Aoraki / Mount Cook
Nineteen peaks over 3,000 metres, and glaciers across 40% of the park.
Source: Department of Conservation, New Zealand (Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park) · readPhotograph: Pseudopanax, Public domain
Interest
National parks around the world
Somebody, somewhere, decided this view should belong to everyone. Here are the places where that idea stuck, from the Canadian Rockies to an island of stone giants in the Pacific.
41places on this page
6regions of the Field Guide they sit in
115°of latitude, Þingvellir to Torres del Paine
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi. Photograph: Szilas, Public domain
The places
Banff
Where Canada's national parks began, in 1885, high in the Rockies.
Source: Parks Canada (Banff National Park Management Plan, 2022) · readPhotograph: TerryDOtt, Sunrise Reflections - Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, CC BY 2.0, cropped
Cabo Polonio
A village among moving dunes, with sea lions on the islands offshore.
Source: Ministerio de Ambiente, Uruguay (Observatorio Ambiental Nacional: Cabo Polonio) · readPhotograph: Jovarca, Tras las rocas... el faro, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped
Chobe National Park
A river where elephants come down to drink by the hundred in the dry season.
Source: Botswana Tourism Organisation (Chobe National Park) · readPhotograph: NikSimpson, CC BY-SA 4.0
Christmas Island (Indian Ocean)
An island that is mostly national park, where the first wet-season rain sets the red crabs moving.
Months the source names: Oct–Jan
Source: Parks Australia (Christmas Island red crab migration) · readPark calendar
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Red crabs head for the coast: October to January.
Source: Parks Australia (Christmas Island red crab migration) · read
Photograph: Raphael Bick via Unsplash, Unsplash licence
Cinque Terre
A national park made by people: five villages and their terraced hills above the sea.
Source: Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre (the park authority) · readPhotograph: Rafael Peier via Unsplash, Unsplash licence
Cirque de Mafate
A volcanic amphitheatre cut off from the coast but for one river, home to about 800 people.
Source: Parc national de La Réunion (Le Cirque de Mafate) · readPhotograph: Air miasma, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
Easter Island
The island of the moai, protected twice over: as a national park and as a National Historic Monument.
Source: CONAF, Chile (Parque Nacional Rapa Nui) · readPhotograph: Otávio Nogueira, Fabrica de Moais-13, CC BY 2.0, cropped
Fernandina
One of the youngest Galápagos islands, in a park that covers 97% of the land.
Source: Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos (Parque Nacional Galápagos) · readPhotograph: Kjersti Holmang, Marineiguanas, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped
Fernando de Noronha
Sea turtles, lemon sharks and red-billed tropicbirds, protected in a marine park off Brazil.
Source: ICMBio, Brazil (Parque Nacional Marinho de Fernando de Noronha) · readPhotograph: CCINTRA, Fernando de Noronha - PE - Dois Irmãos, CC BY-SA 3.0
Gros Morne Tablelands
The Earth's mantle, out in the open, pushed up half a billion years ago.
Source: Parks Canada (Gros Morne National Park) · readPhotograph: Dunmaghlas, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
Iguazú Falls
A colossal volume of water tumbling over a whole run of falls, deep in the forest.
Source: Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina (Parque Nacional Iguazú) · readPhotograph: Falk2, CC BY-SA 4.0
Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre
Australia's biggest salt lake, which has filled to the brim just three times in 160 years.
Source: National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia (Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park) · readPhotograph: Stephan Ridgway, Lake Eyre North Panorama 2014, CC BY 2.0, cropped
Lake Mungo
A dry lake bed that turned out to be the home of Mungo Lady and Mungo Man.
Source: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (Mungo National Park) · readPhotograph: Caroline Jones, CC0, cropped
Lençóis Maranhenses
Dunes and freshwater lagoons where the sea meets the Cerrado, the Caatinga and the Amazon.
Source: ICMBio, Brazil (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses) · readPhotograph: Julius Dadalti, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
Maria Island
An island of convict ruins and wombats, with no cars at all.
Source: Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania (Maria Island National Park) · readPhotograph: Christopher Harriot, Painted Cliffs, CC BY 2.0
Milford Sound / Piopiotahi
Ice-carved fiords, granite tops and mountains that run straight down to the sea.
Source: Department of Conservation, New Zealand (Fiordland National Park) · readPhotograph: Szilas, Public domain
Mount Fuji
Japan's most famous mountain, in a national park that runs down to the Pacific.
Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park) · readPhotograph: Steven Lynn via Unsplash, Unsplash licence
Nahanni
A wild northern river that drops twice the height of Niagara Falls, in a World Heritage park reserve.
Source: Parks Canada (Nahanni National Park Reserve) · readPhotograph: Paul Gierszewski (Gierszep), Public domain, cropped
Norfolk Island
Towering pines Captain Cook picked out for ships' masts. They turned out to be no good for the job.
Source: Parks Australia (Norfolk Island National Park, history) · readPhotograph: Grant Charsley via Unsplash, Unsplash licence
Ogasawara Islands
Far-off Pacific islands that are a gold mine of evolution and endemic species.
Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Ogasawara National Park) · read
Perito Moreno Glacier
Ice from the ice age, in the third-largest continental ice field left on the planet.
Source: Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina (Parque Nacional Los Glaciares) · readPhotograph: Valentinamaur, CC BY-SA 4.0
Plitvice Lakes
A staircase of lakes held up by natural tufa dams, the process that put the park on the World Heritage List.
Source: Plitvice Lakes National Park (public institution) · readPhotograph: Tesla Delacroix, CC BY-SA 4.0
Purnululu
Beehive domes in orange and black stripes, 350 million years in the making.
Source: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia (Purnululu National Park) · readPhotograph: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0
Robinson Crusoe Island
A castaway's island, with Juan Fernández fur seals in the sea around it.
Source: CONAF, Chile (Parque Nacional Archipiélago Juan Fernández) · readPhotograph: Balou46, CC BY-SA 4.0
SG̱ang Gwaay
Totem poles a century old, on an island cared for by the Haida and Parks Canada together.
Source: Parks Canada (Gwaii Haanas) · readPhotograph: Christine Rondeau, Gwaii Haanas National Park, CC BY 2.0, cropped
The Blue Mountains
The Three Sisters and over 140 km of tracks, in a World Heritage-listed park.
Source: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (Blue Mountains National Park) · read
The Cabot Trail
A coast road that swings up through the Cape Breton Highlands, a national park above the sea.
Source: Parks Canada (Cape Breton Highlands National Park) · readPhotograph: Eric Van Lochem, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
The Iberá Wetlands
A young national park in one of the great freshwater wetlands of the planet.
Source: Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina (Parque Nacional Iberá, biodiversidad) · read
The Icefields Parkway
232 km of mountain road that threads two national parks together, Banff and Jasper.
Source: Parks Canada (Icefields Parkway) · readPhotograph: Ethan Sahagun, CC BY-SA 4.0
The Pinnacles
A desert of limestone spires in Nambung National Park, on Yued Country.
Source: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia (Nambung National Park) · readPhotograph: Calistemon, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
The Ring of Kerry
A loop of road past Killarney, where Ireland's national parks began.
Source: National Parks and Wildlife Service, Ireland (Killarney National Park) · readPhotograph: Jean Carlo Emer via Unsplash, Unsplash licence
The Twelve Apostles
Limestone stacks standing in the Southern Ocean, in Port Campbell National Park.
Months the source names: Oct–Apr
Source: Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (Port Campbell National Park) · readPark calendar
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Short-tailed shearwaters back at Mutton Bird Island: October to April.
Source: Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (Port Campbell National Park) · read
Photograph: Christopher Harriot, ApostleS, CC BY 2.0
The Wadden Sea
Tidal flats shared by three countries, and Denmark's largest national park.
Source: Nationalpark Vadehavet, Denmark (Historien om) · readPhotograph: SimonWaldherr, CC BY 4.0, cropped
Tongariro
New Zealand's oldest national park, around mountains held sacred by local iwi.
Source: Department of Conservation, New Zealand (Tongariro National Park) · readPhotograph: Follash, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
Torres del Paine
Towers of rock near the bottom of the Americas, in the Magallanes region of Chile.
Source: CONAF, Chile (Parque Nacional Torres del Paine) · readPhotograph: Thomas Fuhrmann, CC BY-SA 4.0
Tsurui and Kushiro
Japan's largest marsh, a great meandering river, and the forest where the river grew.
Source: Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Kushiroshitsugen National Park) · readPhotograph: paul milley via Unsplash, Unsplash licence
Victoria Falls
The Smoke that Thunders, and a small rainforest that lives on its spray.
Source: Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Victoria Falls National Park) · readPhotograph: Christoph Strässler, Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe - 51641571756, CC BY-SA 2.0, cropped
Wineglass Bay and Freycinet
A bay shaped like a wineglass, in Tasmania's oldest national park.
Source: Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania (Freycinet National Park) · readPhotograph: Tim Hart via Unsplash, Unsplash licence
Wood Buffalo National Park
Canada's biggest national park, and the whooping crane's last natural nesting ground.
Source: Parks Canada (Wood Buffalo National Park, park management) · readPhotograph: Naturedata, CC0, cropped
Þingvellir
Iceland's ancient assembly plain, where the Atlantic Ocean ridge splits the land.
Source: Thingvellir National Park · readPhotograph: Olga Ernst, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped
Common questions
Which is the biggest national park on this page?
Wood Buffalo, by a long way. Canada's largest national park spans 44,741 square kilometres, and it holds the last natural nesting ground of the whooping crane.
Do people live inside any of these national parks?
Yes, and in more than one. About 800 people still live in the Cirque de Mafate, a volcanic amphitheatre inside Réunion National Park, and the Cinque Terre park calls itself the Parco dell'Uomo, the park of people, for the terraces and dry-stone walls its villagers built.
Why is Thingvellir a national park?
For its history and its ground at once. Iceland's Alþing assembly met at Thingvellir from around 930 until 1798, and the park sits on the Atlantic Ocean ridge that runs through Iceland, where gorges and cracks show the Earth's crust at work.
Where are the national parks of the United States?
On their own page, The US National Parks. This page covers the rest of the world, from Canada to the far Pacific.
How many places are on the National parks around the world page?
The National parks around the world page lists 41 places in the SockMonkey.com library. The newest source read behind it is dated 5 November 2026.
Where do the facts on the National parks around the world page come from?
Each fact on the National parks around the world page comes from an official or specialist body named beside it, such as a park agency or a refuge office, with the date SockMonkey.com read that source.
Does the National parks around the world page rank places?
No. The National parks around the world page lists its places alphabetically, and the order says nothing about quality.
What does a place need to appear on the National parks around the world page?
A place appears on the National parks around the world page when SockMonkey.com holds at least 3 sourced facts for it, each with a source name and a read date.
What does the National parks around the world page leave out?
The National parks around the world page leaves out rankings, sighting predictions, gear advice and watching technique. The section named "What this page does not do" lists them.
About this hub
Method
A place is here when it sits inside a national park and the body that runs the park says so on its own pages, which we read ourselves (5 November 2026). A road that passes through a park says so; a town at a park's gate is left out. Under each fact are its source and the date we read it. Places are listed A to Z, not ranked, and the national parks of the United States have their own page.
Sources read (55)
- Department of Conservation, New Zealand (Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park)
- Parks Canada (Banff National Park)
- Parks Canada (Banff National Park, stewardship and management)
- Parks Canada (Banff National Park Management Plan, 2022)
- Ministerio de Ambiente, Uruguay (Observatorio Ambiental Nacional: Cabo Polonio)
- Botswana Tourism Organisation (Chobe National Park)
- Parks Australia (Christmas Island National Park, about)
- Parks Australia (Christmas Island National Park, amazing facts)
- Parks Australia (Christmas Island red crab migration)
- Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre (the park authority)
- Parc national de La Réunion (Le Cirque de Mafate)
- CONAF, Chile (Parque Nacional Rapa Nui)
- Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos (Parque Nacional Galápagos)
- Dirección del Parque Nacional Galápagos (Áreas protegidas)
- ICMBio, Brazil (Parque Nacional Marinho de Fernando de Noronha)
- Parks Canada (Gros Morne National Park)
- Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina (Parque Nacional Iguazú)
- National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia (Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre National Park)
- NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (Mungo National Park, learn more)
- NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (Mungo National Park)
- ICMBio, Brazil (Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses)
- Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania (Maria Island National Park)
- Department of Conservation, New Zealand (Fiordland National Park)
- Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park)
- Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Overview of National Parks)
- Parks Canada (Nahanni National Park Reserve)
- Parks Canada (Nahanni National Park Reserve management plan, 2021)
- Parks Australia (Norfolk Island National Park, history)
- Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Ogasawara National Park)
- Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina (Parque Nacional Los Glaciares)
- Plitvice Lakes National Park (public institution)
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia (Purnululu National Park)
- CONAF, Chile (Parque Nacional Archipiélago Juan Fernández)
- Parks Canada (Gwaii Haanas)
- Parks Canada (Gwaii Haanas, site management)
- NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (Blue Mountains National Park)
- Parks Canada (Cape Breton Highlands National Park)
- Parks Canada (Cape Breton Highlands National Park, about)
- Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina (Parque Nacional Iberá, ficha del área protegida)
- Administración de Parques Nacionales, Argentina (Parque Nacional Iberá, biodiversidad)
- Parks Canada (Icefields Parkway)
- Parks Canada (Jasper National Park)
- Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Western Australia (Nambung National Park)
- National Parks and Wildlife Service, Ireland (Killarney National Park)
- Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (Port Campbell National Park)
- Nationalpark Vadehavet, Denmark (Historien om)
- Department of Conservation, New Zealand (Tongariro National Park)
- CONAF, Chile (Parque Nacional Torres del Paine)
- Ministry of the Environment, Japan (Kushiroshitsugen National Park)
- Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (Victoria Falls National Park)
- Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania (Freycinet National Park)
- Parks Canada (Wood Buffalo National Park, park management)
- Parks Canada (Wood Buffalo National Park)
- Thingvellir National Park (history)
- Thingvellir National Park
What this page does not do
This page does not rank places, predict sightings, name a best time to go, recommend gear or give advice on how to watch. It does not replace the publisher named on each card: park rules, closures and counts change, and the linked source has the current word.