Mountain Railways of India

This first postcard was my first postcard from India, the second one was one of the last.

Kalka-Shimla Railway

This postcard was sent by Nagi

This site includes three railways. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was the first, and is still the most outstanding, example of a hill passenger railway. Opened in 1881, its design applies bold and ingenious engineering solutions to the problem of establishing an effective rail link across a mountainous terrain of great beauty. The construction of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, a 46-km long metre-gauge single-track railway in Tamil Nadu State was first proposed in 1854, but due to the difficulty of the mountainous location the work only started in 1891 and was completed in 1908. This railway, scaling an elevation of 326 m to 2,203 m, represented the latest technology of the time. The Kalka Shimla Railway, a 96-km long, single track working rail link built in the mid-19th century to provide a service to the highland town of Shimla is emblematic of the technical and material efforts to disenclave mountain populations through the railway. All three railways are still fully operational. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/944

Nilgiri Mountain Railway

This postcard was sent by Vinay

The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is a railway in Tamil Nadu, India, built by the British in 1908, and was initially operated by the Madras Railway. The railway relies on its fleet of steam locomotives.

The 'Nilgiri Passenger' train covers a distance of 26 km (16.2 mi), travels through 208 curves, 16 tunnels, and across 250 bridges. The uphill journey takes around 290 minutes (4.8 hours), and the downhill journey takes 215 minutes (3.6 hours). - in: wikipedia

San Marino Historic Centre and Mount Titano

San Marino is surrounded by Italy, so it's probably a good site to visit along with some Italian sites, like the sender of this card did

San Marino Historic Centre

This postcard was sent from Germany by Claas

San Marino is one of the world’s oldest republics and the only surviving Italian city-state, representing an important stage in the development of democratic models in Europe and worldwide. The tangible expressions of this long continuity as the capital of the Republic, its unchanged geo-political context and juridical and institutional functions, is found in the strategic position on the top of Mount Titano, the historic urban layout, urban spaces and many public monuments. San Marino has a widely recognised iconic status as a symbol of a free city-state, illustrated in political debate, literature and arts through the centuries. The defensive walls and the historic centre have undergone changes over time that include intensive restoration and reconstruction between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, a process that can be considered to be part of the history of the property and reflects changing approaches to conservation and presentation of heritage over time. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1245

Lake Malawi National Park

Lake Malawi National Park was created to protect fish and aquatic habitats but also include a fair amount of land, including several small islands in Lake Malawi. This postcard shows MV Ilala, a ferry that crosses the lake leaving from Monkey Bay

MV Ilala leaving from Monkey Bay

This postcard was sent by Emerich

Located at the southern end of the great expanse of Lake Malawi, the property is of global importance for biodiversity conservation due particularly to its fish diversity. Lying within the Western Rift Valley, Lake Malawi is one of the deepest lakes in the world. The property is an area of exceptional natural beauty with the rugged landscapes around it contrasting with the remarkably clear waters of the lake. The property is home to many hundreds of cichlid fish, nearly all of which are endemic to Lake Malawi, and are known locally as "mbuna". The mbuna fishes display a significant example of biological evolution. Due to the isolation of Lake Malawi from other water bodies, its fish have developed impressive adaptive radiation and speciation, and are an outstanding example of the ecological processes. in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/289/

Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand

The landscapes of this UNESCO site of New Zealand can really take the breath away!

Mitre Peak, Fiorland National Park

This postcard was sent by Stephanie

Mitre Peak (Māori Rahotu) is an iconic mountain in the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most photographed peaks in the country.

Part of the reason for its iconic status is its location. Close to the shore of Milford Sound, in the Fiordland National Park in the southwestern South Island, it is a stunning sight. The mountain rises near vertically to 5,560 feet (1,690 m), i.e. just over a mile, from the water of the sound; it is more technically a fjord. The peak is actually a closely grouped set of five peaks, although from most easily accessible viewpoints it appears as a single point. Milford Sound is part of Te Wahipounamu, a World Heritage Site as declared by UNESCO. - in: wikipedia

Miilford Track

This postcard was sent by Jackie

The Milford Track is a widely known tramping (hiking) route in New Zealand – located amidst mountains and temperate rain forest in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island.

The 53.5 km hike starts at Glade Wharf at the head of Lake Te Anau and finishes in Milford Sound at Sandfly Point, traversing rainforests, wetlands, and an alpine pass. - in: wikipedia

Aoraki/Mount Cook

This postcard was sent by Jackie

Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height since 2014 is listed as 3,724 metres (12,218 feet), down from 3,764 m (12,349 ft) before December 1991, due to a rockslide and subsequent erosion. It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite challenge for mountain climbers. Aoraki / Mount Cook consists of three summits, from South to North the Low Peak (3,593 m or 11,788 ft), Middle Peak (3,717 m or 12,195 ft) and High Peak. The summits lie slightly south and east of the main divide of the Southern Alps, with the Tasman Glacier to the east and the Hooker Glacier to the southwest. - in: wikipedia

Mount Sefton

This postcard was sent from Germany by Jennifer

Mount Sefton (Māori: Maukatua) is a mountain in the Aroarokaehe Range of the Southern Alps of New Zealand, just 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Aoraki / Mount Cook. To the south lies Mount Brunner, and to the north The Footstool, both more than 400 metres (1,300 ft) shorter. - in: wikipedia

Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz

Besides beautiful gardens, this park has some wonderful buildings

Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz

This postcard was sent by Michaela

The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz is an exceptional example of landscape design and planning of the Age of the Enlightenment, the 18th century. Its diverse components - outstanding buildings, landscaped parks and gardens in the English style, and subtly modified expanses of agricultural land - serve aesthetic, educational, and economic purposes in an exemplary manner. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/534

Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski

This UNESCO site is a large English garden between Poland and Germany

Muskau Park

Muskau Park (German: Muskauer Park, Polish: Park Mużakowski) is a landscape park in the Upper Lusatia region of Germany and Poland. It is the largest and one of the most famous English gardens in Central Europe, stretching along both sides of the German–Polish border on the Lusatian Neisse. The park was laid out from 1815 onwards at the behest of Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau (1785–1871), centered on his Schloss Muskau residence.

Muskau Park

This postcard was sent by Maria

The park covers 3.5 square kilometers (1.4 sq mi) of land in Poland and 2.1 km²(0.81 sq mi) in Germany. It extends on both sides of the Neisse, which constitutes the border between the countries. The 17.9 km² (6.9 sq mi) buffer zone around the park encompassed the German town Bad Muskau (Upper Sorbian: Mužakow) in the West and Polish Łęknica (Wjeska, former Lugknitz) in the East. While Muskau Castle is situated west of the river, the heart of the park is the partially wooded raised areas on the east bank called The Park on Terraces. In 2003 a pedestrian bridge spanning the Neisse was rebuilt to connect both parts. - in: wikipedia

Old City of Zamość

I think I said before that I knew very little about Poland before Postcrossing, and now thanks to postcards there are several Polish cities that I'd love to visit, like Zamość

Old City of Zamość

This postcard was sent by Monika

Zamosc was founded in the 16th century by the chancellor Jan Zamoysky on the trade route linking western and northern Europe with the Black Sea. Modelled on Italian theories of the 'ideal city' and built by the architect Bernando Morando, a native of Padua, Zamosc is a perfect example of a late-16th-century Renaissance town. It has retained its original layout and fortifications and a large number of buildings that combine Italian and central European architectural traditions. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/564