The world is full of wild places, special places that contain the wonders of the natural world. To make the wishlist of places to visit even longer, we thought we’d compile some of our favourites.
How many have you been to?
A – Amboseli (Kenya)
Known as ‘the forecourt of Kilimanjaro’, this national park is home to truly iconic sights. On clear mornings you can have the imposing beauty of Mt Kilimanjaro as a backdrop to lions, cheetahs and large herds of elephants. It calls itself ‘home to the African elephant’, and although the title is contentious, it is in the running for sure. The name translates to ‘salty dust’, which best describes this park’s mix of swamps, woodland and dried-up lake.
Honorary mention: Andasibe (protected rainforest in Madagascar and home to the Indri lemur)
B – Bwindi (Uganda)
Home to the mountain gorillas of Uganda, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is also an incredibly diverse ecosystem. In addition to the 460 gorillas that live in the park, the national park also features various other monkey species and is a haven for bird watchers. And, as a bonus, it is half the price of visiting the gorillas in Rwanda, so perfect for savvy travellers.
C – Cotopaxi (Ecuador)
Cotopaxi National Park is a dramatic piece of scenery. Translating to the ‘neck of the moon’, the park contains three giant volcanoes but is named after the largest of the three. Cotopaxi sits at 5,897 metres tall (two metres more than Kilimanjaro) and is still active, making a summit climb even more exciting. Animal-wise, it is a raptor dream and home to hawks, eagles and condors as well as the elusive Andean wolf.
Honorary mention: Chobe (the famed big park in Botswana, slipping down our list due to overcrowding)
D – Delta (Botswana)
Despite being officially known as the Okavango Delta and made up of the Moremi Game Reserve and 18 different wildlife management areas, this area is just referred to as ‘the Delta’. And usually in a low-spoken, awe-filled voice. It is wild Africa, and home to millions of animals of all species and diverse landscapes across its spread, from riverine valleys to flooded islands. Any time spent on safari in the Delta is time well spent.
E – Etosha (Namibia)
Etosha National Park is a lazy safari dream. Why spend hours driving around the park when you can set up next to a waterhole and let the animals come to you? The park's main feature is a salt pan so large it can be seen from space, but despite these hostile conditions, here you can see elephants jostle for splashing rights at the waterholes whilst parched giraffes wait impatiently for their turn.
F – Faro (Cameroon)
Faro National Park is of vital importance to animal populations in the region. As humans encroach into wild areas across the continent (and across the world), Faro is a regional stronghold for critically endangered wildlife like the West African lion, the Derby eland and elephant species. It is also home to the largest hippo population in Central and Western Africa.
G – Galapagos (Ecuador)
Utterly unique, the Galapagos National Park is home to plants and animals found nowhere else in the world, including Galapagos tortoises, Galapagos iguanas and Galapagos penguins. You can tell by the names. An active volcanic area, each island is the summit of a suboceanic volcano, which means the islands are still growing. Known for pirates, Charles Darwin and unique species, the Galapagos is a remarkable part of the world.
Honorary mention: Gonarezhou (a pristine wilderness area in southern Zimbabwe, slowly rebuilding its name)
H – Hwange (Zimbabwe)
One of our favourite parks in Africa, Hwange is a real hidden gem. A few hours south of Victoria Falls, it goes unnoticed by most travellers who flock to Chobe across the border. Yet, sitting on the same sands and sharing the same large elephant herds, Hwange receives 1/10th of the visitors each year, meaning you can enjoy the same wildlife here without the crowds. Its unique landscape is a bit of a mix of East African plains and Southern African bush, meaning you get the best of both worlds.
I – Iguazu/Iguacu (Argentina/Brazil)
Iguazu/Iguacu National Parks (Argentina and Brazil respectively) are the home to Iguazu Falls, the massive waterfall made up of 275 separate cascades spanning the two countries. It is one of the world’s most visually spectacular places, and with around 80% of the falls being on the Argentinean side, it means some of the best views are from Brazil. When you visit, we recommend visiting both sides for different experiences.
Honorary mention: Isalo (Madagascar’s picturesque park with rocky outcrops and canyons)
J – Jaú National Park (Brazil)
One of the largest forest reserves in South America, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this park is deep in the Brazilian Amazon, about 200 km northwest of Manaus. Within its boundaries live jaguar, manatee, giant otter and a small cat called a margay. Even more interestingly, there are a group of people called the ‘okampha’ who have lived here for centuries and avoid all people, even other native inhabitants.
K – Kafue (Zambia)
Easily accessible but still largely untouched, Kafue is Zambia’s largest conservation area, about the size of Wales. It is unfenced and features a massive range of wildlife, including big cat predators, elephants and many species of antelope. What makes Kafue so special is that it’s still wild, with your stay there largely unbothered by crowds or other travellers.
Honorary mention: Kruger (the grand daddy national park in South Africa)
L – Los Glaciares (Argentina)
A stunningly beautiful park in southwest Argentina, near the Chilean border, Los Glaciares is best known for Mount Fitz Roy and the dramatic glaciers (as the name suggests). The most famous of all is the Perito Moreno Glacier, with its 75 m high face calving into Argentino Lake. Ironically, nearby Perito Moreno National Park doesn’t include the Perito Moreno Glacier and just shares the name of the early explorer.
Honorary mention: Liwonde (the African parks conservation success story in Malawi)
M – Makgadikgadi (Botswana)
Makgadikgadi might be hard to spell, but it is very easy to fall under its spell. These salt pans are amongst the largest in the world, and are the home of the zebra migration and the meerkats, amongst other rarities like aardvark and brown hyena. Away from the world and immersed in nature, this area is a unique opportunity to lose yourself in Africa’s rhythms and discover the beauty of the seemingly desolate.
Honorary mention: Mana Pools (the fantastic Zimbabwean safari location right on the Zambezi River)
N – Namib-Naukluft (Namibia)
Home to part of the Namib desert and extending as far as the coastline at Sandwich Harbour, Namib-Naukluft National Park is the fourth largest national park in the world, but today is best known as the home of the stunning Sossusvlei dunes. These dunes are the largest in the world (taller than the Eiffel Tower), and it is the colour palette of burnt orange dunes, bright blue skies and dark dead trees with stick with you forever.
Honorary mention: Ngorongoro (Tanzania’s famous crater park, which is actually a caldera, not a crater at all)
O – Odzala-Kokoua National Park (Republic of the Congo)
Situated in the second largest rainforest in the world, the Odzala-Kokoua is another African Park success story. Within its massive size there are key wildlife species like forest elephants, countless bird species and western lowland gorillas. The Republic of Congo suffers from confusion with its neighbour, the (anything but) Democratic Republic of Congo, which has kept this park a little off the radar. But, make no mistake, it is one of the most special places in Africa.
P – Pantanal Matogrossense (Brazil)
With the name Pantanal meaning ‘bog’ or ‘swamp’, it is an unattractive way to describe what is essentially a giant wetland. Indeed, the rainy season brings water that puts all but 20% of the floodplains underwater. This area however is home to a wealth of wildlife, from jaguar, caiman and ocelot to iguana, tapir and the famed anaconda.
Q – Queen Elizabeth (Uganda)
Queen Elizabeth National Park is the big savannah park of Uganda and is visited by almost as many people as Bwindi. Within the park boundaries are all the famed wildlife, from lions and hyenas to leopards and elephants. You can even see chimpanzees in this region at the neighbouring Kyambura.
R – Rapa Nui (Chile)
Rapa Nui is the Polynesian name for what others called Easter Island. Located in the southeastern Pacific Ocean and off the coast of Chile, Rapa Nui National Park is a newly created park (in 2017) that returns the revenue of the tourism trade to the island itself, instead of going to the mainland of Chile. The star attractions are the moai, giant stone statues that dot the island and that have captivated the imagination of the world for centuries.
Honorary mention: Ruaha (the giant southern park in Tanzania)
S – Sabi Sands (South Africa)
Perhaps one of the most famous safari regions in Africa, the Sabi Sands were arguably the showgrounds for the modern safari movement. It’s in this heavily protected and incredibly reliable safari area that the modern approach to tourism was born with the likes of Londolozi, MalaMala and Sabi Sabi. Luxury aside, you can’t go past this area for consistent sightings and fantastic safari experiences.
Honorary mentions: Samburu (the unsung north Kenyan park), South Luangwa (Zambia’s pride and joy) and South Georgia (the remote island, home to king penguins, seals and Shackleton)
T – Torres del Paine (Chile)
The Torres del Paine, or Towers of ‘Paine’ (’blue’ in Tehuelche), are the dominant feature of this national park in Chile’s Patagonia region. It is arguably the most popular park in Chile, with tourists coming from all over the world to hike or see the mountains, glaciers and stunning landscapes. Bordering Los Glaciares National Park in Argentina, they feature some of the most stunning landscapes seen anywhere on Earth.
Honorary mention: Tsavo (remote and wild, a throwback to Kenya’s past)
U – Udzungwa Mountains (Tanzania)
Situated in central south Tanzania, the Udzungwa Mountains National Park is extremely scenic. There are large mountains, rolling hills, valleys and waterfalls, each attracting a different set of species to call it home. It is also home to the largest waterfall in any of Tanzania’s national parks, the Sanje waterfall.
V – Volcanoes (Rwanda)
We couldn’t mention Bwindi without mentioning Volcanoes National Park, or Volcans, across the border in Rwanda. Home to the famed mountain gorilla, Volcanoes is also known for the golden monkey trekking and the famed history of Dian Fossey. You can visit the grave of Dian whilst at the Karisoke Research Centre. This area has recently become more upmarket in its offerings, but the amazing gorilla experience hasn’t changed at all.
W – Wadi Rum (Jordan)
It makes sense that movies about space are often filmed here, as this location is otherworldly. A series of dramatic sandstone mountains and natural arches line a desert wilderness, with prehistoric carvings and inscriptions to be found on the rock walls. Nowadays it is also a rock climbing and hiking attraction, with visitors drawn to it for its sense of open space and history.
Honorary mention: Weddell Sea (as wild as it gets, the back side of the Antarctic Peninsula)
X - ?
We’ve got nothing.
Y – Yangudi Rassa (Ethiopia)
Located in northern Ethiopia, this park is a natural area designed to protect Ethiopia’s animal species, including limited cheetah, leopard, the Somali wild ass and gerenuk. It is underfunded, and recent conflict has not helped the situation, but land set aside for animals is always a good start.
Z – Zambezi, Lower (Zambia)
A bit of a cheat here, but we needed a ‘Z’ and the ‘L’ category was pretty heavily populated. One of our favourite parks, the Lower Zambezi is a wonderful mix of water and land safaris. Spend your time on safari, relaxing in the sandbar of the river with a drink, or fishing for the famed Tiger fish. It’s remarkable to have such a wealth of activities on offer, from boat and canoe trips to traditional game drives, all with world-class wildlife and scenery.
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