a kangaroo running in Uluru National Park, Austrailia
sunrise above Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile
Grand Prismatic Spring from above in Yellowstone National Park
a hiker along a glacial pool in Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska
people walking along the Perito Moreno Glacier in Los Glaciares National Park, Argentina
hot air balloons over Goreme National Park, Turkey
giraffes, springbox, oryx and other animals in Etosha National Park, Nambia
two pagoda, Doi Inthanon National Park, Thailand
the coastline of Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy
a footbridge along the lower part of Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
the Cuiping Village along the Guiling River, China
a lioness along a tree branch in Kruger National Park, South Africa
elephants stampeding across Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
gray langurs playing in water in Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh State, India
Stirling Falls at the Milford Sound in New Zealand's Fiordland National Park
a hammock outside of Moraine Lake, Banff National Park, Canada
the mountains along Swiss National Park, Switzerland
hikers walking through the Virgin River Narrows along Zion National Park, Utah
the mountains along Haleakala National Park, Haleakala Crater; Maui, Hawaii
sunset over Iguaźu Falls national park in Brazil
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Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, AustraliaJointly managed by the indigenous Anangu and Australia’s park service in the Northern Territory, Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is famed for the red-rock Uluru monolith that towers over the land. Sacred ground for the Anangu people, the formation, also called Ayer’s Rock, has long been a point of controversy between the tribe and visitors seeking to scale the dangerous rock. A long-awaited ban on climbing Uluru is set to take effect in October 2019, but you can still hike around the domes of Kata Tjuta and visit ancient rock art sites around the park.
Photograph by Grant Faint, Getty Images

See the most breathtaking national parks around the world

From ancient rock formations in Australia to towering glaciers in Patagonia, here are 20 of our favorite national parks.

ByErica Jackson Curran
August 01, 2019
2 min read

The United States may lay claim to the world’s first national park, but it’s far from the only country whose most prized lands are officially protected by the government.

After the establishment of Yellowstone in 1872, the national park concept took hold across America and beyond. Canada founded its first national parks in the 1880s; the idea eventually spread across the Atlantic to Great Britain after World War I, then later to its colonies. Japan and Mexico embraced the concept in the 1930s and dozens of other countries followed suit over the course of the 20th century.

New national parks are being designated around the world today, with every acre of protected land representing a small step forward for conservationists. In 2019, Indiana Dunes National Park became America’s 61st, while millions of acres across Peru, China, and Finland have achieved national park status in recent years.

From ancient rock formations in Australia to towering glaciers in Patagonia, national parks around the globe offer visitors the chance to experience wild landscapes and help protect biodiversity. Here are 20 of our favorites.

Erica Jackson Curran is a freelance writer based in Richmond, Virginia, and the founder of Parennial Travel, a travel site for millennial parents.

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