You don’t have be a hardcore hiker to appreciate how amazingly beautiful the world is when viewed from the trail.
1. Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
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It may be a bit “mainstream,” but there must be a reason the Nepalese Annapurna Circuit is as popular as it is. The reason I glean, is that the 100-145 mile trek takes you through jungles, over mountains, by waterfalls, across rice paddies, and between incredible villages.
2. Kungsleden, Sweden
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“The King’s Trail,” Sweden’s Kungsleden takes the hiker through 270 miles of unspoiled European wilderness. Bonus: In the winter, the hiking trail converts into a ski trail.
3. Zillertal Alps, Austria
Source: www.urbanite.net
With a variety of hiking circuits at a multitude of altitudes, the Zillertal Alps in Austria has something for everyone at every skill level. Try the Berliner Höhenweg, the essential 7-day, 40-mile Zillertal trek.
4. Croagh Patrick, Ireland
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One part religious rite of passage to two parts beautiful Irish mountain trek, the 3-mile day-hike up Croagh Patrick takes only about 4.5 hours round trip, but affords the hiker incredible views of Ireland along this incredibly popular trail.
5. Kalalau Trail, Kauai, Hawaii, United States
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As beautiful as it is dangerous, the 22-mile roundtrip hike in Kauai regularly crops up on both “best hiking circuit” and “most dangerous hiking circuit” lists.
6. Inca Trail, Peru
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What kind of roundup would this be without the Inca Trail? Classically spanning from Cusco to Machu Picchu, the Inca trail takes an average of 4-5 days to complete, as trekkers pass through villages and ruins starting at 9,200 ft and extending beyond 13,800 feet above sea level.
7. Tongariro Northern Circuit, North Island, New Zealand
Source: nzexplorers.com
They don’t call it a “New Zealand Great Walk” for nothing. Four days will take you the 31 miles around Mount Ngauruhoe on this legendary Kiwi trail.
8. Desert Trek to Petra, Jordan
Source: www.morenotravels.com
Given that visiting the Kingdom of Petra, with its iconic facade carved right into the rock face of the canyon, is on many a traveler’s bucket list, tour companies have made it remarkably easy to visit this desert destination. You could go the lame way, on an air conditioned tour bus that drops you at a makeshift parking lot, or you can embark on a 50 mile, 7 day adventure crossing the desert that ends at the looming rear-entrance into Petra that most will never see.
9. Haute Route, France-Switzerland
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One of the most famous skiing/mountaineering routes of all time, the Haute Route takes almost two weeks to conquer the 112 miles from Chamonix, France to Zermatt, Switzerland.
10. West Coast Trail, British Columbia, Canada
Source: www.traildino.com
Spanning the southwestern coast of Vancouver Island, the 47 miles of the West Coast Trail were originally carved in 1907 to aid in the rescue of shipwreck survivors along the coast. Today it is one of the premier backpacking routes in the country.
11. Sentiero Azzurro, Cinque Terre, Italy
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This incredible trek takes you along the gorgeous Western Italian coast, and consists of 4 stretches of path connecting 5 towns across 7.5 miles.
12. Grindelwald, Switzerland
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Sure it may be a bit on the touristy side, but Grindelwald boasts some of the best hiking for beginners in Switzerland. With 186 miles of trails to choose from (some as short as an hour trek to as long as several days), you’ll find an ideal circuit for the whole family.
13. Tiger Leaping Gorge, China
Source: www.shafir.info
Hiking “the high road” the 135 miles through the Tiger Leaping Gorge is said to be incredibly challenging (particularly during the rainy season when whole sections of the trail are flooded), and incredibly rewarding (as hikers pass by waterfalls and through a variety of micro-ecosystems).
14. Sarek National Park, Sweden
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The perfect location for experienced hikers and survivalists, Sarek National Park is famous for it’s 760 square miles of unmarked and wild terrain to explore. From Sweden’s official travel site: ”You can sing out loud, run naked, have monologues with yourself, and nobody will notice.”
15. Polar Route, Greenland
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Also known as the Arctic Circle Trail, this 100-mile path along the coast of Greenland which starts in Kangerlussuaq, and passes the world’s second largest glacier on the way to one of the most remote ports of the world, Sisimiut.
16. North Drakensberg Traverse, South Africa
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Another must-do for outdoor and hiking enthusiast, South Africa’s Drakensberg Traverse is widely regarded as one of the best hiking circuits in the world. The 40 mile grind straddles the border between South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho, across the beautiful African wilderness.
17. Appalachian Trail, United States
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If there was one trail to test your mettle as a hiker and mental fortitude, the Appalachian Trail is it. The benchmark of American trekking, the 2,200 miles traverses 14 states over all kinds of terrain, and is certainly not for the faint of heart.
18. Rim-to-Rim Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
Source: www.mostamazingwonders.com
Deceptively dangerous, the mighty Grand Canyon is a desert dream on many people’s bucket list, and can be cut into several different trails both into the canyon to the river, and back out to the opposite rim. From May to September, signs caution would-be rim-to-rim travelers to break the ~20 mile trip up into two days, as the trail claims dozens of lives every year from overexertion and overheating.
19. Bay of Fires, Tasmania, Australia
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This incredible 4-day trek along Tasmania’s gorgeous Eastern coast is capped on the ends by Binalong Bay and Eddystone Point.
20. Chilkoot Trail, Alaska and Yukon Territory, U.S. and Canada
Source: www.flickr.com
A National Historic Site of Canada and infamous Yukon gold rush route, the Chilkoot Trail stretches from Dyea, Alaska 33 miles North to Bennett, B. C. along the Taiya River.
21. Tour de Mont Blanc, France
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Circumnavigating the 105 miles around the base of Mont Blanc Massif, the Tour de Mont Blanc is a classic 11-day hike, but the trail is also run competitively by marathon runners typically within a 24-hour period.
22. Mountains of the Moon, Uganda
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Also known as the Rwenzori Mountains, these isolated and relatively unknown peaks deep in Uganda are home to some of Africa’s best hiking and last permanent glaciers, surrounded by mossy forests and sprawling plains.
23. Overland Track, Australia
Source: www.cradlehuts.com.au
Enclosed within Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain-Lake St. Clair National Park, the 51-mile Overland Track that extends from Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair is one of Australia’s most popular bushwalks.
24. Yosemite Grand Traverse, California, United States
Source: www.noroads.com.au
A casual 8-day, 60 mile trek through one of America’s greatest national parks, the Yosemite Grand Traverse typically includes summiting Half-Dome, and following the famous John Muir Trail.
25. Zion Narrows, Utah, United States
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National Geographic’s #5 Best American Adventure, the Zion Narrows hike is short (3.6 miles) but absolutely packed with some of the most incredible colors and land formations Utah has to offer.
26. Queen Charlotte Track, New Zealand
Source: www.rankers.co.nz
An incredibly well-established circuit in New Zealands’s Marlborough region, the Queen Charlotte Track demands a sacrifice of about 3-5 days of your time, but offers the incredible scenery of New Zealand over the 43.5 miles from Ship Cove to Anakiwa.
27. Everest Base Camp Trek, Nepal
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From Base Camp, you can really set your eyes on the prize. But getting there’s no picnic, since both the North face and South face camps sit at about 17,000 feet or above, and take nearly a week of grueling hiking to reach.
28. Fitz Roy Trek, Patagonia, Argentina
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One of Argentina’s premier Patagonian hikes, Mount Fitzroy can be experienced through a number of different routes depending on how much time you have (and average ~40 miles long).
29. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
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By now, the paths that lead to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro are pretty well-worn territory, but that doesn’t stop flocks of hikers from attempting to stand on the top of the tallest free-standing mountain, and gaze out at the world 19,341 feet below. Treks to the top generally take between 5-8 days, depending on the difficulty of the route and the amount of time allotted for acclimatization.
30. Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia
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The grounds of Simien Mountains National Park in Ethiopia are scored with miles of hiking trails, the main method of taking in the Ethiopian wilderness.
31. Torres del Paine Circuit, Chile
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Just 1,500 miles to the south of Santiago lies Chile’s premier hiking trail: a 52-mile, 10-day trek circumnavigating the epic Torres del Paine mountain range.
32. Muliwai Trail, Hawaii
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Hailed as the the most rigorous hike in Hawaii, the 18-miles of the Muliwai trail will take you through the Waipi’o Valley, Waimanu Valley, and an incredible black sand beach.
33. Laugavegurinn Trail, Iceland
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Few trails in the world will take you from a region boasting hot springs to a valley housing glaciers over a 34 mile hike through all manner of landscapes. For these reasons, Iceland’s Laugavegurinn Trail is a must for nature enthusiasts.
34. Long Range Traverse, Newfoundland, Canada
Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com
To get a permit to hike this unmarked 21-mile circuit in the Canadian tundra, you actually have to pass a written test proving your navigational skills.
35. Cape Wrath Trail, Scotland
Source: www.locostravel.com
Widely considered to be the UK’s most brutal hiking route, the 200 miles of Scotland’s Cape Wrath Trail will take an experienced hiker about 20 days to complete.
36. Israel National Trail, Israel
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What better way to see the entire country of Israel, than hiking ~600 miles of trail that crosses all of it, from the northernmost Lebanese border to the Red Sea?
37. Santa Cruz Trek, Cordillera Blanca, Peru
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One of the most popular treks in Peru shy of the Inca Trail, the Santa Cruz trek will take 4 days of moderately aggressive hiking in exchange for unique views of lakes, mountains, and rivers on the Peruvian-Andes-less-traveled.
38. Gunung Rinjani, Indonesia
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The hike up the 12,224 feet of Mount Rinjani, the second largest active stratovolcano in Indonesia, is doable albeit challenging, and will take on average about 3-4 days.
39. Pays Dogon, Mali
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Perhaps surprisingly, Pays Dogon not only consistently crops up in “best treks in the world” lists, but it also tends to rank very highly. The backcountry routes through Dogon country touch many isolated villages which have remained virtually the same over the past millenium.
40. Cordillera Apolobamba, Bolivia
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Abutting the Peruvian Border, the 65-mile Cordillera Apolobamba in Bolivia is rarely traversed, making it an incredible venue for experiencing endemic and endangered fauna during the 5 day trek.
41. Bibbulmun Track, Australia
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Named after the indigenous peoples of Perth, Australia, the 623-mile trail is one of the world’s best long-walk treks and takes roughly 6-8 weeks to complete.
42. Buckskin Gulch, Utah
Source: www.wildernessutah.com
One of Utah’s greatest day-hikes, the 13 miles of Buckskin Gulch comprise one of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the world.
43. Jomolhari, Bhutan
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Taking between 8-12 days depending on how aggressively the trail is attacked, the Jomolhari trek in Bhutan passes ruins and landmarks as it follows a path carved several centuries ago, and is steeped in culture and history.
44. Tonquin Valley, Canadian Rockies, Alberta, Canada
Source: st.gdefon.com
Touching places like the South Jasper Range and Amethyst Lake, one thing is certain about the Tonquin Valley hike: it’s going to be visually stunning.
45. Yoshida Trail, Mount Fuji, Japan
Source: assets.hike.io
The incredibly popular 9-mile roundtrip trail turns tackling Japan’s Mount Fuji into a manageable day-trip (doable by most in 9 hours or less).
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