WWF Travel Blog

The Galapagos Islands and the rich waters surrounding them are home to nearly 9,000 species. © James Frankham / WWF-Canon

In 1572, a group of Spanish sailors that was fleeing South America was pushed by the South Equatorial Current into the Galapagos Islands. Having no navigational charts with them, the sailors referred to these newly found lands as the Islas Encantadas (Bewitched Islands) because they seemed to appear and disappear before their eyes in the fog and mist. In fact, some seventeenth-century Spaniards who witnessed the same phenomenon claimed that the Galapagos were, in truth, mere shadows and had no physical form at all.

Ever since that time, it seems, people have been drawn to this unique place, from pirates to whalers, scientists to eco-tourists. For the past fourteen years, in fact, the archipelago has seen more than 150,000 annual visitors. But starting on February 1, 2012, there will be new regulations regarding the number of days visitors may spend there and the landings they may make.

The Galapagos National Park authority states that the new regulations were needed in order to protect the local animal and plant life and the islands, which were suffering from over-visitation and erosion. The bonus for travelers is that islands that were previously little frequented will now be opened up for tourism to redistribute some of the current traffic. While many ships’ itineraries have focused mainly on the three islands of Isabela, Santa Cruz and San Cristobal for the past fourteen years, the islands of Española, Genovesa and Fernandina will now see more boats arriving.

And, with these new rules in place, says the park authority, less fuel will be consumed and less pollution will be emitted by the yachts, boats and ships working in the islands.

A tourist photographs a Gentoo penguin chick on Half Moond Island, Antarctica. © Staffan Widstrand / WWF

Antarctica put on ice
The Galapagos isn’t the only example of a pristine place that needed to limit tourists in an effort to protect what’s left of it. In 2009, safety fears and concerns about the impact visitors were having on the delicate frozen landscape caused signatories of the Antarctic Treaty — an agreement between forty-eight nations on the use of the continent — to set limits for the number of tourists permitted. In 1992-93, visitors to Antarctica numbered 6,700. By 2009-10, they had risen to more than 40,000. The new rules asked that countries prevent ships with more than five hundred passengers from landing on the continent and to only allow a maximum of one hundred passengers on shore at any given time.

Some would say, however, that elevating places of natural beauty to the status of protected parks or World Heritage Sites is enough. When we start putting quotas on the numbers of people who can visit a given area, we invite a system where access can be bought. And once something is limited, of course, it becomes more expensive in the marketplace. That could lead to having the Earth’s most amazing places being affordable and accessible only by the wealthy.

Do you think our places of natural beauty should have caps on the number of people that may visit them?

-Candice Gaukel Andrews

© Natural Habitat Adventures. Reprinted with permission.

© Hannes Strager / WWF-Canon

Where: In the central Mexican highlands state of Michoacán, a steep climb up from the mountain town of Angangueo.

What’s there: Mexico’s only public Monarch butterfly sanctuary, which becomes carpeted, wallpapered and otherwise drenched in orange and black butterflies each winter.

Why it’s notable: El Rosario is the most accessible of Mexico’s five protected wintering grounds for millions of Monarch butterflies, which flutter from as far as Canada for a warm respite from chilly northern winters. They cling to oyamel trees in such massive numbers that tree boughs actually snap off from the weight!

How you’ll get there: From Angangueo, it’s a 30-minute drive to the gates of the reserve. Then the adventure begins – first hop in the back of an open, flat-bed truck for a bumpy ride up into the heart of the sanctuary. You’ll then hike to the spots deemed most populated by the butterflies. The hike can be tough, especially because the altitude here exceeds 9,000 feet and the terrain is steep and rocky.

Keep your eyes peeled for: The emerging sun. If it’s cloudy and then the sun starts peeking out, its warmth will begin waking the resting butterflies, which will fill the air like a flaming orange cloud.

Visit El Rosario on WWF’s Kingdom of the Monarchs tour February 12-17, 2012.

We are pleased to have our travel partner Natural Habitat Adventures as a supporter of WWF and The Coca-Cola Company’s Arctic Home initiative to protect polar bears.

Mention “Arctic Home” when you sign up for a 2012 Classic Polar Bear Adventure and get $250 off per person.* Review terms, or call NatHab at 800-543-8917 for more details.

Enter for a chance to win a polar bear trip for two, provided by NHA.**

Learn how you can help protect polar bears, too.

* Between $24 and $160 of the retail price per traveler for Natural Habitat Adventure tours is received by WWF for a minimum annual amount of $152,000 and a maximum annual amount of $210,000.
** No Purchase Necessary. Must be a My Coke Rewards member and 18 or older to enter. Sweepstakes ends 12/21/2011. See official rules for the prize description, alternate method of entry and complete details.

Whitney observing mountain gorillas. © Melanie Kent

WWF’s Whitney Kent recently traveled to Africa with her family to see mountain gorillas in the wild. We caught up with her to talk about the experience.

How long did you have to hike before spotting the mountain gorillas? Was it a difficult climb?
We did two gorilla treks in two separate days. The first trek was only about 45 minutes, and it was a pretty easy hike. Most of it was through hilly farmland. It wasn’t until we got closer to the gorillas that we started trekking through the forest. Some parts of the forest were cleared out into a path while other parts were dense and our trackers had to machete through.

The second trek was a bit longer and higher into the mountains, but we didn’t have to venture too far into the forest to see a huge group of mountain gorillas.

How many people were in your group?
They kept the groups small to a maximum of eight people with a guide and maybe three trackers.

How did the trackers know where to look for the mountain gorillas?
The trackers would have an idea where the different groups of gorillas were because early in the morning other trackers would go into the forest to locate the different groups. Then they would radio to the group that was headed to that area. The gorillas only move ½ km a day so the trackers know they haven’t moved far from their previous spot.

What was it like when you first came upon the gorillas?
It was one of the best experiences of my life. I felt like it was a dream and that the gorillas weren’t real. We were so close to them at some points that I could have easily touched one (I was definitely tempted to but obviously I would have gotten in big trouble). It was incredible how human-like their movements and mannerisms were.

A baby is suddenly revealed, surprising onlookers. © Justin Kent

How long did you watch them for?
We were allowed to watch them for one hour, but I could have stayed all day!
The park only allows one group to visit each gorilla group once a day.

What kind of behavior did you observe?
The first day it rained and the gorillas are pretty inactive when it rains. They do a lot of sitting under trees to shield themselves from the rain. We saw a mother gorilla sitting covered by a bunch of tree branches with her arms folded. She just looked at us but didn’t seem to care we were there. At one point she shifted her arms a little and we realized that she was actually hiding her tiny baby under her arms to protect him from the rain. We didn’t even know a baby was under there until she moved!

The second day the rain held. We were walking through the forest and then suddenly came upon a clearing where about 15 gorillas of all ages. Most of the gorillas were eating and some would put their mouths to the ground and pull up roots. That was pretty funny. There were also a few mothers with babies hanging off of them. The kids were eating and running around playing and the one male silverback just sat with his arms folded, watching everyone. As we were winding down on our hour with the gorillas, the silverback got up and started walking toward us. That was when we got to see how truly huge this animal was. He sat right in front of us, almost like he was posing, and stared at us. Of course half of us were frozen and the other half were clicking away with cameras. He then got up after a minute or so, and walked off. Slowly the rest of the group followed him single file. We followed the group into the forest and then moved to the side as the rest of the group walked right by us. They hardly paid any attention to us. I was kneeling so I got to see eye to eye with them as they walked by.

Did anything surprise you about the encounter?
The first day as we were watching a few of the gorillas hide from the rain, we heard this raucous in the branches above us. All of sudden a huge silverback came flying down on one of the vines right in front of us, like something out of Tarzan or King Kong, knocking me off balance into one of the trackers! If I hadn’t fallen backwards, he would have definitely hit me! Then he stood right in front of us and beat his chest as if to say, “I’m the boss here.” Then he ran off leaving all of us stunned.

A male gorilla yawns. © Bill Kent

Did they appear to notice that you were there?
They really didn’t seem to care or notice we were there. They would look at us for a bit then continue on their daily business.

Did you ever feel in danger?
Surprisingly I don’t think any of us felt in danger (except maybe when the silverback came swinging down on the vine). I think part of that stemmed from the calm demeanor of our trackers and guides. Nothing seemed to faze them so that set the tone for the rest of us.

Many say that seeing mountain gorillas in the wild is a life-changing experience. Would you agree?
Yes! I would totally recommend it to anyone. It’s definitely a lot of travel but completely worth it!

Any tips for those going on a mountain gorilla trek?
Rain gear! Even if the weather looks fine before you embark on your hike, it rains a lot more the higher you get. My rain pants saved me the second day. Even though it didn’t rain, everything is very wet. The pants also allowed me to sit and kneel on the ground to get even closer to them.

Join WWF’s Great African Primate Expedition, June 22 – July 1, 2012.

Part II in a series.

The flightless cormorant is one of the world’s rarest bird species, with fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining in the Galapagos. During a morning playing tourist on Fernandina Island, travel conservation blogger Bret Love of Global Green Travel shot this video of flightless cormorants doing their mating dance and shared it with WWF as the second part of his Wildlife of the Galapagos series.

© Kasia

WWF tours take you to exotic places around the world, and some of the spots where we lay our heads are even more interesting! Here’s a roundup of articles in our series on the most unusual accommodations on WWF tours.

• Ecocamp Patagonia: A model for ‘green’ lodging

• The Tundra Lodge, Canada: Sleeping with the polar bears

• Rancho Cerro Largo: A ‘little window’ on the coast of Mexico

• Inkaterra: My Peruvian paradise

• Whale cabanas in Baja
  

• Sri Lanka’s Yala Safari Village: Hunkering down with an elephant

Do you have a favorite hotel or lodge you’ve stayed at during a WWF tour?

© Howard W. Buffett / WWF-US

Join WWF on our Exploring Alaska’s Coastal Wilderness expedition, June 9 – 16, 2012, and receive free round-trip airfare between Seattle and Alaska. Tour highlights include:

• Traveling aboard the Sea Lion, a small, specially outfitted, expedition ship.
• Exploring by foot, Zodiac and kayak.
• Searching for wildlife, including whales, sea otters and bald eagles.
• Learning about the lore and legends of the indigenous people.

Call 888-WWF-TOUR (993-8687) to sign up or to request a brochure.

© Bill Cameron

Where: Deep, deep, deep in the rain forest of central Guyana, in South America.

What’s there: A 741-foot, high-volume single-drop waterfall sitting atop an ancient plateau that’s considered the oldest layer of rock in the world (more than 2 billion years).

Why it’s notable: Sure there are taller waterfalls in the world. But the combination of Kaietuer’s height and its massive water volume (a whopping 23,400 cubic feet per second) makes it one of the world’s most powerful.

How you’ll get there: For independent travelers, it can be a hassle to get there. Guests on our Jungle Rivers of South America expedition will see it via private charter flight.

Keep your eyes peeled for: The tangerine-colored bird called the Guianan cock-of-the-rock, with a punk rocker-like fan-shaped crest on his head that he uses to attract the ladies.

Local women from a village in Quirimbas © Tanya Petersen / WWF-Canon

Seldom considered a tourist destination, the coastal East African nation of Mozambique has a great deal to offer to the nature traveler. Here are ten reasons among the many to visit the “land of smiles.”

1. Pink sand and turquoise waters. Mozambique’s beaches are the definition of paradise, yet so few tourists visit them. Many remain completely free of tall resort hotels and other view-wrecking infrastructure.

2. Whale sharks. Punta da Barra is considered to be one of the best whale shark-viewing spots in the world; the largest fish in the world is present year-round in this area. Other biggies to look out for: manta and devil rays, loggerhead and green sea turtles and bottlenose dolphins.

3. Dhow boats. Traditional Arab sailing vessels, dhows add an excellent element to seascape photography. Their patchwork-style sails contrast well against the turquoise of the sea.

4. WWF projects. WWF helped establish Quirimbas National Park in Mozambique—the largest marine protected area in Africa—through a community-driven process.

5. Undeveloped islands. The country includes several islands with no shops or cars, which are perfect for exploration on foot.

6. Beautiful architecture. The Chapel of Our Lady on Ilha de Mozambique—a UNESCO World Heritage Site—is the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere.

7. Maputo. The country’s capital is home to important landmarks, such as the 1787 Portuguese Fort of Nossa Senhora da Conceição.

8. Fish, fish and more fish. More than 1,200 species of fish can be found off the coast of Mozambique, from gobies to mammoth Napoleon wrasses.

9. Culture. Mozambique blends its African heritage with the influence of colonial rule (it was a colony of Portugal until 1975).

10. Inhaca Island. Its four distinct ecosystems make it a natural habitat for more than 300 bird species and, beneath its warm waters, 160 species of staghorn and plate corals. It’s one of the most popular spots on coastal East Africa to snorkel and scuba dive.

Join WWF’s Mozambique Odyssey, March 4 – 21, 2011.

Proboscis monkeys are only found in Borneo. © Ron Leidich

The third largest island in the world, Borneo is home to the oldest rain forests in the world – 130 millions years old, to be exact. That’s a good 70 million years older than the Amazon. Other aspects of Borneo are equally impressive: 3,000 tree species, 220 different mammals, 420 resident bird species. And more are being discovered.

It’s no wonder that WWF Borneo tour is one of the most popular on our lineup each year. In fact, our trip scheduled for June 2012 is more than half sold out.

Learn more about Borneo by reading our picks for the top articles about Borneo on this blog. Then travel there with us on our June 2012 Into the Heart of Borneo tour.

• Innovative approach to protecting the Heart of Borneo

• Good news for Borneo’s orangutans and elephants

• Top Shot: Borneo

• Species Spotlight: Pygmy elephant

• Q-and-A: Borneo with WWF’s Dan Winter

• New species discovered in Borneo

• Nature’s Close Up: A Bornean Primate Slideshow