Author's posts
Oct 05 2024
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park protects one of the largest, most complex, and most biologically important marine ecosystems on Earth. Stretching for more than 2,300 kilometers along the northeastern coast of Australia, the reef system includes thousands of individual coral reefs, hundreds of islands and coral cays, seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, deep-water habitats, sandy seabeds, …
Oct 04 2024
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park protects one of the wildest and most spectacular landscapes in New Zealand. Located in the far southwest of the South Island, the park contains immense glacier-carved fiords, rainforest-covered mountains, alpine lakes, powerful waterfalls, remote valleys, rugged coastlines, and some of the country’s most important wildlife habitat. Covering more than 1.2 million hectares, …
Oct 03 2024
Kruger National Park
Kruger National Park is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife destinations and one of the most famous protected areas in the world. Stretching across northeastern South Africa along the borders with Mozambique and Zimbabwe, the park protects roughly 2 million hectares of savanna, woodland, river systems, granite hills, mopane veld, grassland, and seasonal wetlands. Kruger is …
Oct 02 2024
Plitvice Lakes National Park
Plitvice Lakes National Park protects one of Europe’s most distinctive freshwater landscapes: a chain of turquoise, emerald, and deep-blue lakes connected by waterfalls, cascades, streams, and constantly growing natural barriers of tufa, also called travertine. Dense beech and fir forests surround the water, while wooden boardwalks lead visitors directly across portions of the lake system. …
Oct 01 2024
Torres del Paine National Park
Torres del Paine National Park protects one of the most dramatic mountain landscapes in South America. Located in southern Chilean Patagonia, the park combines jagged granite towers, turquoise lakes, immense glaciers, windswept grasslands, Magellanic forest, fast-flowing rivers, waterfalls, and broad valleys beneath some of the most unpredictable weather on the continent. The park is named …
Oct 01 2024
Khao Sok National Park
Khao Sok National Park protects one of Thailand’s most dramatic tropical landscapes: dense evergreen rainforest wrapped around enormous limestone cliffs, misty valleys, jungle rivers, caves, waterfalls, and the emerald waters of Cheow Lan Lake. Located in Surat Thani Province in southern Thailand, the park covers roughly 739 square kilometers and forms part of a much …
Oct 01 2024
Best Hikes in Zion National Park: Top Trails, Difficulty & Hiking Guide
Zion National Park is one of the great hiking destinations of the American Southwest. Towering sandstone cliffs rise thousands of feet above the Virgin River, narrow canyons disappear between walls of red rock, and trails climb from the desert floor to viewpoints overlooking some of the most dramatic scenery in Utah. The best hikes in …
Oct 01 2024
The Narrows in Zion National Park
The Narrows is one of the most unforgettable hikes in Zion National Park—and one of the few famous hikes where the river itself becomes the trail. Instead of following a dirt path through the canyon, hikers wade upstream through the Virgin River while sheer sandstone walls rise hundreds of feet on either side. At its …
Oct 01 2024
Yosemite National Park’s Glacier Point
Glacier Point is one of the most spectacular viewpoints in Yosemite National Park. Perched high above Yosemite Valley at an elevation of about 7,214 feet, the overlook provides sweeping views of Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, Tenaya Canyon, and the rugged peaks of Yosemite’s high country. Unlike many of Yosemite’s grand viewpoints, Glacier Point does not …
Oct 01 2024
Yosemite National Park’s El Capitan
El Capitan is one of the defining landmarks of Yosemite National Park. Rising roughly 3,000 feet above Yosemite Valley, this enormous granite monolith dominates the north side of the valley and has become one of the most recognizable rock formations in the United States. For most Yosemite visitors, El Capitan is an unforgettable scenic landmark …
