"Europe's national parks are incredibly diverse, and that is what makes them so special," the edition's authors said. Some of the protected areas grace the tops of mountains or are full of bright greenery, while others are covered with snow and ice. Take a look at some of these breathtaking wonders of Mother Nature.
One of the oldest national parks in Southeast Europe, Plitvice Lakes National Park is situated in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia. For thousands of years, the Korana River has carried its waters full of limestone through the grounds of the park, forming barriers and creating natural dams. As a result, numerous picturesque lakes, waterfalls and caves appeared in this park. The protected area extends over 296.85 square kilometers.
Saxon Switzerland National Park is located in the German Free State of Saxony, on the border with the Czech Republic. The park features an intensively fissured and rocky canyon landscape. It was created in the early 20th century, but attempts to preserve the unique area were taken previously, too. Saxon Switzerland is considered one of the most spectacular hiking regions in Europe, offering around 1,200 kilometers of paths and more than 12,000 climbing routes.
Cinque Terre consists of five small fishing settlements and man-made terraces located on the coast of the Gulf of Genoa, in the Liguria region of Italy. To conserve the ecological balance, protect the landscape, and safeguard the anthropological values of the location, the park was established in 1999.
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in southern Devon, England. Protected by National Park status as Dartmoor National Park, it covers 954 square kilometers. The moorland is capped with tors – hills topped with outcrops of bedrock. This park is home to the Dartmoor ponies, an ancient horse breed that has lived here for centuries. Because of the extreme weather conditions experienced on the moors, the Dartmoor is a particularly hardy breed.
Spitsbergen is the largest and only permanently populated island in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. There are six national parks on Spitsbergen: Indre Wijdefjorden, Nordenskiöld Land, Nordre Isfjorden Land, Nordvest-Spitsbergen, Sassen-Bünsow Land and Sør-Spitsbergen. The island also features Festningen Geotope Protected Area, and part of the northeastern coast is part of the Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve. Among local settlements, the Russian mining community of Barentsburg is located on the island. Interestingly, Russian is considered an official language here, along with Norwegian.
Italy has a record number of objects protected by UNESCO: 51. One of them is the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park, a protected area of 320 square kilometers located in the Dolomites, a mountain range in the northeastern part of the country. The Dolomites, also known as the "Pale Mountains," take their name from the carbonate rock dolomite, named after 18th-century French mineralogist Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, who was the first to describe the mineral.
Brecon Beacons National Park is located in southern Wales, UK. It stretches across 1,340 square kilometers and includes four mountain ranges, lots of sheep pastures and the beautiful town of Brecon. Due to the relative remoteness and harsh weather of some of its uplands, the park is used for military training. The park offers various outdoor activities, from walking and horse riding to windsurfing, canoeing and fishing.
With an area of 8,100 square kilometers, which is about 8% of the entire area of Iceland, Vatnajökull is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in the country. Since June 7, 2008, it has been part of the Vatnajökull National Park. The highest peak in Iceland, Hvannadalshnúkur (2,109.6 meters) is also located here. The Vatnajökull National Park can boast a great variety of landscape features, formed by rivers, glacial ice and volcanic and geothermal activity.
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© AP Photo / Salvatore Allegra
Sicily’s Mount Etna is considered the most active volcano in Europe: throughout its history, it has spewed lava about 200 times: the last eruption occurred on February 27, 2017. In 1987, Etna became a regional park, The Park of Etna, and was placed under environmental protection. Sometimes the Italian stratovolcano throws so much lava and ash to the surface that the local authorities have to close the airport in the city of Catania, evacuate residents and rescue assets. In 1992, the eruption nearly destroyed the town of Zafferana.
Cairngorms National Park in the north-east of Scotland covers the Cairngorms range of mountains and surrounding hills. In 2011, it featured in a list of the world’s top 20 must-see places to visit, according to National Geographic. At 4,528 square kilometers, it is the largest national park in the UK.
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© Sputnik / Evgenya Novozhenina
The Kurshskaya Kosa National Park, also known as the Curonian Spit, is the smallest and at the same time one of the most visited national parks in Russia. It is located on the narrow strip of land between the salty Baltic Sea and freshwater Curonian Lagoon in the Kaliningrad region. The area to which the Curonian Spit belongs is called the "Amber Coast," as fossilized organic gemstones have been excavated there extensively for a long time. The northern boundaries of the park are on the Russian-Lithuanian border, so this UNESCO World Heritage Site is shared by the two countries.
