Far from the buzz and bustle of Midtown are the northern sections of Central Park, where fewer travelers and comparative quiet are the norm. But like their southern and central cousins, the park’s upper stretches are a mix of the landscaped and the raw and rugged, perhaps more so than any other area.

There is Conservatory Garden that showcases finely coiffed hedge and tree rows and colored-aligned flower beds alongside sophisticated works of art such as the Three Dancing Maidens sculpture.

Nearby, the north woods are highlighted by the Ravine, with its series of waterfalls cascading off rocks and the Huddlestone Arch that consists of Manhattan schist boulders “huddled” together free of any mortar or other supportive materials.

At the park’s northern most reaches lies Harlem Meer, a man-made lake that postures as a natural formation, with reeds, birds, fish and all, and a architectural cherry on top known as the Victorian-style Charles A. Dana Discovery Center.

(This blog was picked up by centralpark.com .)