Believe it or not, you don’t have to take a plane across the world to experience its natural wonders. In fact, you can have a more up-close, educational, and inspiring relationship with animals and ecosystems from… your couch? There are some truly inspiring nature documentaries at our disposal that can take us all around the world. You can watch a cheetah stalk an antelope in the depth of the desert, and watch as it suddenly breaks into a run. You can watch whales migrating north and watch their coordinated feeding as they all leap from the water simultaneously. You can even watch a rare species of butterfly as they disguise themselves as ants prior to cocooning. You’ll get closer to this wildlife than you ever could in person and learn more about what makes our planet so unique. Here are the three best nature documentaries.

Our Planet

In 2019 Netflix released its eight-episode documentary series called Our Planet. We consider this one of the best nature documentaries for many reasons. Four years in the making, the series came from the same creators who made Planet Earth and Blue Planet (two award-winning nature documentaries from the early 2000s). This series was four years in the making and it takes you on a journey to over 50 countries throughout the world, highlighting different natural habitats. It’s also filmed in ultra-high definition, which makes the scenes shot all the more breathtaking and real. Each episode focuses on a different habitat as you journey from deserts to jungles to deep within the ocean.

Flight of the Butterflies

Released in 2012, this nature documentary follows the year-long migration cycle of Monarch butterflies. You get to see these beautiful creatures during all walks of their journey as they migrate from Mexico, through the United States, to Canada and then back. Much shorter than Our Planet (clocking in at 45 minutes) this marvel of nature is available to watch on Amazon or iTunes.

Planet Earth II

Most nature aficionados have already fallen in love with the original Planet Earth, but fewer have seen the 2017 miniseries entitled Planet Earth II. Released ten years after the original aired, this six-episode miniseries takes viewers to new locales. They even go so far as to explore city-dwelling species and some of them may surprise you.

These gorgeous wonders of nature can be brought into your home through Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes.