15 Natural Phenomena You Can Only See At Certain Times Of The Year

Some things need to be seen to be believed, so we’ve sought out some of the most incredible natural phenomena that can only be seen at certain times of the year. Be sure to mark these incredible annual events in your travel planning calendar.

The unique Spotted Lake, which is located in Osoyoos, Canada, is a natural marvel because of its spotted pattern that is created when the lake’s water evaporates and leaves behind colourful, circular mineral deposits. The local Okanagan First Nations people believe it is a mystical lake with healing powers, so visitors aren’t allowed too close. But you’ll still be able to get great photos from the viewing area – or better yet, from a plane if you do an aerial tour.

When to visit: The best time to go is during the hot months of the summer of June, July, and August when the water of the lake evaporates to reveal the spots. At any other time during the year, there is likely to be water in the lake, hiding the spots.

How to get there: To visit the Spotted Lake, travellers can fly into Vancouver, where a hoppa transfer can get you safely to your hotel. The lake is located about a 4.5-hour drive away from Vancouver, about 10km out of Osoyoos.

It looks like a ribbon of lava cascading down the east face of the El Capitan walls in California’s Yosemite National Park in America, but it’s actually a regular waterfall illuminated by the bright light of the setting sun. The Firefall only occurs when conditions are perfect – when the sky is clear and the sun is setting at the correct angle.

When to visit: The phenomenon is difficult to time, as it only occurs during a 10-minute window around sunset for just a few days in mid-to-late February.

How to get there: To visit the Horsetail Falls, travellers can fly into San Francisco (4 hours away), where they can rent a car and drive to the Yosemite National Park. The falls form part of a 6.5km (4mi) round trip hike in the park. 

Each year, almost two-million wildebeest and 20,000 plains game migrate over 3,000km (1,865mi) from Tanzania’s Serengeti to the south of Kenya’s Masai Mara in search of water and grazing grounds and water. It is the largest mammal migration on Earth and is one of the best events in Tanzania to witness.

When to visit: The migration follows every rainy season – generally May or June, though changing climate patterns have caused slight alterations to the migration.

How to get there: Most safaris to the Serengeti start from the town of Arusha. The best option to get there is to fly into Kilimanjaro International Airport, which is situated about 46km (29mi) from Arusha.

As winter hibernation ends, brown bears begin flocking to Brooks River in Alaska’s Katmai National Park in America – where there is a reliable source of salmon – to start bulking up for winter hibernation. At Brooks River, the bears compete for spots to get all the best salmon while also teaching young cubs how to survive in the wild.

When to visit: July is the best time to watch bears fishing at Brooks Falls. However, bears are in the area from mid spring until mid fall and a few bears may fish at Brooks Falls in September and October.

How to get there: Most people who visit Brooks Camp, where the Brooks Falls are situated, fly from Anchorage to King Salmon on a commercial airline (Alaska Airlines or PenAir) and fly from King Salmon to Brooks Camp on KatmaiAir.

Every year, millions of monarch butterflies travel up to 4,800km (3,000mi) in their annual migration from Canada and the United States to Mexico in order to wait out the winter in the oyamel fir trees. Monarch butterflies are the only insect that migrates to a warmer climate across such a vast distance each year, and viewing the migrating butterflies is like witnessing a spectacular kaleidoscope of orange-and-black-wings.

When to visit: The butterflies typically arrive in Mexico in November and stay until March, but the best time to see them is in January and February when the population is at its highest.

How to get there: The public is allowed to witness the migration within the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, which is a two-hour drive from Mexico City. Travellers flying into Benito Juárez Airport can pre-book a hoppa for a seamless airport transfer in Mexico City.

Manhattanhenge, also called the Manhattan Solstice, is a rare and beautiful event during which the setting sun or the rising sun is aligned with the east-west streets of the main street grid of Manhattan, New York City. The term Manhattanhenge is a reference to Stonehenge, which was constructed so that the rising sun is perfectly framed by its stone slabs during the summer solstice.

When to visit: The sunsets and sunrises each align twice a year, on dates evenly spaced around the summer solstice and winter solstice. The sunset alignment occurs around May 28 and around July 13. The sunrise alignment occurs around December 5 and around January 8.

How to get there: To visit Manhatten, travellers can fly into New York, where a hoppa can transport you to your accommodation.

The aurora australis is the southern cousin to the northern lights, which takes the shape of a curtain of light that is most often is green, sometimes red, and occasionally other colours too. Like the aurora borealis, the southern lights occur when electrically charged solar particles and atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere collide with gases like oxygen and nitrogen, causing those gases to emit an impressive display of light.

When to visit: Although auroras happen all year round, the best time to see them is during the winter months (March to September). The widest part of the aurora is when the sun is on the opposite side of the Earth to where you are, so around midnight is best.

How to get there: Mount Wellington in the continent’s southern island of Tasmania is one of the best places to view the aurora australis. As a traveller, you can fly into Hobart International Airport and pre-book a hoppa to get safely to your overnight accommodation. Mount Wellington is a 25-minute drive from Hobart.

Every year, for just a couple of weeks, thousands of fireflies light up the night in a fascinating and beautiful mating ritual where male fireflies compete for the attention of females after the sun goes down in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the United States. The synchronous fireflies are aptly named because they flash together for 5 to 10 seconds before descending the forest into pitch darkness for 5 seconds while waiting to see if a female has responded.

When to visit: The mating season lasts for approximately two weeks each year, most likely to occur between the third week of May and the third week in June.

How to get there: Travellers hoping to see the synchronous firefly mating ritual will need to fly into Knoxville McGee-Tyson airport, which is a 45-minute drive from Gatlinburg (the closest city). All visitors who want to view the fireflies will have to enter the event’s lottery system in advance to receive a parking pass.

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs during summer in places south of the Antarctic Circle and north of the Arctic Circle – including Northern Norway. Because the earth is rotating at a tilted axis relative to the sun, for several weeks, the sun never sets above the Arctic Circle. Many sights and activities in Norway are open at night during these weeks, so you can go midnight golfing, cycling, river paddling, or sea kayaking at midnight.

When to visit: Svalbard is the place in Norway where the midnight sun occurs for the longest period – from 20 April to 22 August.

How to get there: Travellers will need to fly into Oslo and then take a connecting flight to Svalbard.

Red Beach, located in Panjin, China, is famous for its landscape featuring the red Suaeda salsa plant. It is based in the biggest wetland and reed marsh in the world and hosts the most complete ecosystem that can be found, including over 260 kinds of birds and 399 kinds of wild animals.

When to visit: The best time of year is to go in Autumn when the colours are in full effect, from mid-September to mid-October.

How to get there: Even though most of the Red Beach is closed to the public, there still is a small section that’s open for tourists. To get there, travellers need to fly into Beijing, with a transfer to Shenyang, which is 140km (90mi) from Panjin.

Every year, about 10 million straw-coloured fruit bats descend into a tiny patch of evergreen swamp forest inside Kasanka National Park, Northern Zambia. This natural phenomenon, unique only to Kasanka lends itself to some truly astonishing birdlife sightings set against a backdrop of incredible scenic surrounds and dramatic skies.

When to visit: The migration takes place for about 90 days from late October to mid-December.

How to get there: To get to Kasanka National Park, you will need to fly into Lusaka, where a pre-booked hoppa can take you to your overnight accommodation. The park is an additional 6-hour drive away.

The Niagara Falls, which straddle the international border between the Canadian province of Ontario and the American state of New York, have an added dimension of beauty in winter when sub-zero temperatures transform the falls into a frozen landscape unlike any other. The buildup of ice it gives the illusion that Niagara Falls has stopped moving and actually frozen over, while the ice-cold winds of winter spray the nearby ornamental walls, lamp posts, trees and buildings creating lovely frozen ice sculptures.

When to visit: The free Winter Festival of Lights takes place from early November to the end of January. It boasts over two million lights and over 125 animated light displays along the Niagara Parkway, so it’s an ideal time to visit.

How to get there: To get to Niagara Falls, travellers can fly into New York, where a pre-booked hoppa can offer transfers from the airport to local hotels. From New York, it is possible to take a bus, train, or trolley to the falls.

At the beginning of the wet season, the Red Crabs native to Christmas Island in Australia begin a spectacular migration from the forest to the coast to breed and release eggs into the sea. Several roads often need to be closed down, and the island has even constructed several bridges and tunnels for them to safely make their way to the ocean.

When to visit: The crabs' breeding timetable is fixed around the phases of the moon, usually over a period of a few days between November and December.

How to get there: To get to there, travellers will need to fly into Perth, and then take a connecting flight to Christmas Island.

One of the strangest plants of the desert, the night-blooming cereus – also known as The Queen of the Night – can be found Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts of southern Arizona. While it resembles nothing more than a dead bush most of the year, for one midsummer’s night each year, its exquisitely fragrant, trumpet-shaped flower opens as night falls, then closes forever with the first rays of the morning sun.

When to visit: The flowers bloom for only one night in June or July, making them incredibly hard to spot.

How to get there: Tohono Chul, a botanical garden in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, offers an annual Bloom Night where visitors can see the flowers as they bloom. To get to Tohono Chul, travellers need to fly into Phoenix, which is 160km (100mi) from Tuscan, the closest city to Tohono Chul.

The surreal Wisteria blooms can be found in Kawachi Fuji Gardens, located in Kitakyushu, Japan, and features 150 Wisteria plants, along with 20 different species. People often describe walking under the blanket of blooming Wisterias – the flower Buddhists use to symbolise prayer – as a very tranquil experience.

When to visit: The best visiting time is late April to mid-May when the wisteria flowers are in full bloom. A lively annual “Wisteria Festival”, also known as “Fuji Matsuri“, is hosted in the gardens during this time.

How to get there: To visit the Wisteria Flower Tunnel, travellers can fly into Tokyo, where a hoppa transfer can get you safely to your hotel. The gardens are located about a 4-hour drive away from Tokyo.

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