Ecuador is the home of the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, created in 1979 to protect the fauna and wildlife. This reserve is a 250,000-acre Amazon rainforest with 13 lagoons. You can travel through the reserve on a canoe or take walks through designated areas. There are more than 60 kinds of orchids and the rainforest is filled with wildlife. Pink dolphins swim alongside your canoe. Hanging from the trees are large anacondas and 15 species of monkeys.
Thailand is home to what is believed to be the oldest rainforest on earth. The Khao Sok National Park's forest is 160 million years old. The park is 460 square miles and can be explored on foot, on the back of an elephant, in a canoe or from a Jeep. The rainforest is filled with coconut palm trees, banana trees and fig trees. Some of the wildlife inhabiting the forest include cloud leopards, Kingfisher birds and barking deer.
For those who prefer a northern climate, British Columbia in Canada is a destination. It is home to a 25,000-square-mile rainforest along the Pacific Coast. The Great Bear Rainforest has 200-foot-tall red cedar and spruce trees. Wildlife includes different varieties of bears, predatory birds such as bald eagles, wolves and cougars. There are also totem poles and archaeological remains that are more than 1,000 years old, made by Native American tribes. In addition to hiking, visitors can go salmon fishing in the ocean.
Fraser Island is an unusual rainforest, as it is the only rainforest supported entirely by sand. It is a 70-mile island near Queensland, Australia. The island is filled with more than 250 types of birds and is known for having one of the purest strains of dingoes. The island has more than 100 freshwater lakes with ocean beaches of white sand and colored sand cliffs. The rainforest trees grow on large sand dunes.
Uganda's rainforest is a dense forest on the western Rift Valley. In it romps more than half of the world's population of mountain gorillas. The Bwindi Impenetrable National Forest is also home to smaller primates such as different species of colobus, blue monkeys, mangabey and chimpanzees. More shy than the primates, visitors might get the opportunity to view more elusive wildlife such as elephants, small antelopes and forest hogs.
