分类必应美图下的文章

戈尔内格拉特火车站和马特洪峰，瑞士采尔马特 Gornergrat railway station and the Matterhorn in Zermatt, Switzerland (© coolbiere photograph/Getty Images)

The view will stop you in your tracks

When it comes to beautiful winter scenery, Switzerland is hard to beat. We're looking at the Gornergrat railway with the peak of the Matterhorn in the background. One of the last great peaks of the Alps to be climbed by humans, the Matterhorn was finally summited in 1865, capping off the decade or so that's been called the 'golden age of alpinism.' The iconic peak is a daunting pyramid of stone and ice, towering just inside Switzerland's border with Italy.

The train goes from the village center in Zermatt (at an altitude of 5,200 feet) to Gornergrat (over 10,000 feet) in 33 minutes, offering incredible views along the way. The train debuted in 1898 as the world's first fully electric cog railway, connecting three existing hotels. The new attraction helped to make Zermatt a popular tourist destination, and by the time the railway began winter operations in 1928, this corner of the high Alps had become a glamorous year-round vacation hotspot.

铁路旅行中令你驻足的风景

说到美丽的冬季风光，瑞士是名列前茅，很难被击败的。我们正在看到的是戈纳格拉特铁路，背景是马特洪峰。马特洪峰是阿尔卑斯山最后一个人类需要攀登的高峰之一，它终于在1865年被人类登顶，结束了被称为"阿尔卑斯山黄金时代"的历史。这座标志性的山峰是由石头和冰块组成的巨大“金字塔”，耸立在与意大利相邻的瑞士边境之内。

火车从采尔马特的村庄中心（海拔5200英尺）出发，经过33分钟即可到达戈尔内格拉特（海拔10,000英尺以上），沿途有着令人难以置信的美景。这列火车于1898年首次亮相，是世界上第一条全电动的齿轨铁路，连接了三个现有的酒店。这个新景点使采尔马特成为一个受欢迎的旅游胜地，当铁路于1928年开始冬季运营时，阿尔卑斯山的这个角落已成为全年迷人的度假热点。

以布兰卡山脉为背景的安地斯皇后（莴氏普亚凤梨），秘鲁 Queen of the Andes plants with the Cordillera Blanca massif in the background, Peru (© Cyril Ruoso/Minden Pictures)

Mountains fit for a queen

Like sentinels standing guard, these towering stalks are flowers of the queen of the Andes, the world's largest bromeliad—some specimens can grow up to 50 feet tall. This extraordinary plant has adapted to grow only in the adverse conditions found on the high slopes of the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes. To see several of them in bloom at once is truly special, for the queen of the Andes sends up her flowering stalk just once, after a century or so of painstaking growth. A single plant will bloom for about three months, producing anywhere from 8,000 to 20,000 flowers, then die.

Because mountains present a variety of altitudes, exposures, and gradients, they host a broad spectrum of climatic zones and ecosystems. The plants in our image are thriving in Peru's Cordillera Blanca (White Range), the highest and most glaciated tropical mountain range in the world. Several peaks in the Cordillera Blanca tower more than 20,000 feet in elevation, making it a world-class climbing destination. Each step up or down in altitude seems to introduce a new ecosystem, with plants and animals that have adapted to each differentiated zone.

Protecting this biodiversity found on mountains is the theme for 2020's International Mountain Day, held each year on December 11. The UN, which founded International Mountain Day, invites us to join the conversation about the importance of mountains. On social media, use the hashtag #MountainsMatter to share about the biodiversity in the mountains near you.

群山适合皇后居住

就像哨兵站岗一样，这些高耸的茎是安地斯皇后（世界上最大的凤梨科植物）的花朵——一些标本可以长到50英尺高。这种非凡的植物仅在玻利维亚和秘鲁安第斯山脉的高坡上发现的不利条件下才适合生长。一次看到它们中的数个绽放确实是很特别的，因为经过一个多世纪的艰苦成长，安第斯山脉的女王才一次发出她的开花茎。一棵植物将开花约三个月，产生8,000至20,000朵花，然后死亡。

由于山区呈现出各种海拔，暴露和坡度，因此它们拥有广泛的气候区和生态系统。我们所描绘的植物在秘鲁的科迪勒拉·布兰卡（White Range）繁茂，这是世界上最高和最冰川化的热带山脉。科迪勒拉布兰卡塔的几个山峰海拔超过20,000英尺，使其成为世界一流的攀岩胜地。海拔的每上升或下降似乎都会引入一个新的生态系统，动植物已经适应了每个不同的区域。

保护山区发现的这种生物多样性是每年12月11日举行的2020年国际山区日的主题。创建国际山区日的联合国邀请我们参加有关山区重要性的讨论。在社交媒体上，使用#MountainsMatter主题标签分享您附近山区的生物多样性。

冬天的金阁寺，日本京都 Kinkakuji temple in winter, Kyoto, Japan (© yoko_ken_chan/Shutterstock)

Stunning in winter

Kinkakuji, also known as the Golden Pavilion, is one of the most famous sights in Kyoto. The golden temple that is actually made of gold, has been a popular attraction for many. During the winter, the white color of the snow contrasts beautifully with the color of the temple creating a breathtaking sight.

冬天惊艳

金阁寺，也被称为金阁，是京都最著名的景点之一。实际上由黄金制成的金殿，已成为许多人的热门景点。在冬季，雪的白色与寺庙的颜色形成了鲜明的对比，营造出令人叹为观止的景象。

阿布鲁佐的Rocca Calascio，意大利 Rocca Calascio in Abruzzo, Italy (© Francesco Russo/eStock Photo)

A fortress in the sky

Beginning as a lone watchtower high in the Apennines in the 10th century, the fortress called Rocca Calascio gained more heft over the next few hundred years. A quartet of additional towers and heavy walls were gradually added around the first tower. These fortifications made clear that Rocco Calascio was ready for any military rivals who might scale the slopes from the valley below to attack this garrison. The fight never came. The ruins you see here are not battle scars but the result of a powerful earthquakes. By the early 1700s, Rocca Calascio was abandoned, but it can still claim the title of highest fortress in the Apennines—and some of the most spectacular views in all of Italy. In fact, filmmakers have chosen the site for several movies, including 'The Name of the Rose' and 'Ladyhawke.'

天空中的堡垒
从10世纪亚平宁的一座孤金瞭望塔开始，这座名为罗卡·卡拉西奥的堡垒在接下来的几百年里变得更加高。在第一座塔楼周围逐渐增加了四分之一的塔楼和沉重的墙壁。这些防御工事表明，罗科·卡拉西奥已经为任何可能从下面的山谷上扩大斜坡攻击这个驻军的军事对手做好准备。战斗从未来过。你在这里看到的废墟不是战斗的伤疤，而是强烈地震的结果。到17世纪早期，罗卡卡拉西奥被遗弃，但它仍然可以声称在亚彭宁斯最高的堡垒的称号 - 和一些在意大利最壮观的景色。事实上，电影制作人已经为几部电影选择了该网站，包括《玫瑰的名字》和《夫人霍克》。

普利特维采湖群国家公园中的高架步道，克罗地亚 Elevated path in Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia (© Alessandro Laporta/Offset by Shutterstock)

A hidden jewel in Croatia

Today we're walking out into the winter wonderland of Plitvice Lakes National Park, the oldest and largest national park in Croatia. More than a million tourists per year flock to this central mountainous region, renowned for its cascading waterfalls and 16 turquoise-colored lakes. These wooden pathways meander for miles around and above the lakes, beside waterfalls and over streams and rivers, which disappear into the moss-covered earth only to burst through again somewhere downstream. In fact, the lakes are all interconnected by underground flows and are separated from each other by natural dams of travertine.

The park is open year-round, and winter is its slowest season. If you're brave enough to venture down the park's slippery pathways in December or January, you may be rewarded with views straight out of a fairy tale.

克罗地亚的一颗隐藏的宝石

今天，我们要走进十六湖国家公园（Plitvice Lakes National Park）的冬季仙境，该公园是克罗地亚最古老，最大的国家公园。每年有超过一百万的游客涌向这个中央山区，该山区以级联的瀑布和16个蓝绿色的湖泊而闻名。这些木制小径在湖泊周围和上方蜿蜒数英里，在瀑布旁边，在溪流和河流上消失，消失在苔藓覆盖的泥土中，仅在下游某处再次突然出现。实际上，所有湖泊都通过地下水流相互连接，并通过天然的堤坝隔开。

公园全年开放，冬季是最慢长的季节。如果您有足够的勇气在12月或1月冒险走下公园的湿滑小径，您可能欣赏到的是童话故事般的风景。

贝纳斯克，西班牙韦斯卡 The village of Benasque, Huesca, Spain (© Miscelleneoustock/Alamy)

A cozy winter village

When snow blankets the steep slopes of the Pyrenees—the mountain range that forms a natural border between Spain and France—the cozy Spanish village of Benasque offers a cheerful refuge on a winter's eve. Beautifully preserved Romanesque and Renaissance manors and churches line the narrow cobblestone streets, and it's easy to feel as though you've stepped back in time. Aside from these cultural charms, most visitors come to Benasque for outdoor adventure. Surrounded by the highest peaks of the Pyrenees, the Benasque Valley receives heavy snowfall and is a popular skiing destination. Summer attracts even more visitors to the area, when hiking, mountain biking, paragliding, and river rafting are big draws.

一个舒适的冬季村庄

当积雪覆盖比利牛斯山脉的陡峭山坡时（该山脉是西班牙和法国之间的天然边界），舒适的西班牙村庄贝纳斯克（Benasque）在冬天的前夜提供了一个避风港。保存完好的罗马式和文艺复兴时期的庄园和教堂排在狭窄的鹅卵石街道上，让您有种时光倒流的感觉。除了这些文化魅力外，大多数游客都来贝纳斯克（Benasque）进行户外探险。贝纳斯克山谷被比利牛斯山脉的最高峰所环绕，下大雪，是一个受欢迎的滑雪胜地。夏天是徒步旅行，山地自行车，滑翔伞和漂流的热门之地，吸引了更多的游客前往该地区。

A Carpathian Christmas celebration

Nestled at the foot of Mount Tampa in the southern Carpathian Mountains of Romania, Brașov is a wonderful example of medieval Europe's intersecting cultures. Founded by Teutonic Knights, settled by Saxons and Hungarians, influenced by the Ottoman Empire, the Tartars, and the native Romanians, the city's Gothic architecture and unique cuisine reflect its rich history. The city's Christmas market is held throughout the month of December and is dominated by a 90-foot-tall, live Christmas tree. The market's numerous stalls feature food, drink, and local crafts.

The festival is known as 'Braşov—the city from the tales,' perhaps because legend has it that this square is where the children of Hamelin emerged after being led away by the Pied Piper. However you arrive, it's a magical place to drink a cup of cheer and toast to your Romanian hosts with a hearty 'Noroc!' But even if you're keeping it local this year, it's easy to be warmed even by the image of this golden glow from 'the city from the tales.'

喀尔巴阡山的圣诞庆典

布拉索夫坐落在罗马尼亚喀尔巴阡山脉南部坦帕山脚下，是中世纪欧洲文化交融的一个极好的例子。由条顿骑士建立，撒克逊人和匈牙利人定居，受到奥斯曼帝国、鞑靼人和罗马尼亚土著人的影响，这座城市的哥特式建筑和独特的美食反映了它丰富的历史。这座城市的圣诞集市在整个12月举行，以一棵90英尺高的活圣诞树为中心。市场上有很多摊位，有食品、饮料和当地工艺品。

这个节日被称为“传说中的城市”，也许是因为传说这个广场是哈梅林的孩子们在被派笛手领走后出现的地方。不管你到了哪里，这里都是一个神奇的地方，你可以在这里喝上一杯干杯，并用一口热情洋溢的“诺洛克”为你的罗马尼亚东道主干杯。但即使你今年把它保留在当地，也很容易被“传说中的城市”发出的金色光芒所温暖。

Protecting Alaska

On this day in 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which converted massive tracts of Alaskan wilderness into protected land. That single act 40 years ago doubled the size of the entire national park system. Alaska's eight national parks cover more than 54 million acres. The Cove of Spires, shown here, is just one of the dramatic glacial landscapes that you can experience in Kenai Fjords National Park. Located near Seward, Alaska, the park is home to 38 glaciers which cover over half the park's area in ice—though climate change has reduced that drastically over the last decades.

杜拉通河谷中的Nuestra Señora de la Hoz老修道院，西班牙塞哥维亚 Nuestra Señora de la Hoz, an old monastery in the Duratón River gorge, Segovia, Castile and León, Spain (© Arco Images GmbH/Alamy)

A gorge-ous spot for a monastery

Lace up your walking shoes and let’s head into the Hoces del Rio Duratón, in the Spanish region of Castile and León. This imposing 17-mile-long limestone gorge boasts towering vertical walls that can reach up to 100 metres high. The Duratón river which carved it meanders through a landscape rich in history and archaeological treasures.

Inside the cliffs are several caves with ancient paintings dating back to the Bronze Age, and a dark Visigothic grotto which is thought to be the first Christian temple in the region. Above one of the bends in the canyon sits a 12th century Romanesque church, just a few miles away from the ruins of the long-abandoned and isolated Franciscan monastery you see in our homepage image.

A water loch-ed castle

Located on a small island where three sea lochs meet in northwestern Scotland, the current Eilean Donan Castle is just the latest incarnation of several monastic cells and Scottish clan strongholds that have occupied the small island since the 7th century. The first fortified castle was built in the 13th century to defend against invading Vikings who occupied much of Scotland at the time. An iconic symbol of Scotland, from the 14th-18th centuries, the castle was mostly held by the Mackenzies and defended by the Macraes, both storied clans of the Scottish Highlands. The castle was destroyed in 1719 by the invading British Royal Navy during the Jacobite Uprising, but was rebuilt along its earlier design in the early 20th century by Lt. Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap.

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