A UNESCO World Heritage site, one of the great tourist destinations of the world, most everyone likes the quaint mountain town, Banff, in the Canadian Rockies. Growth is strictly limited by National Park regulations.
… at 1,463 m (4,800 ft), it is the town with the second highest elevation in Canada, the highest being Lake Louise.
It is surrounded by mountains, notably Mount Rundle, Sulphur Mountain, Mount Norquay, and Cascade Mountain; and situated above Bow Falls near the junction of the Bow and Spray Rivers. Banff is located 126 km (78 mi) west of Calgary and 58 km (36 mi) east of Lake Louise …
…. It is a major destination for outdoor sports and features extensive hiking, biking, scrambling and skiing areas within the region. …
Canmore is a smaller town (pop. 12,000) just outside the park, a great alternative to touristy Banff. Alpine Club of Canada headquarters are located in Canmore. Many experienced hikers prefer it as a home base.
Two of our top 10 hikes in the world can be reached from here:
Lake O’Hara, for example, is the prettiest mountain hiking in the Rockies.
Plan for July to mid-September in the northern Rockies. Banff is a great town, but the hiking season is short. Blizzards are not uncommon in September. We often suggest Aug. 1st as a good start date for a walking holiday here. Disclosure: besthike is based out of Calgary. Banff is our backyard playground. You could certainly accuse us of bias.
In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, for its outstanding and picturesque series of tufa lakes, caves, and connected waterfalls. …
Sixteen lakes can be seen … all interconnected.
They are separated by natural dams of travertine, which is deposited by the action of moss, algae, and bacteria.
The lakes are renowned for their distinctive colors, ranging from azure to green, grey or blue. The colors change constantly depending on the quantity of minerals or organisms in the water and the angle of sunlight.
I decided — like most tourists — to sign up for a Plitvice Lakes National Park Day Tour.
U.S. $49.56 for travel and the guide. Plus $44.50 for Park entrance.
You can make the trip on your own, but logistics are simpler with a tour. Once in the Park, you can go wherever you like.
It’s crowded most days. Look for gaps in the mob.
Comparable phenomena to those prevailing at the Plitvice Lakes exist at Rastoke (Slunj), at the Krka National Park, at the rivers Una and the Pliva in Bosnia and Herzegovina and at the Krushuna Falls in Bulgaria. The Band-e Amir lakes within the Hindu Kush mountain range form a similar system of lakes and dams …
Calc-sinter formation processes that have not emerged along a river flow can be observed at the Mammoth Hot Springs within Yellowstone National Park (USA) or at Pamukkale in Turkey. Jiuzhaigou is a nature reserve and national park located in the north of Sichuan, China.
You might guess the challenge is ridge walking — but there’s nothing with exposure.
I was wearing trail running shoes in late June. And they were NOT sufficient for the snow, ice, and loose scree. At minimum wear approach shoes. Most Europeans were wearing light hiking boots.
Poles would help for sure. If I did it again I’d carry YakTrax, just in case.
The weather kept changing. My jacket went on and off a dozen times.
Your lift ticket includes entry to the Alpenzoo which we did on the way back to Innsbruck.
It’s small, but well worth the stop. The focus is on animals indigenous to the Alps, though there are over 150 animal species. It’s built on the vertical slope of the mountain.
I was most enthusiastic to see the European Brown Bear and Lynx.
If you get to Innsbruck, this hike is highly recommended. A terrific hiking day.
Note ➙ it’s Europe, so there are easily a dozen variations to this route. You do not need to backtrack, for example. 10Adventuressuggests hiking late in the day — sleeping at Pfeishütte — and walking out day two.
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