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At 4321m Mt. Elgon has the largest volcanic base in the world. Located on the Uganda-Kenya border it is also the oldest solitary volcanic mountain in East Africa. The slopes of Mount Elgon are riddled with caves carved out by moving lava and the erosion of soft volcanic deposits.

The elephants enter the caves as a whole family and walk as far as 160 metres into the pitch darkness just to find a salt seam in the rock, very often with their young in tow. They then excavate the mineral-rich rock by using their tusks to chip off chunks of halite, slowly making the cave deeper and deeper over time. The elephant population of Mt. Elgon are the world´s only elephants to venture underground into huge, dark caves and pass down the unique culture of salt mining to their young.

15 years ago the Mount Elgon Monitoring Team was initiated by the BBC Natural History Unit to learn more about these unique elephants prior to filming Sir David Attenborough's 'The Life of Mammals'.

They found there were only one group of elephants coming to the caves and they announced their presence with 'rumbles' as a greeting call.

It is hoped that this process – similar to the technique used by Diane Fossey to habituate gorillas – will eventually make it possible for tourists to accompany these specialised rangers and experience the thrill of tracking elephants, whilst also providing funding for the further development of the park.

Mount Elgon National Park has a variety of other attractions to tempt the eagle-eyed traveller including immense cliffs, the Sipi falls, breath taking gorges, bubbling springs and some of the finest Arabica coffee in Africa. However, the cave elephants of Mount Elgon are a genuine wonder of the natural world and unmissable for any visitor to Uganda.

Experience world-class Bahamian art in beautiful surroundings.  The 13th Transforming Spaces Art Tour is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, April 1 and 2, 2017. The weekend tour will include a morning and afternoon tour on Saturday, and a morning tour on Sunday. Each gallery will be curating its own exhibition for the event and it is expected that approximately 40 artists will be exhibiting their artworks at the various venues.

The University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Lahore observed World Spay Day to create awareness about controlling the increasing population of stray dogs through spaying (neutering) and also through chemical (zeutrtering). UVAS Vice-Chancellor Meritorious Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha led the walk while Dean Faculty of Veterinary Science Prof Dr Masood Rabbani, Prof Dr Aneela Zameer Durrani and Dr Asim Khalid and a large number of students, faculty members participated.

Alkhidmat Orphan Program arranged a training session for the Orphan Children of Aghosh Alkhidmat Rawalpindi. The session was aimed at sensitizing the children regarding moral values and volunteerism. Mr. Ali Sheikh, Deputy Coordinator AKF Mawakhat Program Rawalpindi and Ms. Zainab delivered lectures on morality and benefits of being a good human. Children enjoyed the learning activity and appreciated the training environment.

"It has come to the notice of the Zone 2 Headquarters reports making the rounds in national dailies that ‘Obasanjo Storms out of Police Event over Delay.’ In as much as it is a statement of fact that there was delay in the taking off of the First Special Training and Capacity Development Seminar held at the Federal Palace Hotel, yesterday March 2, 2017, due to exigencies of the policing job, the truth must not be skewed to suit personal or pre-determined stances."

Instagramming the world's highest peak is set to become much easier following Nepal's plans to create a free wi-fi zone at Everest Base Camp. Although at the moment paid-for wi-fi is available at various hotels and restaurants in the area, at 5,380m (17,600ft) it is expected to be the world's highest free wi-fi zone.

Slovenia, one of Europe's greenest countries, will explode with colour in May as the Bohinj International Wild Flower Festival returns with the theme 'Flowers and Bees'. This year's festival opening coincides with World Bee Day, a United Nations initiative created in cooperation with The Slovenian Beekeepers' Association. In recent years, Slovenia has been identified as a leading beekeeping destination, creating honey therapy (apitherapy) programmes to emphasise how bees positively impact human lives.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Education Foundation (CHTAEF) has advised the application deadline for its scholarship program is Thursday, March 30, 2017. Scholarships are open to Caribbean students and industry professionals pursuing higher education or professional development in the hospitality and tourism field and are awarded with support from CHTAEF sponsors and supporters.

The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) presented checks totaling $70,000 to hotel associations in Haiti and The Bahamas to assist residents in both countries with Hurricane Matthew relief efforts. Recognizing the considerable hardship and damage which Haiti and part of the northern Bahamas faced in the aftermath of the hurricane, CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy called upon fellow hoteliers in the region to respond to the association's call for support.

Manly Beach will be the venue for Australia's rising Olympic hopefuls from four Olympic sports when more than 300 athletes take part in Australian Open of Surfing from Saturday 25 February – Sunday 5 March and 200 athletes participate in Volleyfest from Friday 17 March – Sunday 26 March. The Australian Open of Surfing will feature Whale Beach's surfing up-and-comer, Cedar Leigh-Jones who has Olympic Gold in her sights. She said, “Surfing's inclusion in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games is a dream come true for my sport.

Jacada Travel are leading an industry-wide campaign to enforce the wearing of surgical face masks for people visiting the critically endangered mountain gorillas of Uganda and Rwanda. Gorillas are highly susceptible to human diseases, sharing 98.4% of our DNA. With no immunity to viruses such as the common cold, gorillas are very much at risk when in proximity to people.

Beginning March 1, the Harvard Museum of Natural History, located on the historic Harvard University campus, will join the Boston CityPASS program. For 20 years, CityPASS ticket booklets have allowed travelers to visit a destination's top attractions while saving nearly half off combined admission prices. Each 2017 Boston CityPASS booklet includes prepaid, discounted admission to the New England Aquarium, Museum of Science, Skywalk Observatory at the Prudential Center, and a choice between either a Boston Harbor Cruise or the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan in collaboration with Spreading Smiles Community and Karawan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa arranged a one day trip for 98 orphan students of Aghosh Alkhidmat Peshawar. Children visited Bagh e Naran, Tatara Park, Qila Bala Hisar and Peshawar Museum. Students also enjoyed their lunch at Spring Night restaurant where they relished their heartiest food. Commandant Frontier Corp Peshawar gave shoes to all the students as gift.

The Latin America Travel Association (LATA) has announced the judging panel for the LATA Media Awards which will take place on 16 May 2017 at Lima Floral in central London. The LATA Media Awards recognise innovation and excellence across the British travel media landscape with a specific focus on Latin America. Every year, LATA holds an awards ceremony to celebrate and reward inspiring and creative Latin America features and photography.

Two of the Caribbean's premier tourism events will be staged concurrently in June in Miami during Caribbean-American Heritage Month. The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) announced that the Caribbean Hotel Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF), usually held in the fall, will now take place during the first week of June alongside the popular Taste of the Caribbean educational experience, cultural showcase and culinary competition.
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