Natural Wilderness Wonders
Fiery volcanoes, 40-ton mammals, otherworldly caves–in this explorer's guide, we'll show you where to find the most mind-blowing backcountry features on the planet. By Marcus Woolf
Want to be inspired, humbled, scared, awed? Care to experience all four reactions simultaneously? The surest way to these thrills and more is to seek out the globe’s most extravagant natural wonders (lion encounter, anyone?). Venture into the backcountry on foot, into places where animals, plants, and terrain are measured by superlatives like wildest, biggest, highest, deepest, and fiercest, and your hike will be elevated to a life-list experience that you’ll remember, well, for life. Need a reason to try a new trail this year? Here are 15 of them.
Biggest Cave
Scariest Predator
Driest Desert
Hottest Geysers
Largest Glacier
Higest Peak
Tallest Tree
Highest Biodiversity
Largest Primate
Most Active Volcano
Strangest Rock Formation
Biggest Bear
Largest Crater
Farthest Migrator
Tallest Waterfall