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#9 best hiking region in the world is …

The Alps

Many North American hikers pooh-pooh hiking in Europe as “too civilized and too expensive”. The ones who have never hiked there.

With advanced planning you can get to some of the best wild scenery in the world and not go bankrupt in Europe.


Iconic peaks reflected in tranquil mountain lakes, sweeping hillsides blanketed in wild flowers and dramatic, sprawling glaciers characterize the Alps. Discover why this mighty range, the birthplace of modern mountain walking, has enthralled walkers for centuries. – LP

The culture and history of Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Slovenian and Switzerland are an added bonus.

Travel is easy in Europe, of course, but the hiking window is short. You want to be there Jun-Sept, the same high season as North America.

More information on our new Alps information page.

Our favourite trip in the Alps was the Tour of Mont Blanc. But after besthike editor found the TMB crowded with hordes of tour groups the summer of 2009, we changed our “favourite hike in Europe” to the more challenging Walker’s Haute Route, Chamonix to Zermatt.

Both long hikes are in the same region, sharing sections of trail near Chamonix. Both are great, truth be told.

Consider both these adventure:

• Tour of Mont Blanc Information page

• Haute Route information page

Check out, too, the 2009 Haute Route trip report (Mt Blanc to Matterhorn) by besthike editor Rick McCharles.

Leave a comment if you have your own favourite hike in the Alps.

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Most Photographed Hiking Trails

… By cross-referencing the number of photographs on stock imagery libraries tagged with   “walking trail” or “hiking trail” for over 500 locations, we found which destinations yielded the highest number of photos, thus emerging as the places in the world with the most scenic trails.

Explore
  • GR20, France
  • Everest Base Camp Trek, Nepal
  • The Westweg , Germany
  • Camino de Santiago, Spain
  •  Inca Trail, Peru
  • Appalachian Trail, eastern USA
  • Jordan Trail, Jordan
  • West Coast Trail, Canada
  • Laugavegur Trail, Iceland
  • Lycian Way, Turkey

Having hiked most of the top 10, I’d rank Laugavegur and Everest as most photogenic.

Laugavegur Trail
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BestHike #2 – John Muir Trail, California

John Muir Trail is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

Click PLAY or watch a 1-minute preview on YouTube.

John Muir Trail

If there’s a hiker’s paradise on earth, it’s the JMT in the Sierra Nevadas.

213 miles without a road. Fantastic weather. 11 high passes. Unbelievable nonstop vistas. And Mt Whitney.

AT A GLANCE

Yosemite map
  • Yosemite, Ansel Adams and John Muir wilderness, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks
  • start in stunning Yosemite, Muir’s “Range of Light”
  • 223mi (360km) to Whitney Portal adding sidetrips to Half Dome, Vermillion Resort and Mt. Whitney 14,505ft (4,421m)
  • 15-21 days recommended
  • carry your own food and tent
  • JMT about 10% the length of the Pacific Crest Trail

Read more on our John Muir Trail information page.

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Glacier National Park Highlights

Glacier North Circle is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

Fantastic.

Ideally you hike both Glacier in Montana and Waterton National Park in Alberta, Canada.

  • 7 days, 6 nights recommended
  • 65miles (104km) plus side trips
  • best months July-Sept
Highline Trail vista

BUT if you only want to day hike, check out the highlights recommended by World Wide Hearts.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 4

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Sept. 16, 2023

Álftavatn ➙ Langidalur camp

Shortly after packing up the tent Sept. 16th, the rain began. 💧

I put away the camera and took not one photo nor video for the entire day.

It was head down. One foot after the other for about 34 tough kms.

I was only able to get shelter from constant rain and high winds for late lunch at Emstrur / Botnar. It was still open as the American guided group was there that night — and provided a cook tent.

Hiking Laugevagur leaves you almost entirely unprotected from the elements. There is no place to hide.

I’d seen the monument to Ido Keinan who died, lost 1 kilometre away from the hut in Hrafntinnusker. Exposure during a late June storm.

I used the free Maps.me app offline to confirm I was on the trail. This works in the dark or the middle of dense cloud.

… After about 11 hours with very few breaks, I made it to Langidalur hut in Þórsmörk.

In fact, I HAD to keep walking all day to stay warm!

I marched past, trying to cross the river to Basar campsite, closest to the start of next day’s Fimmvörðuháls hike. I’d heard the hut had been closed most of the summer, but that the campground was open.

The wardens were having dinner. Called me over. And explained that they’d taken out the bridges due to the continuous rain. The river was impassable.

I had a choice to be a wet rat in a wet tent for the night. Or check in to the hut at a cost of about $90.

Another fun guided group convinced me to join them inside. Gave me $5 hot shower tokens. And offered me dinner and wine. It was perhaps the best $90 I ever spent.

Sept. 17, 2023

I was still hopeful the rain would break and I’d somehow be able to cross the river. And continue to the coast.

BUT the wardens and tour group offered me a chance to get a lift with them back to Reykjavik. I couldn’t say no.

Morning did arrive with better weather.

We did some day hiking.

Þórsmörk (Thorsmork – the Valley of Thor) is an area where trees are protected. And there are some surprisingly large trees.

Our bus did get stuck crossing the river for rendezvous. But the wardens have a tractor for flattening the river bed and even towing the bus, if needed.

The driver did not look worried. This is situation normal for him.

I enjoyed the ride back to Reykjavik with the tour group. Weather mixed, but improving.

Overall I was thrilled with the hike. Happy to have done the YOYO. Happy to have had only one day of bad weather in September.

This was a win.

Check our Laugevagur Trail information page for how to organize this adventure for yourself.

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 3

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Sept. 15, 2023

Álftavatn ➙ Landmannalaugar ➙ Álftavatn YOYO

Wow. Weather continues to be fantastic for September.

My PLAN was to leave the tent behind. Hike to the hot springs at Landmannalaugar and YOYO back before dark.

For me it was 5 hours to Landmannalaugar. 1 hour lunch and hot springs. 6 hours back.

Around 40 tough kms.

I left in the dark.

It did turn out to be one of the greatest days hiking of my life.

I’ll let the photos explain. 😀

I had 9 hours with vistas like this.

It’s a gorgeous area of the world. Part snow and ice. Part volcanic landscape.

There is real risk of stepping into boiling mud accidentally.

All sorts of weird snow caves and tunnels.

Of the plants here, I liked cottongrass best.

It’s in this high section in a snow storm where people might most easily lose the trail. Therefore it’s better marked with cairns and posts than anywhere else on the trail.

I had lunch at Hrafntinnusker. Met a fun American guided group who I would bump into several more times over the next 2 days.

As you approach the end, there’s more and more volcanic activity.

Landmannalaugar came into sight. My half way point for the day.

In August, the hot springs at Landmannalaugar are typically crowded.

But in mid-September there were only a few people enjoying a huge pool.

It’s hot. You can easily get scalded so positioning yourself carefully is critical. This was my best spot.

I had lunch. Then started back the way I had come. STILL confident I could get to my tent before dark. 😀

The return trip was equally good. But different in that you are facing the opposite direction with much different light.

Happily, no rain the rest of the day.

There’s the lake. One more descent and I’ll make it.

Unfortunately, It WAS dark before I got home. Days are already getting short in Iceland in September.

Even with a good headlamp it was easy to lose the trail. I had to rely on the GPS via Maps.me in order not to get lost.

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 2

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Sept. 14, 2023

Emstrur / Botnar ➙ Lake Álftavatn

A lovely, quiet evening at Botnar.

More gorgeous weather. I was feeling very lucky for mid-September.

Quite early in the day I stopped to shoot a lot of drone footage near this scenic, stark peak.

There were some bridges.

DCIM\100MEDIA\DJI_0741.JPG

And we waded some rivers. All quite easy late in the season with no recent rain.

I had lunch at Hvanngil camp. Still open.

Continued on to Álftavatn camp which was closed for the season.

Often open until Sept. 17th, it depends somewhat on how many hikers book in advance.

I spoke with wardens at another camp who didn’t yet know what would be their last day.

The sit-down toilets were locked up for the winter, as well. But each camp seems to have one long drop toilet open year round.

Weather still good, I did some day hiking until dark.

Getting up and away from the main trail is easy and fun.

I couldn’t decide which of these next 2 photos to include. 😀

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 1

Sept. 13, 2023

Þórsmörk ➙ Emstrur Botnar

There are 3 main huts / camping areas at Þórsmörk:

The bus delivered us to Volcano hut.

We did NOT get stuck in the rivers.

Volcano hut offers these luxurious rental tents. Glamping. 😀

I dropped my pack and — as the weather was good — hiked up the closest viewpoint with most everyone who had arrived with me.

Wow. This is the Iceland I remember.

I planned to cross this river on foot when I returned.

We took a different trail down to Langidalur camp. Then hiked around the mountain back to Volcano.

It was only 13.5km to the first official campsite Emstrur / Botnar so I was in no rush.

I took a lot of photos. Shot plenty of video.

River Crossings

The most dangerous part of hiking Laugevagur are the river crossings. Plan carefully what footwear you want for wading slippery stones in (potentially) a thigh high. strong current.

I hiked in approach shoes. Used trail runners with neoprene booties for the river crossings and around camp.

Once in a while you have the luxury of a bridge.

Most available bridges are across gorges too steep to wade.

The trail is fairly well signed.

IF you have good visibility, it’s not easy to wander off trail.

Weather changes frequently. Sometimes drastically.

I love the bleak, treeless landscapes when the sun is low.

I’d camped at Emstrur Botnar 5 years earlier and liked the tent sites, somewhat protected from the wind.

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Iceland ➙ Laugevagur Trail YOYO – day 0

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Sept. 12, 2023

Hiking Interior Iceland.

Fantastic. But challenging. You need to be organized.

Do your research well in advance.

Click PLAY or watch my hike on YouTube. (4min)

After this page, check out TMB Complete Guide to the Laugavegur Trail.

I was probably making a mistake going so late in the season. Laugevagur could shut down any time after Sept. 11th due to weather.

All agree that Laugavegur is the best hike in Iceland. It’s fairly close to Reykjavik. There are a number of transportation options to get to the trailheads.

Cost

For me as a tourist, Iceland has been by far the most expensive nation. And I’ve been to over 90 nations.

Bring. Money. $$$$$

You probably don’t need any Icelandic currency as they accept credit card almost everywhere. The notable exception is local buses that only take cash or payment by their own app.

Food & Fuel

Knowing that food is expensive and limited in variety, I brought quite a bit of camping grub with me on the plane.

I bought the rest in Reykjavik. And bought a small canister of very expenisve fuel.

Of course there are hundreds of partial containers at the trailheads, but I didn’t want to risk not having fuel.

Fuel canisters left behind at Langidalur, Sept. 2023

Transportation

Deciding on this adventure last minute, I was excited to do it late in the season when there would be fewer hikers. Of course, bad weather is a greater risk.

What I didn’t realize until arrival is that bus service to the trailheads started shutting down Sept. 11, 2023.

Last bus to Landmannalaugar was Sept. 11, 2023.

Buses to Þórsmörk (Thórsmörk) ended Sept. 15, 2023.

There are 3 main bus companies:

I decided to take the Reykjavik Excursions bus to Þórsmörk on Sept 13.

I’d YOYO the Laugavegur — hiking it both ways back to my starting point. Then continue over the Fimmvörðuháls pass to Skógar on the coastal highway. From there it would be easy to find transportation back to Reykjavík.

I’d done Landmannalaugar to Skógar, August 2018, so knew what I was facing.

Navigation

I did carry a paper map as back-up, but mostly used the free Maps.me app offline whenever I wanted to check that I was on track. It’s excellent for Laugevagur and most major hikes worldwide.

The one time I really needed Maps.me was coming in to camp in the dark with headlamp. It’s very easy to get confused when you can’t see the next post in the distance.

Electronics

There’s no access to power on the trail. In order to keep your devices working, bring enough power bank batteries. I brought two 20000mah batteries on my hike.

Be sure to carefully store your electronics in waterproof ways. It’s difficult to keep the rain out.