We've all heard about the colorful towns around the world, there are really lots of them and their facades are very colorful and striking. But, are there any towns that are painted in only one color? Of course there are, but they are very rare. Exactly, the following list deals with these unusual tourist destinations - a one-color towns, enjoy the article.

01. Júzcar — Spain

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 Júzcar (220 residents) is a town in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. In spring 2011, buildings in the town (including the church and gravestones) were painted blue to celebrate the premiere of the Smurfs movie. 4,000 litres (1,100 US gal) of paint was used.

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In December 2011, Sony Pictures offered to repaint the town. Citizens voted to leave the buildings painted blue, as an estimated 80,000 tourists visited in the six months following the repainting. The town normally sees 300 tourists per year.  Link Map
07 more Towns after the break...

02. Izamal — Mexico

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Izamal is a town in the Mexican state of Yucatán, 72 km (about 40 miles) east of state capital Mérida. Izamal was continuously occupied throughout most of Mesoamerican chronology; in 2000, the city's estimated population was 15,000 people. This settlement is known in Yucatán as "The Yellow City".

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The first thing you notice about Izamal is the color: Virtually all the buildings and facades in Izamal are painted a rich mustard yellow, as is the convent. It is a very walkable city, and part of the pleasure of Izamal is simply wandering about its narrow streets, discovering picturesque facades, stone churches, artistic workshops and even Maya pyramids behind every other corner. Link 1 2 Map

03. Jaipur — India

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Nicknamed the “pink city”, Jaipur, the capital city of the desert state of Rajasthan, features architecture of pink sandstone - from grand structures and forts to tiny markets. The town looks even more surreal with elephants, camels and cows strolling past the pink buildings.

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Jaipur  was founded in 1727 AD. by Sawai Jai Singh II and was named after him. In 1863 Jaipur dressed itself in "pink" to welcome Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria. The colour became an integral part of the city and it came to be known as `The Pink City`. The capital city of Rajasthan still preserves its rich heritage and culture and is a fine blend of antiquity and modernity. Link Map

04. Jodhpur  — India

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In the middle of the barren Thar desert you will find Jodhpur, also known as Blue City.  It got that nickname because every little building and house in this fortress city is painted in a blue color, so from above it looks like a blue spot in the middle of the Thar desert.

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It is still unknown why they all painted in the color blue, but some will say that it has something to do with the caste system in India. This historic city is full of forts, palaces and temples. Link Map

05. Collonges-la-Rouge — France

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Collonges-la-Rouge is 23 km (14.3 mi) southeast of Brive in the Limousin. This   French town is a very attractive, and very popular with visitors to the region - the first thing you will notice is the colour of the place - more or less all the houses have been constructed from the local sandstone, which is very red!

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The town is a member of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association ("The most beautiful villages of France"), and is actually where this association was created. It is one of the most visited sites in the Limousin - a region in central France. Link 1 2 Map

06. Piódão — Portugal

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The historical village of Piódão is located in the slope of Serra do Açor (a mountain in central Portugal). The houses are built in the local materials: slate walls, roofs covered with stone slabs and wooden doors and windows. 

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Due to dark stone that is the basic building material, almost all the houses in this village are brown. It was considered Portugal’s most typical village in the decade of 1980. Link Map

07. Ubrique — Spain

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There’s a good reason the famous “White Towns” of Andalusia, in southern Spain, are all white-washed. The sun is hot in Andalusia, and white paint reflects the heat, keeping interiors cool. There are 1,500 white towns in Spain, scattered throughout the country, most of them situated in Andalucía. Many of them are hidden in remote places and are almost unknown.

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One of the largest and most famous "white towns" is Ubrique. This town is located in the province of Cádiz, Spain. According to the 2005 census, the city has a population of 17,362 inhabitants. Almost all the facades of houses, buildings and institutions in the town are painted in white. Link Map

08. Chefchaoen  — Morocco

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Chefchaouen or Chaouen is a town in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name, and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue.

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The ancient town of Chefchaoen in Morocco served as a refuge for Jews during the Spanish Reconquista in the Middle Ages. Jewish refugees who fled Europe during the 1930s revived their neighborhoods in Chefchaoen by using a blue tinted whitewash on their homes. The color caught on, and now much of the town appears washed in a light blue rinse. Link

The word PALACE is derived from the Latin name Palatium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. In many parts of Europe, the term is also applied to relatively large urban buildings built as the private mansions of the aristocracy. Here is a collection of top 10 palaces around the world. 

10. Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia

 The Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia was the official residence of the Russian Tsars. It was designed by many architects, most notably Bartolomeo Rastrelli, in what came to be known as the Elizabethan Baroque style; the green-and-white palace has the shape of an elongated rectangle. The palace has been calculated to contain 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows, 1,500 rooms and 117 staircases. Its principal façade is 250 m long and 100 ft high. 09 more after the break...

09. Summer Palace, Beijing, China

  The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China. Its Chinese name, YiHeYuan, translates as ‘Garden of Nurtured Harmony’ or ‘Garden for Maintaining Health and Harmony’. As its name implies, the Summer Palace was used as a summer residence by China’s imperial rulers – as a retreat from the main imperial palace now known as the Palace Museum (or ‘Forbidden City’) – a pleasure ground in the countryside, yet near to the city.

08. Schonbrunn Palace, Vienna, Austria

 Schönbrunn Palace is a former imperial summer residence in Vienna, Austria. Schönbrunn Palace with its surrounding buildings and the huge park is one of the most significant cultural monuments in Austria. The castle was build to rival French Versailles in Baroque beauty and importance.

07. Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet

The Potala Palace, winter palace of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century, symbolizes Tibetan Buddhism and its central role in the traditional administration of Tibet. The complex, comprising the White and Red Palaces with their ancillary buildings, is built on Red Mountain in the center of Lhasa Valley, at an altitude of 3,700m.

06. Imperial Palace, Tokyo, Japan

  Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in Chiyoda, Tokyo close to Tokyo Station and contains various buildings such as the main palace and the private residences of the imperial family. The total area including the gardens is 7.41 square kilometers.

05. Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur, India

Udaipur, the jewel of Rajasthan, has a regal feeling even in the streets and marketplace, a sense of pride surrounding every shop and square. Lake Palace (formerly known as Jag Niwas) is a luxury hotel, of 83 rooms and suites featuring white marble walls, located on a natural foundation of 4 acres rock, which sits on a private island in the middle of Lake Pichola. The hotel operates a boat which transports guests to the hotel from a jetty at the City Palace.

04. Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul, Turkey

  The Dolmabahçe Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, located at the European side of the Bosporus, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire. The palace is composed of three parts; the Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn (the quarters reserved for the men), Muayede Salonu (the ceremonial halls) and the Harem-i Hümâyûn (the apartments of the family of the Sultan). The palace has an area of 45,000 m2, and contains 285 rooms, 46 halls, 6 baths and 68 toilets.

03. Chateau de Versailles, Versailles, France

The Palace of Versailles was the official residence of the Kings of France. It was originally a hunting lodge, built in 1624, by Louis XIII. It was expanded by Louis XIV beginning in 1669. He used it as a little lodge as a secret refuge for his amorous trysts with the lovely Louise de la Valliere and built a fairy tale park around it.  Jules Hardouin Mansart, the king’s principal architect, drew the plans to enlarge what was turning more and more into a palace from A Thousand and One Nights.

02. Buckingham Palace, London

 Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality. It has been a rallying point for the British people at times of national rejoicing and crisis.

01. Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

Blenheim Palace is home to the 11th Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Set in 2100 acres of beautiful parkland landscaped by ‘Capability’ Brown, the magnificent Palace is surrounded by sweeping lawns, award-winning formal gardens and the great Lake, offering a unforgettable day out for all.

A stack or sea stack is a rock formation made up of a steep or upright column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast. They are formed when part of a headland is eroded by water crashing against the rock or as a result of wind erosion. These impressive formations are intricately created by nature only through time, tide and wind. Here are 10 famous sea stack formations from around the World.

01. Dun Briste, Ireland

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 Dun Briste, a spectacular sea-stack, estimated to be approximately 50 metres (165ft) in height, stands 80 metres (260ft) off Downpatrick Head, in the town-land of Knockaun, east of Ballycastle, Ireland. Downpatrick Head is where the Atlantic has gouged a huge bay from the mighty cliffs and their summits scoured of all vegetation except grass by the ceaseless ocean winds.

Each year, Downpatrick is frequented by birdwatchers, who come to observe and record the many different species which take up positions on the stratified face of the stack as the seasons change. In May and early June, the headland itself is a blaze of colour when the sea-pink comes into bloom. Link Map

09 more  Sea Stacks after the break...

02. Sail Rock, Russia

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Sail Rock is a natural sandstone monolith located on the shore of the Black Sea, in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It resembles the outline of a ship’s sail, hence its name. The monolith lies 17 km (10.5mi) to the southeast of Gelendzhik, near the village of Praskoveyevka (which is about 500 meters (1,650ft) from the coast) and the farmstead of Dzhankhot (approximately twice that distance from the coast).

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Sail Rock has a sheer vertical slope confronting the shore of sea, isolated from the mass of basic rock by geological forces. It is more than three-fourths revealed by the tide and lies perpendicular to the coast. What is most remarkable about this landmark is its proportions. While the cliff is only a little more than a meter (3ft) thick, its height is about 25 meters (82ft) and its length about 20 (66ft). Thus, the form of the cliff is described as resembling the outline of a quadrangular sail. Link Map

03. Old Man of Hoy, Scotland, UK

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The Old Man of Hoy is a 449 feet (137m) sea stack on the island of Hoy. It is a distinctive landmark from the Thurso to Stromness ferry and was first climbed in 1966. This stack is an red sandstone stack, perched on a plinth of basalt rock. It stands close to Rackwick Bay on the west coast of the island of Hoy, in the Orkney Islands, Scotland.

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The stack is probably less than 400 years old and may not get much older, as there are indications that it may soon collapse. On maps drawn between 1600 and 1750, the area appears as a headland with no sea stack. William Daniell, a landscape painter, sketched the sea stack in 1817 as a wider column with a smaller top section and an arch at the base, from which it derived its name. A print of this drawing is still available in local museums. Sometime in the early 19th century, a storm washed away one of the legs leaving it much as it is today, although erosion continues. Link Map

04. Risin og Kellingin, Faroe Islands

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Risin og Kellingin (Risin and Kellingin) are two sea stacks just off the northern coast of the island of Eysturoy in the Faroe Islands close to the town of Eiði. The name Risin og Kellingin means The Giant and the Witch and relates to an old legend about their origins. The Giant (Risin) is the 71m (233ft) stack further from the coast, and the witch (Kellingin) is the 68m (223ft) pointed stack nearer land, standing with her legs apart.

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The stacks can be viewed by walking north from Eiði then turning east towards the coast and following the low cliffs for a short way. Other good views can be had on a clear day from Tjørnuvík on the island of Streymoy. Faroese geologists predict that Kellingin, which currently stands on two legs, will fall into the sea sometime in the next few decades during the winter storms. Already part of the stack broke off at the beginning of the twentieth century. Link Map

05. Ko Tapu, Thailand

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Ko Tapu is a limestone rock about 20 metres (66 ft) tall with the diameter increasing from about 4 metres (13 ft) near the water level to about 8 metres (26 ft) at the top. It lies about 40 metres (130 ft) to the west from the northern part of Khao Phing Kan (a pair of islands on the west coast of Thailand).

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A scientific version of the Ko Tapu formation says that the area was a barrier reef. Then, upon tectonic movements, it ruptured, and its parts were dispersed over the area and flooded by the rising ocean. Wind, waves, water currents and tides gradually eroded the islands thus formed, sometimes producing peculiar shapes, such as Ko Tapu. Tide-related erosion is visible at the bottom of the rock. Link Map

06. Ball’s Pyramid, Australia

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Ball's Pyramid is 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Lord Howe Island in the Pacific Ocean. It is 562 metres (1,844 ft) high, while measuring only 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) in length and 300 metres (980 ft) across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world.  Ball's Pyramid is part of the Lord Howe Island Marine Park.

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In 2001, a large species of insect commonly known as a tree lobster or Lord Howe Island stick insect was discovered clinging to the stack eighty years after it was believed to have gone extinct. Rats introduced to the larger islands are to blame for the six-inch insect’s demise. Scientists captured several insects to breed, which they finally did successfully, and may be introduced to the mainland. Link 1 2 Map

07. Kicker Rock, Galapagos, Ecuador

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Kicker Rock, also called the Sleeping Lion is a rocky formation and popular dive destination on the western side of Isla San Cristobal, the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago.

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This gigantic rock raises 500 feet (152m) straight from the ocean and represents the remains of a lava cone, now split in two. There is a mild current that passes through the two rocks, which attracts hammerhead and Galápagos sharks. Kicker Rock is also home to a large colony of sea birds. Link Map

08. Old Harry Rocks, UK

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The Old Harry Rocks are two chalk stacks located on the Dorset coast in the south of England. The rocks mark the eastern end of the Jurassic Coast. The cliffs here are mainly made up of chalk, with some bands of flint within them.

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The sea stacks are continuously being eroded by the sea and are therefore an ever-changing feature. In the 18th century, people could still walk from the mainland to Old Harry, which is the stack at the end nearest to the sea. Link Map. LinkMap

09. The Twelve Apostles, Australia

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The Twelve Apostles is a collection of limestone stacks off the shore of the Port Campbell National Park, by the Great Ocean Road in Victoria, Australia. Their proximity to one another has made the site a popular tourist attraction.

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Tourism activities (including helicopter tours) are conducted from a visitor centre, situated on the inland side of the Great Ocean Road; with parking and viewing areas. Parks Victoria classifies the structure as nationally significant, with the area being one of Victoria's major tourist features; attracting approximately two million visitors a year. Parks Victoria was responsible for the construction of board-walks, tracks, and viewing areas.  Link Map

10. Tri Brata, Russia

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At the entrance of Avacha Bay lies Tri Brata, a trio of scenic stacks which is considered a symbol of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, the main city of Kamchatka Krai, Russia.

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The name is Russian which literally means "Three Brothers". Legend has it that three brothers who went to defend a town from a tsunami turned into pillars of stone. Link Map

When Rivers Collide - 10 Incredible Confluences Around the World — In geography, a confluence is the meeting of two or more bodies of water. Known also as a conflux, it refers either to the point where a tributary joins a larger river, called the main stem, or where two streams meet to become the source of a river of a new name, such as the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania creating the Ohio River.  The term is also used to describe the meeting of tidal or other non-riverine bodies of water, such as two canals or a canal and a lake. Below is a collection of 10 incredible confluences around the world. For more, there is a fascinating list of notable confluences onWikipedia that I recommend you check out. The confluences below were selected for their dramatic visual contrast. Thus, culturally significant confluences such as the Sangam near Allahabad, India, where the sacred rivers Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati meet to create one of the holiest places in Hinduism, were not included for this reason. Please enjoy the list below and let us know of any other interesting confluences you are aware of. Perhaps we can do a follow-up post if there is interest!

01. Confluence of the Rhone and Arve Rivers in Geneva, Switzerland.

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In this incredible photograph we see the confluence of the Rhone and Arve rivers in Geneva, Switzerland. The river on the left is the Rhone, which is just exiting Lake Lehman. The river on the right is the Arve, which receives water from the many glaciers of the Chamonix valley (mainly the Mer de Glace) before flowing north-west into the Rhone on the west side of Geneva, where its much higher level of silt brings forth a striking contrast between the two rivers. Via Link

09 more after the break...

02. Confluence of the Ilz, Danube, and Inn Rivers in Passau, Germany.

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The Ilz is a relatively small mountain stream and has a blue-ish color while the Inn is a fairly large river flowing in from Salzburg, Austria at the top. The Inn River has more water flow than the Danube, yet flowing away from the city the three combined rivers are called Danube. This photo is taken from the Oberhaus-fortress (now a city museum) on top of the Ilzstadt cliff above the city of Passau in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or “City of Three Rivers”.

03. Confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at Cairo, IL, USA.

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The Ohio River becomes a tributary of the Mississippi River directly south of Cairo, Illinois, a small city on the spit of land where the rivers converge (at center of this astronaut photograph). Brown, sediment-laden water flowing generally northeast to south from the Ohio River is distinct from the green and relatively sediment-poor water of the Mississippi River (flowing northwest to south).

     

The color of the rivers in this image is reversed from the usual condition of a green Ohio and a brown Mississippi. This suggests that the very high rainfall in December 2005 over the Appalachians and the northeastern United States has led to greater-than-normal amounts of sediment in the rivers and streams of the Ohio River watershed. The distinct boundary between the two river’s waters indicates that little to no mixing occurs even 5-6 kilometers (3-4 miles) downstream. ViaLink

04. Confluence of the Jialing and Yangtze Rivers in Chongqing, China.

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Jialing River on the right stretches 119 kilometers. In the city of Chongqing it falls into Yangtze River. The clean water of Jialing River meets the brownish yellow water of Yangtze River. The Yangtze becomes more powerful after it absorbs the water of Jialing as it continues its path, passing through the Three Gorges and stretching thousands of miles.

05. Confluence of the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimoes near Manaus, Brazil.

The Meeting of Waters is the confluence between the Rio Negro, a river with dark (almost black coloured) water, and the sandy-coloured Amazon River or Rio Solimões, as it is known the upper section of the Amazon in Brazil. For 6 km (3.7 mi) the river’s waters run side by side without mixing. It is one of the main tourist attractions of Manaus, Brazil.

     

This phenomenon is due to the differences in temperature, speed and water density of the two rivers. The Rio Negro flows at near 2 km per hour at a temperature of 28°C, while the Rio Solimões flows between 4 to 6 km per hour a temperature of 22°C. Via Link

06. Confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA.

The Green River is a very long stream forming in the Wind River Range of the Rocky Mountains in Bridger Teton National Forest of Sublette County, Wyoming. It winds its way south into Utah, turning east into Colorado and finally back south down into Utah where it terminates at the confluence of the Colorado River in Canyonlands National Park in San Juan County. Via Link

07. Confluence of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers in Lytton, BC, Canada.

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The Thompson River ends here in Lytton, British Columbia, Canada where it meets the Fraser River. The contrast is striking as the clear Thompson River water joins with the muddy Fraser.

08. Confluence of the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi Rivers in Devprayag, India.

Devprayag is a town and a nagar panchayat (municipality) in Tehri Garhwal district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River and it is where the Ganges River is formed. The Alaknanda rises at the confluence and feet of the Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers in Uttarakhand. The headwaters of the Bhagirathi are formed at Gaumukh, at the foot of the Gangotri glacier and Khatling glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya. These two sacred rivers join to form the Ganges (Ganga) in Devprayag. Via Link

09. Confluece of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers in Koblenz, Germany.

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In the German city of Koblenz, the Mosel flows into the Rhine river. The Name “Koblenz” itself has its origin in the latin name “Confluentes”. Via Link

10. Confluence of the Drava and Danuve Rivers near Osijek, Croatia.

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Located on the right bank of the river Drava 25 km upstream of its confluence with the Danube is the city of Osijek, Croatia.