10 Natural Wonders to See Before They Disappear

By Laurel Delp
April 15, 2011
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Sakis Papadopoulos/Getty
Going once, going twice…some of the world's most enchanting places might not make it through this century. Here are 10 places you may not have realized are threatened—and how to experience them responsibly.

You've heard the grim timelines: if warming continues, the Great Barrier Reef will be bleached by 2030; glaciers in the Swiss Alps, on Mt. Kilimanjaro, and in Glacier National Park will disappear in under 40 years; and Arctic ice melt will leave the North Pole bare and polar bears extinct. The immediacy of these timelines prompts flocks of curious eco-tourists to travel to environmentally fragile areas. Tourism is both bane and boon: it can add strain to already distressed areas, but it can also provide income, which in turn can help preserve these wonders. In time for Earth Day, we spotlight 10 areas under threat—some lesser known than others—that can still be visited responsibly.  Should you decide to plan a journey, we've recommended our favorite tour operator for each destination. In some cases the price tag may be higher than your average vacation, but consider it an investment in Mother Earth.

 

1. BELIZE BARRIER REEF

One of the most diverse reef ecosystems in the world is home to whale sharks, rays, and manatees, as well as sturgeon, conch and spiny lobsters.

The Threat: Like the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Belize Barrier Reef leads a tenuous existence. A section of the nearly 700-mile-long Mesoamerican Reef that reaches from Mexico to Honduras, the Belize reef suffered a severe bleaching in 1998, with a loss of 50 percent of its coral in many areas, including much of its distinctive staghorn coral. Since the bleaching, its decline has continued, due to global warming of the world's seas, agricultural pollution, development, and increasing tourism, which has given rise to more coastal development and an invasion of cruise ships.

Get There: Go with Journeys International, founded by former conservation workers, on an 8-day "Cayo and the Caye" journeyinto Belize's rainforest that includes kayaking into river caves, a side trip Guatemala, a visit to the Mayan ruins at Tikal, and, finally, a three-day-stay on an island in the reef (from $2,825 per person, excluding airfare).

 

2. THE CONGO BASIN

Tropical rainforests like the Congo Basin produce 40 percent of the world's oxygen and serve as a vital source of food, medicine and minerals.

The Threat: At more than 1.3 million square miles, the Congo Basin has the world's second-largest rainforest, after the Amazon's. According to the UN up to two-thirds of the forest and its unique plants and wildlife could be lost by 2040 unless more effective measures are taken to protect it. Extending across six nations, ten million acres of forest is degraded each year due to mining, illegal logging, farming, ranching, and guerilla warfare. Roads cut by loggers and miners have also enabled poachers and bushmeat hunters to prey on endangered animals like mountain gorillas, forest elephants, bonobos, and okapis. As the forest shrinks, less carbon dioxide is absorbed, and rain decreases, adding to climate change.

Get There: Gabon, to the west of the Congo, is considered safe for travel, and tour operator Responsible Travel will pair you with local guides who work with the Wildlife Conservation Fund on an 8-day journey to view elephants, chimpanzees, and gorillas in the wilds of Loango National Park (from $3,430 per person, excluding airfare).


3. THE DEAD SEA

It's the lowest spot on earth (1,312 feet below sea level), has 10 times more saline than seawater (so humans float like corks), and is believed to contain therapeutic minerals.

The Threat: In the last four decades, the Dead Sea has shrunk by a third and sunk 80 feet—13 inches per year!—stranding formerly seaside resorts and restaurants nearly a mile from shore. The Jordan River is the lake's sole source, and as surrounding countries increasingly tap its waters, little reaches the Dead Sea, which could disappear within 50 years. Further pressure is put on the sea by the cosmetic companies and potash producers who drain it for minerals. One proposed solution is the controversial Red-Dead Canal, channeling water 112 miles from the Red Sea, but its environmental impact could be negative (some worry that it would increase seismic activity in the region).

Get There: The Rift Valley on Jordan's side of the Dead Sea is a contrast of sand, red rocks and canyons, with reserves protecting endangered Nubian ibexes, oryxes, and gazelles.  Gap Adventures offers an 8-day journey combining a Dead Sea visit with a stop at Wadi Rum, the 6th-century Nabatean ruins at Petra, and an overnight in a Bedouin tent (from $1,099 per person, excluding airfare).

 

4. THE EVERGLADES

This 2.5 million–acre wetland encompasses cypress swamps, mangroves, sawgrass and pine savannahs. It's the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators share territory.

The Threat: A host of dangers are putting this fragile wetland at risk: pollution from farms, invasive species, and encroaching development, not to mention the fact that 60 percent of the region's water is being diverted to nearby cities and farms. As a result, The Everglades is now half the size it was in 1900. Worse, this is the sole habitat of the Florida panther, and there are less than 100 of the creatures left in the wild. These big cats may be completely lost within the next 40 years as their habitat disappears (they're not alone, either—at least 20 species in the Everglades are endangered, including turtles, manatees, and wading birds).

Get There: Founded by a former government biologist, Environmental Adventure Company offers intensive 5-day ecotours of The Everglades, starting with two days in the Florida Keys, entering The Everglades by Zodiac inflatable boat, then hiking and touring the waterways by boat (from $1,995 per person, excluding airfare).

 

5. MADAGASCAR

More than 80 percent of Madagascar's flora and fauna are found nowhere else on Earth, thanks to millions of years of isolation in the Indian Ocean off of Africa.

The Threat: If nothing is done to save the world's fourth-largest island, its forests will be gone in 35 years (once 120,000 square miles, they're now down to 20,000), and their unique inhabitants along with them. Forest ecosystems are being destroyed by logging, burning for subsistence farms, and poaching. The 20 species of lemurs for which Madagascar is renowned are in danger of disappearing. Though there are game reserves, they're not large (occupying only five percent of the island), nor are they contiguous, thus failing to provide corridors for the animals to travel through. Some of Madagascar's endemic species have never even been recorded, and will likely be lost before they can be studied.

Get There: Winner of the Responsible Tourism Award from Conservation International and USAID in 2008, Eastern Tours offers day-tours of the forested east coast ($100 and under). Or go over the top on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with the World Wildlife Fund's official travel provider, Natural Habitat Adventures, on a 14-day in-depth tour of Madagascar (from $10,895 per person, excluding airfare).

 

6. THE MALDIVES

The nation is rich in coral reefs and endangered fish—like the giant Napolean wrasse, leopard shark, and some 250 manta rays (most with wingspans of 10 feet).

The Threat: Few scientists hold out much hope for the Maldives—the world's lowest nation—if global warming continues to melt the ice caps and raise sea levels. Its 1,190 small islands and atolls (200 of which are inhabited) scattered across the Indian Ocean rise a mere eight feet above sea level. In 2008, the President of the Maldives announced the government would start buying land in other countries, including India, for future homes for citizens displaced by rising waters. In 2009, he held a cabinet meeting underwater to stress the islands' vulnerability.

Get There: Visit the beaches, towns, and fishing villages of the Maldives on a 7-day cruise with Gap Adventures (from $1,349 per person).

 

7. THE POLES

The natural phenomena here are unique and inspiring: towering icebergs, Aurora Borealis, and majestic animals (penguins, polar bears, whales).

The Threat: The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, the world's largest non-profit ocean research group, has predicted that 80 percent of the emperor penguin population of Antarctica will be lost, and the rest in danger of extinction, if global warming continues. In the Arctic, the polar bear is also endangered by the steady loss of sea ice (which has decreased 3 percent per decade since the 1970s). As sea ice disappears at the poles, so do entire ecosystems: the phytoplankton that grows under ice sheets feeds zooplankton and small crustaceans like krill, which are on the food chain for fish, seals, whales, polar bears and penguins. Studies predict that with continued warming, within 20-40 years, no ice will form in Antarctica.

Get There: Tour the arctic with Trans Arctic Circle Treks, or cruise the Antarctic with Adventure Life. Arctic Trek offers a 4-day Arctic Circle tour including Prudhoe Bay, then over the Atigun Pass into open arctic tundra ($1,638, excluding airfare). Adventure Life has a 10-day cruise through the Drake Passage and along the Antarctic Peninsula on a former oceanographic research vessel. The trip includes viewing many species of penguins, whales and icebergs by Zodiac, and a visit to a scientific station (from $5,290 per person for shared cabins, excluding airfare).

 

8. RAJASTHAN, RANTHAMBORE

One of the best places in the world to see tigers.

The Threat: The world's population of wild tigers has fallen to as few as 3,200, more than half of which live in India. If extreme efforts are not undertaken, the big cat may be extinct within our lifetime—possibly in as soon as a dozen years. (Compare this number to the 100,000 tigers that lived in India in 1900 and you can see just how drastically things have changed in the past two centuries.) Their habitats have been reduced 93 percent, and though there are reserves across Asia, most are small and have no corridors between them for the normally far-roaming felines. It's estimated that a tiger a day is killed for use in Chinese traditional medicine.

Get There: Visit Ranthambore with Indian tour operator Travel Wisely, which also organizes visits to see tigers in Bandhavgarh National Park and Kanha Tiger Reserve. You can take a full 14-day tour including the parks, Agra (and the Taj Mahal), and New Delhi, or select portions (from $85/day per person).

 

9. THE TAHUAMANÚ RAINFOREST

Parrots and macaws feed off of the world's largest salt lick. They share this pristine wonderland with endangered creatures like giant armadillos, ocelots, jaguars, and giant otters.

The Threat: This magnificent rain forest in Peru's Madre de Dios region holds some of the last old-growth stands of mahogany in South America. But illegal logging is depleting the rainforest—and the U.S. is responsible for buying 80 percent of the mahogany. A single tree can create as much as $1 million worth of furniture. Loggers build roads, allowing farmers and hunters to enter, further crowding the indigenous people and destroying the delicate ecosystem. In nearby areas, gold mining has released mercury into the air and water.

Get There: Visit Tahuamanú with Treks and Hiking Peru, a small Peruvian eco-hiking company headquartered in Cusco that leads five- to six-day visits including the macaw clay lick and journeys upriver to view spider monkeys, deer and birds (from $500 per person, excluding airfare, minimum of four people; all trips are 20 percent off in July 2011).

 

10. THE YANGTZE RIVER BASIN

Exotic creatures like giant pandas, dwarf blue sheep, Yangtze finless porpoises, and Siberian cranes call this region home—along with some 400 million people.

The Threat: It's too early to know the exact impact of the creation of China's massive, $24 billion Three Gorges Dam, but many, including the Chinese government, have acknowledged that the Yangtze Basin region is in danger of losing its most distinctive marine and animal life. Deforestation has occurred from clearing land for displaced farmers, and the reservoir has flooded villages, farms, factories, and mines, adding to the Yangtze River's existing pollution from shipping, industry, agriculture and raw sewage. Landslides have also happened, and seismologists wonder if the water pressure above two fault lines might result in a disastrous earthquake.

Get There: The Chinese government maintains 50 reserves in an effort to save the giant pandas from extinction, aided by World Wildlife Fund. Go in search of them in the wild on Terra Incognita Ecotours' 12-day journey tracking wild panda in Foping National Nature Preserve, along with a Xi'An city tour, and a visit to the terra cotta warriors (from $5,999 per person, excluding airfare).

 

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Dining Destinations to Watch in 2011

Marseille, France The French are notoriously proud of their cuisine, so it's extra surprising that a new crop of young, ambitious chefs is ignoring French tradition and looking outward. Drawing from the melting pot that is Marseille, chefs are combining top-level French techniques (such as precision knife work) with influences from their neighboring Mediterranean and North African countries (richly aromatic spices). The result is a cuisine as unique as the city that inspired it. Bistrot d'Edouard At this year-old restaurant, the city's cultural mix is evident in dishes like vermicelli cooked in squid ink and fish broth, garnished with grilled squid and fromage-blanc aioli. Tapas from $7, 150 rue Jean Mermoz, 011-33/4-91-71-16-52. Cafe Populaire Celebrating the Marseille's mishmash of Mediterranean tastes, Populaire serves up dishes like fried chick-pea flour squares with sardines, grilled squid, and mesclun. 110 rue Paradis, 011-33/4-91-02-53-96. La Virgule Chef Lionel Levy, whose Une Table au Sud earned a Michelin star a few years ago, opened this small spot next door, where the bistro-meets-ethnic menu (think smoked duck breast served with hummus and sesame oil) is drawing nightly crowds. Entrees from $12, lavirgule.marseille.free.fr. Wales Even terrific hotel restaurants get overshadowed by the hotel itself (quick: name the restaurant at the Ritz Paris). In Wales, the opposite holds. The culinary experience is paramount. To wit, the profusion of "restaurants with rooms," where the overnight digs are mostly a convenience for foodies who trek to these often remote spots. Some of the restaurants come with Michelin stars, but they still give off the same cozy, come-on-in vibe that pervades Wales—with friendly prices to match. The Crown at Whitebrook Working here among five lush, green acres in the Wye Valley, head chef James Sommerin earned his Michelin star with dishes like loin of rabbit with asparagus and wild-mushroom mousse served with a smoked butternut squash puree. Tasting menu from $43, crownatwhitebrook.co.uk. Tyddyn Llan Chef-owner Brian Webb was awarded a Michelin star last year for the creations coming out of this rambling stone cottage in North Wales. Webb's constantly evolving menu features creations like roast pigeon with Savoy cabbage and foie gras. Tasting menu from $45, tyddynllan.co.uk. The Chef's Room, Fish & Cookery School Wales's food obsession goes beyond restaurants, too. Founded by Michelin-starred chef Franco Taruschio and food writer  Lindy Wildsmith, the Chef's Room hosts guests chefs like Shaun Hill (who earned his own Michelin star at Wales's The Walnut Tree), who offer hands-on instruction. Classes, including lunch and wine, from $81, thechefsroom.co.uk. Cooking with Angela Gray The cooking school at Llanerch Vineyard launched last April, and includes everything from simple bread-baking classes to five-day cooking courses. Guests are also treated to wine tastings and vineyard tours. Classes from $80, angelagray.co.uk. Foxhunter Want to be even closer to the source? During the new foraging excursions at the Foxhunter, in Nantyderry, guests look for wild berries, mushrooms, and spinach, and then cook with their finds under the instruction of the restaurant's head chef. Foraging classes from about $100, thefoxhunter.com. Los Angeles, California In L.A., it's not only the D-list actors who get their 15 minutes of fame. The difference with the city's trendy new "pop-up" restaurants is that they're designed to fade fast, because half the fun is catching them before they're gone. You can find pop-up outfits featuring Californian-American, Italian, Japanese, and more, but they all require some Web savvy (and knowledge of Twitter) to suss out the newest outpost. LudoBites Founder and superstar chef Ludovic LeFebvre refers to his creation as a "touring restaurant." Much like a band promoting its latest album, LudoBites moves from location to location (and "shows" sell out long in advance). Instead of hit songs, there are hit dishes, like fried chicken bites and "squid noodles" (sliced calamari with black radish, black grapes, bean sprouts, and raw prawns). Entrees from $10, ludobites.com. Breadbar A restaurant in the traditional sense, Breadbar also hosts pop-up events for outside chefs to showcase their talents with anything from soba dishes to Korean pub food. Sandwiches from $12, breadbar.net. Houston, Texas You could always find a great steak in Houston—and not much else. Thanks to the growing population of Mexican, Indian, Korean, and Thai immigrants, the ethnic food scene is now thriving. Most places are on the outskirts of town, including a farmers' market on Airline Drive with great Mexican food. Even better is a stretch of Long Point Road that's become home to many Thai, Korean, and Mexican restaurants. Good luck picking among them. Taqueria El Mercado In a trailer just behind the farmers' market on Airline Drive (where you can sample Mexican hot chocolate and pan dulce) you'll find the place to feast on tripe and carnitas tacos. Tacos from $2, 2520 Airline Dr. Vieng Thai Long Point Road is another culinary hotbed, with unassuming restaurants serving everything from Thai to Korean to Mexican. Vieng Thai is a hit for its coconut-milk soup and array of curries. Entrees from $8, 6929 Long Point Rd., 713/688-9910. Where Chefs Eat Chefs are so enamored of Houston's ethnic food scene that a few of them have partnered up to offer culinary tours. Each tour is led by a chef---including local celebrities like Bryan Caswell of Reef, and Mark Holley of Pesce---and focuses on a different cuisine. Tours $180 per person, houstonculinarytours.com. Patagonia, Argentina Patagonia is famous for its adventure tourism, but now it's giving Mendoza a run for its money as a wine-producing hub. In the mid-1990s, investors realized that simple irrigation could transform the arid flatlands at the tip of Argentina. The vineyards, lush patches of green in an otherwise dusty landscape, still look like they got lost on the way to Napa. But the wine coming out of them is special enough to draw visitors and aspiring vintners from miles away. Bodega del Fin del Mundo When it comes to Argentine wine, Mendoza has held the spotlight for years. But these days, Patagonia seems to be the one to watch. The superstar vineyard in the Neuquen region can be found on nearly 8,000 acres of land planted with several privately owned vineyards that produce impressive Malbecs and Pinot Noirs. Free guided tour and wine tasting, bodegadelfindelmundo.com. Bodega Humberto Canale It turns out that Patagonia's hot days and cool nights are exactly what grapevines need to thrive---and in the mid-1990s, a few pioneers figured out that some simple irrigation could fix the chalky desert-soil problem. In Rio Negro, Bodega Humberto is a lush patch of green in an otherwise dusty landscape, and it excels in white varietals like Semillon, Viogner, and Torrontes. Guided tour and wine tasting for $20 per person, bodegahcanale.com. Honolulu, Hawaii With all the buzz about celebrity outposts such as Morimoto and Nobu opening in Waikiki, you'd think that the native chefs had all skipped town for vacation. In fact, local kitchens are serving some of the most noteworthy dishes, and for good reason. The Hawaiians (several of whom trained in top mainland restaurants) are every bit as skilled as the newcomers, and they've got a kind of home-kitchen advantage, making it easier to hunt down the freshest fare around. Azure Executive chef Jon Matsubara graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and apprenticed at Jean-Georges in New York---but he's a local boy at heart. At Azure, in the Royal Hawaiian resort, Matsubara starts with the best seafood and produce his native Oahu has to offer and transforms it into something special. Local yellow tail ahi rises to a new level when paired with a salad made of Japanese hamachi, avocado, watermelon, and radish, topped with a ginger vinaigrette and a papadum crisp. Entrees from $22, azurewaikiki.com. Kai Market Chef Darren Demaya's menu at the Sheraton Waikiki is inspired by the food that was prepared on sugar plantations decades ago, a cuisine that combined local ingredients with influences from the different cultures of the plantation workers---everything from Chinese and Japanese to Filipinos and Pacific Islanders. His Chinese salt-and-pepper Kahuku head-on shrimp is simple and delicious. Prix fixe menu from $51, sheraton-waikiki.com/dining/kai. Gogi Korean Tacos For lower-key local fare, look beyond Waikiki's main drag. Gogi serves short-rib tacos topped with a kimchee slaw out of a bright-red truck that changes locations regularly. Tacos $2, eatgogi.com. Let Them Eat Cupcakes The team here offers flavors like locally inspired haupia (similar to pudding) and lilikoi---at food festivals, art fairs, and via special delivery. Cupcakes from $2.50, letthemeatcupcakes808.com.