destination | indian ocean NATURAL WONDERS


North Malé Atoll, Maldives With its reefs, drop offs and underwater caverns, not to mention stunning marine life, North Malé Atoll in the Maldives is one of the Indian Ocean’s premiere dive locations. Expect to see anything from sharks, rays and barracuda to whales, dolphins and moray eels. divereport.com


Yala National Park, Sri Lanka Home to the highest concentration of leopards in the world, southeast Sri Lanka’s Yala National Park is Te Jungle Book come to life. Tis vast region of woodland is also one of the best places for seeing elephants, buffalo, monkeys, crocodiles, sambar deer and wild boar — plus all five globally endangered sea turtle species. yalasrilanka.lk


Bassas Da India, Mozambique Tis uninhabited, submerged volcanic atoll in the southern Mozambique Channel offers a diving trip like no other. One to tick off for adventurous divers, it’s a marine wilderness of coral gardens and sunken wrecks, best accessed via a liveaboard boat trip. bassadaindia.com


Tsitsikamma National Park, South Africa Draped in high mountains, deep gorges and rugged coastline, covered with indigenous forest and fynbos (heathland), South Africa’s Tsitsikamma is rightly called the ‘Garden of the Garden Route’. Te park, a 50-mile long coastal strip in the country’s Cape region, is popular for its Otter Hiking Trail. tsitsikamma.info


Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar Te spectacular mineral forest of Tsingy de Bemaraha on the western coast is a UNESCO site; the southern part was declared a national park in 1998. Its canyons, gorges, forests, lakes and mangroves display an astonishing biodiversity, including rare lemurs. travelmadagascar.org u


From top: Skipjack Tuna, North Malé Atoll, Maldives; Tsitsikamma


National Park, South Africa; Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar


80 | ASTAnetwork | fall 2015


IMAGES: GETTY; SUPERSTOCK


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