Embark on a Lovely Journey to the Top 10 Parks in the World

Updated On: April 20, 2024 by   Fatma Mohamed

Exploring a new park is a happy day for nature and landscape lovers. Visiting a park or garden in a foreign country can be more exciting than spending a whole day exploring other famed landmarks. You can definitely plan your trip around these attractions, but dedicating a full day to wandering around a city or a national park can be just what you need most amidst all the hustle and bustle of the city. 

Parks can give you several options for spending a family day par excellence. If you are still looking for the best parks to visit while on your vacation abroad, let us save you the trouble and narrow your choices through our list of the top 10 parks in the world!

Pollution and Green Spaces

Many countries worldwide have decided to cultivate and develop their green spaces to face global warming and remote pollution caused by terrible industrial development and the high proportion of carbon dioxide. Therefore, there is a worldwide trend to reduce harmful gas emissions and increase the percentage of green spaces.

Green Spaces and Mental Health 

There are some pieces of evidence that support the positive effects of nature on humans’ mental health. Some studies have shown that green spaces can reduce levels of stress and the percentage of depression and anxiety. They can also lower cortisol levels and enhance general welfare. 

A simple walk in nature can boost mood and improve cognitive function and memory. Moreover, green spaces can protect against the negative health effects of stressful life events. For example, a Dutch study showed that residents living within a 3km radius of green spaces dealt better with stressful life events, which was soon to be more and more significant in recent years with the effects of COVID-19.

Top 10 Parks in the World

We will present to you our list of the top, loveliest parks worldwide so you can decide on which to visit during your vacation.

1. Fiordland, New Zealand

Fiordland is an amazing park which is located in New Zealand. It has a dramatic beauty that never fails to impress. The great park has 14 glacier-carved fjords. The most famous of the group is Milford Sound.

Towering peaks and tumbling waterfalls surrounded it. Rudyard Kipling once mentioned it as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’.

Then there’s Doubtful Sound, which is the deepest of all of New Zealand’s fjords. You can visit it only by boat. It is home to dolphins, fur seals and penguins. Moss-covered valleys and alpine forests cover the non-watery part of the place.

2. Torres Del Paine, Chile 

Nothing can look like the first glimpse of Torres del Paine in Chile. Torres del Paine Park is a national park that includes mountains, glaciers, lakes, and rivers in southern Chilean Patagonia. It lies between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonian Steppes. It was established in 1959.

It is a breathtaking place in South America that can amaze you. Torres del Paine welcomes many tourists annually, not only local visitors but also people from many countries worldwide. The Torres del Paine are the distinguishing three granite peaks of the Paine mountain range or Paine Massif. Although breathtaking at all hours of the day, they’re imposing at sunrise, when they take on a vibrant orange glow. The area also boasts valleys, rivers like the Paine, lakes, and glaciers. The well-known lakes include Grey, Pehoé, etc. 

3. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Serengeti National Park is a big national park located in Tanzania that extends over 14,763 km2. The park was established in 1940. It is Tanzania’s oldest and most famous national park. The exciting park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It is well known for the significant annual animal migration in the world. The migration numbers reach over 1.5 million blue wildebeest and almost 250,000 zebras. The national park also hosts the largest lion population in Africa. However, it is under threat from deforestation, population growth and ranching.

4. Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Komodo National Park, located in Indonesia, is on the top list of national parks in the world. The attraction is the only place to watch a Komodo dragon, Earth’s most significant and heaviest living lizard. It spreads across three major volcanic islands: Rinca, Komodo and Padar, and several smaller ones. The park is also one of the leading attractions in Indonesia.

The attraction was established in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon; later, it was devoted to other species. There are plenty more as you walk through the green-clad hillsides. The turquoise sea is inhabited by tonnes of thrilling marine creatures, like dolphins, sea turtles and whales. The beaches are pretty unique, too. As well as white-sand bays, there are others with black sand and even one with glamorous pink sand. 

The amazing place is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. To further show you how cool this national park is, Komodo National Park has been selected as a wonder of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

5. Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

Thingvellir National Park is a breathtaking national park located in Iceland and was established in 1930. It’s the closest national park to the capital city. The beautiful park is a part of the three crucial attractions on the Golden Circle route. 

Boasting a strikingly stark kind of beauty, it complains in dried magma fields, Icelandic moss, craggy peaks and glacial springs. 

The country’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site is also considered a place of great cultural and historical significance. Additionally, Thingvellir is a popular spot for viewing the elusive Northern Lights. It is the most amazing view you will not find an equal for in all parts of the world.

6. Kakadu National Park, Australia

Kakadu is a living cultural landscape in Australia. The fantastic park is one of the largest national parks in Australia. It covers almost 20,000 km2. That’s roughly half the size of Switzerland! The park is dual World Heritage-listed for its charming natural and cultural values. It hosted the Aboriginal people for over 50,000 years, to be from the oldest living culture on the earth!

The amazing park contains 2,000 types of plants. The park also includes saltwater crocodiles, sea turtles, bandicoots, and one-third of all Australian bird species. It is also an excellent place for a hike, boat cruise or scenic flight.

7. Yellowstone National Park, USA

Yellowstone National Park is located in the western United States, established in 1872. The awesome park is known for its wildlife and many geothermal features. But, remarkably, the Old Faithful geyser is one of its most popular. Yellowstone National Park extends on an area of 8,983 km2, including lakes, canyons, rivers, and mountain ranges.

Yellowstone Lake is one of the most substantial high lakes in North America. It is centred over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the mainland. The caldera is a dormant volcano. Around more than half of the world’s geysers and hydrothermal features exist in Yellowstone. This ongoing volcanism fuels it. In 1978, Yellowstone was selected on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list.

The park’s jam-packed with incredible wildlife. Whether on a hike or boat trip, chances are you’ll spot grizzly bears, bison, moose and elk. The vast forests also contain unique species of plants. It has several entertaining opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, etc. You can easily pass to the significant geothermal areas besides some of the lakes and enjoy watching the waterfalls. The park is an incredible destination during the winter.

8. Canaima National Park, Venezuala

Canaima National Park was established in 1962. It comes in the sixth place of the biggest National Parks in the world. It stretches over 30.000 km2 in south-eastern Venezuela along the border between Guyana and Brazil.

Almost 65% of the park is occupied by plateaus of rock called tepuis. It constitutes a unique biological environment and is also of great geological importance. Their sheer cliffs and waterfalls create spectacular landscapes. The charming place includes Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall at 979 metres.

The most popular tepuis in the park is Mount Roraima, the tallest and most accessible to climb. The tepuis are sandstone and go back to when South America and Africa were part of a supercontinent. Canaima has varied wildlife distributed through the park depending on multiple environmental factors such as altitude and vegetation type. In addition, more than 300 kinds of endemics can be found only in La Gran Sabana.

9. Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

This amazing forest reserve in the middle of Croatia is famed for its crystalline terraced lakes. The park is one of Croatia’s most ancient and significant national parks, as it was founded in 1949. The protected area covers over 296.85 km2.

 In 1979, the unique park was selected on UNESCO’s World Heritage list due to its remarkable and picturesque series of tufa lakes and caves connected by waterfalls.

There are 16 lakes linked by a series of waterfalls—some thundering and powerful, others a mere trickle. Densely forested hills hem it in and host herons, butterflies and various types of fish, and it is Croatia’s most famous natural attraction.

Unfortunately, swimming in the lakes isn’t allowed, but pathways snake around the edges, and many wooden footbridges are suspended above the water. Exploring the whole place on foot takes at least six hours, but you can shorten the time by hopping on one of the park’s boats or shuttle buses. There is no wonder it records more than 1 million visitors annually.

10. Kruger National Park, South Africa

Kruger National Park is an amazing national park located in South Africa and one of the largest national parks there. It covers an area of 19,623 km2. It became South Africa’s first national park in 1926.

The park deserves to be one of the best national parks in the world for the entertainment of seeing the wildlife. Residents include the infamous ‘Big Five’— lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo. In addition, a supportive group of 137 other mammal types and more than 500 different kinds of birds.

If you love to explore new adventures, you can join a guided game drive. But, if you’d instead go alone, the massive network of roads in the bush makes a self-drive safari extremely easy. So, you have another great choice instead of playing and can try a safari trip.

We have reached the stop station of our journey. We tried to be brief and focus on the most valuable things. So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up, visit one of them at least and tell us about your vacation!