

The park also shelters more than 20 globally threatened mammal species, including the white-bellied spider monkey and the rare golden-mantled tamarin, according to World Conservation Society. Yasuní National Park is home to some of the last indigenous peoples still living in isolation in the Amazon, the Tagaeri and Taromenane clans of the Waorani. In fact, authors of the study, "Global Conservation Significance of Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park," published in the journal PLoS One, noted that one area of the park, the 1,600-acre Tiputini Biodiversity Station, has unparalleled peaks of diversity in reptiles, amphibians, insects, birds and bats. Located in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Yasuní National Park is one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet.


However, only experienced hikers can penetrate the heart of the park's wilderness. The park is accessible by car and there are marked paths for hiking through the jungle. The park also supports more than 430 bird species and is home to significant populations of the endangered cassowary. View the slideshow above to explore 15 of the world's most spectacular rainforests.Ī vast area of tropical rainforest wilderness in Far North Queensland, Australia, Daintree National Park is home to the oldest rainforest on the planet-the closest living counterpart to the forests that once covered the ancient supercontinent of Gondwanaland. More than 18,000 known plant species exist here, according to DiscoverAustralia, and some trees are more than 2,500 years old. They are also some of the most beautiful spots in the world and worth a visit on your next vacation. Covering less than 2 percent of the Earth's total surface area, the world's rainforests are actually home to 50 percent of the Earth's plants and animals and act as the world's thermostat by regulating temperatures and weather patterns, according to the Nature Conservancy. On any given day, one might see one or more of the following steam locomotives transporting visitors deep into the heart of the breathtaking Santa Cruz Mountains.Īll departures are roundtrip to Bear Mountain, returning to Roaring Camp.ġ941 Plymouth Diesel may be used.Rainforests are some of the world's most pristine and important environments on Earth. Not all are operational as some are undergoing renovation and extensive refurbishing. Roaring Camp Railroads owns several Shay locomotives, a Heisler, Climax, and five diesel engines. Shay locomotives were designed in 1872 particularly for Western U.S. – Among geared locomotives, three companies (Shay, Heisler and Climax) are widely credited with dominating the logging and industrial marketplace. Roaring Camp’s steam engines date from 1890 and are among the oldest and most authentically preserved narrow-gauge steam engines providing regularly scheduled passenger service in America.įelton, Calif. In the 1880s, narrow-gauge steam locomotives were used to haul giant redwood logs out of the mountains.

Travel over trestles, through towering redwood groves and up a winding narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain as conductors narrate the history of Roaring Camp, the railroad and the forest.
