Drone VIdeos of Top Eco-Tourism Destinations

Check out this stunning DVOW-nominated drone video of the Galápagos Islands, compliments of contributor Santiago Uribe.  A territory of Ecuador, the group consists of 18 main islands plus over 100 smaller ones, the largest of which is the island of Isabela.  The islands straddle the equator, just over 900 km (around 560 mi.) from the mainland at their closest point.  Famously described by Charles Darwin in his book Voyage of the Beagle, the islands are one of the world's top eco-tourism destinations.  

Contributor MantaMattMedia created this epic drone video of Heron Island, a coral cay located on the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef off of eastern Australia.  The Great Barrier Reef is the largest system of coral reefs in the world.  It is situated in the Coral Sea, which separates mainland Australia from the South Pacific islands such as New Caledonia.  Heron Island is one of the few inhabited islands amongst the 900 islands which make up the great Reef, and a popular departure point for divers.

The Komodo islands are home to the world’s largest species of lizard, the Komodo dragon. Content creator and pilot Big Head Greg flew a DJI Phantom 4 drone over the islands' national park (which has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage natural site) to capture its lush green landscape. This jaw dropping aerial video is the result of his efforts.  Prepare to be amazed by the bird's eye view of these amazing islands which lie in the middle of the archipelago, in the province of East Nusa Tenggara.

If you're having a hard time picking your "favorite Canary," this drone video by contributor Yuran may tip the scales in favor of Fuerteventura.  The second largest of the archipelago, Fuerteventura may be the most "other worldly" of the group.  It's why the island has been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.  Its coloring, the shape of its volcanic craters, the shape of its seaside cliffs - everything about the place is spectacular, and the best of it is brought out here.  This video was filmed with a DJI Mavic Pro.

Award-winning content creator Florian Ledeaux created this stunning drone video of Greenland, the world's largest island, which is part of the territory of Denmark in the North Atlantic Ocean.  Sailing around Greenland and towards northern Canada, he used his drone to create a breathtaking aerial view of massive icebergs, walruses, Beluga whales, and even unicorn-like Narwhal.   An avid environmentalist, Ledoux aims to use his videos to illustrate the fragility of the eco-system to climate change. 

Prepare to be amazed by this stunning video from the island nation of Cape Verde off the coast of North Africa, compliments of top contributor and pilot Rein Martens. Known also as Cabo Verde, it consists of a group of ten volcanic islands that resemble a backwards "C" on a map.  Conquered by Portugal in the 1400's, the islands went on to play a critical role in the African slave trade.  Independent since 1975, Cape Verde has become an eco-tourism magnet. This video was a DVOW finalist in August, 2019.

The island nation of Dominica is one of the Windward Islands in the eastern Caribbean Sea, situated between Guadeloupe and Martinique.  With its active volcano of Mount Pelée, lush rainforests, gushing waterfalls, and the world's second largest hot spring, it has developed strong appeal as an eco-tourism destination.  In this drone video by top contributor semberadventure, you can check out this beautiful spot, sometimes called variously the Nature Island of the Caribbean or the Green Island.  

Chikmagalur is a district in the mountains of the state of Karnataka in southwestern India.  The mountains here are part of the Western Ghats range which runs down the length of India's western coastline.  The interior of Karnataka has become something of a magnet for eco-tourism, as the area is home to thousands of rare species of flora and fauna.  Located in the south-central part of the state, the area is home to numerous wildlife preserves and parks.  This video was filmed with a DJI Spark drone.  

The mighty Amazon River is not exclusive to Brazil, and it actually originates in several countries of South America.  Contributor and drone pilot JTurner takes us on an aerial tour of the Amazon Basin in the northern part of the landlocked country of Bolivia.  Using his DJI Mavic Pro drone he gives us a bird's eye view of the area around Madidi National Park.  Covering parts of both the Andes region and (what you will see here) the Amazon Basin, the park is one of the most biodiverse areas on the planet. 

Nunavut is the newest Canadian province, having been carved out of the Northwest Territories in 1999.  It is a vast Arctic land, lightly occupied and bearing a greater resemblance to Greenland or Antarctica than it does to other Canadian provinces.  Award-winning aerial videographer Florian Ledeaux shot this stunning video of a polar bear walking across the icebergs floating in the Arctic Sea.  The video powerfully illustrates the fragility of the world's eco-system to continued global warming trends.  

Top content creator Zimydakid does it again with this fantastic video from the area around Cairns in eastern Australia.  Cairns is the hottest ecotourism destination in Australia; it's the city closest to the heart of the Great Barrier Reef (which runs along most of the coast of the state of Queensland) as well as the Cape Tribulation nature area where crocodiles can be found in abundance.  In Zimydakid's well-developed style, the video features a mix of drone, ground camera, and underwater video footage.  

Top contributor AerialRhianna created this epic drone video of Bukit Lawang, a village in the heart of the jungle of North Sumatra in Indonesia.  The village sits on the Bahorok River, which flows eastward through the province before discharging into the Malacca Strait.  Bukit Lawang is home to the largest animal sanctuary of Sumatran orangutan, and also the main eastern access point to the Gunung Leuser National Park.  The area has become one of Indonesia's top eco-tourism destinations.

Check out this amazing drone video of a small but ecologically important island of Panama in Central America, which won Drone Video of the Week in March 2019.  Isla Escudo de Veraguas lies off of Panama's eastern (Caribbean) coastline, in the Golfo de los Mosquitos.  Only a little over 4 square km (about a square mile), the tiny island is the only known remaining natural habitat of a rare fruit bat called Thomas's fruit-eating bat and an equally rare Pygmy three-toed sloth.   Both species are considered to be critically endangered.  

Check out this fantastic drone video of the Jalapão region of interior Brazil, compliments of AirVuz contributor nexinxavier.  Jalapão is a highly distinctive "microregion" within Tocantins, a giant state that's part of Brazil's official Western Region.  With its semi-arid climate and highly distinctive rock formations, the region covers about 34k square km (around 13k square mi.).  It's an inreasingly popular eco-tourist destination, in part due to its appearance as a filming location for the 18th season of the Survivor TV series.

Award-winning contributor and pilot Postandfly shot this amazing drone video of La Ventanilla, a small community in the state of Oaxaca on Mexico's southern Pacific coast.  The village and surrounding beach area have become a major center for eco-tourism.  In the video, you'll see why.  Most of it was shot in a mangrove swamp, only a short distance from the ocean but literally a world apart.  The star is a 4 meter (13 foot) one-eyed crocodile, who apparently takes no offense from the hovering drone.  

Many people are familiar with Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the world's largest coral reef.  In contrast, very few are aware of the world's second-largest reef system: the Belize Barrier Reef.  Part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which extends from the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico to Nicaragua, the reef runs along the Caribbean coast of Belize.  Seen in this travel video by Duarte Dellarole, the Belize reef is home to some of the best snorkeling and scuba diving waters in the Western Hemisphere.  

At Punta San Juan in southern Peru, a nature preserve has been established to study rare birds in an increasingly endangered environment.  The preserve is home to 4,500 species of birds, some of them quite rare, including the Humboldt Penguin.  Top content creator and pilot Danielgarate77 used a drone to visually capture the diversity of the bird life in this park.  The reserve is located on Peru's Pacific coastline, roughly equidistant from Peru's two largest cities, Lima and Arequipa.  

In this peaceful DVOW nominated video, foggy jungles, softly lit during the golden hour, are captured by content creator Marcel Bastida.  The title of the breathtaking piece translates to "Among Trees in the Jungle of Ecuador," and it, he showcases the Arpía Lodge, which is set amongst the exotic flora and fauna of the remarkable Amazon.  The Ecuadoran Amazon basin is known to be home of a stunning range of biodiversity, as well as uncontacted tribes, deliberately living away from the modern world.

Here is a marvelous aerial view of some beautiful wetlands and bird (flamingo) life in southern Greece, compliments of contributor SioU.  Shot on a DJI Mavic Air drone, the video captures some of the bird life in the area around Lake Stroflyia.  The area is a small peninsula jutting off the northwestern coast of the Peloponnese region, just a short drive west of the regional capital Patras.  It acts as a natural wildlife sancturary and is becoming a popular eco-tourism destination. 

Brazil's Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is one of the natural treasures of this giant South American country.  Created in 1961, its situated in Goiás, one of the country's main interior states.  Located about a three hour drive north of Brasilia, the park sits atop a plateau believed to be nearly 2 billion years old.  Known for its waterfalls and some of the earth's oldest rock formations, the park is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  You can see the stunning park from above in this excellent drone video from bugDreamer.com.

Chile is blessed with a plethora of stunning natural sights.  One of them is the Surire Salt Flats.  It's located in the Atacama Desert in the Arica y Parinacota Region, one of the sixteen primary divisions (states) in this South American country.  The home of several flora and fauna species which are unique to this region, most of the area is now part of the Salar de Surire Natural Monument.  It's been designated a biosphere by UNESCO.  The mountain in the background is the Arintica stratovolcano.

Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean has  something for everyone, including surfers, volcano hikers, and, less well well known, rainforest seekers.  Away from the active volcanoes, much of the island consists of lush dense rainforest landscape, one of the most pristine such environments in the world.  Top contributor Christian Cuvelier used a drone to shoot this memorable aerial video of a group exploring this marvelous island's eastern, rainforest-covered reaches on horseback.    

Check out this stunning drone video of a nature reserve area in the Patagonian region of southern Argentina, compliments of contributor Luiz Gerbase.  It's called the Laguna Nimez, and it's situated in the southwestern corner of the Province of Santa Cruz, the next-to-southernmost of the country's 23 provinces.  It sits right next to the city of El Calafate, one of the three main cities of Santa Cruz.   Laguna Nimez was created as a means to protect the unique flora and fauna that are native to the area.

Contributor Kukso66 used drone and ground camera footage to create this video record of a trip to Kenya's  famous Maasai Mara game reserve.  It's situated in the southwestern part of the country, bordering Tanzania's Serengeti National Park.  The reserve covers just over 1.5k square km (around 580 square mi.).  It's home to a substantial large cat population, and is directly in the path of the annual Great Migration by which wildebeests, zebras, and related animals travel in and out of the Serengeti.

While Turkey may be best known for its great cities, mountains, and beaches, it's also home to some of the world's most important wetlands.  The country has over 300 designated wetland areas, more than any country in Europe or western Asia.  These marshy areas perform critical environmental functions, not least as sancturaries for the country's massive bird population.  In this drone video by Secoko, you'll get an aerial view of a flock of flamingoes frolicking in the wetlands of Central Anatolia.  

Top contributor and pilot sfdrones created this stunning drone video of the area around Milford Sound on the South Island of New Zealand.  The title of the video is a play on words; "Aotearoa" is the name for New Zealand used by the Māori, the country's indigenous inhabitants.  The video brilliantly captures the reflections of the Southern Alps on the pristine waters of the area, widely considered amongst the most beautiful in the world.  Milford Sound lies in the southwestern part of the South Island.

Top content creator and drone pilot Msmember took a combination of ground cameras and a DJI Mavic Pro drone to San Cristobal Island, the easternmost of the Gallapagos Islands.  The result is a stunning look at the wildlife and landscape of this amazing island archipelago, which is a territory of Ecuador located in the Pacific Ocean.  The Gallapagos ecosystem was made famous by English scientist Charles Darwin, who visited them as part of an expeditionary survey by the HMS Beagle from 1831-36.