UNESCO Global Geoparks are some of the most rewarding UNESCO Designated Sites to plan a holiday around, and among the least understood. A Geopark is not a single landmark with a ticket gate, but an entire region built around geological heritage, where you move between geosites, visitor centres and small towns over a day or more.
In this guide, we will explore what Global Geopark is, how the geotourism model works, and how to plan a visit, with six accessible examples for UK, American and Australian travellers.
Geoparks offer rewarding, low-crowd alternatives to traditional UNESCO sites – rewarding for their dramatic landscapes, stories of Earth history, and genuine local engagement. A free downloadable list of all Geoparks is provided for trip planning.
A UNESCO Global Geopark is a single, unified area of international geological significance, managed to combine conservation, education, and sustainable tourism. The designation was created in 2015 and uses the area’s rocks, fossils, volcanoes, caves and canyons to tell the story of the planet, while supporting the local community through what is known as geotourism.
The programme has grown quickly. According to UNESCO, there are now 241 Global Geoparks across 51 countries, covering an area of over 882,000 square kilometres, roughly the size of Venezuela. The newest designations in 2025 were endorsed under the chairmanship of Kutralkura Geopark in Chile, a place we visited in 2025.
There is no single official list of Geopark types, but researchers who study the network tend to group them around four themes. A 10-year analysis of Geoparks published in Geoheritage describes them as places defined by both Earth history and human interaction rather than as simple collections of rocks, and the four themes below capture that dual focus.
Most Geoparks touch on several at once, so think of them as broad categories rather than specific descriptions:
Scientific & Landscape Value
Geoparks with science at their hearts, covering the rocks, fossils and landforms themselves. This is where you find the Volcanic Geoparks, the karst and cave landscapes, and the fossil-rich palaeontological sites.
These sites often have dramatic landscapes, subterranean cave tours and fossil hunting. They are ideal for walkers, hikers, and geology enthusiasts.
Climate & Hazard Awareness
Geoparks act as open-air laboratories for a changing planet, focused on climate adaptation, water cycles, soils, and natural hazards such as landslides and earthquakes.
These Geoparks often have interactive visitor centres and educational trails. They are ideal for people with curious minds, and young families.
Local Economic Growth
The human side, where the Geopark drives local income through sustainable travel, community enterprise, mining heritage and local crafts and food.
You will find most of your time exploring historic mining towns, visiting community craft hubs and sampling local food/wine markets. This Geopark type is for cultural sightseers, foodies and shoppers.
Science & cultural integration
Geoparks that weave geology together with archaeology, cultural heritage, indigenous knowledge and local wildlife.
My personal favourite type, exploring ancient ruins, touring local museums and taking guided ecosystem walks. Perfect for history buffs and wildlife lovers.
Geotourism means using the geology to drive sustainable, community-led tourism rather than mass tourism. A Geopark is run from the bottom up, by the people who live there, and it has to operate as a working geopark for at least a year before it can even apply for the label. For a visitor that means trails, interpretation boards, small museums, and local guides rather than a turnstile.
That is why the planning approach differs from a World Heritage landmark. You are planning a base and a route through a region, not a timed ticket. The reward is that Geoparks are rarely crowded in the way a famous cultural site is, and the experience is closer to a national park with added context.
No, they’re not the same thing, although they overlap enough that the two often get muddled. In our experience the simplest way to think about it is this:
Eco-tourism is mainly about the environment. It’s travel that protects natural areas, reduces your impact on them, and ideally puts something back, whether that’s through low impact accommodation, responsible wildlife watching or supporting conservation projects.
The classic definition from The International Ecotourism Society describes it as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the wellbeing of local people, and involves interpretation and education.
Geo-tourism is not just about nature, it’s about everything that makes a place a place. Its geography, yes, but also its culture, heritage, food, architecture and the wellbeing of the people who live there.
The term was popularised by National Geographic, who define it as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place, including its environment, culture, aesthetics and heritage.
So, a geo-tourism trip might centre on a region’s vineyards, its dialect, its building styles and its landscape all at once, rather than focusing purely on protecting an ecosystem.
The way we’d put it for our own travels is that all eco-tourism is a form of geo-tourism, but not all geo-tourism is eco-tourism. If you choose an off-grid eco-lodge to minimise your footprint, that’s eco-tourism. If you plan a whole trip around a region’s distinctive character, from its food markets to its coastline to its local crafts, that’s geo-tourism, and looking after the environment is only one part of it.
We have collated all of the UNESCO Global Geoparks as of May 2026. Easily filter by country, continental region, and ecosystem type (from marine deltas to alpine forests) to find hidden nature stops along your next vacation route. You can download it for free below:
Plan it like a small road trip rather than a single attraction. Pick a base inside or beside the Geopark, identify the three or four geosites you most want to see, and check which visitor centres and guided walks are running in your season. Most Geoparks publish a free map of their geosites, which is the single most useful planning document you can get hold of.
Yes, often more so than cultural landmarks. Because a Geopark is a landscape of trails, beaches, caves and volcanoes rather than a museum, children tend to engage with it naturally. The English Riviera Geopark and Vulkaneifel in particular fold neatly into a relaxed family holiday. Most geosites within a Geopark will be outdoors, so weather and footwear matter more than opening hours.
These Geoparks are well set up for visitors and appeal to UK, American and Australian travellers. We cover the UK’s own Geoparks in their own section below:
| Geopark | Country | Visiting Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Stonehammer | Canada | North America’s first Global Geopark, around Saint John, New Brunswick. Reachable on an Atlantic Canada road trip. The Bay of Fundy tides here are among the highest on Earth. |
| Cliffs of Fundy | Canada | Along the Nova Scotia shore of the same bay, with dramatic sea cliffs, and fossil sites. Best paired with Stonehammer on a longer Maritimes loop. Allow two days. |
| Katla | Iceland | Black sand beaches, glaciers and lava fields on the south coast, a comfortable day from Reykjavik or a stop on the Ring Road. Local schools help with its research, a model for community involvement. |
| Vulkaneifel | Germany | The birthplace of the word volcano, west of the Rhine. Volcanic crater lakes (maars), spa towns and gentle walking. Excellent for families and easy to reach by the car from the UK via the Eurotunnel. |
| Azores (Acores) | Portugal | A volcanic archipelago in the mid-Atlantic with crater lakes, hot springs and 121 geosites across nine islands. Direct flights from the UK to Sao Miguel. A nature holiday in its own right, ideal for a week. |
| Hong Kong | China | An accessible Geopark of hexagonal volcanic rock columns and sea caves in the New Territories, reached by ferry from Sai Kung. A striking half-day or full-day trip if you are passing through Hong Kong. |
Conguillio was the discovery of our entire Chilean Lake District road trip, and it sits inside the Kutralkura Global Geopark. We had not heard of it before researching the route, and it turned out to be one of most beautiful landscapes we’ve seen in South America, with its ancient Araucaria (monkey puzzle) forests set against the active Llaima Volcano.
Kutralkura is Chile’s first Global Geopark and chaired the UNESCO Geoparks Council session that endorsed the 2025 designations, so it is a fitting flagship for the programme. If you are making the journey to southern Chile, this deserves far more than a passing visit.
You have nine to choose from across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so wherever you are based there is one within reach. The UK is one of the best-served countries in the network, with nine forming part of the 241 Global Geoparks worldwide. The best part is that none of them needs a flight, and most fold straight into a holiday you might already be planning:
A vast upland Geopark of moors, waterfalls and old lead-mining country between Cumbria and Durham. High Force waterfall is the standout geosite. Quiet, remote, and best explored by car with walks built in.
An urban Geopark between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, built around Industrial Revolution heritage and 428 million years of geology. Start at Dudley Museum and the Wren’s Nest fossil reserve, home of the famous Dudley Bug trilobite – easy by train or car.
A coastal Geopark around Torbay, with beaches, Kents Cavern and clifftop walks. Can be quite easily turned into a classic seaside family holiday. Reachable by train to Torquay or Paignton.
A cross-border Geopark shared with County Cavan in Ireland, home to the Marble Arch Caves. Easy from Belfast or Enniskillen. Pre-book the cave tour, which runs March to September.
Designated in 2023, covering the Mourne Mountains, the Ring of Gullion, and Strangford Lough across 1,932 square kilometers. Outstanding hill walking and coastline, and an hour south of Belfast.
Waterfalls, caves, and uplands in the western Brecon Beacons (Bannau Brycheiniog). Excellent walking country and a strong pairing with a wider South Wales trip.
An island Geopark off North Wales with some of the oldest rocks in Britain and a coastal path circling the whole island. Combine with Snowdonia (Eryri) nearby. Reachable by road or rail over the Menai Strait.
Dramatic mountains, lochs and some of Europe’s oldest rock around Assynt and Ullapool. A natural stop on the North Coast 500 road trip. Allow several days and expect long, scenic drives.
The UK’s most northerly Geopark with cliffs, beaches and 600 million years of geology. Reached by ferry from Aberdeen or a flight from Scottish airports. A trip in its own right rather than an add-on.
If you only want one easy first Geopark, the English Riviera and the Black Country are the simplest to reach as day trips or short breaks. For a more dramatic landscape, the North-West Highlands and the Mourne Mountains reward a longer stay.
There are 241 UNESCO Global Geoparks across 51 countries as of 2026, covering over 882,000 square kilometres. The programme was created in 2015 and celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2025.
A World Heritage Site is usually a single landmark protected for its outstanding universal value, often with timed tickets. A Global Geopark is a whole region protected for its geological heritage, run by the local community and built around education and sustainable tourism. You explore a Geopark over a day or more rather than visiting a single gate.
Usually not; a Geopark is an open region rather than a gated attraction, so moving through it is generally free. Individual geosites within it, such as a show cave or a visitor centre, may charge entry, and some guided geowalks need pre-booking.
Allow a full day at minimum and two or more for the larger Geoparks. Because the geosites are spread across a region, the time is mostly spent travelling between them and walking, so it pays to base yourself inside or beside the Geopark.
Yes, unlike World Heritage Sites which are rarely de-listed, UNESCO Global Geoparks are subjected to a strict re-evaluation every four years. If a site fails to maintain its environmental standards, community integration or geological education quality, it receives a yellow card giving it two years of renewal (instead of four), in which time it needs to improve. If it still fails to meet criteria, it receives a red card and loses its UNESCO status entirely.
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