Learn what’s at stake in a threatened, biodiverse paradise Rent a bike in Essen for a car-free Ruhr Valley trip along cycling routes, many of which follow former railway tracks, or explore on foot via the 96-mile-long Hohe Mark Steig, a trekking trail opened in 2021.įrom National Geographic Traveler Germany (Franziska Haack) Zollverein is part of the wider Emscher Landscape Park, an east-west system of green spaces and corridors covering nearly 175 square miles. The most famous is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Zeche Zollverein ( Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex), home to an outdoor swimming pool, ice rink and walking trails. Today, the region is repurposing former slag heaps and post-apocalyptic-looking industrial sites as parks and open-air cultural spaces. Mining and steel production once dominated the densely populated Ruhr Valley, in Germany’s western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. To help reduce tourist impact on local nature and culture, a nonprofit alliance has kick-started a collaborative movement that has morphed into a best-practice model for building a sustainable tourism economy.Ĭolumbia Gorge Tourism Alliance initiatives include the visitor education programme Ready, Set, Gorge, and the East Gorge Food Trail, a network of farms, historic hotels, wineries and other homegrown experiences.īe surprised by art and nature in a former industrial zone With Mount Hood nearby, the area attracts more than two million visitors annually. The US’s largest National Scenic Area is probably not where you think it is: it straddles the Oregon-Washington border and comprises 293,000 acres of public and private lands along the Columbia River Gorge. Mindfully wine and dine in the US’s largest National Scenic Area In two recent biodiversity surveys alone, 475 plant species and 260 bird species were identified, along with 67 amphibian and reptile species, including one frog and one lizard thought to be new to science.įrom National Geographic Travel US (Maryellen Kennedy Duckett)Ģ. It was once flush with elephants and lions, whose images appear in ancient rock art created by the ancestral San people.ĭecades of poaching and civil unrest decimated wildlife populations, but small numbers of elephants remain, as do at least 42 other species of mammals and a dazzling array of plant and avian life. Located on Mozambique’s mountainous border with Zimbabwe, Chimanimani National Park, established in October 2020, is home to Mozambique’s highest peak, the 7,992ft Mount Binga. Support conservation efforts in a biodiverse wonderland