Fernando de Noronha is a volcanic archipelago about 350 kilometers off Brazil’s northeast coast. It’s named after its largest island, a protected national marine park and ecological sanctuary with a jagged coastline and diverse ecosystems.
The Fernando de Noronha islands are the peaks of an underwater volcanic mountain range. It rises 4,000 feet from the ocean floor, about 300 miles off the state of Pernambuco and the northeast coast of Brazil.
The Fernando de Noronha archipelago is divided into two conservation units, the National Marine Reserve and the Environmental Protected Area, with its own preservation rules for environmental preservation with sustainable development.
Because the reefs of the South Atlantic are isolated from the Caribbean by the outflow of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers, the reef communities are very different from many endemic species.
Why Visit Fernando de Noronha?
The archipelago of Fernando de Noronha contains 21 islands and it is a paradise and was declared a Natural World Heritage Site by Unesco. In order for the nature of the islands to be preserved, the number of visitors is limited. There is a maximum number of 460 visitors allowed on the island. Visitors also pay an Environmental Preservation Tax that increases progressively with the length of the visit.
Travelers can enjoy golden sands, crystal clear waters, and marine life. Some of the most beautiful beaches of Brazil and the world, such as the beaches Praia dos Porcos, Praia dos Leões, and Baía do Sancho. Baía do Sancho has been selected twice as the best beach of the planet by the Traveller’s Choice Awards of TripAdvisor.
Photo credit: Paulo Henrique / Wikipedia
If you are looking for the best place for diving, you can find it at Noronha – you can observe its splendid marine life of corals, dolphins, turtles, and sharks. You may practice scuba diving with certified local instructors. For those you like surfing, the best months are between December and enjoy waves reaching up to 5 meters.
Some of the migrating birds include the black noddy, sooty tern, red-footed booby, and frigatebird.
Here you’ll find the highest concentration of dolphins in the world. More than 99.99% of the dolphins found around the Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha belong to the spinner dolphin species, Stenella longirostris, from the Delphinidae Family.
Photo credit: Rosanetur / Flickr
The sunsets on Noronha are magnificent due to the lack of air pollution. One of the best places you can enjoy and relax watching the sunset is Boldro beach.
There are plenty of activities on the island including options of ecological trails, boat tours for observing dolphins, visits to Museu do Tubarão and Parque Nacional Marinho or the Tamar project, which helps to preserve endangered sea turtles.
The number of inhabitants is restricted to around 2000. Most of the population works in the hospitality industry, catering to the visitors of the island, which includes food and accommodation, diving, snorkeling, and other water sports instruction and equipment rental and private transportation.
North Queensland is the northernmost part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Centered on the city of Cairns, the region stretches north to the Torres Strait, and west to the Gulf Country. Its offshore Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system, hosts thousands of marine species.
The region is home to three World Heritage Sites, the Great Barrier Reef, the Wet Tropics of Queensland and Riversleigh, Australia’s largest fossil mammal site. Cape Tribulation, Mission Beach, and Atherton Tablelands brings even more activities for adventure travelers with their own unique character.
The main population and administrative center of the region is the city of Cairns. Cairns is the heart of Tropical North Queensland, where you can enjoy the morning markets, have a drink in a small local bar, go for a swim in the sparkling Esplanade Lagoon or hike in one of the city’s shady parks and gardens. Cairns is close to the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest, offering you a new adventure every day.
The first amber fossils were found in North Queensland, Australia – four-million-year-old fossils on a beach in the Cape York Peninsula.
North Queensland is home to the increasingly popular in the recent years known for its Cairns Indigenous Art Fair, and Cairns Festival held annually. Other arts activities include the Tanks Arts Centre, Cairns Civic Theatre, and Cairns Art Gallery.
The region supports a large tourism industry and is considered a premier tourist destination in Australia.
Tropical North Queensland | Things to do
Mountain biking
This is the only place in the world where you can ride alongside two World Heritage areas – the Wet Tropics Rainforest and the Great Barrier Reef. It’s the highest-profile rainforest trail system in the world.
Here you’ll find Australia’s oldest operating downhill trail, the Kuranda DH.
There is a 131-kilometer ride from Cairns to Port Douglas along the Captain Cook Highway in Far North Queensland. More than 30km of World Heritage scenery flanked both sides of the road with rolling hills covered in rainforests and turquoise seas.
The terrain in Tropical North Queensland covers an entire geographical and botanical spectrum, from coastal lowland to mountains. You can explore places like Mt Bartle Frere, Queensland’s highest mountain, the forests of Walsh’s Pyramid, the wet forest of Kahlpahlim Rock and Lambs Head or the savannahs of the Undara National Park.
Geological Wonders
Explore Tropical North Queensland’s geological wonders including dramatic gorges scoured from ancient rock to the world’s largest lava tube system and world-heritage listed fossil fields.
Explore the abundant corals and spot some turtles at Beaver Reef Dive Site. Located in the protected Beaver Cay Marine Sanctuary off Mission Beach, Beaver Reef is an unspoiled fringing reef. Beaver Reef is one of the most popular dive sites off Mission Beach with coral gardens. The most popular dive site off the northern side of Beaver Reef is Beaver Cay.
Abundant soft corals and large gorgonian sea fans, lots of giant clams, Green and Hawksbill turtles, helmet shells and bailer shells, large cod, big schools of spangled emperors, fusiliers, Whitetip reef sharks, barracuda are just a small part of the species you can see.
Explore North Queensland Australia aboard the Gulflander train
The Gulflander takes five hours to run 150 kilometers from tiny Normanton to even tinier Croydon. Enjoy a self-guided walk around the station precinct and museum. Built in 1889, the Heritage-listed Normanton Railway Station is a treasure trove of history and architecture.
Paluma Range is a national park located between Ingham and Townsville, in north Queensland, Australia. It is also known as the ‘southern gateway’ for the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
There are quite a few different places to camp in Paluma Range National Park. A very popular is lake Paluma, an attractive man-made lake surrounded by World Heritage Rainforest. You have a handfull of options for accommodation in Paluma including the award-winning eco-resort at Hidden Valley Cabins.
Mossman Gorge is part of the Daintree National Park in Tropical Queensland, Australia. The Mossman Gorge Centre is an Indigenous eco-tourism development and the gateway to Mossman Gorge. Nestled in the World Heritage Listed Daintree Rainforest, Mossman Gorge contains the oldest, continuously surviving rainforest on earth.
You can experience the wonders of the Daintree Rainforest National Park and discover Mossman Gorge walking through and swimming is a beautiful unforgettable experience.
The Wallaman Falls, a cascade and horsetail waterfall on the Stony Creek, is located in the UNESCO World Heritage–listed Wet Tropics in the locality of Wallaman, Shire of Hinchinbrook in the northern region of Queensland, Australia. Australia’s highest permanent single drop waterfall, in Girringun National Park, west of Ingham.
Explore the rainforest and enjoy spectacular gorge views on one of the short walking tracks near the falls. You can visit for a day to view the falls and relax or stay longer with an overnight camp beside Stony Creek.
Beaches are one of the most loved and visited places in Queensland. Whitehaven Beach in the Whitsundays and Nudey Beach on Fitzroy Island in Tropical North Queensland are just some of the stunning and pretty beaches that take out ‘most beautiful beach’ awards by Trip Advisor. Enjoy the luxury beach-side resorts, panoramic ocean views and family-friendly activities on the Sunshine Coast.
British ecotourism company Responsible Travel released a list of its 10 favorite destinations for green eco-travelers; see what made the cut, plus our recommendations of what to do in each eco-friendly locale.
When considering your next big trip consider going to an eco-destination. What makes a destination eco?
Here are a few criteria that have to be met to earn the “eco” stamp:
It’s built using environmentally sound methods and/or operates with alternative energy sources
It minimizes human impact on natural habitats and promotes resource conservation
It sustains the well-being of local people and/or indigenous communities
It helps raise visitors’ environmental and cultural awareness
Here is our list with top 10 eco-travel destinations
Photo: Courtesy Prefeitura Municipal de Turismo, Bonito
1. Bonito
Bonito, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, is one of the top ecotourism destinations suggested by responsibletravel.com ahead of the 11th World Responsible Tourism Awards.
This remote town in western Brazil is sometimes called Caribe do Centro-Oeste, due to its spectacular blue rivers, whose limestone beds act as a natural water filter. The town’s proximity to the Serra da Bodoquena National Park ensures protection of the area’s ecosystems, which are some of the oldest and most diverse on the planet. Resorts such as the gorgeous Santa Esmerelda are catching on to the eco-friendly trend.
Tourists can enjoy a wide range of spectacular beauties in the area, including waterfalls, crystal lakes, caves with stalactite formations and the surroundings of the Serra da Bodoquena national park, much of which is not open to tourism for conservation reasons.
The clarity of the water where travelers can practice snorkeling or scuba diving is due to the large quantity of limestone in the ground, which works as a natural filter leaving impurity on the bottom of lakes and rivers and making these some of the more transparent and clear in the world.
Photo credit: www.tablemountain.net Courtesy Cape Town Tourism
2. Cape Town
South Africa is a leader in responsible tourism and a mecca for Eco Travel. Named by Conservational International as one of the seventeen megadiverse countries in the world. The biodiversity is truly astounding. There are numerous conservation efforts and projects in OUSth Africa designed to protect the native species.
Cape Town is remarkable for its combination of natural beauty and captivating culture. The capital city offers easy access to beaches, forests, and mountains alike. Many restaurants source food locally, and reliable public transportation or the carbon-neutral Green Cabs make it easy to get around. Choose accommodations like the Grootbos Nature Reserve, which takes measures to preserve its land and the animals native to it. Travelers are welcome to go on a Cape Canopy Tour and zip across the Hottentots Holland nature reserve, imitating the majestic eagles in all but the sharpness of eyesight. An exhilarating ride for anyone willing to share the sky with soaring birds to take in the absolute beauty of the Western Cape from a much more thrilling perspective.
Photo credit: Pixabay
3. Birdwatching in Hangzhou, China
Hangzhou, tipped as ‘Paradise on Earth’, is China’s top eco travel destination. It is one of the few places in China where people can watch wild birds chirping in the downtown area. A perfect destination for nature lovers, at Hangzhou’s West Lake, you can glimpse the birds flying over the skyline. Home to dozens of historical sites, the wooded hills encircling the lake are studded with pavilions, towers, pagodas, and caves. The Xixi National Wetland Park in Hagzhou is teeming with biodiversity and a 180 bird species. It allows visitors an intimate glance at the Underwater Ecological Observation Corridor. And for hiking enthusiasts, the Bamboo-lined Path at Yunqi is a serene escape.
Photo credit: Flickr / Rennett Stowe
4. Blue Mountains, Australia
Designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000, Australia’s Greater Blue Mountains Area is a popular ecotourism trip for Sydneysiders seeking to trade in the buzz of the city for the calm of the great outdoors. A mere 90-minute car ride from Sydney, the Blue Mountains (named for the blue hue cast by the eucalyptus oil produced by the region’s native trees) cover some 550 square miles of valleys, swamps, rocky outcroppings, and narrow canyons – topped off by stellar vantage points from which to ogle Australia’s beauty.
A handful of national parks and reserves comprise the area, hosting dozens of trails through breathtaking terrain loaded with unique flora (don’t miss the ancient Wollemi pine, one of the world’s rarest species) and fauna (some 400 species, including koalas, call the Blue Mountains home). Rock climbing, mountain biking, rappelling, canoeing, and horseback riding are just a few of the activities – aside from bushwalking – to enjoy here in the wild. Of course, the prospect of relaxing and breathing in the fresh mountain air at one of the area’s many eco-friendly lodges and cabins can be equally enticing.
Photo credit: Chris McLennan
5. New Zealand
New Zealand is a spot that’s difficult to fully take in during a single trip. Its varied terrain is home to diverse plants and wildlife and makes a beautiful backdrop for hiking, biking, and camping. New Zealand is also one of the most popular destinations for luxury ecotourism, offering comprehensive tours and fancy accommodations with no harm to the environment.
Photo credit: Tea Fields in Kerala. Photo: Midhun Subhash via Wikimedia Commons
6. Slow Travel in Kerala, India
Kerala’s spellbinding rivers and lush fields have deservedly made it one of those eco-travel destinations you must see in your lifetime. In fact, Kerala Tourism has won the award for world’s best responsible tourism project at the World Travel Market London. Kerala’s landscape is as fragrant as it is beautiful. With its hills covered in sweet-smelling spices and gorgeous-looking plantations of tea, every inch of Kerala seems to bear witness to arresting beauty. Travelers can slowly take in and admire Kerala whilst traveling by kettu vallam (tied boats) along glimmering backwaters or take to the road to enjoy delicious cuisine and coffee in the urban areas of the state.
Photo credit: Namibia via Pixabay
7. Wildlife Adventures in Namibia
Namibia’s name is derived from the world’s oldest desert, the Namib. With its golden grass and singing rivers, Namibia easily gathers what the best and most awe-inspiring characteristics of Africa in one stunning place. It can also boast of being one of the best places to watch African wildlife as there is an abundance of elephants, rhinos, lions both in private reserves and freely roaming the African prairies. Namibia offers value for money as camps are priced in Namibian dollars, a currency tied to the South African Rand, rather than the U.S. dollar like many southern African safari destinations, which means your wonderful 5-star trip can be taken at a 2-star price.
Photo credit: Schalz
8. Tobago
This Caribbean island is home to the world’s oldest legally protected rainforest. The Main Ridge Forest Reserve contains a diverse mix of wildlife, including a whopping half of the island’s aviary population (birdwatchers, have your binoculars ready). While many parts of the island (including endangered reefs) have sustained significant damage from hurricanes, the Forest Reserve’s World Heritage Status keeps it well protected.
Photo credit: Jose Letelier Hernandez
9. Extreme Adventures in Bariloche, Argentina
If you are one who loves some extreme sports with their eco-travel, then Bariloche might be the perfect destination for you. Bariloche can boast of an incredibly vast ecosystem- from snowy Andean mountains to thick green forests and glimmering lakes- and this means the fun is almost never-ending! You can have a refreshing time kayaking across crystal blue waters in a guided kayaking tour. If you are partial to a wilder side of adventure traveling then don’t fret – Bariloche’s winds are perfect for paragliding and you´ll never be disappointed with the breathtaking view and stunning mountain ranges seen from far above. Bariloche’s gorgeous landscape will definitely keep you mesmerized wherever you go and if you decide to go trekking for a change then there is no shortage of mountain paths and vistas for you to admire.
Photo credit: Nick Thorne
10. The Lake District National Park
Home to 12 of England’s largest lakes, this sprawling parkland contains a diverse sampling of British flora and fauna. For human visitors, there’s a hiking, boating, and nature exploration, as well as free guided bike and walking tours. In 2006, representatives from various protection agencies joined forces to found the Lake District National Park Partnership, which oversees maintenance and preservation of the park’s 80,000 acres of land. They are currently seeking a bid for World Heritage Status, which would ensure even more protection. The Park also offers many opportunities for volunteer work so that visitors can be sure they’re leaving its forests as beautiful as they found them.
Photo credit: Flickr / Rennett Stowe
Photo credit: Chris McLennan
