8 Places to Visit in India Before They Vanish

India is a country that is rich in history and heritage. There are so many places in India that we could travel to, that you could spend your entire life exploring them. But before you start ticking off items on your bucket list, hold your horses because there are some gorgeous spots in India which are going to disappear in the next few years. Instead put these spot on the top of your list and start packing your bags because you must visit these places before they disappear.

Himalayan Glaciers: The Himalayan Glaciers look majestic and are beautiful beyond par.  But due to global warming, they are melting and how.  According to a research by the University of Milan, in the course of last 50 years, the Everest region has shrunk by 13 per cent. Just a few years more and all of it will be gone.

Lakshadweep Coral Reef: The coral reef is so beautiful that it will transport you into a dreamland the moment you reach there. But unfortunately the coral reefs face dire threat from pollution, coral mining and blast fishing. A study reveals that the sea levels, which have risen due to global warming is having an effect on reefs, lagoons, beaches and even sand dunes. The reef has been subject to increase in population, mining of coals, coastal corrosion, unrestrained construction and even unscientific waste disposal.  It just a matter of years before they cease to exist.

Majuli: One of the largest river islands in the world, it lies on the banks of the Brahmaputra River. Visit the place in the next 15-20 years because it is likely submerge by that time. In 1950, when an earthquake occurred, the river rose up to the upper reaches of the island creating a huge impact.  In 1998, too, the flood waters caused destruction. Since 1991, over 35 villages have been washed away in Majuli. The locals there truly know all about the fragility of life. 

Sunderbans, West Bengal:  Combine your trip to Majuli with this trip to Sunderbans. A UNESCO World Heritage site, Sunderbans is abounds in mangrove forests and is home to the endangered Bengal Tiger along with around 334 plant and bird species, snakes, crocodiles and other fauna. Being low lying islands, the rise sea levels due to melting of polar ice caps has impacted Sunderbans and submerged four islands in this archipelago. Around 10,000 locals have been rendered homeless and are classified as India's first wave of climate refugees. The entire chain of islands will be underwater soon. 

The Western Ghats:  The Ghats are the home of 300 globally threatened species, animal and insects. But its proximity to the metro cities makes them an alluring spot for land owners. The land zoning regulations that converted hill and agricultural land to residential and commercial ones too do not help in its conservation.

Valley of Flowers: Alpine blossoms, charming meadows and breathtaking landscape, the Valley of Flowers is a must-visit location. It is also one of the biggest hotspot for butterflies in the world. The place still retains its charm because the lack of pucca roads to this valley have put off most settlers so far. Still it  is in danger due to deforestation, development and increasing influx of tourism. Climate change can also quickly eradicate this fragile ecosystem which relies on a delicate balance of warm and cold weather. 

Wular Lake: The stunning Wular Lake in Jammu & Kashmir is one of the largest fresh water lakes in Asia.  However in the recent years, the lake has been facing environment hazards due to pollution and hunting of waterfowl and other birds. The size of the lake has shrunk considerably in the past few years.

The Colorful Wooden Building | Nidelva River Trondheim, Norway

Trondheim the historic port of central Norway. It lies on a sheltered peninsula on the southern shore of the deeply indented Trondheims Fjord at the mouth of the Nidelva river, about 23 miles or 37 km to southeast of the Norwegian Sea. According to legend, Viking Kink Olav Tryggvason established Trondheim in the year 997 at the mouth of the river Nidelva. Since then Trondheim has taken a special place among the Norwegian cities. It was Norway’s first capital and since then, Norwegian kings have received their ceremonial blessings here. Trondheimis a modern city located next to a large fjord. With its many distinguished universities and research facilities, which are among the best in Europe, it has become a center of knowledge. Trondheim has numerous cultural and recreational facilities. It has the charms of a historic city and the potential of a modern European metropolis. Trondheim’s citizens are friendly and social and the city is famous for its hospitality.

Most of the buildings here are wooden, left from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Painted in bright colours, these wooden structures make the streets of Trondheim picturesque and charming. Particularly attractive are the rows of large wooden warehouses lining the river. Built in the 1800′s, when Trondheim was a trading hub and a major port of call for ships travelling up and down the Scandinavian coast, most of these warehouses have been beautifully restored and converted into restaurants, cafes, shops and business premises.

The people of Trondheim have always seen the special quality of the wharves, so they are still proudly standing today, having not only survived the Swedes, but also plans in the 1930s to tear them down and replace them with modern blocks in the functionalist style.

On the seafront, towards the canal, many of the wharves were built more recently, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Housing shops, offices, restaurants and cafes, they still hold a special charm.

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library

The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library is the largest building in the world dedicated to the containment and preservation of rare books, manuscripts, and documents. It was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill and is located in New Haven, Connecticut. Situated on Yale University's Hewitt Quadrangle, the building was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 1963. Established by a gift of the Beinecke family and given its own endowment, the library is financially independent from the university and is co-governed by the University Library and Yale Corporation. The library's iconic building is scheduled to close for major renovation following Yale University’s commencement ceremonies in May 2015. The renovation will replace the building's mechanical systems and expand its research, teaching, storage, and exhibition capabilities, and should be complete in September 2016. A temporary reading room in Yale's Sterling Memorial Library will provide researchers access to the library’s collections during the renovation.

A six-story above-ground glass-enclosed tower of book stacks is surrounded by a windowless rectangular outer shell, supported only on four massive piers at the corners of the building, which descend 50 feet to bedrock. The outer walls are made of translucent veined marble panels quarried from Danby, Vermont, which transmit subdued lighting from outside, while providing protection from direct sunlight. At night, the stone panels transmit light from the interior, giving the exterior of the building an amber glow. The outside dimensions have "Platonic" mathematical proportions of 1:2:3 (height: width: length). The building has been called a precious "jewel box", and also a "laboratory for the humanities".

A public exhibition hall surrounds the glass stack tower, and displays among other things, one of the 48 extant copies of the Gutenberg Bible. Two basement floors extend under much of Hewitt Quadrangle. The first level down, the "Court" level, centers on a sunken courtyard in front of the Beinecke, which features The Garden (Pyramid, Sun, and Cube). These are abstract allegorical sculptures by Isamu Noguchi that are said to represent time (the pyramid), sun (the disc), and chance (the cube). This level also features a secure reading room for visiting researchers, administrative offices, and book storage areas. The level of the building two floors below ground has movable-aisle compact shelving for books and archives.

The Beinecke is one of the largest buildings in the world devoted entirely to rare books and manuscripts. The library has room in the central tower for 180,000 volumes and room for over 600,000 volumes in the underground book stacks. The library's collection, which is housed both in the library's main building and at Yale University's Library Shelving Facility in Hamden, Connecticut, totals roughly 1 million volumes and several million manuscripts.

In the late 19th century, rare and valuable books of the Library of Yale Colleg e were placed on special shelving at the College Library, now known as Dwight Hall. When the university received a multimillion-dollar bequest from John W. Sterling for the construction of Sterling Memorial Library in 1918, the university decided to create a dedicated reading room for its rare books, which became the building's Rare Book Room when the building opened in 1930. Because the bequest did not contain an allowance for books or materials, Yale professor Chauncey Brewster Tinker petitioned its alumni to donate materials that would give the university a collection as monumental as its new building. By the time Sterling opened, Tinker's appeal garnered an impressive collection of rare books, including a Gutenberg Bible from Anna M. Harkness and several major collections from the Beinecke family, most notably its collection on the American West.

               Beinecke Rare Book Library, Two volumes of original Gutenberg Bibles.