Beyond Yellowstone and Plitvice, twelve parks where the visitor centre still has parking and the wildlife still has space.
There are about 6,500 national parks in the world. The 50 most photographed get the visitors. The rest carry the actual biodiversity. Twelve worth your time.
Europe
Sarek, Sweden
Northern Sweden. No marked trails, no huts, no bridges. Brown bear, moose and the largest roadless area in Europe.
Triglav, Slovenia
The whole Julian Alps wrapped into a single park. The Vrata valley and the north face of Triglav remain the most dramatic corner.
Kornati, Croatia
A maze of 89 islands, islets and reefs. George Bernard Shaw said the gods used the leftover stones from creation to build the Kornati. The fishing huts on the islets can be rented for the week.
Coto Donana, Spain
On the Andalusian coast where the Guadalquivir meets the Atlantic. Pink flamingos, Iberian lynx (the most endangered cat in the world), and 200 species of bird in transit.
Americas
Great Basin, Nevada
Bristlecone pines (oldest trees in the world), Lehman Caves, dark-sky certified for stargazing. Almost no one visits compared to Zion.
Channel Islands, California
Eight islands off Ventura, reachable only by ferry. The kelp forests and the endemic island fox make it worth the boat.
Salonga, DRC
Largest tropical rainforest national park in Africa. Bonobos here and nowhere else. Difficult to visit and that's the point.
Asia
Manas, India
On the Bhutan border. Tigers, Indian rhinos and golden langurs in serious numbers.
Gobi Gurvansaikhan, Mongolia
Singing dunes at Khongoryn Els, the flaming cliffs at Bayanzag (where the first dinosaur eggs were found) and snow leopards in the mountains.
Oceania
Fiordland, New Zealand
Milford Sound is famous. The rest of the park, 12,500 km² of it, is essentially uninhabited. The Hump Ridge or Hollyford tracks are quieter than the Milford.
