The best national parks in the world – by continent

The best national parks in the world – by continent

The best way to see the world's greatest natural wonders is to visit the world's best national parks. Fortunately, governments around the world have taken steps to conserve their areas of outstanding natural beauty, diverse wildlife and marine life, and areas of untouched wilderness.

From the plains and deserts of Africa to the waterfalls and glaciers of South America, each continent has something different to offer. Here we list the best national parks in the world by continent.

Africa

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-serengeti">Atlas & Boots

Located on Tanzania's northern border with Kenya, Serengeti National Park is home to the oldest ecosystem on earth and the largest land mammal migration in the world.

Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-namib">Dreamtime

This extremely dry region, which includes part of the Namib Desert, is known for its hostile climate, purple sand dunes and 550-year-old dead trees.

Kruger National Park, South Africa

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-kruger">Dreamtime

Kruger was first founded in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld. As one of the largest game reserves in Africa, it is still the flagship of South African national parks today.

Victoria Falls National Park, Zimbabwe

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-victoria-falls">Dreamtime

Victoria Falls is home to the Thundering Smoke, also known as the largest falling body of water in the world due to its incredible width of 1,708 m (5,604 ft) and height of 108 m (354 ft).

Skeleton Coast National Park, Namibia

alt=”best national parks in the world skeleton coast – 1″>Mark Dhawn/Creative Commons

The name of this unique park comes from the whale and seal bones that once littered the coast. The skeletal remains of more than a thousand shipwrecks have now replaced the whalebones.

Asia

Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal

alt="Eight-thousander Everest">Dreamtime

The national park, which is literally dominated by the world's highest mountain, Mt. Everest, was first established in 1976. Sagarmāthā is a Nepali word derived from sagar meaning “sky” and māthā “head”.

Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park, China

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-Jiuzhaigou">Chensiyuan/Creative Commons

Known for its incredible waterfalls, colorful lakes and snow-capped peaks, this multicolored national park in China looks like something out of a Tolkien novel.

Goreme National Park, Turkey

alt="The best national parks in the world Türkiye">Bjørn Christian Torrissen/CC BY-SA 3.0

Göreme is a bizarre and spectacular landscape, largely formed by erosion. It is dotted with cave dwellings and underground cities - the remains of a human habitat from the 4th century.

Komodo National Park, Indonesia

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The world's largest lizard roams the Lesser Sunda Islands, where this national park is located. It's probably the best glimpse into what the world looked like when dinosaurs roamed.

Bannerghatta National Park, India

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With an elephant sanctuary, a zoo, a butterfly enclosure, a snake house and a safari park with bears, lions, zebras, leopards and white and Bengal tigers, this is one of the best places in the world to see such a variety of wildlife.

North America

Grand Canyon National Park, USA

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The second most visited US national park welcomes over four million visitors each year. However, it's not all about the Colorado River. The extensive system of tributaries offers some of the best hiking trails in the world.

Tikal National Park, Guatemala

alt=“Best National Parks in the World Tikal National Park Guatemala – 1″>Chensiyuan/Creative Commons

Too often overlooked in favor of the more popular and accessible site of Chichen Itza in Mexico, Tikal is actually the largest archaeological site in the Americas. It contains some of the most fascinating archaeological remains of the Mayan civilization.

Banff National Park, Canada

alt="Long-distance hiking trails Canada">Dreamtime

Canada's first national park was founded in the Rocky Mountains in 1885 and covers a region of incomparably majestic mountain landscapes. The park has more than 1,600 km (1,000 miles) of trails that include the resort town of Banff, the highest city in Canada at 1,630 m (5,350 feet).

Tulum National Park, Mexico

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-tulum">Creative Commons

One of the last cities inhabited and built by the Mayans paints a stunning picture over the tropical beach below. Tulum is one of the few places in the world where you can wander through ancient ruins in the morning and snorkel in the turquoise waters in the afternoon.

Yellowstone National Park, USA

alt=“The best national parks in the world Yellowstone – 1″>Daveynin/Creative Commons

It was always going to be difficult to choose just two US national parks for this list, but Yellowstone's diversity of wildlife and geothermal features simply cannot be ignored. It also has the largest supervolcano on the continent.

South America

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

alt="Hiking in Torres del Paine is one of the best outdoor activities in Chile">Dreamtime

In 2013, National Geographic ranked Torres del Paine National Park in Chilean Patagonia as the fifth most beautiful place in the world. With stunning jagged mountain peaks and ultramarine blue glaciers, it's easy to see why.

Galapagos National Park

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The pristine archipelago of the Galápagos Islands is a haven for some of the world's most unique and rare animal species, many of which are entirely endemic to the equatorial islands 906 km (563 miles) west of continental Ecuador.

IguaZu National Park, ARGENTINA

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The infamous falls actually span both sides of the Argentina-Brazilian border. However, the Argentine side offers the most dramatic and spectacular views of the huge rapids. Here visitors can enter directly into the wild gorge called Devil’s Throat, into which half of the river falls.

Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina

alt="the-best-national-parks-in-the-world-los-glaciers">Atlas & Boots

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of the few glaciers in the world that are in equilibrium (that is, receding and growing at the same rate and thus in overall equilibrium). The expanse of blue ice has an area of ​​250 km2 (97 sq mi) and averages 74 m (240 feet) high.

Canaima National Park, Venezuela

alt=”best national parks in the world venezuala – 1″>Tony Jose Araujo/Creative Commons

The sixth largest national park in the world, Canaima is the size of Belgium and includes the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls, at 1,002 m (3,287 ft).

Europe

Jostedalsbreen National Park, Norway

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This park is home to the largest glacier in mainland Europe. The glacier has shrunk in recent years. When it retreats, it reveals the ruins of farms that have already been absorbed by the glacier since 1750.

Cairngorms National Park, UK

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-scotland">Dreamtime

This area of ​​Scotland holds a very special place in my heart. My first family vacations were here and years later it was here that I learned how to strap on crampons and lock myself in place with an ice ax for the first time. For me, Scotland is still the most beautiful place in the world.

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

alt="best-national-parks-in-europe-plitvice">Dreamtime

Plitvice National Park is world famous for its 16 cascade lakes and their distinctive colors, ranging from brilliant azure, green and gray. The colors constantly change depending on the amount of minerals present in the water and the angle of sunlight.

Swiss National Park, Switzerland

alt="best-national-parks-in-europe-switzerland">Dreamtime

Located in a particularly stunning area of ​​the stunning Alps in Switzerland, this park has strict boundaries that restrict human activity. This “Total Protection” philosophy is probably why it is so breathtakingly beautiful.

Tatra National Park, Poland

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Characterized by its Alpine peaks, glacial lakes, mountain caves and vast evergreen forests, this area of ​​Poland is surprisingly easy to access. Excellent trails and excellent hiking infrastructure make this a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts.

Oceania

Kakadu National Park, Australia

alt="the best national parks in the world-kakadu-national-park-australia">Public domain

Aboriginal people have lived there for more than 50,000 years and are the oldest living culture on earth. More than half of the park is Aboriginal land and home to 20,000-year-old rock art and over 10,000 crocodiles.

Rapa Nui National Park, Chile

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-easter-island">Atlas & Boots

Politically it may be part of Chile, but geographically Easter Island is quintessentially Polynesian. The island is incredibly remote (its nearest inhabited neighbor is Pitcairn, 2,000 km (1,200 miles) to the west), but its ethereal beauty and mystical moai are worth the effort.

Bouma National Park, Fiji

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-taveuni-bouma">Atlas & Boots

Known as the “Garden Island,” Taveuni’s lush interior makes it a perfect destination for day hikes and jungle trekking. The hiking trails in the interior of the island offer fantastic panoramas of the island.

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-fjordland">Dreamtime

In the largest of New Zealand's 14 national parks, mountains and valleys compete for space and rainfall is measured in meters. Don't let the notoriously unpredictable weather put you off: Fiordland has an excellent network of hiking trails.

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia

alt="best-national-parks-in-the-world-GB-reef">Dreamtime

The GBRMP is clearly one of the world's greatest natural treasures. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world and can even be seen from space! It is also the world's largest single structure created by living organisms.

Antarctic

alt="Arctic vs. Antarctica feat img">Dreamtime

There are no national parks in Antarctica. It is a de facto condominium governed by the parties to the Antarctic Treaty system. Let’s just call the whole place an “international park,” shall we? An international park that is the coldest, driest and windiest place on earth. And has the highest average altitude of any continent. And is also considered a desert.

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