Australia
Litchfield National Park
Termite mounds stand edge-on to the sun beside waterfalls that decide when swimming is safe.
Magnetic termite mounds stand edge-on to the sun like a field of stone compasses. Elsewhere in Litchfield, waterfalls and monsoon forest pools create a cool green counterpoint to the open savannah.
Litchfield combines magnetic and cathedral termite mounds with monsoon forest, waterfalls and rock pools south of Darwin. Florence Falls, Wangi Falls and Buley Rockhole are separate landscapes rather than a blanket swimming promise: seasonal flow, water quality and crocodile management determine whether a pool can be entered. The walking tracks and viewpoints remain the core experience, even when the water is observation-only.
Couple
Link a cooler-hours waterfall walk with termite-mound country and a designated swim where one is available.
Family
Termite mounds, short viewpoints and formed waterfall walks create a varied day without making swimming the promise.
Friends
A day circuit can mix several walks, monsoon forest and whichever designated pool suits the day.
- Magnetic termite mounds stand edge-on to the sun across the open plain.
- Florence Falls, Wangi Falls and Buley Rockhole give the park three distinct water landscapes.
- Monsoon forest, rock pools and escarpment walks keep the experience strong without promising a swim.
- Short walks, longer circuits and waterfall viewpoints reveal far more than one cooling pool.
The Top End around it is Australia's mango engine, growing over half the national crop and the first fruit of every season.
On the Berry Springs road in, a working mango farm churns its own Kensington Pride crop into farm ice cream.
Parque Nacional Huerquehue
Chile
Jade lakes appear one after another along trails beneath ancient araucaria crowns.
Parque Nacional Conguillío
Chile
Araucaria crowns stand over black lava and clear lakes beneath Volcán Llaima.
Wadi Darbat
Oman
From late June the waterfall comes over the escarpment and camels graze between the pools.
Codrii Nature Reserve
Moldova
Half of Moldova's characteristic flora survives in one hill forest of oaks, ravines and wildcats.
Jervis Bay
Australia
Pale sand squeaks underfoot where clear water meets eucalyptus shade.
Esperance
Australia
Kangaroos sometimes doze on sand beneath a Southern Ocean blue that looks electrically lit.
Rottnest Island
Australia
Cycle between clear bays and quokka habitat on Wadjemup, where holiday and prison histories meet.
Lamington National Park
Australia
Antarctic beech trunks rise through cloud forest where waterfalls vanish into green ravines.