Category Geography

Killarney National Park is the first and oldest national park of Ireland. It is of national and inter-national importance as the Park contains native oakwoods and yew woods. It is home to rich evergreen forests full of bryophytes and lichens. The only red deer herd on mainland Ireland resides in Killarney National Park.

The Park is of high ecological value because of the quality and diversity of many of its habitats, and the wide variety of species that they accommodate.

Killarney National Park has a diverse geology as well. The park has sandstone and limestone formations. A number of lakes add to the beauty of the Park. Lough Leane is the largest of the Killarney lakes and contains over 30 islands!

McGillycuddy Reeks Mountain Range in the Park includes Ireland’s highest Mountain, Carrauntoohill.

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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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