Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
A professional trip report, wonderful photos, on the Pyrenearn Haute Route was posted by big-time hiker Andy Howell. He’s just finished his HRP “Pyrenees project”.
The report starts on this page and continues on up the blog.
Andy obviously loves the region.
Recommended guidebook – Pyrenearn Haute Route: High-Level Trail Through the Pyrenees (Cicerone)
(via Two-Heel Drive)
Newsvine tipped us to this NYT article.
(Not that we were worried about the Maoist terrorists in the past.)
WITH political stability returning to Nepal, so too are adventure-oriented travel companies, many of which had discontinued their trips to the country over the last few years.
For the first time since 2002, Country Walkers, based in Waterbury, Vt., is returning to the Himalayan nation of Nepal with special tours in the fall, said to be the ideal time for trekking in the region.
Other outfitters, like Mountain Travel Sobek of Emeryville, Calif., and Wilderness Travel of Berkeley, Calif. — which had halted all trips but those to the Khumba or Everest regions in the northeast — are now offering trips to the Annapurna region in central Nepal. Mountain Travel Sobek is also starting treks to the remote Dolpo and Humla regions in the northwest, which they deemed off limits because of the political unrest.
After more than 10 years of bitter conflict, the Nepalese government signed a peace deal with Maoist rebels in November. …
And Maoists have stopped collecting money from tourists along trekking routes.
… GEOGRAPHIC EXPEDITIONS, which continued to operate trips to Nepal during the unrest but only to the Kathmandu region, is planning two new excursions. One, a rigorous 27-day trek through the Kingdom of the Mustang in the spring and fall, starts at $4,695 a person for a group of eight people. Another 31-day trek, Around Manaslu, to be offered in the fall, starts at $4,995 a person for eight people.
There are some added benefits to being among the first tourists to return to Nepal. “For the moment,†said Mr. Steigerwald, “it’s really a treat to be there without crowds.â€
photo – Mt. Taranaki
We’ve just subscribed to Outdoor Video Magazine, a classy looking blog with quality posts some of which include short video clips.
Most people that go to New Zealand spend most of their time on the South Island, especially if they are outdoor enthusiasts. This is a mistake in my humble opinion. The North Island is almost equally cool, and it actually beats the South Island in terms of it’s variety of scenery and terrain, although it lacks the big mountain ranges obviously. It has spectacular volcanic scenery, crazy coloured lakes and rocks, a Mt Fuji look-alike to summit, beautiful coast, and tropical forest.
I wouldn’t normally recommend a Lonely Planet book, I don’t think they do the best travel guides. However, in this case I will make an exception and say the Lonely Planet’s Tramping in New Zealand is an excellent purchase. Its well written, really easy to follow and find tramps (that’s Kiwi for hikes by the way), and has a range of difficulty from easy to pretty hard (e.g. the 10 day North West Circuit on Stewart Island).
The ‘have to do’ hikes on the North Island in my opinion are: Tongariro Northern Circuit, Mt Taranaki and then something in the East Coast/Hawke’s Bay; either the Lake Waikaremoana Track or if you want something less busy and a bit wilder the Manuoha to Waikareti Track.
Hiking in New Zealand – North Island · Outdoor Video Magazine
Tom Mangan spotted this photo on Flickr.
The Pilgrim’s Path – Mr. Enjoy’s photostream
The amazing photo is from a hike on Madeira island off Africa, an autonomous region of Portugal. (Likely you’ve heard of Madeira wine.)
Hikers go there to walk the ancient “levadas” (irrigation channels) that provide over 2172km (1350mi) of trails on the tiny island.
Two of the most popular walks are the “Levada do Caldeiro Verde” and the “Levada Caldeirão do Inferno”.
The photo is on one of the mountain paths or “veredas” that criss-cross the peaks.
More information – NatureMeetings.com
We’ve added Madeira Island to our list of the best hikes in the world.
In June 2006, two adventurers Gregg Treinish and Deia Schlosberg started an incredible trek walking most of the length of the Andes.
Yeesh.
That is a serious undertaking. Not surprisingly, they are having problems.
They’ve changed the “north to south” itinerary to walk different sections at the best time of the year — even if that means jumping on a plane.
And they’ve had some fantastic experiences.
They are posting occasionally on the Road Junky website. And their photos are posted on SmugMug.
Good luck Gregg and Deia.
Deia
Contributor Warren Long just posted a few photos from a family visit to the great Inca city in 1971.
It’s surprising how little the ruins have changed in that time.
more photos – flickr
The best way to trek there in 2007 is via Choquequirao.
A shout out to Clara Luz Bravo Diaz of Casa de Clara Guest House in Trujillo, Peru. (Great tourist town, by the way. The north coast of Peru is wonderful.)
They emailed to let us know of a regional airline now flying to Huaraz, Peru, one of the best hiking towns in the world. If you are planning a future trekking holiday to Peru — and who isn’t — stop researching the Inca Trail and start looking at the wonderful walks out of Huaraz:
You can now fly into Lima and connect to Huaraz via LC Busre airlines. Air service to Huaraz had been almost nonexistent over the past few years. This really helps.
photo – solo trekking the Huayhuash Circuit – Jake G – flickr
Rogier Gruys is an expert on the West Coast Trail in Canada, the hike we rated #1 in the world. Rogier’s BluePeak Travel Photography pics of the WCT are still the best we’ve ever seen.
But Rogier likes the Snowman Trek even better.
Very few have ever done that long Himalayan trek (minimum 19 days) due to high cost (US$200 / day) and high risk.
The Snowman trek is the most difficult trek in Bhutan because one has to walk and camp at high altitude for nearly three weeks. As long as one has no problems with the high altitude and the weather is good, it is not a particularly difficult trek. But, if something were to happen along the way, someone would have to carry you down to the nearest house, or try to find a telephone to get a helicopter from Thimphu. Both are often several days’ walk. Initially, many people planned and wanted to go with us on the trek, but in the end they all bailed out and only two of us went.
BluePeak photo – high resolution version – flickr
Rogier recommends the Cicerone guidebook. It’s essential advanced reading for anyone considering trekking in Bhutan.
Scrambling adjacent mountain peaks is one of the reasons we love the Overland Track in Tasmania.
The three best sidetrip climbs are Cradle Mountain, Mt. Ossa and The Acropolis. We’ve posted our photos of each of those three.
more Cradle Mountain photos on flickr
Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park – Wikipedia
Ossa is the the highest mountain on the island, but the easiest of the three scrambles we did.
more Mt. Ossa photos on flickr
Mt. Ossa – Wikipedia
The sidetrip to climb The Acropolis adds a day to the regular Overland itinerary. Staying one extra night at Pine Hut is highly recommended.
more Acropolis photos on flickr
Rick McCharles
We named Overland one of the top 10 hikes in the world for good reason.
It’s one of the best walking adventures anywhere.
I could not have been more excited to get started when I arrived in Hobart. I immediately purchased the best guidebook (Chapman) and a map.
Transportation to and from the trailheads is provided by Tassielink bus. An early morning departure would get me to the trailhead and started same day.
This is me trying to hitch a ride after being forgotten by the bus driver en route.
Apparently I was the first passenger left behind in 7 years.
Not an auspicious start to the hike.
The bus company rerouted me overnight, arranging a bed at a popular backpacker’s hostel. There my chicken lunch for the next day was stolen from the communal fridge — the first time I have ever had anything taken from hostel or campground.
Yeesh.
Next morning another Tassielink bus arrived at 5:30AM.
But this time things went smoothly and I was delivered to the Cradle trailhead without a glitch. The weather was perfect.
First priority was to scramble Cradle Mountain, the most photogenic peak in Tasmania.
I had seen many photos of the Overland Track, but the reality was far, far better. Unique, stunning scenery.
The infamous wet, stormy weather … seems to be a fabrication. Hard to believe it can snow here any day of the year.
One of the best reasons to travel to Australia for hiking is the fantastic, diverse animal life. Friendly wallabies hang out at every hut.
Much of the talk on the trail is deciding which sidetrip peaks to climb. Decisions are based mainly on weather. (No use climbing up into the clouds.)
Hikers have the choice to tent … or stay in loud, crowded, smelly huts. (Bring your earplugs if you decide on the huts.)
Since the weather stayed clear, I tented every night.
And when the weather is good this hike is fairly easy. It even provides the most modern solar composting toilets.
And the Overland Track continues to get more accessible for more hikers as muddy sections are covered with boardwalk.
Certainly the Overland Track is one of the best hikes of my life. If you want to organize a trip there check our Overland information page.
Check flickr to see all photos from this trip annotated in full resolution
besthike.com 