The Eclipse Is Here — and More Natural Adventures, in Time for Earth Month

PHOTO: Emli Bendixen

Got your glasses ready for the April 8 total solar eclipse?

I, like many travelers, am thrilled by this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. More and more people are prioritizing trips that highlight and focus on the beauty of our natural world, and they can be as

diverse and broad as you like. Imagine strapping on sneakers and going on an e-bike ride around Switzerland; embarking upon a 186-mile hiking path past lush tea fields in Sri Lanka; or even gorilla trekking in Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park.

I came face-to-face with a silverback gorilla last fall, awed by its size (about 400 pounds) and relieved by what it eats (plants, whew). The last thing I was thinking about were words like sustainability or conservation. I mostly just felt very small. And as the silverback of the Muhoza family–a giant adult male I'll call "Dad"—barked at two teenagers to quit fighting, while "Mom" tucked a little one under her massive arm, shielding it from the rain, I couldn't help but realize: Gorillas, they're just like us.

Just in time for Earth Month, the stories in our April issue, which highlight everything from a new Kenyan lodge where you can see "super tusker" elephants (see cover above) and an Australian island resort working to protect endangered Tasmanian devils, touch on a range of destinations and experiences. You'll learn about places that are fragile but becoming stronger, thanks to ambitious efforts like those I saw in Rwanda. I hope you, like me, come back from your trip reaffirmed that our planet is indeed a strange, thrilling place worth protecting.