Superlative · wetlands
The Most Beautiful Wetlands & Deltas on Earth
12 places · every one real, mapped, and worth the trip
Wetlands are the richest wildlife landscapes on Earth — flooded plains, mangrove labyrinths, and river deltas where water and land blur and birds, big cats, and reptiles gather in extraordinary numbers. They are also among the most threatened, which makes the great surviving ones all the more worth seeing.
This is our editors' pick of the most beautiful wetlands and deltas in the world. It isn't a ranked countdown, but each is a real, mapped place with an honest guide to reaching it and the season the water and wildlife are at their best.
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Okavango Delta The jewel of the Kalahari
Northern Botswana
A river that never reaches the sea, fanning out into a vast maze of channels and islands in Botswana that draws Africa's wildlife to the desert's edge.
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Doñana Europe's bird crossroads
Andalusia, southwestern Spain
Marshes at the mouth of the Guadalquivir that flood each winter and feed millions of migrating birds — and the stronghold of the Iberian lynx.
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Mekong Delta Built entirely by a river
Southwestern Vietnam
Some 40,000 km² of alluvial farmland barely above sea level, threaded by canals and now sinking faster than the sea is rising.
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Kerala Backwaters 900 km of connected water
Kerala, southwestern India
Lagoons and canals trapped behind barrier islands along the Malabar coast, brackish and farmed below sea level.
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The Pantanal The best place for jaguars
Mato Grosso & Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
The world's largest tropical wetland, sprawling across Brazil — open, flooded plains that offer the finest jaguar and caiman watching on Earth.
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The Everglades
Florida, United States
A slow 'river of grass' flowing across the tip of Florida, a mosaic of sawgrass marsh and mangrove that shelters alligators, manatees, and roseate spoonbills.
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The Sundarbans
Ganges–Brahmaputra Delta, Bangladesh (and India)
The largest mangrove forest in the world, straddling India and Bangladesh — a tidal labyrinth that is the last stronghold of the swimming Bengal tiger.
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The Danube Delta
Where the Danube meets the Black Sea, eastern Romania
Europe's largest and best-preserved delta, a UNESCO maze of reed beds and lakes in Romania alive with pelicans and hundreds of bird species.
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Kakadu
Northern Territory, Australia
A vast wetland and escarpment country in Australia's Top End, its floodplains crowded with birds and crocodiles beneath ancient rock-art galleries.
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Kaziranga
Assam, India
Flooded grasslands along the Brahmaputra in Assam that hold two-thirds of the world's one-horned rhinos, plus tigers, elephants, and wild buffalo.
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Esteros del Iberá
Corrientes Province, northeastern Argentina
A huge protected marshland in northern Argentina, its lagoons and floating islands home to capybara, caiman, and returning jaguars and giant otters.
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Wadden Sea
Netherlands, Germany & Denmark
The largest unbroken system of tidal flats on Earth along the North Sea coast, a UNESCO site and a vital staging ground for millions of migratory birds.
Wetlands run on water and season: the great African and South American wetlands are best in the dry months when wildlife concentrates around shrinking water, while the northern deltas peak in the spring and autumn bird migrations. Each guide notes the window that suits it.
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