November 3, 2010

P is for Pinnacles

I have not seen the movie Avatar, and hence neither have I seen its scene with Hallelujah Mountain. I've been told it's phenomenal.

But I think I've done one better... I've seen the real thing: Heaven and Earth Pillar.

A few months ago business took me on a plane to Zhangjiajie and our host proposed we take a morning to promenade through part of Wulingyuan National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage listed natural heritage site. It was peacefully snowing and it felt a tad nippy for my tropically acclimated blood, so I borrowed a winter parka and off we went. Being low season, the tourist traffic was very light, and that, you must take my word, was to our profit.

The park consists of a ravine of precipitous karst pinnacles that are splintering away from a high limestone plateau. Many of these pinnacles are as tall as 1200 meters / 4000 feet.

Here is some of what I saw; the photos enlarge if you click on them.





Zhangjiajie, 2010

The seventh and tenth photos show the Heaven and Earth Pillar. The poster in the eighth photo shows it with Hallelujah Mountain.

And this is my post for ABC Wednesday, where of course many other pleasant P stories await you.

23 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Oh, that is awesome, Francisca! And your photos are superb as always! I would love to be able to see that! But your photos are the next best thing!! Marvelous post for the P Day! Have a great week!

Sylvia

Gigi Ann said...

Lovely Photos, just gorgeous. Seen through your eyes.

Wanda said...

Very, very beautiful... Great "P" post!

Kay L. Davies said...

Utterly fantastic, Francisca. I love the Heaven and Earth pillars, and am amazed that trees can grow on these pinnacles of rock.
Best P post I've seen so far, my friend.
-- K

Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

Unknown said...

This is amazing. Just amazing. WOW!! Reminds me a lot of the landscape in Chinese paintings.

Al said...

Extraordinary. This is a sight I'd love to see in person. And snow would make it even better - I'm used to 6 months of snow each year in my climate!

photowannabe said...

Amazing pillars and pinnicles. Your business takes you to the most fascinating places. Perfect P post.

Roger Owen Green said...

Such a positively perfect set of pics.

ROG, ABC Wednesday team

Linda said...

You have captured the spirit of these pillars.

Linda
ABC Wednesday Team

cieldequimper said...

Like something outta this world.

Cezar and Léia said...

This place is breathtaking, you are right about Avatar, looks some movie scenery!Fantastic post and magnificent energy in this place, these pillars are PERFECT!
Hugs
Léia

EG CameraGirl said...

I am soooo jealous of how much of the world you have seen in person!

I had to Google Zhangjiajie to find out exactly where it is. :)

Kaori said...

I haven't seen the movie either. But very cool that you got to see the real thing! Unbelievable view :-D

☺lani☺ said...

Wow, I would love to visit this someday! Impressive!

VP said...

Is this on planet Earth? It looks like something on an alien world... called P, of course!

Unknown said...

Incredible wild beauty! Can't get enough of looking at these, especially enlarged!

My ABC Wednesday

Tumblewords: said...

I haven't seen the movie, either but I doubt it would compare favorably to your exquisite photography!

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

where is your pinacles? There are some in Sarawak and in Australia.

Pat Tillett said...

Wow wow and wow!
What an amazing place....
I enlarged the photos also, amazing!

Hilda said...

Huge splinters and absolutely awesome!

Unknown said...

I would love to be there! What a place!

Carolyn Ford said...

beautiful! I really like the misty scenes...something we don't get here very often.

tapirgal said...

Now that I've seen the movie, I wonder if they got the idea of the whole setting and swooping flying creatures from this location. It is amazing!