10 must-see national parks around the world

The world is full of many natural wonders. In the United States, national parks draw in millions of visitors all year round. While places like Yellowstone boast famous geysers such as Old Faithful and the vibrant colors of Grand Prismatic Spring, that is just a fraction of what the rest of the world has to offer.

Here are a few of the most beautiful — and most visited — national parks around the globe.

Located in California, Yosemite National Park has over 750 miles of trails for travelers to explore. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the 1980s and is recognized for giant sequoia, glaciers and granite cliffs.

The park is home to famous spots like Tunnel View and Valley View and famous landmarks like Half Dome and El Capitan.

The Galapagos National Park is made up of volcanic islands hundreds of miles off the coast of Ecuador. The park encompasses an area of 3,040 square miles and is the country’s first national park. The government of Ecuador declared 97% of the Galapagos Islands area as protected and it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Galapagos Islands are home to world-renowned wildlife like marine iguanas, giant tortoises, and marine iguanas, according to the Global Alliance of National Parks.

Banff National Park was established as Canada’s first national park in 1855. The park originated as a hot springs reserve and is now comprised of thousands of acres in the Canadian Rockies. The Canadian national park is home to three world-class ski resorts, over 2,000 campsites, over 1,000 glaciers and thousands of miles of hiking trails.

The Yellowstone National Park is located in the northwest of the U.S. and extends across the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. It was designated a national park in 1872, is made up of 2.2 million acres and attracts more than 4 million visitors every year, according to U.S. News and World Report.

The park is renowned for its diverse wildlife and several geothermal features, including the popular Old Faithful geyser. It is also home to Yellowstone Lake, one of the largest high-elevation lakes in North America and covers part of the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent.

Aside from the popular Yellowstone Lake and Old Faithful, the national park is also home to the Mammoth Hot Springs, the West Thumb Geyser Basin, and the Lewis River Channel.

The Serengeti National Park is located in Tanzania and is the world-renowned home of The Great Migration, a once-a-year event where about two million blue wildebeest and hundreds of thousands of zebras and gazelles cross the park.

The park spans across 5,700 square miles in East Africa, giving visitors the chance to see animals like the Big Five: leopards, elephants, lions, rhinoceroses and buffalo. It is home to the largest lion population in Africa.

Located in the Surat Thani province of southern Thailand, Khao Sok National Park is part of one of the world’s oldest and largest evergreen rainforests. The park is home to over 200 types of plants, hundreds of bird species and lots of reptiles and insects.

It was established in 1980 and is just a few hours north of the popular destination of Phuket. Khao Sok is also bordered by three other national parks:  Kaeng Krueng, Sri Phang Nga and Khlong Phanom.

The Torres del Paine National Park is located on the edge of the Chilean Patagonia. It is one of the most visited parks in Chile and the best time to visit is between the months of November and March. The park is made up of more than 445,000 acres

The park is home to the Grey Glacier and popular hiking trails like the W Trek and O Circuit, which both take several days to finish. The park is named after the three granite peaks of the Paine mountain range and is one of the 11 protected areas of the Magallanes Region and Chilean Antarctica.

The Plitvice Lakes National Park is one of the oldest and largest national parks in Croatia. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 and is primarily covered in forest vegetation. The park is known mainly for its extensive lake system, comprising 16 named lakes and several smaller, unnamed lakes.

The park is open to visitors all year round and offers seven different routes to tour the lake system and four hiking trails.

The Kruger National Park is one of the most iconic parks in South Africa, spanning approximately 5 million acres. It offers access to animals such as the Big Five as well as Nile crocodiles, hippos, and rare birds.

The park offers visitors the opportunity to explore it in their own cars, stay at public rest camps, or in private lodges. The Kruger National Park also works to preserve historic things like the archaeological sites Masorini and Thulamela and Bushman rock paintings.

The Guilin and Lijiang River National Park is located in the northeastern region of Guangxi Zhuang, China. It also features the Li River, which flows for over 100 miles. The scenery along the river between the cities of Yangshuo and Guilin City even serves as the artwork for the Chinese 20 yuan note, according to the Global Alliance of National Parks.

One of the most iconic features of the park is the Nine Horses Fresco Hill, which are the natural rock formations that resemble horses. The park is also home to the Reed Flute Cave, a cave filled with several different stalactites and stalagmites.

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