Best Tropical

The Philippines is an archipelago with some of the highest levels of terrestrial and marine biodiversity in the world. Its isolated islands have fostered extreme endemism, particularly among birds, mammals, and reptiles. The region also features extensive coral reefs and seagrass beds. Conservation...

The Pantanal is a vast tropical wetland encompassing parts of Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. It’s notable for its extensive seasonal flooding, creating unique habitats supporting an incredible biodiversity including jaguars, capybaras, and numerous bird species. The region primarily benefits researc...

The Na Pali Coast is a dramatic landscape on Kauai’s south shore. Characterized by towering, sheer cliffs dropping into the Pacific Ocean, it features numerous waterfalls and secluded beaches. This area offers exceptional opportunities for exploration and adventure appealing to hikers, kayakers, and...

The vanilla bean is the cured seed pod from *Vanilla planifolia*, a tropical orchid species. It’s notable for its intensely sweet flavor and aroma, crucial in baking and other culinary applications. Primarily sourced from Madagascar and Indonesia, it's valuable to chefs, pastry makers, and anyone se...

The great hammerhead is the largest hammerhead shark, notable for reaching about 6.1 m and being described by Eduard Ruppell in 1837.

The tiger shark is a large tropical requiem shark, notable for its striped juveniles, broad diet, and role as an apex predator around islands such as Hawaii.

Yasuní National Park is a protected wilderness area established in 1979 in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The park encompasses a vast expanse of tropical rainforest that has been documented by scientists as containing extraordinary levels of floral and faunal species. It provides a habitat for thousands of...

Manu National Park is a biosphere reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in southwestern Peru. Inscribed in 1987, the park covers approximately 17,163 square kilometers, spanning ecosystems from high-altitude Andean cloud forests down to lowland Amazonian rainforest. The area is scientifical...

The Wet Tropics of Queensland is a UNESCO World Heritage Site encompassing approximately 8,940 square kilometers of rainforest in northeastern Australia. Inscribed by UNESCO in 1988, the region contains the oldest continuously surviving tropical rainforests on Earth. The area holds a high concentrat...

Sundaland is a biogeographical region in Southeast Asia that includes the Malay Peninsula and the islands of Sumatra, Java, and Borneo. The rainforests in this area represent a globally significant biodiversity hotspot. The region's tropical forests support high levels of endemic species, including...

The Congo Rainforest is an extensive tropical rainforest ecosystem in Central Africa, covering an area of approximately 3.3 million square kilometers across six countries. It is the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world, situated primarily within the Congo River basin. The region serves as...

Monstera deliciosa is a large climbing aroid native to the tropical forests of southern Mexico and Central America. Mature leaves develop distinctive splits and oval perforations known as fenestrations, an adaptation thought to allow light to reach lower foliage and withstand wind. The plant produce...

Vanilla planifolia is a climbing orchid native to Mexico and the primary commercial source of natural vanilla flavoring. Its long seed pods, known as vanilla beans, require a labor-intensive curing process to develop their characteristic aroma. In the wild, the flower is pollinated by a specific spe...

The spinner dolphin is a small to medium-sized oceanic dolphin known for its spectacular aerial displays involving rapid spins and rolls. This species exhibits complex social behaviors and is found in tropical and warm temperate waters globally. Spinner dolphins are frequently studied by marine biol...

Bali is a tropical Indonesian island renowned for its unique cultural heritage. The island’s volcanic geography shapes dramatic landscapes including terraced rice fields and coastal areas ideal for recreation. It attracts tourists seeking experiences rooted in Hindu traditions alongside those intere...

The Western Ghats is a mountain range running approximately 1,600 kilometers along the western coast of India. In 2012, UNESCO inscribed a serial cluster of sites across this region as a World Heritage property. The rainforests and montane forests of the Western Ghats are recognized as one of the wo...

Geoffrey Bawa was a significant 20th-century architect renowned for his modernist designs incorporating tropical elements. His work, particularly at Lunuganga, explored innovative approaches to architecture within Sri Lanka’s climate and landscape. He developed techniques prioritizing natural light,...

Madidi National Park is a protected area in northern Bolivia, established in 1995. Covering an area of over 18,900 square kilometers, the park spans an altitudinal gradient ranging from Andean cloud forests down to lowland Amazonian tropical rainforest. This topographical variety creates an environm...

The Cuiabá River floodplains form part of the northern Pantanal in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Seasonal rainfall causes the river and connected channels to inundate broad areas of grassland, woodland, marsh, and shallow lakes, creating habitat for fish, waterbirds, capybaras, caimans, giant...

The Sudd is a vast wetland in South Sudan formed where the White Nile spreads across a shallow, nearly level basin. Its area changes greatly with seasonal rainfall and river flow, creating a shifting landscape of channels, lagoons, reed beds, papyrus, floating vegetation, and flooded grassland. The...

The Bengal Delta encompasses a vast lowland region formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers in Bangladesh and India. It is globally significant as the world’s largest deltaic system, characterized by extensive floodplain areas and complex river dynamics. This area suppo...

Canaima National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in southeastern Venezuela along the borders with Guyana and Brazil. Inscribed in 1994, the park covers approximately 30,000 square kilometers and is characterized by its dramatic tepui, flat-topped sandstone plateaus that rise sharply fro...

Cherimoya, Annona cherimola, is a fruit-bearing tree in the custard-apple family, Annonaceae, associated with the Andean regions of South America. Its green fruit has overlapping scale-like or smooth depressions on the skin and soft white flesh surrounding numerous hard, dark seeds. The edible pulp...

Serranía de Chiribiquete National Park is a protected area in the Amazon region of Colombia and the country's largest national park. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018, the park is known for its ancient tepui table-top formations. The site contains tens of thousands of prehistoric ro...

Bacuit Bay is a coastal body of water located off the municipality of El Nido in the province of Palawan, Philippines. The bay is enclosed by dramatic limestone karst cliffs and jagged islands, forming a distinct archipelagic seascape. It is recognized for its outstanding marine biodiversity, suppor...

The Cuvette Centrale is a broad, low-lying basin of forests, rivers, swamps, and peatlands in the central Congo Basin, principally within the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo. Research has identified an exceptionally large tropical peatland complex beneath its swamp for...

The Atlantic Forest, or Mata Atlântica, is a tropical and subtropical rainforest stretching along the Atlantic coast of Brazil and extending into parts of Paraguay and Argentina. Originally covering about 1.5 million km², centuries of deforestation have reduced it to under 15% of its original extent...

Passiflora edulis is a South American vine cultivated commercially throughout tropical regions for its edible fruit, which is produced in two forms: the purple-fruited f. edulis and yellow-fruited f. flavicarpa.

The atlas moth is a large tropical moth belonging to the Saturniidae family. It’s notable for its impressive wingspan, often exceeding 12 inches, and distinctive eye-like markings. These moths are primarily found in Southeast Asia and are used by scientists studying insect coloration and camouflage....