Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians in Slovakia Updated: May 19, 2020 | By Claire | More Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians (or in Slovak Chránená krajinná oblasť Východné Karpaty) is bordering the north-western part of the original territory of the national park Poloniny. The area is built of flysch formations, mainly […]
Thayatal National Park is one of Austria’s most beautiful but least-known protected areas — a dramatic 13-kilometre-long valley on the Czech border where the Thaya River has carved a deep, meandering canyon through ancient metamorphic rock, creating a richly forested landscape that is home to wildcats, black storks, and over 40 species of orchid. Together […]
Hoge Veluwe National Park is the Netherlands’ largest and most diverse protected area — a stunning 5,400-hectare mosaic of heathland, shifting sand dunes, and ancient woodland in the province of Gelderland that contains one of the world’s great art collections inside the park: the Kröller-Müller Museum, home to the second-largest collection of Van Gogh paintings […]
Categories: Nature, Netherlands
Danube-Auen National Park is one of Europe’s last remaining large-scale floodplain ecosystems — a 9,300-hectare protected natural paradise of meandering river channels, old-growth riparian forest, and vast water meadows stretching along the Danube between Vienna and Bratislava. One of Austria’s six national parks and part of the transboundary Ramsar wetland complex shared with Slovakia, the […]
Nockberge National Park is one of Austria’s most distinctive protected areas — a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the state of Carinthia whose gently rounded, grass-covered mountains (the “Nocke”) create a landscape unlike anywhere else in the Alps: vast rolling alpine pastures dotted with traditional wooden huts, rare wildflowers, and spectacular panoramic roads that have earned […]
Poloniny National Park is Slovakia’s most remote and wild protected area — a UNESCO-listed wilderness of primeval beech forests, high mountain meadows (poloniny), and traditional wooden churches in the far northeast of the country, where the borders of Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine meet. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site as part of the “Ancient and […]
Krkonoše National Park (Karkonosze in Polish) is the oldest national park in the Czech Republic and one of Central Europe’s most beloved mountain destinations — a dramatic granite and schist range on the Czech-Polish border whose highest peak, Sněžka (1,603m), crowns a landscape of glacial cirques, alpine meadows, and the unique subarctic tundra ecosystem that […]
Categories: Czech Republic, Nature
National Park Podyjí is one of Central Europe’s best-kept secrets — a breathtaking expanse of near-pristine forest carved by the deep meandering Dyje River along the Czech-Austrian border. This compact park packs an extraordinary punch: dramatic river canyon views, ancient oak woodlands, rare steppe grasslands, and over 65km of well-marked trails. It’s a paradise for […]
Categories: Czech Republic, Nature
Neusiedler See (Lake Neusiedl) is Central Europe’s largest endorheic lake and a cross-border UNESCO World Heritage site shared between Austria and Hungary — a vast, shimmering steppe lake of extraordinary biodiversity where rare birds, traditional vineyards, and a unique Pannonian culture create one of Europe’s most surprising natural and cultural landscapes. The adjacent Seewinkel National […]
Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês – crown jewel of Portugal’s national parks Updated: August 17, 2020 | By Claire | More Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês (The Peneda-Gerês National Park), also known as Gerês, is the only national park in Portugal (however there are many natural parks, protected landscapes, and reserves across the nation). It is 703km2 […]
