Wild animals in natural habitat: Top 5 vacation spots that are hard to forget

The free travel metasearch engine momondo.ro team has selected the most interesting places we can travel to see wild animals living in their natural habitat.

Many tourists are trying to avoid the holidays experiences in which the animals are kept in captivity and organizing guided “safari” tours has become more and more popular. People are now aware that the best education about protecting the planet occurs when the experience is authentic and impacts the viewer for a long time. And watching turtle babies take their first steps or a family of elephants relaxing under the sun can’t be too easy to forget.

1. Churchill, Hudson Bay – Canada

The small town in the northern part of Manitoba in northern Canada is one of the few places where free polar bears can be watched, due to the tours in reinforced vehicles adapted to tundra conditions. During the summer, the lucky ones who arrive here can observe the Beluga whales and the winter nights are used to amaze the tourists with the northern lights. It is far from being an easily accessible place, but the effort will be fully rewarded, as confirmed by so many visitors who financially support the local responsible tourism activities for a long time after their own experience.

2. Galapagos Islands – Ecuador

Charles Darwin visited these places before publishing the theory of evolution, but the impact on visitors is still strong. The archipelago of volcanic islands is home to hundreds of animal and plants species that are only found here. Tortuga Bay is the famous place where turtles lay eggs from which can be observed turtle babies making their first trip to the sea. On the same shore you can see marine iguanas or pelicans, and sharks are not very far in the ocean.

3. Ningaloo Coast – Australia

Located in the far west of the continent, this destination offers the rare opportunity to swim alongside whale sharks (much friendlier than their names sound) and other fish species. Tourists who come here also tend to watch the migration of hump whales, in one of the many helicopter tours. Of course, exploring a part of the coral reef that bears its name – with a length of 300 km – cannot miss from the visitors` program.

4. Serengeti National Park – Tanzania

Probably the best known place where large groups of animals can be seen in their natural habitat: about 2 million antelopes, giraffes and zebras tend to migrate at different times of the year. Being part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, this park hosts (among others) the five rare animals (“the big five”) lions, elephants, rhinos, buffaloes or leopards, being one of the few places in the world where these species can be found together.

5. Volcanoes National Park – Rwanda

The mountains in this national park are home to the approximately 340 mountain gorillas out of the estimated total of 800 worldwide. Tourists wishing to visit families of mountain gorillas can do so only with an authorized guide and need a visit permit. There are only 8 such permits issued for each day and the interaction with the gorillas is limited to one hour, in order to protect the life of this endangered species. Golden monkeys, forest elephants, buffaloes and more than 300 species of other birds and mammals can also be seen here.