YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, USA

First protected in 1864 and one of the first parks in the National Park Service, California’s Yosemite is a World Heritage site. The park’s central feature is Yosemite Valley, which is surrounded by towering granite summits, densely forested with pines, and famous its spectacular waterfalls. But the Park is so much more than just a great valley with waterfalls; it’s a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra. Within Yosemite’s vast wilderness area, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, and more than 800 miles (1300 km) of spectacular hikes.