World's Top 10 Most Dangerous Roads

1. The Death Road (Bolivia)

The North Yungas Road, also known as The Death Road, is a 61 to 69 km road leading from La Paz to Coroico (Bolivia's capital, to the Amazon region) in the Yungas region of Bolivia. It is legendary for its extreme danger: in 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank marked it as the "world's most dangerous road. " One estimate is that 200-300 travelers were killed yearly along the road. The road includes crosses marking many of the spots where such vehicles have fallen from mountains.

At the end of 2006, after 20 years of construction, a new road (a by-pass) from La Paz to Coroico was opened for public. This new route features modern construction  multiple lanes, pavement, guardrails and many other elements that make it considerably safer than the original route. As a result, the original North Yungas Road is currently much less used by traffic, although an increasing number of adventure travelers bike it for the thrills.

 2. Guoliang Tunnel Road (China)

The road in Taihang mountains was built by local villagers: it took almost five years to finish the 1,200 metre long tunnel which is about 5 meters high and 4 meters wide. Some of the villagers died in accidents during construction. On May 1, 1977, the tunnel was opened to traffic. It is located in the Taihang Mountains, in the Hunan Province of China.

 3. Ruta 5: Arica to Iquique Road (Chile)

The road from Arica to Iquique is renowned for being dangerous; you drive past very deep valleys and wind your way through, spotting ever so often tell-tale vehicle skeletons at the bottom. The mono-hued and isolated scenery is well capable of endowing you with the capacity to have dangerous visions, so concentrating and avoiding the use of any form of hallucinatory substance is essential here.

4. Siberian Road to Yakutsk (Russia)

The Russian Federal Highway connects Moscow to Yakutsk, where the coldest temperature ever recorded outside Antarctica was recorded. Yakutsk is also the largest city built on continuous permafrost. Most houses are built on concrete piles because of the frozen ground.

5. Sichuan-Tibet Highway (China)

In China, the number of deaths caused by car accidents has nearly doubled in the past 20 years, climbing from 3.9 to 7.6 per 100,000 of the population between 1985 and 2005. The Sichuan-Tibet Highway, a high-elevation road between Chengdu and Tibet where landslides are common and is undoubtedly part of the problem.

The 2,412km long Sichuan-Tibet Highway starts from Chengdu of Sichuan on the east and ends at Lhasa of Tibet on the west. The road stretches into Lhasa passing Ya’an, Garze and Chamdo. Sichuan-Tibet highway traverses 14 high mountains which average 4,000-5000m, spans dozens of famous rivers (Dadu River, Jinsha River, Lantsang River, Nujiang), crosses primeval forest and numerous dangerous sections. It has spectacular views along the line, with unique ethnic customs.

6. James Dalton Highway (Alaska)

The James Dalton Highway is a 414-mile gravel road. It heads straight north from the Livengood turnoff of the Elliott Highway, through arctic tundra to the farthest north reaches of Alaska. Alyeska built the 360-mile haul road, now known as the Dalton Highway. The pipeline bridge across the 1,875 mile Yukon River is the only span across that river in Alaska.

It is still the main supply route for the Prudhoe Bay oilfields, and you will be sharing the road with large tractor-trailers. Windshields and headlights are easy targets of flying rocks. Most rental companies will not allow you to drive their cars on the Dalton. Trucks speeding along the slippery gravel track kick up thick clouds of dust or mud, reducing visibility to absolute zero; potholes take a heavy toll on cars and services, gas, and repairs are practically nonexistent. Don't even consider driving the Dalton unless you have 4-wheel drive, a CB radio, extra fuel, food, tires, and a trunk filled with supplies.

7. Patiopoulo-Perdikaki Road (Greece)

This is a narrow busy dirt track that stretches from Patiopoulo to Perdikaki in Greece. This road is a steep climb or decent, it is dangerous because it has huge pot holes and very little grip for the vehicles that travel on it. It is a narrow road with a sheer drop on either side of its slope with no guard rails or an prevention to stop a vehicle from going over. Many people die on his road every year, it is used by pedestrians, livestock and trucks, buses and cars. A very dangerous road that has  no lines to determine where the edge is, this is especially dangerous at night, most of the accidents happen at night on this road.

 8. Trollstigen (Norway)

Trollstigen (The Troll Ladder) is a mountain road in Rauma, Norway, part of Norwegian National Road 63 connecting Åndalsnes in Rauma and Valldal in Norddal. A popular tourist attraction due to its steep incline of 9% and eleven hairpin bends up a steep mountain side, the road up is narrow with many sharp bends, and although it has been widened in recent years, vehicles over 12.4 meters long are prohibited from driving the road. At the top there is large parking place which allows visitors to leave their cars and walk for about ten minutes to a viewing balcony which overlooks the road with its bends and the Stigfossen waterfall. Stigfossen is a beautiful waterfall which falls 320 meters down the mountain side.

9. The A682 Road (England)

The A682 between junction 13 of the M65 and Long Preston is the worst road in England as it has claimed almost 100 fatalities over the last ten years. The 14 mile single lane A682 between junction 13 of the M65 near Nelson, Lancs, and Long Preston in North Yorkshire, had 22 serious accidents in the past three years - two of them fatal. Experts say it has an average of 0.5 deaths per 10 miles annually. It is a favorite for motorcyclists, especially early on a Sunday morning.

 10. Stelvio Pass Road Trollstigen(Italy)

The highest paved mountain pass in the Eastern Alps --and the second highest in the Alps, after the Col de l'Iseran (2770 m)--, the Stelvio Pass Road connects the Valtellina with the upper Adige valley and Merano. It is located in the Italian Alps, near Bormio and Sulden, 75 km from Bolzano, close to Swiss border. 

While it might not be as risky as other deadly routes, it's certainly breathtaking. The tour books advise that the toughest and most spectacular climbing is from the Prato side, Bormio side approach is more tame. With 48 hairpins, this road is regarded as one of the finest continuous hairpin routes in the Alps.[source]

Read More

Top 10 bollywood movies of all time

Bollywood is the Mumbai based Hindi Film industry in India. Raja HarishChandra was released in 1913 is the 1st featured film while Alam Ara is 1st talkie film. It has been nearly 100yrs to hindi film industry. During this time many superhits films have been released. Here is the list of top 10 Bollywood movies.

1.Sholay(1975)

This is probably one of the movie which is the safest bet to put into any one's all time favourite list. The film directed by Ramesh Sippy and produced by G.P. Sippy became a new milestone in the Hindi film industry. Ironically when this was released in 1975, it didn't get critic's nod initially. It build up on the mouth to mouth reviews and soon it was a super duper hit. The power pack star cast comprising Amitabh Bachhan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri, Sanjeev kumar and Amzad khan made this movie an all time blockbuster. The caracters like Jai, veeru, Thakur, Gabbar, Basanti casted a long time impression on everyone's mind. It was awarded the title of "Movie of millennium" by BBC

2. Guide (1965)

Directed by Vijay Anand and produced and acted by Dev anand, this movie released in Feb 1965 and became one of the all time super hit and critically acclaimed movie of Indian Cinema. This movie is also known for having wonderful music and song composed by great S.D. Burman. Decorated by best acting performance from Dev Anand and Wahida Rehman along with the story from awarded novel 'The Guide' by R. K. Narayan, it received 7 filmfare awards

3. Mother India (1957)

Released in 1957 starring Nargis, Sunil Dutt, Rejendra Kumar and Raj kumar, it was one of the most critically acclaimed movie of that time. It was also nominated for the Oscar award for the best movie in foreign language. It is also often remembered for the brilliant act by Nargis who played the role of mother of Sunil Dutt. The pair went on to get married later

4. Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

Released in 1960, this movie went to became a master piece of Indian Cinema. It was produced by K. Asif and it took more than 15 years to get completed. Starring great Dilip kumar, most beautiful Indian actress Madhubala and Prithivi Raj Kapoor, it went to become the most beautiful love story and royal drama in Indian film industry. The song 'Jab pyar kiya to darna kya' is one of the most loved song of Indian Cinema

5. Dilwale Dulhaniyaa Le Jaayenge DDLJ (1995)

DDLJ released in 1995 also marked an era in Indian cinema when it started to look seriously one section of its viewer which was global Indian audience. Shot extensively in London and Europe this went to become the highest grosser at that time. It is still running non stop in one of the Mumbai theatre and broke the record of Sholay for most consecutive weeks run in any theatre. It also started the era of young director like Aditya chopra, Karan Johar and so on. Any list for all time favourite Hindi movie is incomplete without this movie in the list.

6. Deewar (1975)

This 1975 movie directed by Yash Chopra will go down in history as one of most successful movie of Amitabh Bachhan. This was the movies which set the 'Angry Man' images of Amitabh Bachhan and made him a super star overnight. Starring great Amitabh Bachhan, Shashi Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, Neetu Singh and Parveen Bobby, this story of a poor mother and two sons one of which is a cop and other a smuggler was also famous for its great dialogue deliveries. Another plus point of this movie was melodious music of great R. D. Burman. It earned 7 Filmfare award including best movie award that year.

7. Lagaan (2001)

This 2001 movie directed by Ashutosh Gowarkar and produced by Amir Khan was based in the pre independence era and also included the nation's biggest obsession, that's Cricket. Starring Amir Khan and Gracy singh and music scored by legend and Oscar award winner A. R. Rahman this movie was nominated for the Academy award for the best film in foreign language. It is also the most critically acclaimed movie of that year.

8. Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994)

This movie was released in 1994 and directed by Suraj Bharjataya. This family drama was almost a copy of another Bhojpuri movie 'Nadiyaa Ke Paar' but was more commercialised and hence became more popular. Starring Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit, this movie will also be remembered because of its popular music. Hum Aapke Hain Kaun was the highest grosser at the box office at that time.

9. Border (1997)

some people may question the inclusion of this film in this list. But in my opinion, this movie released in 1997, directed by J. P. Dutta was the best war epic movie ever produced in Indian film industry. Starring Sunny Deol, Jackies Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Akshay Khanna, Tabu and Pooja Bhatt, it was not only critically acclaimed but also a box office success. It was based on a real story of Battle of Longewala during India - Pakistan war of 1971. Film's music composed by Anu Malik was also admired by the public. director J. P. Dutta won the Filmfare best Director award.

10. Taare Zameen Par (2007)

This 2007 movie produced, directed and acted by Amir Khan is a story of a nine year old boy who is suffering from dyslexia but no one really understand that. This widely acclaimed movies starring Amir Khan and Darsheel Safary won the 2008 Filmfare award for best Movie. Music was composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was another USP for the movie. The plot, the story and the message that this movie spread forced me to include this into my all time best Hindi movie list.[source]

Read More

Top 10 facts about Universe

Interesting Facts About the Universe

So you think you know your universe? Let us know some amazing facts about the universe and the ocean of space time that we float in! 

1. Universe was ‘hot’ when it was young

The most widely accepted cosmological model is that of the Big Bang. This was proven since the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation or CMBR. No one knows exactly what ‘banged’, we know from extrapolation that the Universe was infinitely hot at birth, cooling down as it expanded.

In fact, even only within minutes of expansion, scientists predict its temperature to have been about a billion Kelvin. Moving backward to 1 second, it is said to have been at 10 billion Kelvin. For comparison, today’s universe is found to have an average temperature of only 2.725 Kelvin.

2. Universe will be ‘cold’ when it grows old day by day

Observations made especially on galaxies farthest from us show that the Universe is expanding at an accelerated rate daily. Data that show that the Universe is cooling allows us to believe that the most probable ending for our universe is that of a Big Freeze.

3. The Universe is having diameter of over 150 billion light years

Current estimates as with regards to the size of the Universe it at a width of 150 billion light years. Although it may seem peculiarly inconsistent with the age of the Universe, this value is easily understood once you consider the fact that the Universe is expanding at an accelerated rate.

4. The Universe is 13.7 billion years old

The fact that we know this is better than 1% precision. Credit goes to the WMAP team for gathering all the information needed to come up with this number. The information is based on measurements made on the CMBR.

Older methods which have contributed to confirming this value include measurements of the abundances of certain radioactive nuclei. Observations made on globular clusters, which contain the oldest stars, have also pointed to values close to this.

5. The Earth is not flat – but the Universe IS

Based on Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, there are three possible shapes that the Universe may take:

a)     Open

b)    closed, and

c)     flat.

Once again, measurements by WMAP on the CMBR have revealed a monumental confirmation – the Universe is flat.

Combining this geometry and the idea of an invisible entity known as dark energy coincides with the widely accepted ultimate fate of our universe, which as stated earlier, is a Big Freeze.

6. Large Scale Structures of the Universe

Considering only the largest structures, the Universe is made up of

a)     filaments,

b)    voids,

c)      superclusters, and

d)     galaxy groups and

e)     clusters.

 By combining galaxy groups and clusters, we get superclusters. Some superclusters in turn form part of walls, which are also parts of filaments.

The vast empty spaces are known as ‘voids’. That the Universe is clumped together in certain parts and empty in others is consistent with measurements of the CMBR that show slight variations in temperature during its earliest stages of development.

7. A huge chunk of it is made up of many things we can’t see

Different wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum such as those of radio waves, infrared, x-rays, and visible light have allowed us to peer into the cosmos and ‘see’ huge portions of it. Unfortunately, an even larger portion cannot be seen by any of these frequencies.

And yet, certain phenomena such as gravitational lensing, temperature distributions, orbital velocities and rotational speeds of galaxies, and all others that are facts of a missing mass justify their probable existence. Specifically, these observations show that dark matter exists. Another invisible entity known as dark energy, is believed to be the reason why galaxies are speeding away at an accelerated rate.

8. There is no such thing as the Universe’s CENTER

The earth is not the center of the Universe, not even the center of the galaxy. And no again, our galaxy is not the entire universe, neither is it the center. Don’t hold your breath but the Universe has no center. Every galaxy is expanding away from one another.

9. Galaxies are in a hurry to be as far away from each other as possible

As mentioned earlier, they are rushing away from each other at increasing rates. In fact, prior to the findings of most recently gathered data, it was believed that the Universe might end in a Big Rip. That is, everything, down to the atoms, would be ripped apart.

This idea stemmed from this observed accelerated rate of expansion. Scientists who supported this radically catastrophic ending believed that this kind of expansion would go on forever, and thus would force everything to be ripped apart.

10. To gain a deeper understanding of universe, we need to study structures even smaller than the atom.

Ever since cosmologists started to trace events backward in time based on the Big Bang model, their views, which focused only on the very large, got smaller and smaller. They knew, that by extrapolating backward, they would be led into a universe that was very hot, very dense, very tiny, and governed by extremely high energies.

These conditions were definitely within the realm of particle physics. Hence, the most recent studies of both cosmology and particle physics saw an inevitable marriage between the two.

Read More

Wonderful places to visit

Grand Canyon:

Grand Canyon is one of the beautiful places of the world, with the steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in Arizona State of United States. Erosion(bu water and wind) has its huge impact on the Grand Canyon.

Nearly 5 million people visit the 1 mile deep Grand Canyon every year. Planning a vacation to the Grand Canyon national park provides a great relief for you and your family.

The best time to visit Grand Canyon is during the "summer", fall and mild spring, but according to few people winter is the great time to visit. There are various camp grounds both on the top and floor of the Grand Canyon. Camping at the floor of the Grand Canyon needs a permit from the country office but its very interesting stuff.

Great Barrier Reef:

This is the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem. It is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Australia. One can see it from the outer space and it is the world’s largest single structure made of living organisms.

The reef supports 10,000 species which includes 1500 types of fishes and 200 kinds of birds. This beauty inspires many of the travelers to visit the place.

Florida:

Florida is in south eastern state in the US. It is one of the wonderful places. Florida is also called as the Sunshine State. Central Florida is conquered by Orlando and it is known for coterie of theme parks, sea world, universal studios, Disney world, and many more attractions to tourists.

The South Island:

The South Island of New Zealand is characterized by grand open landscapes. The island is known for spectacular fiords, large beach forests, golden sand beaches and broad plains.Travel to south island guarantees fun. 

The south island has ten national parks. These parks incorporate world heritage sites, lakes, glaciers, fiords, native forest, coastline, and world class hiking tracks. The fabulous scenery across the south land attracts many people to plan vacation to this beautiful place.

Cape Town:

Cape Town is situated at the top of the African Continent. Cape Town has the unique range of multicultural lifestyles and scenic national surroundings which helps one to understand cape town properly.

During the summer season, Cape Town is filled with holiday makers enjoying the hot weather, sunny beaches and beautiful scenery. So, if you want to spend your time during holiday season, it is best to make reservations as soon as possible. Before reaching the place, have a rough idea about the places around Cape Town, which you want to visit.

Golden Temple:

This temple has a glorious setting and it exists in the middle of the large blue sacred pool. Don’t miss the peaceful and interesting ritual that goes inside the two-story golden temple. When you take a tour to India, you should visit the golden temple.

Las Vegas:

Las Vegas is the largest city in the state of Nevada. This is commonly referred to as entertainment capital of the world. The city has great casino hotels and creates a fantasy like atmosphere. Las Vegas is a great travel destination for honeymooners and travel addicts. A trip to Vegas is usually a trip to “the strip”, about 20 long blocks of neon lights, public drinking and casinos.

Sydney:

One of the beautiful places in the world, Sydney is the economic powerhouse of Australia. The place is full of sun-drenched natural attractions, delicious and daring restaurants, skyscrapers, friendly folk and wonderful shopping and many more. You can take a trip to Sydney at any time of the year.

New York:

New York is the USA’s largest metro area. The city is a great center for fashion, culture, finance, research, media, food, art, and trade so most of the travel addicts want to visit the place. The city consists of 5 boroughs and each is differentiated by its own culture. New York is cinematic. Every year this is a backdrop for about 200 movies.

Taj Mahal:

According to most of the travelers, Taj Mahal, most beautiful building, in India is one of the great wonders of the world. Once you visit Taj Mahal, you can enjoy various places near it. The river side behind Taj Mahal provides a wonderful environment. You can enjoy greatly along with your family.

Canadian Rockies:

Canadian Rockies is one of the most beautiful places on earth. This place has potential outdoor opportunities and world class resorts so most of the travel addicts want to visit the place. You can visit the two national parks of Canadian Rockies and find why most of the travelers choose Canadian Rockies as their home away home. This place offers you the best of the best. One can go for the vacation even along with children. Winter is a great time to enjoy this place. During this time, one can try sports like skiing, snowshoeing and then relaxing around a roaring fire on every evening.

Uluru:

Uluru or you can say Ayers Rock in Australia is one of the world’s great natural wonders. Planning to visit this place is a great way to explore and experience the cultural and physical significance of this Australian icon.

The rock is at its visual best at sunrise and sunset. Most of the travellers like to climb the rock by using an ancient aboriginal trail so most of the travel addicts want to visit the place.

Chichen Itza:

Chichen Itza is a Mayan word. Chichen Itza is one of the largest archaeological cities of Mexico as well as one of the seven wonders. It is the most visited tourist destination. Travellers like to visit Chichen Itza as a day trip so most of the travel addicts want to visit the place. If you want to enjoy all the activities nearby Chichen Itza, it will take 2-3 days stay.

Before entering into the Chichen Itza, you will come across an informative museum, clean rest rooms, a dining room, few vender stands and gift shops. You can visit the site at any time of the year with your children

Machu Picchu:

One of the 7 Wonders of the World. This is mystical place with a great spot to divinity. It is the Peru’s most popular place, so most of you like to see the place. People of Machu Picchu feel that they are the creators of god. This place offers you strange forces of nature that permit the individual to attain a contrary cosmic state.

located at 2300 mts above the sea level.. One day is enough to visit the spots around Machu Picchu.

While planning to visit Machu Picchu, you need to understand a little about the geography of this area, because the location is remote and inaccessible so most of the travel addicts want to visit the place.

Niagara Falls:

Niagara Falls can be accessed from both the American as well as Canadian side, but the best view facing the falls is completely from the Canadian side. When you take a trip to Niagara don’t forget to take a ride on the famous maid-of-the-mist boats. You won’t get the entire experience of Niagara Falls until you ride one of these boats. Its really amazing.

It is the foundation for many interesting places to see and things to do. If one likes beautiful landscapes, romantic getaways, family adventures and vibrant nightlife then Niagara Falls is the best place to visit so most of the travel addicts want to visit the place.

Petra:

Petra, one of the seven wonders, is fabled rose red city and is a well-known earliest Nabataean city in the south Jordan. If you have decided to travel to Jordan, then Petra is at the top of your priority list. The solid red sand stone buildings in Petra are unlike anything that you have ever seen before.

One full day is enough to see everything around Petra. This town offers you a wide variety of hotels to fit your budget.

The Pyramids:

Pyramids and wonderful temples are the great things to enjoy in Egypt. Travel to Egypt offers you the nature and desert treks, fishing, golfing, scuba diving and birding groups. You can choose the places like Sinai coasts or red sea to relax.

Winter is the best season to go for a vacation to Egypt. March-May and September-November is the best time to enjoy the warm days of Egypt.

Venice:

Venice is one of the Italy’s beautiful places. You will be surprised by hearing how the city is built up. The city is built on 317 small islands and has 150 canals which are connected through 409 bridges. During the spring time, Venice is completely filled with tourists. At that time it is very difficult to find the accommodations.

Maldives:

Maldives is a great place for tranquil tropical islands, palm trees, white beaches and brilliant turquoise lagoons. Maldives is a group of 1190 coral islands. This place is a great destination for scuba divers.

Visiting Maldives between December and April can makes you to spend some extra hours of sunshine. Also this is the main season for tourism.

Great Wall of China:

The Great Wall of China is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It is the travel icon of China and is one of the most popular travel vacation destinations in the world. It took hundreds of years for its construction. When you have decided to travel to China, don’t forget to see the wall.

Victoria Falls:

Victoria Falls was also one of the Seven Wonders of the World and is the most beautiful waterfalls in Africa. This is a cheap travel destination and is full of fun. Those who want to try for adventures will find plenty of activities like elephant safaris, bridge swinging, water rafting and so on.

There are two sides of the falls, one is Zambia and the other is Zimbabwe side. Both sides are awesome and are a year round destination.

Hong Kong:

One of the beautiful places in the world, Hong Kong, an oriental pearl, is simply amazing. It will be very hard for you to find a more exciting city other than Hong Kong. The best thing about being in Hong Kong is getting confused and fired by the confluences and contradictions of a Chinese city with multi Asian and western elements.

The best period to take a vacation to Hong Kong is in the months of October, November and most of December.

Yosemite National Park:

Yosemite is located on the western slopes of Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is one of the nation’s most famous national parks in US. Yosemite Valley is the most famous destination in Yosemite. Every year more than 4 million people come to visit Yosemite Valley. It is packed with restaurants, shops and campsites.

This has hundreds of miles of hiking trails. You will find a great variety of wildlife along with mule deer, black bears and various bird species. When you plan your vacation to Yosemite, you can enjoy various activities like hiking, skiing, camping, snowshoeing, horse riding and bicycling.

Hawaii:

Going for Hawaii vacation will make you feel very happy by the beauty and hospitality. They want to do the things that they would not do at home. The beautiful Hawaii islands offer you to see world famous beaches closely; offer you peace and calmness somewhere off the beaten path.

During winter season, Hawaii is fully packed with tourists. When you visit Hawaii, don’t forget to enjoy the activities like: Seeing Molten lava flow at Kilauea volcano, hiking through Waipio Valley, visiting the largest Hawaiian religious temple Puukohola Heiau and playing in the snow atop Mauna Kea.

Paris:

It is the most beautiful place and also the capital of France. Springtime is the best time to visit Paris. Paris is the city of life, love and light. You will find romance and magic when you visit Eiffel tower to Mona Lisa and from the bustling Champs Elysees to the winding streets of Montmartre.[source]

Read More