5 of the world’s wettest destinations
Rain. It can make or break a holiday. Here are some places to cross off your list.
1. Mawsynram, India
Officially the wettest place on earth, Marsynram in northeast India, close to the border with Bangladesh, receives an incredible 11,871mm of rain a year. Workers often wear full body umbrellas made of bamboo and banana leaf to protect themselves from the relentless downpour. One unexpected benefit is the region’s unique rubber bridges – wooden structures would rot away too quickly so rubber trees are trained to grow over rivers and create living bridges.
2. Lloro, Colombia
Coming in second place, just a few hundred millimetres behind, is the town of Lloro in northwest Colombia. Because it has two rainy seasons, precipitation is more likely to fall all year round. That means it will probably feel even wetter than Mawsynram as there is no intervening dry season. One year, an astonishing 26,000mm fell on Lloro.
3. Reunion, Indian Ocean
In 1952 1,870mm of rain fell on the small Indian Ocean island of Reunion in a 24-hour period. More than 60 years later, Reunion still holds the record for the highest rainfall in a day. The island still has a high annual rainfall, but nothing like this super storm has ever been seen since.
4. Maui, Hawaii
The island of Maui is home to two of the wettest spots in the world, thanks largely to the mountainous terrain and prevailing tradewinds. The ‘Big Bog’ in the Haleakala National Park receives more than 10,000mm a year and could be the wettest point in the United States. The mountain peak of Pu’u Kukui in the west of Maui gets just under 10,000mm and is covered in lush, almost prehistoric-looking foliage that’s green year round.
5. Tully, Queensland
Strangely enough, there’s something of a competition to be Australia’s wettest town. It's between the Far North Queensland towns of Tully and Babinda, just 80 kilometres apart, who hold a shared record for the highest annual rainfall ever – almost eight metres back in 1950. Tully appears to have claimed the crown, erecting a giant Golden Gumboot in the centre of town. The gumboot is the unofficial yet coveted prize for the wettest town.
Have you been to any of these destinations?