies of Humboldt penguins, cormorants, pelicans, etc. The boats sail from the municipal wharf and tickets can be purchased at the tourist information office at Little Beach and on the pier.
There are two craft fairs where villagers offer their crafts, one located on the promenade of Big Beach and the other on the Arms Suqare.
If you like fish and seafood, Papudo is a good place to eat very fresh one in the various restaurants in the area.
If you’re visiting in February, you will be able to attend the Festival of integration which brings together hundreds of exhibitors from Latin America.

Snow Jade Cave, Fengdu, China

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Located about eight miles from the new county of Fengdu, the Snow Jade Cave is rated as China’s most beautiful by Chinese National Geography. Discovered in the mid-1990’s, the cave is over 1,022 miles long. Because of its uniqueness and beauty, it has become a popular scenic spot along the Yangtze River as well as serving as a research site for the study of caves. Most of the stalactites in the cave are white and pure as jade, hence its name. Stalactites grow quickly – thirty-three millimeters in one hundred years in fact. In contract, in other such kinds of caves, the average stalactite only grows one millimeter in a century. It houses many spectacular and unusual karst formations. These include a waterfall; stone hair; shields; coral and animal shapes. Tourists have 725 miles to visit. You will see the so-called ‘Four Wonders’; the coral tower in the cave is the largest of its kind in the world; the glittering and transparent King Stone Flag at 26 feet high is the world’s tallest and thinnest stone flag; the stone shield at 13 feet high is also known as the Snowy Jade Penguin; some groups of stalactites resemble goose necks, some as much as two yards long.

Tips

You can go there by car or boat or you can take a bus at Chaotian Gate bus station to Fengdu.
The best time to visit the region is in winter or spring.
You must take some warm clothes to enter into the cave. Another possibility is to rent warm clothes there.
It’s recommended not to visit the cave alone.
If you make a trip along the Yangtze River, the cave is one of the usual tourists stops.