It's not just in America that national parks are worth a visit! To prove it to you, we have decided to stay in Europe in order to make you discover the most beautiful national parks of the old continent! Lovers of nature, the great outdoors and hiking, these European national parks deserve your full attention ...
5: The Dolomites National Park, in Italy
It is in the heart of the Dolomites massif, in the far north of Italy, that the Dolomites National Park is located . To the west, the red fir forests offer great possibilities for hiking in nature. The rest of the park is divided between high-altitude lakes, mountains and the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo, three imposing peaks recognizable by their very particular shape. The Dolomites are also the ideal place to observe Italian fauna: the golden eagle, but also the deer, the mountain pheasant or the chamois. In winter, part of the park becomes accessible to skiers!
4: Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Plitvice Lakes are easily accessible from Zagreb and Split . This national park consists of 16 lakes with turquoise waters, linked together by gradual falls. Many hiking trails allow you to follow the lakes to the summit, while cooling off on the way. The park, still wild despite the growing influx of tourists, is the privileged habitat of some 50 species of mammals, 150 species of birds and more than 1,200 species of plants. In particular, you will have the opportunity to meet otters, hinds and, more rarely, lynxes, wolves and brown bears.
3: Snowdonia National Park, Wales
On the west coast of Wales, Snowdonia National Park is made up of mountains (including Mount Snowdon, the country's highest peak at 1,085 meters above sea level), lakes, peat bogs, forests, waterfalls. water, glacial valleys and deserted beaches. It is one of the most varied national parks on the whole continent, and a true paradise for hiking travelers who want to leave the beaten track. Because despite the beauty and variety of its landscapes, the park remains largely unknown to foreign travelers.
2: Goreme National Park, Turkey
The most exotic of European national parks is in Turkey, in the Cappadocia region. Classified by Unesco for more than 30 years, Göreme National Park , located in Central Anatolia, takes you to meet the lunar landscapes of the valley with its stone chimneys, its troglodyte villages and its rock sanctuaries. Few of the national parks combine cultural attractions with natural attractions so well. Over the centuries, the inhabitants of the region dug monasteries, houses and churches out of the rock, as well as 3,000 chapels built between the 5th and 12th centuries.
1: Vatnajokull National Park, Iceland
If you are planning to travel to Iceland in the near future, be sure to stop off at Vatnajökull National Park, the largest national park in Europe . It is home to a huge glacier covering several active volcanoes, some of which tops exceed 2,000 meters in altitude. The astonishing and chaotic morphology of the park, with its plains, rivers, volcanoes and lakes, is explained by the intense volcanic activity of the region. People come here to hike, to climb on glaciers or to bathe in magnificent hot springs, in the heart of polar and icy landscapes
