Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Kraig Adams calls this adventure perhaps the hardest and longest hike of his life.
It’s high on my own life list. Cost and logistics are challenging.
By coincidence, I met guide Ian Taylor, the both of us finishing Kilimanjaro on the same day. I talked to him about possibly signing up for one of his K2 & Gondogoro La adventures in 2027.
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Here’s another edit with more specific information.
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Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.
Disclaimer ➙ There are MANY other mountains to climb in Africa which are much less expensive. Any one of those would be good acclimatization before Kili.
I hiked Kilimanjaro February 2026 on the Machame Route organized by Eric Hanson.
Eric is one of the top hiking YouTubers. He’ll be documenting our trip in coming weeks.
In the meantime, I’m posting some photos here.
We had 22 hikers. 18 of us made both summits. That’s about typical for the Machame Route. It went well for me. My 3 weeks training & acclimatizing in Ecuador prior to this trip was a good idea.
Age & fitness matter much less than the ability to acclimatize to altitude.
It took me 68-years to finally get to Kilimanjaro. The eldest my African guide got to the summit was 79.
We had another in our group age-66.
Truly impressive is one of our assistant guides who’s been to the summit over 200 times over 31 years. He’s age 64.
Here we are — clean & keen — at the start of the 7 day adventure.
In fact, it was a party from the start as many who had hiked with Eric in the past joined for Kili. I was simply an addition to a large group, many who knew one another. This is a very social adventure ➙ shared suffering.
Eric was our American guide. Freddy our African guide. Both responsible for keeping us safe. It was these two who’d make the decision whether or not you were healthy enough to keep climbing.
Those who decided to go down were unable to acclimatize quickly enough. We had daily blood oxygen tests.
Three decided to walk out. One took a helicopter, hoping she will recoup the $4100 cost through insurance.
New to me on a trail was the singing and dancing. Non-stop. To the top.
Oddly, all 7 days we had the same weather. Some sort of micro-climate.
Morning clear. Sunny to start the hiking day. Snow, sleet, and hail in the early afternoon. Clearing by dinner time. Clear skies at night. Kili summit clear at dawn.
We added and removed layers non-stop during the day.
Each day we spent some time hiking through clouds.
We mostly had clear skies at night. The iPhone 16 Pro is terrific at night photography on a tripod.
I’d paid a little extra to have a tent to myself. It was fairly comfortable — though many of our tent sites were far from level. 😀
Kili is a monstrous lump of a mountain. Much bigger than it appears on the horizon.
I’d signed up for Kili in 2020 with Dave and Kraig — cancelled due to Covid.
When I heard in 2025 that Eric Hanson was hosting a climb, I signed up instantly.
His wife was coming so I knew it would be a quality trip. 😀
Food was plentiful and basic. Especially SOUP and potato dishes.
We saw very little animal life. Four-striped grass mouse. And something like a shrew.
Birds aplenty, however. We lived side-by-side with aggressive White-necked Ravens in every camp.
And we did see one Auger Buzzard.
We were happy to see two kinds of monkeys. But both were at lower slopes, close to the start and finishing gates.
Baboons and velvet monkeys have been spotted, but rarely.
This bird took a dump in my backpack. 😀
Vegetation was much more interesting as we climbed through so many different ecological zones.
I do love thistles.
We had great views over to nearby Meru volcano. When you see hikers posed like this, you know they are searching for line-of-sight mobile phone reception. 😀
The Machame Route was crowded when I was there. We often had long lines of hikers & porters.
Camps are crowded and littered.
Personally, I felt the portable toilets provided weren’t great. I preferred squatting over a hole in the concrete in the permanent toilet buildings.
Hygiene is not top of mind for any of the guiding companies. In particular, I was surprised alcohol gel was not constantly provided.
That said, nobody in my group got sick from water or food.
CRUX of Kilimanjaro is summit night. One of the toughest hiking days any of us could recall. I felt perfect. No pain. No problems … when starting.
Wake at midnight. Hot drinks 12:30pm. Start up at 1am.
It was a slow, cold trudge until dawn.
We had an ideal view of the changing light.
Way above the clouds.
We finally reached the first summit peak. And on perhaps another 35 minutes to the highest peak.
I took a LOT of photos and video up there. Most impressive were the odd, receding glaciers.
That was the FUN part.
Guides hustled us down as quickly as possible to avoid altitude sickness. We climbed down 8000 feet, not getting into low camp until 6pm or so. I ascended & descended for 16 hours, grabbing 1 hour sleep around noon.
Sore knees. Sore toes. And cramping quads.
Most would agree that the porters, guides, and staff were the most impressive takeaway from this adventure. We probably had over 100 staff taking care of us over the week. And these folks will do positively anything you request.
Back at the hotel, we celebrated with alcohol and devoured a full roast goat. Delicious.
A hiker died on Kilimanjaro while I was there. Reported heart attack.
On December 24, 2025, a rescue helicopter crashed, killing all 5 people on board. Two were hikers being evacuated.
10–20 deaths annually out of 30,000+ climbers.
I wrongly thought Kilimanjaro would be easy for me. It wasn’t.
We hiked Death Valley in late December on a (relatively) cool day.
Golden Canyon to the Red Cathedral out-and-back is likely the most popular hike.
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We did the Golden Canyon to Gower Gulch Loop.
About 4 miles in about 2 hours.
Overconfident, we left the map in the car and forgot to download the app for offline. Oops.
Signage is minimal and sometimes confusing. At one junction we waited for other hikers to confirm direction.
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Highly recommended — but not in the heat of summer.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
BestHike editor Rick McCharles
The best months to hike in Ecuador are June to September and December to January, which align with the region’s two primary dry seasons, offering clearer skies and more stable, albeit windy, weather.
June–August is ideal for trekking, while November–February is often preferred for climbing volcanoes like Cotopaxi.
My first trip to Ecuador was January / February 2026.
Locals told me it had been rainier than usual — with rain starting almost every afternoon. Normally stopping around sunset.
I was happy with my itinerary and consider myself something of a veteran now. 😀
Acclimatization is critical. Therefore I recommend you start with this sequence of hikes:
I did all of those.
If I had more time, next would have been a summit attempt to either the top of Cotopaxi 5,897 m (19,347 ft) or Chimborazo 6,263 m (20,548 ft). Chimborazo summit is the farthest point on Earth’s surface from the Earth’s center due to its location along the planet’s equatorial bulge.
Finally, Ecuador may be the least expensive of the great hiking destinations of the world. Get planning. 😀
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Independent hiking. No guide.
The Quilotoa Loop, climbing to a 3-kilometre (2 mi)-wide volcanic caldera, is the most famous multi-day hike in Ecuador.
It’s essential that you be acclimatized for altitude before climbing with a full pack. I’d been in Ecuador over 2 weeks before starting, most of that time above 3000m.
In 2026 almost every hiker I met was using the AllTrails app offline to find their way. Our back-up was the Maps.me app offline which includes more trails, more options.
Despite those apps, we all managed to miss multiple side trail turn-offs every day. 😀
Click PLAY or watch a short video of my hike on YouTube.
Most hostels cost about $20 for a private room including a complete breakfast and dinner. Hot or warm showers. Good wifi. Jacuzzi and sauna extra charge. A fantastic bargain.
Though I carried a tent as emergency back-up, there’s no way I was going to use it with so many great, inexpensive hostels available.
Weather is a huge factor. I hiked in early February, one of the best months. But had rain almost every afternoon. The rule here is to do as much hiking as possible early in the day.
Farm dogs tend to bark at strangers. At times you must pretend to throw something at them to dissuade.
Most hikers prefer this direction to save the crater lake for the end and to acclimatize more gradually.
Once at Quilotoa village, most hikers catch a bus back to Latacunga. I stayed overnight in the village to be able to complete the additional 10.8km Quilotoa Crater Circuit next morning. Not easy. That’s an extra 795m elevation gain.
I stayed one night in Latacunga, gateway city to the Quilotoa Loop. Hostal Café Tiana was excellent. I opted to carry ALL my gear rather than leave anything behind at the hostel.
Next morning caught the bus to Sigchos. And began the walk to Isinliví.
I didn’t get my feet wet.
Dogs are all loose. These two not at all menacing.
It was a relief to finally reach Llullu Llama Mountain Lodge, the best hostel on the Loop.
What a facility.
Excellent dinner and breakfast included.
$5 / person for the jacuzzi.
I was enjoying Llullu Llama Mountain Lodge — so didn’t start walking until 11am. Not smart. You should get going as early as possible each day.
As we’d all missed many small trail turn-offs the day before, this time I opened the AllTrails app on my Apple Watch. In general, the green means you’ll be turning in that direction. It did help. I missed fewer turns. BUT this does kill the watch battery quickly.
Day 2 was tougher and wetter.
I saw few hikers each day as we were all walking the same direction. BUT was never lonely. Domestic animals are everywhere on this trail.
The sun was out for several hours. Dangerous near the equator. It’s easy to sunburn. I should have covered-up up better.
Peanut butter for lunch on the bridge.
As is typical of the weather here, rain began in the early afternoon. My phone ran out of juice and would not be recharged by portable battery because the cable was wet. My Apple Watch died.
Without electronic navigation, I could really have gotten lost.
Even worst, the last part of day 2 has multiple possible routes. I ended up on one which was stunning, but more difficult. Somehow I still made it to Chugchilán, a larger town. We stayed at the Cloud Forest which featured a Sauna.
Having learned my lesson, I started early.
As elevation increases, I had more cloud.
Hikers debate which is tougher ➙ day 2 or day 3. Both are challenging.
My fingers were bleeding at least 3 times. Some of the vegetation is thorny.
There are some astonishing valley vistas this day.
Vegetation does change with elevation.
Rush hour.
Celebration time when finally reaching the crater ridge.
From this point, it’s still about an hour’s walk to Quiloto village, a 100% tourist trap.
I was happy we decided to stay at Runa Wasi hostel. Classy, friendly accommodation.
By the end of day 3 you’ve gotten to know hikers on the same schedule. Celebration time.
Great food, as well.
Breakfast as quick as possible ➙ then off while the weather was good.
The 10.8km Quilotoa Crater Circuit next morning took me 4-5 hours. An extra 795m elevation gain with MANY photo & video stops.
After 3 days with a heavy load, I decided to chug a litre of water. Then speed hike the Circuit with no day pack.
There are a number of viewpoints. This one with the glass floor the most impressive.
I’d decided to turn right from the village as this was considered the more difficult part. And I wanted to do it first in case of rain later. There is some scrambling.
There are some random llamas on the rim. Village children ask $1 if you want to take a photo.
With no day pack, I made good time.
Weather excellent this morning. Though quite windy.
Good views of snow-capped volcanoes Cotopaxi and Chimborazo.
For me, this was the best hiking day.
You could drive or bus up to Quilotoa village and just do this Circuit.
I caught the bus back to Latacunga. And connected to Quito.
All and all, a terrific hiking adventure.
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.
A terrific way to acclimatize to altitude from Quito is to take one of the highest aerial lifts in the world, rising from 3,117 m (10,226 ft) to 3,945 m (12,943 ft).
It’s called the TelefériQo. $9 ticket in 2026. Get there close to opening in the morning at 9 or 10am.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
From the top, you continue up as high as you like.
There are great views of Quito below.
The trail is easy walking through grassland.
Ruku peak is 4,698 metres (15,413 ft) — but the top is a scramble. You might want a helmet.
At any time, clouds may roll in. It could rain or hail on short notice. The TelefériQo shuts down in high wind or hard rain, trapping folks up top until service can be resumed.
I ended up climbing to about 4500m.
Once it got too rocky, I stopped. Crashed my drone. 😀 And started down.
Pichincha is a stratovolcano in Ecuador. The capital Quito wraps around its eastern slopes.
The two highest peaks of the mountain are Wawa Pichincha (Kichwa wawa child, baby / small, Spanish spelling Guagua Pichincha) (4,784 metres (15,696 ft)) and Ruku Pichincha (Kichwa ruku old person, Spanish Rucu Pichincha) (4,698 metres (15,413 ft)).
Both peaks are visible from the city of Quito and both are popular acclimatization climbs. Wawa Pichincha is usually accessed from the village of Lloa outside of Quito. Ruku is typically accessed from the TelefériQo on the western side of Quito.
related – AllTrails – Ruku Pichincha
Robert posted comprehensive advice for anyone wanting more enjoyment and less fatigue walking. Avoiding overuse injury, as well.
related – Robert’s post on Balance Techniques to Stay Stable on Uneven Trails
Baños de Agua Santa (Baños) is a small mountain town, the nation’s gateway to the Amazon. And legitimately touted the Adventure Capital of Ecuador.
Activities similar to what you are offered in New Zealand, but for 10% of the cost. There MIGHT be some compromises on safety and liability, however. 😀
I came for the hiking and cycling. And for altitude acclimatization. It’s at 1,820 metres (5,971 feet). Three weeks at altitude conditioning in preparation for Kilimanjaro up next.
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