Epic Moonlight: Night Activities for Adventurers

Stay at an African safari camp during the few days around the full moon and you can make the nighttime trek to see the rare phenomenon most visitors miss: moonbows at Victoria Falls in Zambia. When bright moonlight shines on one of the world’s largest stretches of falling water, a sublime lunar rainbow shimmers in the night sky. Victoria Falls is one of the few places on earth where you can witness this natural spectacle regularly. Guides at Gorges Lodge, a 30-minute drive from Victoria Falls town, say the best time to see the lunar rainbow is at high water on the Zambezi River, usually from April to July—it’s when the lodge runs regular moonbow tours.

U.S. Alternative: You can see a smaller-scale version in Kentucky at Cumberland Falls State Park. Moonbows are cast from the park’s 125-foot waterfall on full-moon evenings. And Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park is another popular moonbow destination.

For climbers looking to bag a summit under the light of a full moon, few experiences top Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. Full-moon ascent dates are popular and can get crowded, but the consensus is that it’s worth it. The experience is unforgettable, say climbers. Glaciers glitter in the moonlight as far as the eye can see. Cloudless evenings are especially bright, making the climb easier and sometimes even eliminating the need to switch on headlamps. Most summit attempts begin before midnight so that you reach the top at sunrise.

If You Go: Ultimate Kilimanjaro guides offer group climbs with full moon summits monthly during the dry season. To summit during a full moon, guides recommend beginning the seven-day climb five days before the full moon date.

Moonless or nearly moonless nights are best for experiencing Puerto Rico’s night magic. After dusk, paddle through bioluminescence in one of three bays: La Parguera, Laguna Grande, or Mosquito Bay. Each stroke of the paddle stirs the microorganisms that glow blue-green when agitated, sending twinkling trails through the water. The effect is pure, natural wizardry. On Vieques Island, Mosquito Bay was named the world’s brightest bioluminescent bay by the Guinness Book of World Records. Although you can find bioluminescence in other parts of the world—including Point Reyes, California; San Juan Islands, Washington; and around Vancouver Island, B.C.—Puerto Rico’s show is among the most consistent. It appears nearly every day, year-round, unlike in the other locations where the glow occurs only during certain conditions or seasons.

If You Go: Of Puerto Rico’s three bio bays, the shallow Laguna Grande is the most accessible to visitors. Kayaking Puerto Rico Adventures and Abe’s Snorkeling & Bio Bay Tours are two well-respected local tour operators.

In “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” the quest to find the Holy Grail takes Harrison Ford deep into the labyrinths of the Treasury in Petra’s ancient rock cut city. The red sandstone UNESCO World Heritage Site in Jordan is impressive by day and magical—some say even haunting—at night when lit by candlelight. Nighttime walking tours lead visitors past the movie’s iconic sites along a pathway lit by more than 1,500 candles. Musicians play on traditional instruments and storytellers enlighten you with legends of lost civilizations that frequented the temples and churches and laid their dead to rest in the tombs.

If You Go: Hang back from the group and power off your flashlights for a peaceful, mystical experience.

When scientists study the Northern Lights, they go to Churchill, Manitoba, one of the top places in the world to see the display. The remote Churchill lies directly beneath the Auroral Oval and boasts 300 nights a year of auroral activity. Here you can ride a Tundra Buggy onto the frozen tundra or rent a heated plexiglass-covered Aurora Dome pod to see dramatic bands of dancing light, often in multiple colors. From January through March, Frontiers North runs eight-day Northern Lights tours from Winnipeg that include dog sledding and snowshoeing.

U.S. Alternative: On the Gondwana Northern Lights Tour based in Fairbanks, Alaska, your guides are also professional photographers who will help you capture the perfect image. While you’re waiting for nightfall you’ll go dogsledding, take reindeer walks, learn to curl, and soak in snow-rimmed geothermal hot springs.

With the twinkling lights of downtown St. Thomas’ Charlotte Amalie Harbor in the distance, you can set off at night in a clear-bottom kayak retrofitted with LED lights. The lights illuminate the waters below, giving you a chance to glimpse hundreds of tarpon, rays, and hawksbill and leatherback sea turtles. Head out from the docks at Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort and along the rugged coastline as three-foot tarpon jump and the song of frogs fill the night air. From a stand-up paddleboard your guide can easily spot and identify the marine life swimming around you and share fun facts about island life and ecology.

If You Go: Nightly kayaking tours at Frenchman’s Reef & Morning Star Marriott Beach Resort are $49 per person.

Just off the northeastern coast of Sicily lies the five-square-mile island of Stromboli, home to 500 residents and one of the most active volcanoes on earth. It has erupted so consistently since 1932 that tour companies offer nightly boat cruises to see the spectacle. You don’t have to sip your champagne or wine long before the eruptions begin jetting fountains of molten rock from the lava-filled crater. Because the explosions are so distinctive, can be seen from great distances after dark, and have occurred for thousands of years, the volcano has become known as the “Lighthouse of the Mediterranean.”

U.S. Alternative: The Kilauea lava glow tour takes you to the edge of Kilauea Caldera to see the active lava lake within Halema’uma’u Crater at nightfall.

As if whitewater rafting at night wasn’t already a thrill and a little creepy, Lakota Guides runs nighttime rafting trips on the Colorado River with night vision technology. It’s a bit Jurassic Park-ish: Under dark skies, you’ll float through Class II rapids while taking in the sights with night vision monoculars. The experience comes alive through the nighttime sounds and sweet aromas, honing your senses to the experience. In shades of green you can survey the rapids ahead or the beavers that like to sneak up from behind and smack their tails near the boat, startling rafters.

If You Go: Brush up on your constellations before you go. Stargazing is a highlight of the trip. With night vision enhancement, you’ll see constellations more vividly than ever before.

One of the more affordable excursions on Australia’s Gold Coast, the Mt. Tambourine Glow Worm Caves night tour takes you up Mount Tambourine to see the bioluminescent wonder beneath a waterfall. Thousands of glow worms twinkle like tiny fairy lights on the ceiling of the moisture-controlled cave. To get there, you’ll follow the stars of the Southern Cross with your guide in a four-wheel-drive vehicle as you climb the steep, bumpy road to the top of the mountain. Hiking through the rainforest by flashlight to the caves, your guide will point out nocturnal wildlife along the way. The nine-hour Glow Worm Night Tour with Southern Cross 4WD also includes a bushwalk to a natural bridge.

If You Go: Know that rainforest habitats are shrinking in Australia, but these controlled environment caves help preserve the glow worm’s habitat. The effect is no less jaw dropping.

Pitch-black and noisy, the Costa Rican jungle is an entirely different place at night. Switch off your flashlight for a moment and you become keenly aware of the orchestra of millions of insects and dozens of species of tree frogs and toads. Certified guides at Manuel Antonio National Park say evening is the best time to see all types of rainforest creatures including caymans, snakes, bats, scorpions, tree frogs, skunks, and monkeys. Local tour companies bring along scopes and tech gadgets to give you a closer look. They’ll also help you learn how to frame photographs in the dark.

If You Go: Consider adding a sea turtle conservation tour or volunteer experience in Costa Rica, where you can release hatchlings on the beach at night and watch them crawl toward the moonlit ocean for their first swim.