Ithaca: the gorges worth the trip

In the heart of the Finger Lakes region, Ithaca holds dozens of deep gorges and waterfalls right on the Cornell University campus.

The city center, surrounded by spectacular natural gorges, is comfortably and pleasantly walkable on foot.

The Cascadilla Gorge Trail, a path traversing a gorge through Cornell's campus, offers waterfalls and natural pools just steps from lecture halls.

A few minutes away, the Taughannock Falls, taller than Niagara Falls, remain among the most spectacular waterfalls in New York State.

Continuing towards the lake, you reach Cayuga Lake, the longest of the Finger Lakes, with numerous vineyards along its rolling hillside shores.

Towards evening, the Commons neighbourhood comes alive with animated restaurants and bars in the pedestrian heart of the lively university town.

The motto 'Ithaca is Gorges' is a clever wordplay between 'gorges' and 'gorgeous,' capturing the remarkable concentration of natural gorges and waterfalls that run through the city's very heart.

Taughannock Falls, towering more than thirty-three meters higher than the celebrated Niagara Falls, officially rank as the highest single-drop waterfall east of the Mississippi River in all the United States.