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Belarus is a country in Eastern Europe, bordering Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. It likes to brag that it is at the center of Europe, ideally laid as a transit corridor for East-West trade. In some ways, this is true. Russia has been piping gas to Europe through Belarus for some time now. Nevertheless, this agreement is currently under some stress as Russia seeks to phase out the subsidies it has traditionally granted Belarus, in favor of charging more realistic prices for its products. The Republic of Belarus can ill afford to pay market value for its fuel and has used its power to break up the transit of supplies as a bargaining chip.

Would you do it under a waterfall? A myriad of waterfalls, lush nature, transparent rivers... We must be somewhere in South America or Oceania? Right? - Wrong! We are, in fact, in the heart of Europe, a few miles away from Italy and Greece. See video below: The Plitvice National Park is an absolute delight, worth the trip from wherever you are in the world. For birdwatching, be equipped with a good pair of binoculars and a powerful tele-lens. And who knows? - Maybe you'll spot some interesting mammals too?! See video below: There are a few hotels in the area but, whilst we are talking Communion with Nature, go camping with your tent! Have you ever had a shower under a waterfall? - It is said to be a must-do of all your travels before you die. See video below: This is the ultimate survival experience. The jungle waterfall shower will propel you to the rank of a famous adventurer like Bear Grylls.The camping extremists like him would probably say that its not really camping if you don't hunt and kill your own food. See video below: So if you manage to get your rabbit, cook it well, and eat without forks and knives, like in the Prehistoric Times. Then, as you nap and consider the next steps of your travel adventure, remember how you got here in the first place: Bear Grylls survival clothing for your extreme travels to all corners of our wildest world:

If you drive across Belarus, you will see that it's rather flat, with many woodlands, lakes and swamps. Around 27 percent of the land is farmed. The major expressways are kept in fair condition, but, as you might expect, the less used rural thoroughfares are quite potholed. Winters tend to be cold and snowy ; 14 F is usual (10 C) but temperatures can dip to 22 F (30 C) once in a while. Spring and fall are rainy and cool, at 50-60 F (10-15 C), while summertime is humid, with temperatures easily reaching 70 F (21 C), with occasional spurts up to 90 F (32 C).

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Whether you fly over the country or drive through it, the feeling you get is always the same; it's very flat and there are plenty of trees. The country has no sea borders and it sits in the heart of the mid-European plain between the Baltic Sea to the north and the Black Sea south. It borders Poland to the west, Lithuania to the northwest, Latvia to the north, Russia to the northeast and east and eventually, Ukraine south. The country covers an area of 207,600 km. The highest possible distance from west to east is 650 km and from north to south, 560 km. The total length of its border is 2,969 km. It ranks 13th of all European countries (not including Russia) in area size. In all, it is slightly smaller than the United Kingdom, more than twice the size of Portugal and Hungary and no less than five times larger than the Kingdom of The Netherlands and the Swiss Confederation. But if you look at the map, you will see that it is dwarfed by its mammoth neighbor Russian Federation to the east, a rich metaphor if ever there was one.

The plain upon which the country can be found extends some way beyond the country's borders and in times of war this has been a distinct disadvantage, making it all too easy in geographical terms to occupy and subjugate. In times of peace however, this has meant that transport links, whether by road or rail, have been easy to establish and the trade routes that have passed in the direction of the four compass points have occasionally brought prosperity and multi-culturalism to these lands. Those hills that exist here are barely hills in the least; the mean elevation above sea level is only 160 m, with the highest point being Mount Dzherzhinskaya in Minsk oblast at just 345 m, and even though it is very well elevated for there to be an emerging winter sports resort. The lowest is the valley of the Nieman River in Grodno oblast at barely over 80m.