A ranger station and tented lodge that opened in recent years have made it more accessible to tourism, but it’s still seldom visited. In the eastern section of the region, Nkasa Rupara National Park is a secret jewel.
After Namibia gained independence in 1990, peace-and wildlife-gradually returned. Remote and difficult to access, it was a prime corridor for various armed groups. The presence of the Okavango, Kwando, Chobe, and Zambezi Rivers creates an ideal habitat for numerous animal species.ĭuring the second half of the 20th century, the area was the scene of intense military activity. But the Caprivi Strip, a narrow finger of land that juts out toward the east in the extreme north of the country, is a green, wildlife-rich territory. Namibia evokes images of deserts, immense dunes, and parched mountains. Victoria Meleshko, National Geographic Traveler Russia Hiking the trail is a planet-friendly way to spot some of the 1,200 Lake Baikal plant and animal species found nowhere else on Earth, such as the nerpa, the world’s only exclusively freshwater seal. “Volunteering helps protect Lake Baikal nature by developing ecotourism infrastructure,” says association president Elena Chubakova. Visitors can help safeguard the lake and its varied landscapes-including tundra, steppe, boreal forest, and virgin beaches-by volunteering with Great Baikal Trail Association, the nonprofit environmental group creating a hiking route around the lake. As a result, the International Union for Conservation of Nature deemed the lake’s environmental World Heritage Outlook of “significant concern” in 2020. Despite being named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996, Lake Baikal has experienced ongoing pollution, the recent weakening of government protections, and new threats, such as large-scale tourism development.
Covering some 12,200 square miles and with an average depth of 2,442 feet, the massive lake is a natural wonder. Baikal is so vast and deep, many locals call it a sea.
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