10 Best Tourist Places for Trekking in the World
Hiking is not a walk in the park, it will challenge you physically and mentally, stretch your limits and magnify your views on a country. These ’10 best tourist places for trekking in the world’ are for serious walkers. All of these require a pair of strong lungs, fit legs and plenty of preparation. However, if you choose to continue these trails, you will have a lifetime experience.
Here are the 10 best tourist places for trekking in the world –
10. GR20, France
This demanding 15- day (168km, 104mi) slog through Corsica is legendary for the diversity of landscapes it traverses. There are forests, granite lunar landscapes, sea breeze craters, glacial lakes, flash floods, peat swamps, snow-capped peaks, plains and névés (ice blocks formed by snow). But it’s not easy: the path is rocky, sometimes steep, including rickety bridges and slippery rock faces – all of which are part of the fun.
The GR20 was founded in 1972 to connect Calenzana in Balagne with Conca in the north of Porto Vecchio.
9. Pays Dogon, Mali
“The land of the Dogon people” is one of the most breathtaking areas in Africa. Hiking here lasts for 2 to 10 days and you can see the cliffs of the Bandiagara with the old abandoned caves. The village of Dogon is dotted with cliffs and is an extraordinary highlight of the journey.
Dogon is known for its masked stilt dancers, sculpted doors and Pueblo-style houses built on the edge of the cliff.
8. Baltoro Glacier & K2
This corridor of ice leads to the colossal peak of K2 (8,611m, 28,251ft), the world’s second-highest peak. This incomparable trek traverses some of the most humbling scenery on the planet. What begins following icy rivers boldly goes to the guts of the glacier before leading to the granite pyramidal mountains including Paiju (6,610m, 21,686ft), Uli Biaho (6,417m, 21,053ft), Great Trango Tower (6,286m, 20,623ft) and ultimately K2. If the 15 days doesn’t floor you, take side trips to more moraine-covered glaciers.
7. Indian Himalayas, India
Fewer folk trek on the Indian side of the world’s greatest mountain range. So, if isolation’s your thing try trekking in Himachal Pradesh. Hardcore hikers can try teetering along the mountain tops for 24 days from Spiti to Ladakh. This extremely remote and challenging walk follows ancient trade routes. The bleak high- altitude desert terrain inspired Rudyard Kipling to exclaim, ‘Surely the gods live here; this is no place for men’.
6. Inca Trail, Peru
This 33km (20mi) ancient trail was laid by the Incas and is currently traversed by thousands each year. The trail leads from the Sacred Valley to Machu Picchu winding its way up and down and around the mountains, taking three high passes in route. Views of white-tipped mountains and high cloud forest combine with the magic of walking from one cliff-hugging ruin to the next – understandably making this South America’s most famous trail.
5. Overland Track, Australia
Tasmania’s prehistoriclooking wilderness is most accessible on the 80km (50mi, five- to six-day) Overland Track. Snaking its way between Cradle Mountain and Lake St Clair (Australia’s deepest natural freshwater lake), the well-defined path (boardwalked in parts) passes craggy mountains, beautiful lakes and tarns, extensive forests and moorlands. Those who want more can take numerous side walks leading to waterfalls, valleys and still more summits including Mt Ossa (1,617m, 5,305ft) – Tassie’s highest.
4. Routeburn Track, New Zealand
See the stunning subalpine scenery of New Zealand’s South Island surrounding this medium three-day (32km, 20mi) track. At the base of New Zealand’s Southern Alps, the track passes through two national parks: Fiordland and Mt Aspiring. Highlights include the views from Harris Saddle and atop Conical Hill – from where you can see waves breaking on the distant beach. The main challenge for this popular hike is securing a place among the limited numbers who are allowed on the track at any time.
3. The Narrows, USA
A 26km (16mi) journey through dramatic canyons carved over centuries by the Virgin River, the Narrows in Zion National Park is a hike like no other. The route is the river, with over half of the hike spent wading and sometimes swimming. The hike can be traversed in a day, though some choose to take the hanging gardens and natural springs at a more leisurely pace – spending a night at one of the park’s 12 camp grounds.
2. The Haute Route, France-Switzerland
Leading from Chamonix in France through the southern Valais to Zermatt in Switzerland, the Haute Route traverses some of the highest and most scenic country accessible to walkers anywhere in the Alps. The summer Haute Route walk (which takes a different course than the more famous winter skitouring route) takes around two weeks to complete. It mainly involves ‘pass hopping’ and demands a high level of fitness, with every section containing a high huff factor.
1. Everest Base Camp, Nepal
One of the best tourist places for trekking in the world is Mt. Everest base camp. Reaching a height of 5,643m (18,514ft) at Kala Pattar, this three-week trek is extremely popular with those who want to be able to say, ‘I’ve been to the base of the world’s highest mountain’. The difficult trek passes undeniably spectacular scenery and is trafficked by Sherpa people of the Solu Khumbu. The heights reached during this trek are literally dizzying until you acclimatize to the altitude, and the continuous cutting across valleys certainly has its ups and downs.
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