Natural World Heritage Sites represent the best of what nature has to offer across the globe, yet I was surprised that I had heard of only one of the eight new sites selected in 2008 to join the illustrious UNESCO list.

The 174 designated natural wonders are considered to be "irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration, and, therefore, of outstanding universal value to humanity."

Some of the most famous natural phenomena on the list, high up among any traveler's must-see destinations, include Australia's Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Islands, and our own Grand Canyon National Park.

The eight new wonders highlight the diversity and beauty of nature and are attracting travelers even where tourism infrastructure is practically nil.

Their inclusion as Natural World Heritage Sites will help promote protection of our planet's precious treasures.

Here are the newest sites, with a tourism contact for each:

Sanqingshan National Park, China: In Jiangxi province, eastern China, this park features suspended walking trails from which hikers can gaze on Mount Sanqingshan's bizarrely shaped granite pillars and peaks — many of which resemble human or animal silhouettes — and distinctive tree populations. Not for the faint-hearted. Asia Transpacific can customize a China itinerary to include this little known but highly intriguing park. www.asiatranspacific.com, 800-642-2742.

French Lagoons of New Caledonia: The gorgeous coral reefs and tropical lagoons of New Caledonia — an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean, east of Australia — form one of the most extensive and highly diverse reef systems on the globe. They boast massive coral structures, major fissures, caves and arches, and a wide variety of fish species, including the pygmy seahorse and top predators, and endangered marine mammals. The five-star Le Meridien Ile des Pins, at the southern tip of New Caledonia, makes a great base from which to explore this extraordinarily beautiful water world. 800-543-4300, www.starwood hotels.com.

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico: Around a billion brilliant orange-and-black monarch butterflies cluster together to spend the winter in the great fir forests only an hour north of Mexico City, some of them making a journey of up to 2,800 miles from points in the United States and Canada. The World Wildlife Fund, in partnership with ecotourism operator Natural Habitat Adventures, organizes several departures, from January through March, on an itinerary that promises "hundreds of thousands of monarch butterflies carpeting Mexican forests, blanketing trees and filling the air with a symphony of fluttering wings." www.nathab.com, 800-543-8927.

Surtsey, Iceland: The island of Surtsey was formed by volcanic eruptions in the 1960s and is part of a small collection of islands known as the Westmen Isles, scattered off the southern coast of Iceland. Surtsey is a living biological laboratory, cherished by scientists fascinated with the colonization patterns of new varieties of plants and animals that have settled there and with its unique coastal erosion. While the entire island is a preserve and no human contact with any part of it is allowed, people can view Surtsey from neighboring isles or from boat excursions. Viking Tours, www.boattours.is, offers a half-day tour to the Westmen Isles, including Surtsey and Heimaey, the only island with human inhabitants.

Swiss Tectonic Arena, Sardona, Switzerland: This stark, jagged Alpine geological wonder reveals how mountains were formed through continental collisions. The Glarus Overthrust, a line in the formation where older rocks overlay younger rocks, is said to have greatly contributed to the understanding of mountain-building tectonics. The arena is best seen from Braunwald, a small village in the Glarus hinterland that is less than an hour's drive south. Stay there at the four-star Marchenhotel Bellevue. www.myswitzerland.com.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs, eastern Canada: This series of rocks and cliffs around the Bay of Fundy contain the finest and most complete known fossil record of terrestrial life during the Coal Age of 300 million years ago. Natural history enthusiasts can examine the fossil remains of reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, mammals, trees and plants. Atlantic Canada Safaris offers up-close itineraries to this ancient site. 877-455-3595, www.atlanticcanadasafaris.com.

Saryarka, northern Kazakhstan: The steppe and fresh and saltwater lakes of Saryarka nurture two protected wetlands — the Korgalzhyn Nature Reserve and Naurzum Nature Reserve — that are stopover points and crossroads on the central Asian flyway of birds from Africa, Europe and South Asia to their breeding grounds in Siberia. Access to these teeming refuges for rare and endangered wildlife and plants is only by permit, which must be obtained through a tour operator. General Tours World Traveler can customize escorted journeys to Saryarka and the surrounding area. 800-221-2216, www.generaltours.com.

Socotra Archipelago, Yemen: The most geologically isolated of the eight new wonders, pristine Socotra Archipelago, with its diversity of plants and animals, has been dubbed the "Galapagos of the Indian Ocean." About 90 percent of its reptile species, 95 percent of its land snail species and nearly 40 percent of plant species are found nowhere else in the world. Socotra is a new mecca for nature lovers, but be prepared to rough it, even in the modest hotels available at nearby Hadibo. www.socotraisland.org.

Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 45-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.