Category World Famous National Parks

Durmitor National Park is noted for its biodiversity. Within its abundant forests, high peaks and deep gorges, the Park shelters over 1500 kinds of flora and 130 kinds of birds. 314 species of protected animals can be found within the park. It is here that we find the greatest variety of butterflies in Europe.

The park is classified into seven zones-uncut forest of fir, black pine at Crna poda, canyon of Susica, region of Lake Barno, region of Lake Zaboljsko, Canyon of Tara and Milling stream. There are 17 glacier lakes in the park. Durmitor National Park is the largest protected area in Montenegro, and it was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1980.

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Can there be active volcanoes under sheets of ice? Think of hot lava oozing out through sheets of glacial ice. Sounds almost impossible, right? But, indeed there is a place on earth where active volcanoes hide under glacial ice- in the Vatnajokull National park. It is certainly a geological wonder. Vatnajokull National park is famous for its varied landscape- rivers, glacial ice, mountains, valleys, plateaus and volcanoes.

In fact, Vatnajokull is Europe’s largest glacier outside the arctic. It is also a place with strong geothermal activity; two of the world’s greatest fissure and lava eruptions of historical times occurred here. The glacier here is at least 400-600 metres thick.

One of Iceland’s national parks, Vatnajokull includes the national parks in Skaftafell.

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Sixteen beautiful lakes between limestone formations, scores of waterfalls, turquoise water…one could find all of this in Plitvice Lakes National Park.

Wherever you look, you will be smitten by breath-taking views. This natural beauty is included in the list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. This karstic region has specific hydro-geological properties; the dolomite rocks have the capacity to retain water. As a result, the canyons in the limestone deposits have been cut naturally to form lakes. There are twelve Upper Lakes, four Lower Lakes and several unnamed lakes. The Upper lakes are more dominant in terms of size and volume.

The mineral composition of Plitvice creates an array of stunning colours in the lakes, form teal to green, grey and blue. The water here has the power to calcify everything it touches. Therefore, one will not spot algae or mud here. Plitvice Lakes enjoy a moderate mountainous climate and the area is rich in biodiversity.

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The Bastei Bridge, a wooden bridge that links several rocks of the Bastei rock formation was built in 1824. Since then, it is a major tourist attraction and is the most famous landmark of the Saxon Switzerland National Park.

Bastei is a steep rock formation that towers upto a height of 194 metres above the Elbe River. This rock canyon was formed around one million years ago entirely due to the constant erosion by wind and water.

Saxon Switzerland National Park borders Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the Czech Republic. The Park has an intensely fissured rocky landscape and therefore, has a stark vertical division in topography. This is the reason for several different habitats and microclimate zones in the Park. The Park has steep mountains, ravines, and extensive forests. It also hosts some forms of forest without human intervention, something which is unusual in Europe.

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Goreme National Park is a rare site where nature meets history. It is a rocky, eroded volcanic region. The place is full of plateaus and valleys dissected by gushing rivers and streams.

Millions of years ago, the volcanic ash had solidified to form tuffs, big and small. These tuffs have undergone erosion for millions of years more to from multi-coloured cliffs, rock towers, pillars, tent rocks and fairy chimney rock formations. The ‘fairy chimneys’ are often highlighted as a unique feature formed by the wind and water.

In the Byzantine era, there were interconnected underground settlements here. This can be found in an area called Cappadocia.

Some of the earliest monasteries here date back to the fourth century, founded by monks who came here following the teachings of Basileios the Great. They began carving out cells from the rock. They later linked these cells and created underground communities, wit chapels, store rooms and living quarters in order to resist the attack of bandits.

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Tongariro National Park is famous not only for being the oldest national park in New Zealand. It is also famous for being a dual World Heritage area.

Tongariro National park is centred around three active volcanoes – Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. A variety of flora and fauna thrive in this acidic environment. Along with volcanic vents, one could also see several glaciers in the park. The plant and animal life in the park include the endangered whio or blue duck, North Island brown kiwi, tomtit, robin, tui, grey warbler, native falcon, golden and red tussocks, white foxgloves, podocarp trees, mountain cedars and sundews. Because of these outstanding natural characteristics, Tongariro National Park was declared a World Heritage site in 1990.

Three years later, the Park was also granted Cultural World Heriatge status under the revised criteria in recognition of its cultural significance and history. The Park is also famous for Maori cultural and spiritual associations.

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