This is by no means a comprehensive be-all-and-end-all list of ‘must-do treks’ or ‘treks to do before you die’. It’s simply a list of spectacular hikes around the world, many which you will already be familiar with, hopefully a few which perk your interest. I have only done a couple on this list so far so it’s as much a guide for me as anything else. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts.

Polar Route Greenland

Length: 160km (100 miles)

Difficulty: Hard

Best time to hike: May-November

As a UNESCO world heritage site, Greenland is one of the most remote, untouched lands still on offer. The Polar route passes through a Fjord laden coastline dropping off Mile thick Glacial Ice. Get in to see it now before climate change alters this landscape for good. (Check out this site for anything adventure related in Greenland)

Three Passes Trek Nepal

Length: 16-21 Days

Difficulty: Strenuous

Best time to hike: September-November, March-May

A relatively new alternative to the well-worn Everest basecamp trek, Three Passes makes the journey over Kongma La (5,535m), Cho La (5,380m) and Renjo La Pass (5,388m) on the way to EBC. There are numerous side trips on offer, including the sacred Gokyo Lakes. (Best guide)

Fitz Roy Trek Patagonia

Length: Various

Difficulty: Moderate

Best time to hike: October-April

Offering some of the worlds most dramatic mountain and glacial landscapes, hikers have the option of multiple day-hikes (returning to their hotels) or multi-day journeys on Patagonia’s most famous Trek.

Overland Trek Australia

Length: 65km (40 Miles)

Difficulty: Moderate

Best time to hike: November-April

Located in Tasmania, this 65km trek has stove-heated huts right the way through. Due to its popularity in recent years however, it may be an idea to bring your own sleeping gear.

West Coast Trail Canada

Length: 75km (47 miles)

Difficulty: Moderate

Best time to hike: May-October

The 75 km West Coast Trail is part of the ancient paths and paddling routes used for trade and travel by First Nations.

North Drakensberg Traverse South Africa

Length: 65km

Difficulty: Strenuous

Best time to hike: Mach-June & September

Sitting the high edge of the Drakensburg escarpment, at around 3,000m, you’ll be trekking through remote mountain wilderness, unlikely to encounter another sole on this journey.

Torres Del Paine Circuit Chile

Length: Various

Difficulty: Moderate

Best time to hike: October-April

Google images. What else needs to be said about this place..

Kalalau Trail Hawaii

Length: 18km (11 Miles)

Difficulty: Strenuous

Best time to hike: May to September

Passes over towering cliffs overlooking Kauai’s rugged coastline, before tipping back into lushes valleys. The trail is a constant up and down at steep gradients, making it a challenging hike.

Cordillera Apolobamba Bolivia

Length: 115km, 4-6 Days

Difficulty: Moderate

Best time to hike: June-September

“The journey took us over high mountain passes with staggering vistas of the broad valleys and the cordillera’s snow-covered peaks beyond, past trout-filled lakes and occasional gold mines, and into pastoral scenes of shepherds tending flocks of sheep.” (Transitions Abroad)

Goecha La trek India

Length: 90km

Difficulty: Moderate

Best time to hike: April-May, September-November

Passing through flourishing meadow-laden valleys that come alive with wild-flowers at the right time of year. Unrivaled views of the three-headed beast Kanchenjunga, the worlds third highest peak.

The Haute Route France & Switzerland

Length: 10-12 Days

Difficulty: Strenuous

Best time to hike: July-September

“The route traverses below the summits of 10 out of the 12 of the highest peaks in the Alps, and crosses several high passes. The highest pass is at 2964 m (9,800 ft). This is a world of glaciers and towering, snow-capped peaks. The Haute Route also meanders through green alpine valleys with flower-covered meadows and picture-book villages. This is a trek of contrasts. The route passes through the centre of both the French and Swiss Alps: two distinct cultural regions with different languages and architecture.” (Chammonix.net)

Milford Track New Zealand

Length: 54km (33 Miles)

Difficulty: Moderate

Best time to hike: October-April

As New Zealanders will recite far too often, this was once labelled “The finest walk in the world”. Source remains unclear and it was most likely one of the park rangers.. It is however, right up there as a truly spectacular world-class hike.

Tonquin Valley Canada

Length: 43km (27 miles)

Difficulty: Moderate

Best time to hike: July-September

Located in the Jasper National Park, one of the prime backpacking spots throughout the whole of North America. Acres of beautiful flowers, lakes and glaciated peaks will make this one well worth your while.

Mountains of the Moon Uganda



Length: 61km (38 miles)

Difficulty: Strenuous

Best time to hike: December to March

“People of the ancient world were long curious about the source of the Nile, especially Ancient Greek geographers. A number of expeditions up the Nile failed to find the source.

Eventually, a merchant named Diogenes reported that he had traveled inland from Rhapta in East Africa for twenty-five days and had found the source of Nile. He reported it flowed from a group of massive mountains into a series of large lakes. He reported the natives called this range the Mountains of the Moon because of their snowcapped whiteness”

Laugavegurinn/Fimmvörðuháls Pass Iceland

Photo Courtesy of: Extreme Iceland

Length: 55km

Difficulty: Tame (dependent on weather)

Best time to hike: June-September

If you choose to undertake Iceland’s most popular trek, you’ll encounter a diversity of landscape possibly unlike any other on this list. Glaciers, hot-springs, roaring rivers, volcanic landscapes, this trek really has it all.

Trek To Petra Jordan

Length: 11 days

Difficulty: Easy

Best time to hike: October-April

“This trek through remote canyons and alongside near-vertical gorges, enjoying wilderness camping in breathtaking wadis (or oases). The trek has been dubbed the “Inca Trail of the Middle East” and your first view of Petra’s Monastery evokes similar feelings of awe when arriving on foot at one of the world’s great wonders.” (Taken from World Expeditions)

Sierra High Route California

Length: 314km (195 Miles)

Difficulty: Hard

Best time to hike: June-October

Passing through the heart of Sierra Nevada, this trail passes across higher elevation planes and rocky outcrops, compared to the parallel running John Muir Trail. As Roper writes in Sierra High Route, “High Route adventurers will not be put off by the lack of an actual trail, since much of the singular joy of cross-country travel lies in wandering through the timberline country as the pioneers did–wondering what the next turn will reveal.”

Roopkund India

Length: 59km

Difficulty: Hard

Best time to hike: May-June, September & October

Roopkund is a glacial lake (also termed ‘Mystery Lake’) that has attracted attention on recent years due to human skeletal remains found around its edges. The Roopkund trek takes a path up into the Western Himalayas to this lake, sitting at over 5,000m elevation.

GR20 France

Length: 180km

Difficulty: Strenuous

Best time to hike: June-September

The GR20 in Corsica is arguably Europe’s finest mountain trek. Its spectacular scenery, breathtaking colours and free roaming wildlife are only accessible to the ones that are prepared to do some serious walking and look for a challenge. As you walk through towering pinnacles, deep forests of Lariccio pine and beech, windswept craters, glacial lakes and snow-capped peaks it is often possible to catch a glimpse of the dramatic coastline and the island’s outline in the sea. (GR20)

Manaslu Circuit Nepal

Length: 18 Days

Difficulty: Hard

Best time to hike: March-May, September-November

“The Circuit wraps around Mount Manaslu, the world’s eighth highest peak, looming at 26,759 feet. It begins by climbing against the current of the Budhi Gandaki River for nearly three vertical miles. The path sweeps through gorges where glaciers hang and drain the frozen eaves of the planet. It crosses suspension bridges and passes through fields of barley, as it follows an ancient route along which caravans of yaks hauling salt from Tibet have traveled for thousands of years.

Climbing higher to the last clusters of homes before the mountain wall of the Himalaya, you step into Tibetan territory. Architecture matches these ethnic lines, and as altitude rises, so do the number of monasteries, maani walls and chortens. From here, the trail crosses into the legendary land of Ghorka where herder’s huts lay tucked high in the thawing meadows. Close to a dozen peaks over 21,000 feet serrate the horizon as the path rises to Larkya La pass, the highest point of the hike at 17,175 feet.” (By Sierra Gladfelter)