The area of 56 997 hectares of the Balaton Uplands National Park mainly consists of these six landscape protection areas: Kis-Balaton, Keszthely Hills, Tapolca Basin, Káli Basin, Pécsely Basin and Tihany Peninsula. Among its regions Kis-Balaton is also protected by the international Ramsar Convention, serving the protection of wetland habitats. Tihany Peninsula – as a recognition of its outstanding geological values and the work of nature conservation in that region – was awarded of European Diploma in 2003. The Natura 2000 areas, covering partly the National Park and going beyond its area ensure the possibility of the conservation of habitats, plant and animal species which are of European importance. The initiative of Bakony–Balaton Geopark – the area of which covers partly the National Park – sets the aim of interpreting the geological, natural and cultural values and awakening the consciousness of their social significance. The Bakony–Balaton Geopark became member of the European Geoparks Network and the Global Geoparks Network – assisted by UNESCO in 2012.

At the Cebu Safari & Adventure Park, you can explore diverse plant life, enjoy bird shows, and participate in animal feeding events. The park features reptiles, lions, tigers, and more. You can also stay overnight in the safari camp, with cabins available for rent. The park is about 2 hours north of Cebu City.

The beguinages of Flanders and the Netherlands are always oases of calm and stillness, where you might still expect to see an old beguine mumbling her prayers in a doorway. Two of Ghent’s three beguinages have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Although the Old St Elizabeth Beguinage, in Begijnhofdries in Ghent, is no longer enclosed by a wall, making it simply part of the city, it still has a unique atmosphere. Today the Old St Elizabeth Beguinage is known as ‘holy corner’, a place of religious tolerance, because it has no less than three different churches: one is Roman Catholic, one is Orthodox and the other is Protestant. From bleachfield to orchard This open beguinage grew into something of a ‘beguine city’ in the 13th century, with a church, the ‘Grootjuffer’s House’, an infirmary, a chapel, more than a hundred houses for beguines, a bleachfield (a field where linen was laid out to bleach) and an orchard. After the French Revolution, with increasing industrialisation, the inhabitants moved to their new beguinage in Sint-Amandsberg in 1873.