Beautiful National Parks In The World

Banff National Park, Canada

The birthplace of Canada’s national park system, Banff was established in 1885 in the Canadian Rockies, within the western province of Alberta. It is Canada’s eldest National park in which you can get there with 110 – 180 Km west of Calgary in the province of Alberta.Lonely Planet sums its scenic wonders up best, “Mountains, big mountains, are all over the place. Fast-flowing rivers chart their own course through the hills. Enormous glaciers flow down the peaks and nearly touch the road. Lakes are the color of turquoise, so blue that you have to wonder if there is something unnatural behind their hue.

Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Considered by many to be South America’s most spectacular national park, Torres del Paine is in Patagonia, Chile, at the very tip of the continent. Famous for its granite peaks, it is also home to what Lonely Planet calls “emerald forests,” “radiant blue glaciers” “azure lakes,” and “jaw-dropping lookouts." Hiking and trekking are among favorite activities here.

Torres del Paine National Park is part of the Sistema Nacional de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas del Estado de Chile (National System of Protected Forested Areas of Chile). In 2006, it measured approximately 242,242 hectares. It is one of the largest and most visited parks in Chile. The park averages around 150,000 visitors a year, of which 60% are foreign tourists, who come from all over the world.

Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Tanzania’s oldest and most popular national park and a World Heritage site, the Serengeti is best known for the annual migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, zebra and Thomson’s gazelle. Spectacular game-viewing—of buffalo, elephant, giraffe, topi, impala, Grant’s gazelle, lion and leopard—is also possible here. Luxury travel specialist Jack Ezon recommends the “amazing acadia trees” at Serengeti, where visitors are treated with some of the most mesmerizing sunsets in the world.

Guilin and Lijiang River National Park, China

Located in southeastern China, this park is renowned for its karsts, limestone cones, cylinders and hills with colorful names like “Elephant Trunk,” “Dragon Head” and “Five Fingers”; these have inspired countless Chinese poets and artists and even been depicted on the country’s paper currency. The best way to drink in this breathtaking scenery is to take a 30-mile boat trip along the Lijiang River, from Guilin to Yangshuo.

Grand Canyon National Park, United States

Probably the world’s most famous national park, if not the most photographed, Arizona’s Grand Canyon did not achieve national park status until 1919, three years after the National Park Service was created. Some five million people visit it annually, to see its glorious canyon one-mile deep and ten miles across, carved by the Colorado River over millions of years. Visitors can take in both the South Rim, which offers the park’s renowned panoramic views, and the North Rim, which is 1,000 feet higher and features wildflower meadows, aspen and spruce.

Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Japan

Southwest of Tokyo, this national park is one of Japan’s most popular. A dormant volcano more than 12,000 feet high, Mt. Fuji is, according to Fodor’s, “utterly captivating in the ways it can change in different light and from different perspectives. Its symmetry and majesty have been immortalized by poets and artists for centuries.” It is also often shrouded in clouds in spring and summer.

Lake District National Park, England

Located in a region that inspired artists and writers like J.M.W. Turner, William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter, Lake District National Park, founded in 1951, has plunging valleys, granite boulders and 16 pretty lakes. The birthplace of British mountaineering, it is also heaven for bikers of all sorts, and for water sports enthusiasts, who can row, sail, windsurf, kayak and fish.

Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

Located on New Zealand’s South Island, Fiordland is the country’s largest national park, encompassing rugged mountain ranges, 14 gorgeous fiords and a world-renowned collection of waterfalls. Two of its most famous sights are Milford Sound--whose abruptly carved peaks, particularly Mitre Peak, are iconic--and Doubtful Sound, whose rounded hills are more subdued. Activities here include bird watching, hunting, jet boating, kayaking, diving and mountain biking and hiking.