In the past couple of years, I have grown increasingly infatuated with nature and its gorgeous landscapes. This interest of mine has led me to reading more about national parks and sightseeing opportunities within western continents, best shown in my positive reception to DK Eyewitness’ recently reviewed USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder and Europe by Train, alongside today’s choice of book, The 50 Greatest National Parks of the World.
Much of this interest in nature has been spurred on by slightly hippy-ish sentiments that have grown within me across my twenties—something the author, Aaron Millar, makes clear in the introduction of his publication, insisting his work should result in readers coming away with one core message: ‘love your world, live life to the full and feed your wildness well.’
Following that slightly impassioned introduction, Millar’s compilation adheres to its fairly simple title by highlighting the author’s list of what he deems to be the fifty most staggering, must-see national parks from around our diverse planet. These include some lesser-known parks in smaller, less touristy countries.
From the title alone, this book sounds formulaic, and I must concede that it is. However, I feel that also works in its favour when it comes to the layout of information and ability to be informative but concise, which is hard to do when talking about landscapes that have been preserved for centuries and explored by millions of people.
Coverage of parks are segmented by continent—North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania—and enables readers to gloss over continents they have zero interest in, if they are more keen on their domestic region or somewhere more touristy like North America or Europe. Although I read about every continent, I must admit there are plenty of parts in South America, Africa, and Asia that I am confident I will never be within 500 miles of.
As I did with DK’s Europe by Train, I will list all the countries and islands featured below:
North America: United States of America, Canada
South America: Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia
Europe: Scotland, England, Italy, France, Greece, Slovenia, Turkey, Iceland, Greenland
Africa: Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, Réunion Island, Ethiopia, Morocco
Asia: Nepal, China, Bhutan, India, Japan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mongolia, Georgia
Oceania: Chile, New Zealand, Australia
I do have some qualms with this list, though. Despite Greenland residing in the Americas (or North America), the author opted to include it as part of Europe, presumably due to its European ties. Understandable, except he placed Georgia under Asia, a country that became a member of the European Union four years after Millar’s book was published. Chile also appears twice, under South America and Oceania, which is even more curious.
Still, these are not major issues, and maybe come down to personal classification or the dual identity of select countries. What I do find to be an issue is that Oceania only has three featured parks (6% coverage), whilst the Americas boast twenty-one in this publication (42% coverage). I understand it is about what the author deems the ‘greatest’ locations, and there is no doubting that America’s landscapes are stunning, but there is a clear skew towards the West, despite how vast Asia and Oceania are. So, if you are interested in Oceania, or from the region and intend to read more about your nearby national parks, I recommend reading a different work.
My early criticisms aside, I still think this is a fantastic read, despite its list-like nature and brief coverage of each park. Every national park is granted a handful of pages of writing with a pleasant photograph to show off a standout feature or pretty sight, often requiring no more than five or ten minutes of reader per park. This adheres to the author’s aim to get potential travellers booking trips and heading out of their homes, as every little subchapter provides enough flavour and insights to inspire interested readers to do further research on their own. In essence, Millar’s condensed writing does a good job at stoking the flames of an explorer’s desire.
Despite the briefness of each subchapter, details are not skimped. Millar’s writing is simply amazing; informative about the history of the parks, when or how they were founded, notable figures that were involved with them, crises or issues the parks have faces, modern preservation projects, alongside plenty of references to must-see sights and fun activities, alongside extra trivia about the scale of each park, such as the foliage, molecular life, or migration of animals that flourish them.
In addition to this, Millar regularly quotes from, or makes references to, many great figures, explorers, writers, and poets. The habit of quoting, in particular, showcases the author’s passion for nature and its beauty, as does his awe at the places where ‘the planet [remains] untainted by human touch.’
At the conclusion of each chapter are also four key snippets of information that can help out those working on their itineraries or looking to maximise their trip. WHERE breaks down where the park is and how to access it; DON’T MISS highlights the essential things to see for visitors that don’t plan to linger too long; TOP TIP provides helpful information on when to visit to see certain things, enjoy peak weather, or simply avoid the crowds; and WHILE YOU’RE THERE makes suggestions for what else to do or see in the area, which can sometimes be visiting other nearby national parks that can be a few hours of driving away.
Millar also includes links to official online pages, helping readers with registering, booking, or researching the things he references. This is a nice inclusion that helps align this book with what most travel readers would expect (granted it will never be on par with the extensiveness of guides written by DK, Moon, or Lonely Planet).
As a growing nature buff, one thing I am very grateful for is learning about new national parks, or learning that regions I had heard about are actually protected under the national parks scheme. Some parks I had no idea existed are Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve (Canada), The Galápagos National Park (Ecuador), Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Colombia), Goreme Historical National Park (Turkey), The National Park (Greenland), plus most of what is mention about Africa and Asia.
In truth, I might actually prefer Millar’s publication slightly more than DK Eyewitness’ USA National Parks: Lands of Wonder. Although they overlap a lot when discussing the parks within the United States, Millar writes with an individual passion that puts the focus more on the parks, preservation, and marvelling at Mother Nature, rather than simply having a fun time out or getting bang for your buck. Then again, DK’s inclusion of more photographs also did their unspoken part to sell the visual beauty of each park, compensating for the lesser words. Both works are great, but I feel Millar’s individual knowledge and experience with global parks is more impressive and soulful, especially when expressing his worries about climate change and pollution.
In short, anyone interested in national parks from around the world should give this book a read. It is not the most in-depth or expansive list of national parks, but its condensed compilation of the ‘greatest’ ones to see from each continent should serve as a strong basis to start your sightseeing journey. However, those expecting a hand-holding trip advisory—or, as I said before, intrigued by Oceania’s protected landscapes—should read something else, lest they be sorely disappointed.
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