A handy calendar to help you plan your clients’ trips to national parks around the world
January
Climbing North Africa’s highest peak might be challenging enough for some, but to spice things up, Intrepid Travel has launched a winter trip trekking to the top of Mount Toubkal.
Hardy adventurers will be rewarded with snow-dusted vistas – and few other travellers. A guide will help with tips on using crampons, but the trip requires a good fitness level and some hiking experience.
Book it: Intrepid’s seven-day Mount Toubkal Winter Trek starts from £595 excluding flights.
intrepidtravel.com
February
Yellowstone sees five times fewer visitors in winter than summer – though with snow-draped landscapes and steam rising from the hot springs and geysers, it’s so beautiful you may wonder why.
Clients can wrap up warm and travel around by snowcoach, spotting herds of elk and bison, plus the park’s resident wolves. On Globus’s winter tour, accommodation is at characterful stays within the park itself.
Book it: Globus’s seven-day Yellowstone Winter Wonderland starts from £2,672, excluding flights.
globusjourneys.co.uk
March
It’s hard to draw the eye away from the vertical massif in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park, but in March clients may find their heads turned by the beauty of the autumn leaves too.
Without the crowds of the previous months there’s also a greater chance of spotting a puma. This comprehensive group tour of Patagonia with Journey Latin America spends two days exploring the park on foot.
Book it: Journey Latin America’s 20-day Nandu: Peaks and Plains of Patagonia starts from £4,254, excluding flights.
journeylatinamerica.com
April
India’s peak season covers the cooler winter months, but if big cats are on the agenda, it’s worth tolerating April’s slightly higher temperatures.
The dry conditions drive them to open water, so sightings are more likely. Wildlife Worldwide has a trip to the lesser-known Nagarhole National Park, where as well as tigers, elephants, wild dogs and sloth bears, clients may spot a rare black panther.
Book it: Wildlife Worldwide’s 10-day Nagarhole’s Tigers, Wild Dogs & Leopards starts from £3,595, including flights.
wildlifeworldwide.com
May
Utah’s wind-sculpted rock formations make its clutch of national parks incredibly photogenic, but those exposed landscapes can leave visitors at the mercy of the elements.
Spring is the best time to visit, before the searing heat of the summer sets in, particularly if clients want to hike. On the Utah’s Mighty Five National Parks active trip with Trafalgar, guests can choose routes to suit their fitness levels.
Book it: Trafalgar’s Utah’s Mighty Five National Parks starts from £2,842, excluding flights.
trafalgar.com
June
The main attraction of California’s Redwood National Park is its ancient sequoias, but those who come to see the giant trees in June get an extra bonus – a sea of pink rhododendrons bursting into flower.
Travelsphere includes a park visit in an itinerary that also takes in San Francisco, Portland and Seattle.
Book it: Travelsphere’s 12-day San Francisco & the Pacific Coast starts from £3,399, including flights.
travelsphere.co.uk
July
Visit the Cairngorms, Scotland’s national park, to see one of its most impressive visitors – the osprey. These beautiful hawks nest and fish here, enjoying the long, light-filled days that give guests on Wilderness Scotland’s hiking tour plenty of time to explore forests, glens and lochs.
Book it: Wilderness Scotland’s seven-day Cairngorms National Park & Royal Deeside trip starts from £1,595.
wildernessscotland.com
August
In the heart of dry season, with few mosquitoes, August is a great time to visit Malawi’s Liwonde National Park and see game congregate at the Shire River.
Cheetahs, lions and rhinos have been reintroduced to join the resident elephants, hippos and crocodiles. On this new trip with KE Adventure Travel, clients will also trek the mountains of the Mulanje Massif.
Book it: KE Adventure Travel’s 13-day Trek Malawi’s Mt Mulanje and Safari starts from £3,295, including flights.
keadventure.com
September
A trip to Canada’s Rocky Mountains is all about epic views, but in high summer they can be obscured by equally large crowds. In September, numbers are falling but temperatures are still comfortable, and Banff National Park’s larch trees are turning gold.
Give the trip an opulent sheen on a Luxury Gold tour that includes stays in Fairmont hotels and a Rocky Mountaineer voyage.
Book it: Luxury Gold’s nine-day Majesty of the Rockies starts from £6,819, excluding international flights.
luxurygold.com
October
What’s cuter than a lemur? A baby lemur – and October is the time to head to Madagascar to witness peak birthing season.
Visitors may also be rewarded with sightings of young ones cavorting with their parents as they trek Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, famed for its iconic ring-tailed lemurs, and the more remote Ranomafana National Park, where they could spot the critically endangered golden bamboo lemur.
Book it: Explore’s 15-day Madagascar: The Lost Continent starts from £1,949, excluding international flights.
explore.co.uk
November
Japan is overcrowded in the spring sakura season, so swap cherry blossom for koyo – swathes of red, yellow and orange autumn leaves. Visit Fuji Hakone Izu National Park in November, where the vibrant acer and gingko trees frame views of Mount Fuji. Inside Japan includes time here on many group trips, including one that also visits Tokyo, Kyoto and Lake Biwa.
Book it: Inside Japan’s nine-night Tokaido Trail trip starts from £1,980, excluding international flights.
insidejapantours.com
December
A trip to Finnish Lapland needn’t involve queuing to see a man with a white beard. Oulanka National Park is sparsely populated, and on a trip with Exodus, clients dogsled through silent forests, visit a reindeer sanctuary, cross-country ski on a frozen lake and snowshoe under the northern lights.
Book it: Exodus’ seven-night Finnish Wilderness Week starts from £2,049 including flights, meals and activities.
exodus.co.uk
PICTURES: Milly Youngman; Bret Charman; Shereen Mroueh
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