Large cities, dark forests and tallest peaks aren’t the only things us travellers are interested in. We are also big on rural parts of each country where we can follow the daily lives of the locals in their natural environment. These areas offer endless opportunities for walks on filed roads, vineyards or even distant savannas.
Typical cultural landscapes have become known worldwide and are a popular destination for travellers from all over the world. Their preservation is of vital importance if they’re to continue their economic role and at the same time maintain biodiversity. Woodland boundaries and meadows, after all, can sustain more animal and plant species than the nearby forest. And have you ever considered how boring cropland can get without a single tree?
Cultural landscape is the concrete and tangible landscape that has been shaped by a certain social group as a result of its way of life. The ecological importance of a rural cultural landscape is in its diverse animal and plant life, which creates a natural balance. Cultural landscapes that resemble natural landscapes have several minor elements (woodland boundaries, hedgerows, wetland plants, meadows, bushes, fruit trees, dry stones) that are home to numerous plants and animals. When it comes to economic interest the focus is on food production, while emotional value is more about the attachment people have to their cultural landscape.
One hundred and fifty most unique cultural landscapes are protected by UNESCO. One of such landscapes are the Bali rice terraces. Part of the protected elements is the subak, a system of rice fields and water temples that encompasses and area of almost 20 thousand hectares. It’s a system of collective and complex irrigation water management that has its roots in the 9th century and is still used by farmers to this day. Nowadays, the green colour of the rice terraces is a sight for sore eyes for travellers and they admire the way the local community survives. The most beautiful terraces are located near the town of Ubud and you can visit them by bike.
Almost all landscape that we see today while travelling across Europe has been somehow affected by human activity. The landscape that was formed as a result of agriculture now represents around 75 per cent of the land. The largest number of such areas can be found in eastern and southern Europe where the landscape consists of extensive grasslands, permanent crops and cropland. In mountainous regions the landscape consists of alpine pastures, peatland and scattered arable areas. In order to maintain biodiversity a landscape needs relatively well-preserved grassland habitats which are a product of extensive traditional usage of the land. Some species are also linked to these grassland habitats and are considered endangered in Europe.
The United Kingdom is known for its typical cultural landscape where rolling grasslands are usually divided by lines of tree and bush structures called hedgerows. In some areas, these hedgerows are already 800 years old and present borders between agricultural areas of different owners and even different parishes. In a landscape with little to no forest these hedgerows act as a safe haven for wildlife. The diversity of hedgerows is an important part of cultural and landscape heritage that, together with dry-stone walls, mighty cathedrals, charming villages and spectacular beaches creates a typical landscape.
The Lake District is located in north-western England. It’s a mountainous region where valleys were carved out by glaciers and the present appearance is the result of intensive grazing, mostly of sheep, and mountain life. Large houses, gardens and parks were intentionally created to improve the beauty of the landscape. Artists were the first to appreciate the landscape in the 18th century, as evidenced by their paintings, drawings and words. Treat yourself to a beautiful view of the surrounding area while cruising the lakes.
Evidence of former human settlements can be found high in the mountains as well, where stones and unusually shaped surface testify of human history. In the Pyrenees, shepherds have herded livestock in pastures and meadows high under the 3904-metre Mont Perdu continuously since the Middle Ages.
Quebrada de Humanhuaca is a valley in Argentina that stretches along the spectacular Rio Grande, all the way from the river’s spring high up in the cold desert plateau of the Andes to the river mouth in Rio Leone approximately 150 kilometres south. Due to its important location it has been populated for 10,000 years. Famous travel routes pass through the valley and past visible traces of prehistoric hunter-gatherer communities, the Inca Empire (15th to 16th century) and the fight for independence in the 19th and 20th centuries. The view over the colourful mountains is especially wonderful.
The savanna landscape of Koutammakou in north-eastern Togo is home to the Batammariba tribe whose mud houses (takientas) are a symbol of the country. In this landscape, nature is strongly connected to rituals and societal beliefs. The cultural landscape in an area of 50,000 hectares is impressive due to the architecture, special structure of arable land and the surrounding forest. Villages are full of two-storey mud houses with flat or conical roofs. The houses are spacious enough to host celebrations and initiation ceremonies. Here, travellers are met with a rich savanna world and an opportunity to socialise with the locals.
The cultural landscape of the Gabonese Lopé-Okanda rainforest presents an unusual bridge element between the dense and well-preserved tropical forest and few still surviving savannas that are home to a great diversity of species, including endangered large mammals, and habitats. It contains evidence of successive transition of various people that left behind them extensive and relatively well-preserved remains of their dwellings across ridges and in caves. There’s a research station in the village of Mikongo and some tourism infrastructure, including a few log cabins and a large outdoor dining space with the rainforest just five metres away.
We often gaze through a window, looking at a cultural landscape of a certain area, while not even realising its true value. We like taking photos of it and write about its beauty, but often forget the people who helped create the landscape and who still live with it to this day. By visiting cultural landscapes, we can carry their voice out into the world, but it’s important to leave them as they are. It is essential to preserve landscapes, so they will be able to serve as living space and habitat to both people and animals.
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