The world’s greatest national parks

National parks come in all shapes, sizes, topographies and ecosystems. But they’re uniformly great. Why? Because they preserve the planet’s best wild bits, encompassing Mother Nature at her most show-off: spewing geysers, massive mountains, rocks in improbable shapes, wildlife in uncountable numbers.

National parks are the sorts of places that can turn kids from screen-addicts to outdoor explorers; that can turn all of us into advocates for the planet.

National parks are good for us too. It’s well documented that spending time in nature can reduce stress, anxiety and depression, not to mention the health benefits of the hiking, biking, paddling, swimming, running, rafting and more we might engage in while we’re there.

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The activity options are as diverse as the parks themselves. No matter if you prefer icy expanses, deserts, jungles, islands, highlands, human culture or utter emptiness, somewhere there’s a park for you. While we’ve extensively covered the UK’s top spots, and zoomed in on Europe, here are some more of the best that the world has to offer.

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Water worlds

Animal encounters

Family travel

Wild adventures

Superb landscapes

Water worlds

Best for cruising

Fiordland, New Zealand

Rudyard Kipling deemed Milford Sound the ‘eighth wonder of the world’

Rudyard Kipling visited majestic Milford Sound in the 1890s, deeming it ‘the eighth wonder of the world’. But attention-grabbing Milford – doable on a day-trip from Te Anau – is only one of 14 ice-carved inlets within Fiordland. This vast South Island park is also home to hundreds of lakes, endless rainforest and three official Great Walks: the Kepler, Milford and Routeburn tracks. However, as most of Fiordland’s sounds are only accessible from the sea, the best way to fully explore is by boat.

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Do it: Heritage Expeditions (+64 3 365 3500) offers a 10-day Ultimate Fiordland cruise from £3,825pp full board; excludes flights.

Best for off-beat beaches

Ko Tarutao, Thailand

The 51 isles of Tarutao are less developed and pristine than most of Thailand’s big hitters - Diegocardini

Many of Thailand’s beaches have been loved to near-death. But paradise can still be found within this marine national park. Though only 90 minutes by speedboat from the popular Malaysian isle of Langkawi, the 51 isles of Tarutao (which means, appropriately, ‘primitive’) are little-developed and pristine. The main islands are Tarutao and Ko Adang; paradisiacal Ko Lipe is a good base for dive trips. Other activities include jungle hikes, meeting the local Urak Lawoi and snorkelling on Thailand’s finest reefs.

Do it: Bamboo Travel (020 7720 9285) offers a 16-day Island Hopping Kuala Lumpur to Krabi trip, including Ko Lipe, from £3,570pp including B&B accommodation and flights.

Best for quirky inhabitants

Galápagos, Ecuador

Galápagos creatures are famed for lacking a fear of humans - David Horwell

There’s nowhere like this Pacific-stranded archipelago, both in terms of unique (and fearless) wildlife and scientific import – Darwin developed his evolutionary theory here. Landscapes are volcanic and dramatic, waters clear, the inhabitants quirky: sea-swimming iguanas, northerly penguins, giant tortoises, beak-jousting albatross. Land-based trips are possible, but cruising offers greater variety. Highlights include visiting Santa Cruz’s Charles Darwin Research Station, snorkelling with sea lions and turtles, and watching blue-footed boobies perform their comedy courtship dance.

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Do it: Select Latin America (0207 407 1478) offers a 17-day Full Galapagos trip, visiting all the islands, from £8,763pp full board; includes 14-night cruise; excludes international flights.

Best for cascading falls

Plitvice, Croatia

You’ll find more than 90 waterfalls and 16 interconnected lakes and karst canyons in Plitvice - Shutterstock

Water, water everywhere – that’s Plitvice. More than 90 waterfalls tinkle between the 16 interconnected lakes and karst canyons of this beautiful blue-green park in Croatia’s central Dinaric Alps. Explore via the network of trails, which range from 3km to 18km – medium-length Walk B leads through the limestone canyon of the Lower Lakes and includes an electric-boat ride across Lake Kozjak (where rowing boats can also be hired) plus either a scenic train ride back, or a walk along the canyon rim.

Do it: Regent (0117 453 3001) offers a seven-day Zagreb and Plitvice trip from £1,235pp including B&B accommodation and flights.

Animal encounters

Best for big creatures

Komodo, Indonesia

Komodo is the only place on the planet to see Komodo dragons

The rugged, volcanic isles of Komodo, Rinca and Padar sit at the heart of the Indonesian archipelago, at the juncture of tectonic plates and the meeting of ecosystems. The wildlife here is extraordinary – and huge. This is the only place on the planet to see Komodo dragons – armoured lizards that grow up to three metres long – and there are big critters offshore too, with dazzling coral reefs attracting turtles, whales, manta rays and whale sharks. As to be expected, the snorkelling is superb.

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Do it: Seatrek offers a nine-day Whale Sharks, Corals & Dragons cruise from £4,039pp full board; excludes flights.

Best for tigers

Corbett, India

Corbett has the highest concentration of tigers in India - Alamy

This gorgeous park, scenically tucked into Uttarakhand’s Himalayan foothills, has the highest concentration of tigers in India and was named for hunter-turned-conservationist Jim Corbett (whose house – now a museum – can be visited in Kaladhungi). This is where Project Tiger was launched; an initiative that helps protect the big cats countrywide. Game drives explore Corbett’s hills, sal forests, marshes, grasses and bamboo groves; other species that might be spotted include elephant, leopard, sloth bear and almost 600 species of birds.

Do it: Wild Frontiers (020 3918 4034) offers a Wild India & Nepal trip from £8,350pp, combining Corbett with Bardia and Chitwan, including full-board accommodation and flights.

Best for gorillas

Bwindi Impenetrable, Uganda

It costs about half the price to see gorillas in Uganda as it does in Rwanda - Shutterstock

Few places offer the chance to meet mountain gorillas. And Bwindi, home to half of the world’s population of the endangered apes, is a considerably less expensive option – trekking permits (allowing one hour with the gorillas) cost US$800 (£591) in Uganda versus US$1,500 (£1,108) in Rwanda. Bwindi also offers Gorilla Habituation Experiences (US$1,500), which include four hours with a group still being habituated. The park’s lush, Afromontane forest is home to plenty more, too: look for blue monkeys and 345 species of birds.

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Do it: Rainbow Tours (0203 773 7945) offers a 13-night Uganda trip from £7,260pp including accommodation, most meals, gorilla permits and flights.

Best for safaris

Kruger, South Africa

Kruger is the oldest national park in South Africa - Getty

Covering South Africa’s northeast corner, Kruger is the country’s oldest national park. It’s home to the Big Five and packed with game. Best, it caters to all budgets: save by self-driving and staying at rest-camps, or splurge on luxe lodges within private park concessions (Singita has two of the finest properties). It’s also abutted by the Greater Kruger, where night drives and bush walks are permitted, and where you can meet the Black Mambas, the first all-female anti-poaching unit.

Do it: Intrepid (0808 274 5111) offers an eight-day Kruger to Vic Falls small-group trip from £1,364pp including accommodation, most meals and Black Mambas experience, excluding flights.

Family travel

Best for school summer holidays

Wilpattu (and Minneriya), Sri Lanka

By train is the most cost-effective way to reach Wilpattu - Stubborn Mule

Welcoming and diverse, Sri Lanka is great for adventurous families. For that reason, two top parks deserve a mention, and both are conveniently best-visited during school summer holidays, when the monsoon is hitting elsewhere. Wilpattu, in the north-east, is the country’s largest park, and jeep drives amid its scrub forest and villu (shallow lakes) might reveal water buffalo, sambar, leopard and sloth bear. Meanwhile, the grasslands of Minneriya, in the island’s centre, host the greatest-known gathering of Asian elephants.

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Do it: Stubborn Mule (01728 752751) offers a 15-day Sri Lanka Summer Tour from £13,940 per family of four including B&B accommodation and flights.

Best for Alternative Alps

Pyrenees, France

There are an enviable array of hiking routes in the Pyrenees - Getty

The Pyrenees aren’t like other French mountains. This is la frontière sauvage (‘the wild frontier’), a jagged bastion of peaks, cirques and tarns on the Spanish border – less chocolate box and less crowded than the Alps. The national park covers a chunk of the range, south of Lourdes, that is home to the waterfall-splattered amphitheatre of the Cirque du Gavarnie, glittering Gaube Lake, 2,877m Pic du Midi (cable car accessible) and traditionally Pyrenean access valleys such as Cauterets and Azun. The hiking is fabulous, and there are plenty of other family activities, too.

Do it: Macs Adventure (0141 530 5452) offers an eight-day Walking in the Pyrenees trip from £965pp including B&B accommodation; excludes flights.

Wild adventures

Best for hiking

Torres del Paine, Chile

Hiking opportunities in Torres del Paine range from shorter treks to lookouts to the full O Circuit - KE Adventure Travel

Patagonia isn’t short on breathtaking wilderness, but Torres del Paine scoops top prize. This Unesco Biosphere is speared by granite peaks and blanketed in emerald forests, turquoise lagoons, glistening glaciers and wildlife-rich pampas where endangered huemul deer and puma might be spotted. Numerous activities are possible: mountain-biking, 4WD-ing, kayaking among icebergs on Lago Grey. The hiking is sublime, from shorter treks to lookouts (such as Mirador Cuernos) to the full O Circuit, which loops the Paine massif – one of the world’s best treks.

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Do it: KE Adventure (017687 73966) offers a 12-day Classic Paine Circuit small-group trek from £7,395pp including accommodation, meals and flights.

Best for rainforest

Manu, Peru

More than 1,000 species of birds call Manu home - Shutterstock

Ranging from high Andes to lowland Amazonian rainforest, Manu contains a marvellous mix of South American ecosystems. It’s remote and relatively hard to reach, which means it’s pristine and full of creatures: jaguar, ocelot, giant river otter, spectacled bear, 1,000-plus species of birds. You might see hummingbirds in the cloudforest, macaws flocking at clay-licks and Andean cock-of-the-rocks performing mating displays. The best way to explore is via the ‘Manu Road’, hopping between lodges in different altitudinal zones to see the full spectrum of life.

Do it: Naturetrek (01962 733051) offers an 18-day Manu small-group trip from £7,995pp including full-board accommodation and flights.

Best for bragging rights

Corcovado, Costa Rica

Spot monkeys, anteaters, sloths and scarlet macaws during hikes through Corcovado - Pura Aventura

Nosing into the Pacific Ocean, the Osa Peninsula takes up around 0.001 per cent of the planet’s surface but packs in 2.5 per cent of its biodiversity. And this is where you’ll find Corcovado. It’s harder to access than the country’s other national parks; visitor numbers are capped and guides are mandatory. But the reward is a crowd-free Eden. Hikes might reveal monkeys, anteaters, sloths and scarlet macaws. A night at La Sirena Ranger Station (the only accommodation within the park) is the ultimate immersion.

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Do it: Pura Aventura (01273 676712) offers a 13-night Costa Rica Hidden Highlights self-drive from £3,160pp including B&B accommodation; excludes flights.

Best for walking safaris

South Luangwa, Zambia

Walking safaris were pioneered in South Luangwa

Zambia offers a lower-key safari experience than many better-known spots, and is richer for it. Especially South Luangwa, a sweeping expanse of riverside plains in the country’s east. It was here that conservationist Norman Carr pioneered walking safaris (you can still stay at Carr’s camps, such as Mchenja). Bush walks are the most thrilling way to encounter South Luangwa’s residents – which includes wild dogs and one of the world’s highest densities of leopards – in the company of some of Africa’s best guides.

Do it: Yellow Zebra (020 3993 3564) offers a nine-day Founders of Zambia’s Walking Safaris trip from £8,273pp including full-board accommodation; excludes flights.

Superb landscapes

Best for dark skies

Jasper, Canada

Jasper is the world’s second-largest Dark Sky Preserve - Parks Canada

In 2024, wildfires burned 96,000 acres of Canada’s biggest national park. But don’t let that put you off: already, nature is rebounding, and the community spirit is inspirational. Plus, some of the Rockies’ most dramatic mountain views are here, as well as glorious glacial lakes (like Maligne), crashing waterfalls and one of the world’s finest drives: the Icefields Parkway, linking Jasper to Banff via a magnificence of peaks. Jasper is also the world’s second-largest Dark Sky Preserve – its glittering skies are celebrated at a festival every October.

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Do it: Trailfinders (0207 084 6500) offers a 14-day Rocky Mountain Wanderer self-drive from £3,699pp including room-only accommodation and flights.

Best for a road trip

Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef, Utah, USA

Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands and Capitol Reef make up Utah’s ‘Mighty 5’ - Matt Morgan

Yes, this is a bit cheat-y, but it’s hard to separate the ‘Mighty 5’ that, together, make southern Utah a national park paradise. The best thing is to road-trip between them. Wander through Canyonlands – its beautiful buttes have featured in many a movie; hike trails to some of Arches’ 2,000 namesake red-rock curves; explore the lesser-known geological wrinkles and ancient petroglyphs of Capitol Reef; star-gaze amid the curious hoodoos in Bryce; and squeeze into Zion’s slender slot canyons.

Do it: Bon Voyage (02380 248248) offers an 11-night Spectacular Utah Deluxe self-drive from £3,495pp including room-only accommodation and flights.

Best for dreamy desert

Namib-Naukluft, Namibia

Namib-Naukluft encompasses one of the oldest deserts on earth and the rocky, ravine-sliced Naukluft Mountains - Getty

There are big national parks, then there’s the enormous Namib-Naukluft, encompassing one of the oldest deserts on earth as well as the rocky, ravine-sliced Naukluft Mountains (great for hikes and horse-rides). Most iconic are the curvaceous apricot dunes of the Sesriem area, the striking-white salt-and-clays pans of Sossusvlei and Deadvlei. Self-drive is also possible with good roads. Seeing the rippling sands from the sky – via small plane or hot-air balloon – is unforgettable.

Do it: Expert Africa (0203 405 6666) offers a 14-day Caracal Self-drive, with four nights in the park, from £2,490pp including accommodation and most meals, excluding flights.

Best for originality

Yellowstone, USA

Yellowstone was the world’s first national park - Ryan Dorgan

Designated in 1872, Yellowstone was the world’s first national park, and has lost none of its lustre. It has 10,000 hydrothermal features, including around half the world’s active geysers, plus other geological wonders like the 3,115m Mt Washburn and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River. Top wildlife areas include the Lamar Valley (the ‘Serengeti of North America’, where grey wolves have been reintroduced) and Hayden Valley, home to huge bison herds. Sample the 90-plus hiking trails, go horse-riding or lake canoeing, and enjoy hot-spring soaks.

Do it: Journeyscape (0203 733 4413) offers an eight-day Yellowstone Wildlife Adventure from £10,500pp including B&B accommodation; excludes flights.

Best for ancient culture

Kakadu, Australia

Jim Jim Falls is one of Kakadu’s most powerful waterfalls - Shaana McNaught

Sprawling across the top of the Northern Territory, Kakadu is vast – almost half the size of Switzerland. It’s also ancient, both in terms of its striking rock formations (some of the oldest on Earth) and its human history – Indigenous people have lived here for 65,000 years. Guided walks to rock art galleries such as Ubirr and Burrungkuy are highlights, as are billabong cruises (look for crocs and jabiru storks) and hikes to waterfalls such as the 200m-high Jim Jim and gorge-spilled Maguk.

Do it: World Expeditions (0800 0744 135) offers a six-day Kakadu Explorer small-group trip from £1,895pp including camping and meals, excluding flights.

Best for sheer size

Northeast Greenland, Greenland

Northeast Greenland is the world’s biggest national park - Ragnar TH Sigurdsson

Northeast Greenland is hard to comprehend. The world’s biggest national park (it’s almost the size of Spain and France combined), there are no settlements or infrastructure, and most of it is permanently covered by ice. But what a wilderness – unspoilt, pristine. Expedition cruises tend to nibble at its southern edges, drifting through Kong Oscar Fjord, with possible landings on craggy Ella Island and flower-rich Botanikerbugt bay. Sightings might include icebergs, muskoxen and, season dependent, midnight sun or northern lights.

Do it: Discover the World (01737 428376) offers nine to 13-night East Greenland voyages from £5,773pp including full-board cruise from Reykjavik; excludes flights.

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