You’ll get ten different answers if you ask ten seasoned hikers to name the top hikes in the world. The scenery makes some treks spectacular. Some are considered epic due to the nearly superhuman levels of endurance and effort needed to complete them. While for some hikers the goal is everything, for others it’s the experience and the friendships made along the way.
The best treks in the world, however, all share a similar trait: a sense of purpose that elevates the activity of walking to a mission that inspires optimism for the future. With this in mind, we’ve created our own list of the best treks in the world, from rainforest trails to breath-taking routes through the Nepal highlands. All need strong legs and lungs, but the experience of trekking is enough of a reward in and of itself—we guarantee you’ll be talking about these walks for decades to come!
Top Trekking Advice
Before packing your rucksack with Kendal mint cake and trekking socks, consider the facilities along the path you intend to travel. While some treks call for complete independence, including camping outside and purifying your own water as you go, other routes include refuges or simple tea houses along the way. Several important factors are listed below:
If it’s not necessary, leave it behind because every extra gramme will slow you down on the trails.
All-terrain trainers are lighter and dry more quickly after getting wet than boots, which provide greater support.
By using trekking poles to assist you navigate the often-heel-breaking descents that are a part of almost all treks.
Any trek above 2,500 meters in elevation should be undertaken with caution because acute mountain sickness (AMS) can be fatal.
- Pay attention to the weather
When treks go wrong, it’s usually due to the weather, so check the predictions; if circumstances look severe, stop somewhere safe and sit it out rather than continuing.
By warming up with easier walks, hikes, and runs to acclimate your body to the effort before launching from the couch to the mountain.
1. Nepal Everest Base Camp
Ideal trek for: aspiring mountaineers
Approximately 80 miles (130km) a round-trip
Time :- Two weeks,
Grade: moderate
The 2-week trip to Everest Base Camp, with 8849m Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) looming ahead like a petrified giant, is the most popular trek in Nepal, rising to 18,193 feet (5,545m) at its highest point. With arduous days of altitude increase that will push your muscles and endurance to the limit, this huge quest follows twisting river valleys and the groaning mass of the Khumbu glacier while stopping at mountain monasteries, soaring lookouts, and precariously balanced Sherpa communities.
2. Himachal Pradesh’s Hampta Pass Trek
Level of Difficulty: Simple
June to mid-November is ideal.
Date: One Week
From Hampta in the Kullu Valley to Chatru in the Lahaul & Spiti Valley, the popular Hampta Pass Trek is 35 kilometers long. The time frame lasts roughly 4 to 5 days, and the highest altitude is 4400 m. This is a great If this is your first high-altitude hike, this is an excellent option. Experiences like these are priceless, and the view is breathtaking. The journey takes you through snow-covered slopes, deep deodar forests, flower-filled meadows, crystal-clear streams, and Himalayan avifauna before you reach the desolate Lahaul-Spiti region. The excursion also includes Chandra Tal.
3. Himachal Pradesh Trek Beas Kund
Moderate difficulty Best Period: Mid-May to Mid-October Time: 9 Days
The Beas Kund Walk in Himachal Pradesh is a fantastic short trek that is one of the best and most difficult summer treks in all of India. The trail is well-liked in Manali for long weekends. The Pir Panjal hills, Dhundi, and Bakarthach meadows are all visible as you stroll along the River Beas’ banks. To get to the river’s glacial lake source, you must climb upward. According to legend, Sage Vyas, the author of the Mahabharata, used to bathe at Beas Kund, also known by that name. For this walk, you don’t need any prior hiking expertise.
4. Ladakh Trek in Markha Valley, India
Best trek for: independent hikers
Location: 50 miles (80km)
Timeframe: 6-7 days
Grade: moderate
The world’s largest mountain range has fewer trekkers on the Indian side, but those who do are rewarded with views that surpass those in Nepal, Tibet, or Pakistan. The Indian Himalaya is home to many breathtaking treks, from the exhilarating Goecha La trek in Sikkim to pilgrimage treks to isolated mountain temples in Uttarakhand and Kashmir. However, for the value of the rupee, the best trekking region is lofty Ladakh, which crosses high-altitude deserts in the rain-shadow of the high Himalaya.
5. France, Corsica, GR20
Ideal trekkers are those who enjoy challenges.
Round-trip distance: 104 miles (168 km).
Approximately 15 days
Level: challenging
This humbling journey through Corsica is renowned for the variety of scenery it passes through and the level of fortitude it demands of hikers who dare to take on its difficult terrain. Forests, granite moonscapes, windswept craters, glacial lakes, torrents, peat bogs, maquis, snow-capped peaks, plains, and névés (stretches of ice formed from snow) are among the challenging terrain features that must be overcome. All but the most ardent hikers are weeded out by the difficult terrain.
The GR20 was built in 1972 and connects the towns of Calenzana in the Balagne and Conca to the north of Porto Vecchio, but the thrills aren’t cheap. The route is rough, uneven, and frequently steep. There are rickety bridge crossings, exposed scrambles up slick rock faces, and loose all of which add to the adventure. Two weeks later, you’ll be able to brag to the world that you overcame Europe’s most difficult trek while drinking spring water and staying in basic mountain refuges.
