Mount Koya, Japan

Halfway to Nirvana


Daylight II
Old street lanterns among the temples of Mount Koya.
Glimpse
Monk statue at Okunoin Cemetery, Mount Koya.
night prayer
Monk Kurt Kubli conducts an early morning prayer in the temple of the Moryoko Inn monastery.
Shapes between Shapes
The bold architecture of the Konpon Daito temple.
prayer for two
Faithful pray inside one of Koya San's temples.
in the middle of autumn
Visitors walk along an autumnal avenue of Mount Koya.
Gong Time
Monk rings the grand bells of Mount Koya.
End of the day
Monk closes a large door at the Konpon Daito temple in the heart of Mount Koya.
daylight
Old lanterns among the old temples of Mount Koya.
loads and loads
Silhouettes of mountain ranges around Mount Koya.
a shingon army
Shingon Buddhist monks walk a street on Mount Koya.
Buddhist deambution
Mt. Koya visitor walks among the temples of Mt. Koya.
End of Prayer
Faithful leave the Konpon Daito temple in the heart of Mount Koya.
Guided tour of Okunoin
Monk Kurt Kubli guides visitors to Okunoin Cemetery atop Mount Koya.
Legacy
Old wooden time in the Buddhist-Shington heart of Mount Koya.
Shortcut to Nirvana
Cable car arrives at the heights of Mt. Koya from Gokurakubashi.
According to some doctrines of Buddhism, it takes several lifetimes to attain enlightenment. The shingon branch claims that you can do it in one. From Mount Koya, it can be even easier.

The red cabin departs from Gokurakubashi and slowly progresses uphill through the surrounding forest. It is still loaded with locals, new visitors and their luggage, but despite the weight and the steep slope, it finishes the route within five minutes.

The cable car is just one more evidence of how times have changed and how, in recent decades, the once detached Mount Koya has given itself to the outside world.

At first, Japanese visitors were admitted, at a certain point, not necessarily just pilgrims who arrived from days of walking.

Cable Car, Mount Koya, Japan

Cable car arrives at the heights of Mt. Koya from Gokurakubashi.

Then, in 2004, when UNESCO inscribed the places and pilgrimage routes surrounding the Kii Mountains on the world heritage list, the “mountain's” growing fame made its worn-out seclusion definitely unsustainable.

As Shoto Habukawa the Ajari (lead priest) of the Muryoko ji temple summed up: “In this era, Mt. Koya will cease to be Mt. Koya if we don't embrace outsiders…”.

The Exterior Opening of the Formerly Elusive Mount Koya

Once the change of principles was assumed and communicated, Japan's national organization for the promotion of Japan began to publicize the destination abroad as well, a task that would soon prove to be rewarding.

The Western sympathy for Buddhism, the enormous interest in all things Japanese, and the beauty of the images that have begun to circulate of the temple complex and the surrounding landscape have created an aura of fascination that continues to thicken over Mount Koya, an island of tranquility and spirituality that observes and analyzes the busy and consuming Japan of the metropolises.

Visitor and Temple, Mount Koya, Japan

Mt. Koya visitor walks among the temples of Mt. Koya.

In good Japanese fashion, some religious leaders redoubled their efforts to fulfill their vows. Thus the phenomenon spread throughout the village's monasteries shukubo, the form of reception and integration of official visitors to Mount Koya.

Kurt Kubli: the Unlikely Buddhist Monk and Swiss PR

And so was named Village Public Relations Kurt Genso, actually named Kurt Kubli, 58, the character who would turn our visit into an even more unforgettable experience.

For about 1200 years, everything was different. The idea of ​​the monk Kukai – known as Kôbo Daishi after his death – behind the foundation of a center for the study and practice of his interpretation of Vairocana Buddhism, was to find a refuge that would ensure retreat and protection from outside interference.

The importance of this isolation has remained crucial over the centuries. It was so respected that, until the end of the Meiji era (1871), women were not simply admitted to the village, but an exclusive temple, built at the entrance, the Nyonindô, was reserved for them.

Lanterns and Temples, Mount Koya, Japan

Old lanterns among the old temples of Mount Koya.

The Buddhist Revolution of a Monk Named Kukai

In clear disregard for a directive Japanese imperial that it should remain under study in the China then ruled by the Tang dynasty for 20 years, Kukai returned at the end of the second. He returned enriched by the wisdom of Master Huiguo – the patriarch of the Vairocana current – ​​but was forbidden by the Japanese rulers to enter the capital.

His new teachings were, however, something to talk about. Pardon was granted after a few more years, as was permission to develop the Japanese doctrine and culture that continued to follow the novelties across the strait.

As soon as he obtained permission from Emperor Saga in 819, Kukai gathered a large number of followers and workers. It began the gradual construction of Mount Koya, in a lost valley 880 meters high, between the eight mountain peaks that the inhabitants of the Wakayama region called Mount Koya.

Mountain ranges, Mount Koya, Japan

Silhouettes of mountain ranges around Mount Koya.

And that the monks considered the eight petals of a lotus to be a very strong symbolism of Buddhism for the real nature of things that ascend to the beauty and clarity of the Enlightenment.

Back at Muryoko ji, the surprise is not Japanese, not Chinese, not even truly Asian.

The Religious Reception at Muryoko Ji Monastery-Inn

“Hello, welcome to Koya San” says the monk Genso with a welcoming smile. In the distance, the shaved hair deceives us for some time. But the approach reveals the exquisite Germanophile traits of Kurt Kubli, the host's baptismal name.

A Swiss who cut with a past more Florentine than Helvetic as a banker, businessman, artist, student of yoga, Flemish and Indian philosophy to join the spiritual flow of Mount Koya. There, in addition to the required devotion, Kurt is responsible for consolidating the recent internationalization of the place and the peculiar religiosity that it develops.

Old Temple, Mount Koya, Japan

Old wooden time in the Buddhist-Shington heart of Mount Koya.

The Guided Tour through the Heart of Mount Koya

Our visit is part of your duties. As night is falling, the monk begins by suggesting that we settle down as quickly as possible and then walk among the temples in the twilight.

Night sets in and the Japanese winter cold is pressing down on the valley. Kurt walks indifferently in the twilight, through the Danjô Garan, the local group of temples, pagodas, halls, statues and other monuments that he knows in detail.

Konpon Daito, Mount Koya, Japan

The bold architecture of the Konpon Daito temple.

At the start, the aim was just to lead us to the visitor's center, but instead of going straight ahead, it takes a detour so that we can begin to feel the magic of Mount Koya.

Smothered by the cedars that surround the village, the silence is only broken by the distant croaking of crows and by the enthusiastic and multilingual dissertation of the monk who, among generic instructions related to the stay, passes on the names and Buddhist reason for being of each building.  

Believers in Prayer, Mount Koya, Japan

Faithful pray inside one of Koya San's temples.

The cold intensifies as it gets dark and invites us to gather. At that time, there is a frenzy, in Muryoko ji, which forces Kurt to go out of his way to answer a group of Australian photography students we joined. 

Back to Muryoko Ji's Welcoming Domain

The students aussies wait seated on the floor of tatami from one of the thirty rooms, where dinner was served to them. kurt pushes the doors fusuma of paper, he enters without ceremony, introduces himself and asks if anyone wants a beer. Amazement seizes the presents.

“Don't make that face. It is not a problem for the temple that they drink beer. We don't even call it beer here, we prefer to treat it as a herb of wisdom…” Rejecting the suggestion, he starts to lecture on Mount Koya, Buddhism and, forcing the topic, another of his favorite subjects: himself.

Temple bells, Mount Koya, Japan

Monk rings the grand bells of Mount Koya.

He tells of episodes and personal information from the past: that he was reborn in Zurich but that he feels a lack of ties with his country of origin, not least because he lived for twenty years in Florence. “I retain no particular affection for my homeland. I don't even like cheese, which is something you grow with in Switzerland.

I have lived in many other places and in my heart I am a citizen of the world.” By this time, the questions that were put to him revealed experiences as a banker, businessman, contemporary artist, student of yoga and flamenco, economics and Indian philosophy, to mention just a small part.

The conversation goes on for over an hour. Before the end, we're told that dinner awaits us in our room and we're going to investigate. 

Konpon Daito Temple Gate, Mount Koya, Japan

Monk closes a large door at the Konpon Daito temple in the heart of Mount Koya.

The Kaiseki Gastronomy of Muryoko ji

Unlike what happened with other monasteries, at Muryoko ji, the meals shojin-ryori – like its timetables and those of the ceremonies, the common traditional baths and the fact that shoes coming from the street are replaced by specific slippers for different areas – are some of the indigenous elements preserved to better integrate visitors into the Buddhist atmosphere.

Many even imagine the food sparse and tasteless. The completely different reality is served, every day, at eight in the morning and at six in the afternoon.

The vegetarian meals of Mount Koya, Goma-dôfu and Koya-dôfu have been perfected and preserved since their founding times thanks to the long dedication of the monks. They are based on the precepts of Sobo cuisine, long related to Buddhist mental training and which incorporates the sense of the seasons by combining five methods, five flavors and five colors.

The one who had just served us was Buddhist and at the same time kaiseki (Japanese traditional). We found on a low table two trays filled with different china and plastic plates, bowls, and other containers. It is seen from above that the sets, arranged to the millimeter, best reveal their traditional refinement and beauty.

Benedict, Moryoko Inn, Mount Koya, Japan

A bento box with the different components of the meal organized in a harmonious and functional way in the Japanese way.

There is a miso soup and appetizing doses with different medicinal concerns tofus, accompanied by pickles, tempura, sweet beans, mushrooms, vegetables grown around the monastery, seaweed and sesame. Unless otherwise instructed by the guest, green tea is served to drink.

The infusion complements the delicious and invigorating repast that the monk Kurt is proud to have reformulated, annihilating the instant noodles and MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) previously served to guests.

When we praise the apprentice-monk Fusumi – who lived for two years in São Paulo and comes to collect the trays – he dares to clarify in Brazilianized but shy Portuguese: “It had to be like this 'right? Most of the year, it's very cold here.”

 Early riser and enigmatic prayer of Homa

The next morning, we adhered to the monastic discipline and, despite the cold, we rose early to attend the Homa (Goma in Japanese) of Fire ritual, a ceremonial invocation of the deity Acala exclusive to the esoteric Buddhism whose function is a psychological and spiritual purification.  

Monk Kurt Kubli, Moryoko Inn, Mount Koya, Japan

Monk Kurt Kubli conducts an early morning prayer in the temple of Muryoko Ji monastery.

Its flames are expected to destroy negative energies, oppose harmful thoughts and desires, and fulfill prayers and prayers. 

It takes place in a semi-hidden room, gilded with religious paraphernalia and scented with incense. And driven by a ajari (master) who reads the prayers in the privacy of an old book.

For ninety minutes, he is accompanied by several acaryas (Instructor monks) who, kneeling, alternately recite and chant the sutra, generating mystical choirs that, in the ocher light of the room, suggest a kind of collective trance.

Despite this sensory experience, in contrast to the norms of exoteric Buddhism according to which doctrines are taught through scriptures, the shingon branch follows the Mikkyo (esoteric) principle of personal and spiritual transmission of knowledge and experience.

And while in exoteric Buddhism readings are taken simultaneously by large groups of monks, on Mt. Koya and the rest of the Shingon universe, there is a teacher for each practitioner and their personalities are taken into account when teaching methods of liberating desires and worldly concerns.

Buddhist Monks, Mount Koya, Japan

Shingon Buddhist monks walk a street on Mount Koya.

Kurt ends up playing a little bit of both roles and, in the time that's left, continues to show us Mount Koya.

The Guided Discovery of Kompon Daito and Okuno Cemetery in

As we walk through the shady cedar forest, he explains to us the Buddhist past and reason for being in the main buildings of Danjô Garan, the village's religious stronghold. We start with Kompon Daito, an imposing and exuberant pagoda, the center of a mandala that, according to Shingon belief, encompasses the entire Japan.

We also walk around ancient temples made of worn wood that, despite being deactivated, still preserve a certain historical elegance. And we visit Kongobuji, the secular and emblematic seat of the chain.

“The Okunoin Cemetery! I know where we're going now!" A cold fog begins to fall. And Kurt remembers his favorite Mount Koya spot for when the weather gets that way. On the way, he overtakes us, at a slow run, by an army of shingon monks packed for another Buddhist practice.

Monk Kurt Kubli, Mount Koya, Japan

Monk Kurt Kubli guides visitors to Okunoin Cemetery atop Mount Koya.

At our pace, we entered the narrow cemetery alley and for almost two hours, we were given over to Kurt's newly acquired wisdom, the countless stupas, jizos (small statues), graves and tombs, largely subsumed in a verdant carpet of lichens and moss.

O okunoin it is the largest cemetery in Japan. It is also the holiest site on Mt. Koya as it houses the Kobo Daishi mausoleum that believers believe has been in eternal meditation since March 21, 835.

Monk statue, Mount Koya Japan

Monk statue at Okunoin Cemetery, Mount Koya.

Small platoons of hurried pilgrims travel through it, arriving from the arduous trails of the Kii range, and eager for the transcendent proximity of the supreme master.

Kurt chants the sutra for singing on the special occasion there and expects us to repeat it several times before we pass the test.

Then, we start our way back, through the bordering but no less interesting areas of the vast cemetery. And among the common graves, and those of shoguns and samurai, we found others, corporate like those of Komatsu and Nissan.

Some companies erected funeral monuments peculiar to their founders and employees and honor them with symbols of the activity or production to which they dedicated themselves.

The huge coffee cup installed by the UCC company and the simplified sculpture of the Apollo 11 rocket set up as a tribute by Shinmaywa Industries (which had nothing to do with its launch) stand out.

In the fashion of Shingon Buddhism, in tune with each person's creativity, at Koya San, Nirvana is the ultimate goal.

Nara, Japan

The Colossal Cradle of the Japanese Buddhism

Nara has long since ceased to be the capital and its Todai-ji temple has been demoted. But the Great Hall remains the largest ancient wooden building in the world. And it houses the greatest bronze Vairocana Buddha.
Miyajima, Japan

Shintoism and Buddhism with the Tide

Visitors to the Tori of Itsukushima admire one of the three most revered scenery in Japan. On the island of Miyajima, Japanese religiosity blends with Nature and is renewed with the flow of the Seto Inland Sea.
Kyoto, Japan

The Kyoto Temple Reborn from the Ashes

The Golden Pavilion has been spared destruction several times throughout history, including that of US-dropped bombs, but it did not withstand the mental disturbance of Hayashi Yoken. When we admired him, he looked like never before.
Annapurna Circuit: 9th Manang to Milarepa Cave, Nepal

A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Annapurna Circuit: 6th – Braga, Nepal

The Ancient Nepal of Braga

Four days of walking later, we slept at 3.519 meters from Braga (Braka). Upon arrival, only the name is familiar to us. Faced with the mystical charm of the town, arranged around one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist monasteries on the Annapurna circuit, we continued our journey there. acclimatization with ascent to Ice Lake (4620m).
Bhaktapur, Nepal

The Nepalese Masks of Life

The Newar Indigenous People of the Kathmandu Valley attach great importance to the Hindu and Buddhist religiosity that unites them with each other and with the Earth. Accordingly, he blesses their rites of passage with newar dances of men masked as deities. Even if repeated long ago from birth to reincarnation, these ancestral dances do not elude modernity and begin to see an end.
Annapurna Circuit: 3rd- Upper Banana, Nepal

An Unexpected Snowy Aurora

At the first glimmers of light, the sight of the white mantle that had covered the village during the night dazzles us. With one of the toughest walks on the Annapurna Circuit ahead of us, we postponed the match as much as possible. Annoyed, we left Upper Pisang towards Escort when the last snow faded.
Bingling Yes, China

The Canyon of a Thousand Buddhas

For more than a millennium and at least seven dynasties, Chinese devotees have extolled their religious belief with the legacy of sculpture in a remote strait of the Yellow River. If you disembark in the Canyon of Thousand Buddhas, you may not find all the sculptures, but you will find a stunning Buddhist shrine.
Guwahati, India

The City that Worships Kamakhya and the Fertility

Guwahati is the largest city in the state of Assam and in North East India. It is also one of the fastest growing in the world. For Hindus and devout believers in Tantra, it will be no coincidence that Kamakhya, the mother goddess of creation, is worshiped there.
Lhasa, Tibet

When Buddhism Tires of Meditation

It is not only with silence and spiritual retreat that one seeks Nirvana. At the Sera Monastery, the young monks perfect their Buddhist knowledge with lively dialectical confrontations and crackling clapping of hands.
Kyoto, Japan

An Almost Lost Millennial Japan

Kyoto was on the US atomic bomb target list and it was more than a whim of fate that preserved it. Saved by an American Secretary of War in love with its historical and cultural richness and oriental sumptuousness, the city was replaced at the last minute by Nagasaki in the atrocious sacrifice of the second nuclear cataclysm.
Lhasa, Tibet

Sera, the Monastery of the Sacred Debate

In few places in the world a dialect is used as vehemently as in the monastery of Sera. There, hundreds of monks, in Tibetan, engage in intense and raucous debates about the teachings of the Buddha.
hippopotami, chobe national park, botswana
Safari
Chobe NP, Botswana

Chobe: A River on the Border of Life with Death

Chobe marks the divide between Botswana and three of its neighboring countries, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Namibia. But its capricious bed has a far more crucial function than this political delimitation.
Herd in Manang, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 8th Manang, Nepal

Manang: the Last Acclimatization in Civilization

Six days after leaving Besisahar we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). Located at the foot of the Annapurna III and Gangapurna Mountains, Manang is the civilization that pampers and prepares hikers for the ever-dreaded crossing of Thorong La Gorge (5416 m).
Treasures, Las Vegas, Nevada, City of Sin and Forgiveness
Architecture & Design
Las Vegas, USA

Where sin is always forgiven

Projected from the Mojave Desert like a neon mirage, the North American capital of gaming and entertainment is experienced as a gamble in the dark. Lush and addictive, Vegas neither learns nor regrets.
Totems, Botko Village, Malekula, Vanuatu
Adventure
Malekula, Vanuatu

Meat and Bone Cannibalism

Until the early XNUMXth century, man-eaters still feasted on the Vanuatu archipelago. In the village of Botko we find out why European settlers were so afraid of the island of Malekula.
self-flagellation, passion of christ, philippines
Ceremonies and Festivities
Marinduque, Philippines

The Philippine Passion of Christ

No nation around is Catholic but many Filipinos are not intimidated. In Holy Week, they surrender to the belief inherited from the Spanish colonists. Self-flagellation becomes a bloody test of faith
gaudy courtship
Cities
Suzdal, Russia

Thousand Years of Old Fashioned Russia

It was a lavish capital when Moscow was just a rural hamlet. Along the way, it lost political relevance but accumulated the largest concentration of churches, monasteries and convents in the country of the tsars. Today, beneath its countless domes, Suzdal is as orthodox as it is monumental.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Meal
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
Culture
Dali, China

Chinese Style Flash Mob

The time is set and the place is known. When the music starts playing, a crowd follows the choreography harmoniously until time runs out and everyone returns to their lives.
combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
Erika Mother
Traveling
Philippines

The Philippine Road Lords

With the end of World War II, the Filipinos transformed thousands of abandoned American jeeps and created the national transportation system. Today, the exuberant jeepneys are for the curves.
Bride gets in car, traditional wedding, Meiji temple, Tokyo, Japan
Ethnic
Tokyo, Japan

A Matchmaking Sanctuary

Tokyo's Meiji Temple was erected to honor the deified spirits of one of the most influential couples in Japanese history. Over time, it specialized in celebrating traditional weddings.
Rainbow in the Grand Canyon, an example of prodigious photographic light
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Natural Light (Part 1)

And Light was made on Earth. Know how to use it.

The theme of light in photography is inexhaustible. In this article, we give you some basic notions about your behavior, to start with, just and only in terms of geolocation, the time of day and the time of year.
Passage, Tanna, Vanuatu to the West, Meet the Natives
History
Tanna, Vanuatu

From where Vanuatu Conquered the Western World

The TV show “Meet the Native” took Tanna's tribal representatives to visit Britain and the USA Visiting their island, we realized why nothing excited them more than returning home.
Windward Side, Saba, Dutch Caribbean, Netherlands
Islands
Saba, The Netherlands

The Mysterious Dutch Queen of Saba

With a mere 13km2, Saba goes unnoticed even by the most traveled. Little by little, above and below its countless slopes, we unveil this luxuriant Little Antille, tropical border, mountainous and volcanic roof of the shallowest european nation.
Maksim, Sami people, Inari, Finland-2
Winter White
Inari, Finland

The Guardians of Boreal Europe

Long discriminated against by Scandinavian, Finnish and Russian settlers, the Sami people regain their autonomy and pride themselves on their nationality.
Almada Negreiros, Roça Saudade, Sao Tome
Literature
Saudade, São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe

Almada Negreiros: From Saudade to Eternity

Almada Negreiros was born in April 1893, on a farm in the interior of São Tomé. Upon discovering his origins, we believe that the luxuriant exuberance in which he began to grow oxygenated his fruitful creativity.
Agua Grande Platform, Iguacu Falls, Brazil, Argentina
Nature
Iguazu/Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina

The Great Water Thunder

After a long tropical journey, the Iguaçu River gives a dip for diving. There, on the border between Brazil and Argentina, form the largest and most impressive waterfalls on the face of the Earth.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Iguana in Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Natural Parks
Yucatan, Mexico

The Sidereal Murphy's Law That Doomed the Dinosaurs

Scientists studying the crater caused by a meteorite impact 66 million years ago have come to a sweeping conclusion: it happened exactly over a section of the 13% of the Earth's surface susceptible to such devastation. It is a threshold zone on the Mexican Yucatan peninsula that a whim of the evolution of species allowed us to visit.
China's occupation of Tibet, Roof of the World, The occupying forces
UNESCO World Heritage
Lhasa, Tibet

The Sino-Demolition of the Roof of the World

Any debate about sovereignty is incidental and a waste of time. Anyone who wants to be dazzled by the purity, affability and exoticism of Tibetan culture should visit the territory as soon as possible. The Han civilizational greed that moves China will soon bury millenary Tibet.
Earp brothers look-alikes and friend Doc Holliday in Tombstone, USA
Characters
tombstone, USA

Tombstone: the City Too Hard to Die

Silver veins discovered at the end of the XNUMXth century made Tombstone a prosperous and conflictive mining center on the frontier of the United States to Mexico. Lawrence Kasdan, Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner and other Hollywood directors and actors made famous the Earp brothers and the bloodthirsty duel of “OK Corral”. The Tombstone, which, over time, has claimed so many lives, is about to last.
Lifou, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, Mme Moline popinée
Beaches
LifouLoyalty Islands

The Greatest of the Loyalties

Lifou is the island in the middle of the three that make up the semi-francophone archipelago off New Caledonia. In time, the Kanak natives will decide if they want their paradise independent of the distant metropolis.
Mount Lamjung Kailas Himal, Nepal, altitude sickness, mountain prevent treat, travel
Religion
Annapurna Circuit: 2nd - Chame to Upper BananaNepal

(I) Eminent Annapurnas

We woke up in Chame, still below 3000m. There we saw, for the first time, the snowy and highest peaks of the Himalayas. From there, we set off for another walk along the Annapurna Circuit through the foothills and slopes of the great mountain range. towards Upper Banana.
The Toy Train story
On Rails
Siliguri a Darjeeling, India

The Himalayan Toy Train Still Running

Neither the steep slope of some stretches nor the modernity stop it. From Siliguri, in the tropical foothills of the great Asian mountain range, the Darjeeling, with its peaks in sight, the most famous of the Indian Toy Trains has ensured for 117 years, day after day, an arduous dream journey. Traveling through the area, we climb aboard and let ourselves be enchanted.
Society
Military

Defenders of Their Homelands

Even in times of peace, we detect military personnel everywhere. On duty, in cities, they fulfill routine missions that require rigor and patience.
Busy intersection of Tokyo, Japan
Daily life
Tokyo, Japan

The Endless Night of the Rising Sun Capital

Say that Tokyo do not sleep is an understatement. In one of the largest and most sophisticated cities on the face of the Earth, twilight marks only the renewal of the frenetic daily life. And there are millions of souls that either find no place in the sun, or make more sense in the “dark” and obscure turns that follow.
Cliffs above the Valley of Desolation, near Graaf Reinet, South Africa
Wildlife
Graaf-Reinet, South Africa

A Boer Spear in South Africa

In early colonial times, Dutch explorers and settlers were terrified of the Karoo, a region of great heat, great cold, great floods and severe droughts. Until the Dutch East India Company founded Graaf-Reinet there. Since then, the fourth oldest city in the rainbow nation it thrived at a fascinating crossroads in its history.
Passengers, scenic flights-Southern Alps, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Aoraki / Mount Cook, New Zealand

The Aeronautical Conquest of the Southern Alps

In 1955, pilot Harry Wigley created a system for taking off and landing on asphalt or snow. Since then, his company has unveiled, from the air, some of the greatest scenery in Oceania.
PT EN ES FR DE IT