“The only thing we are sure not to succeed is the one we don’t try,” said Paul-Émile Victor.
For those who are in good physical condition, have a regular sporting activity, and have the ambition to experience the world beyond the images, we have compiled a list of the 16 most beautiful treks in the world.
Inca Trail, Haute Route Chamonix-Zermatt, Cinque Terre, 3 Cirques Trek… Follow us on the 16 most beautiful treks in the world!
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Ladakh: Trekking in the Himalayas
Also known as Little Tibet, Ladakh is an area located in the far north of the Republic of India.
The city of Leh is the most important by its demography.
Its airport, located at an altitude of 3,500 m, provides access to all the treks that Ladakh has to offer.
The territory is dominated to the north by the Karakoram mountains, and to the south by the Himalayas.
The circuit between Lamayuru and Hemis, two of Ladakh‘s largest monasteries, is the most coveted of all.
Covering 145 km at an altitude of more than 5,000 m over 11 days, it crosses the Markha Valley to meet snow leopards, bharals, and ancient Buddhist traditions.
From May to September, the weather conditions are ideal.
- Distance: 145 km
- Duration: 11 days
- Ideal period: between May and September
The Inca Trail: Trekking in Peru
75 km northwest of Cuzco, hanging at an altitude of 2,792 m in the heart of the Andes Mountain Range, the Inca fortress of Ollantaytambo is the starting point for an exceptional trek: the Inca Trail.
Direction: Machu Picchu, an ancient 15th century Inca city, via the Warmiwañusca Pass over 4,200 m.
From the ruins of Llactapata to Camp Pacamayu, passing through the terraces fileds of Wiñay Wayna, the Inca Trail reveals over 43 km of natural and wild treasures that go hand in hand with history.
Prefer the periods March to May and September to November to avoid crowds and heavy rainfall.
- Distance: 43 km
- Duration: 5 days
- Ideal period: between March and May or September and November
The GR20: Trek in Corsica
The GR20 is the long-distance hiking trail that crosses Corsica from the municipality of Calenzana in the north to Conca in the south.
Passing through the mountain range and the regional nature park, it is well known by trekkers who often call it the most difficult tail in Europe.
200 km long and with a total of 11,000 m of positive altitude difference, the GR20 is made up of very technical passes in its northern part.
On this trek, you will have the opportunity to see Monte Cinto, Monte Renoso or the lakes of Capitello and Melo or Lake Ninu.
Allow 16 days, with 6 to 7 hours of walking per day, to finish it.
The ideal period is between May and the end of September, when the refuges are guarded: remember to book your place in the various refuges accessible on your route.
- Distance: 200 km
- Duration: 16 days
- Ideal period: between May and the end of September
The Chamonix – Zermatt Haute Route: Trek in the Alps
Welcome to Haute-Savoie to start a trek that will surely mark your memory.
From Chamonix, join Zermatt in Switzerland on a 190 km route that passes 69 of the 82 summits over 4,000 m in the Mont-Blanc massif and the Valais Alps.
It will keep you on the alert for 14 days!
The Haute Route Chamonix-Zermatt offers a multitude of alternative routes through the Swiss side of Mont Blanc, the Val de Bagnes, the Val d’Entremont and the Val Ferret.
Unless you decide to go through Saint Bernard and Italy: anything is possible.
Between mid-June and mid-September, the weather conditions are ideal and can facilitate some very technical passages.
- Distance: 190 km
- Duration: 14 days
- Ideal period: between mid-June and mid-September
The Tour of Mont Blanc: Trek between France, Switzerland and Italy
With an altitude of 4,809 m, Mont-Blanc is the highest peak in Western Europe.
And what if you went around?
In contact with yellow-billed choughs, glacier buttercups and its 71 glaciers, the Mont-Blanc massif has something to fascinate you.
Many routes are within your reach along the Swiss, Italian and French slopes.
Like the one starting from Les Houches, at the foot of Mont-Blanc.
This trek lasts 10 days: put on your best crampons!
4 to 6 hours of walking await you at each new sunrise.
The Estelette glacier, Courmayeur, the Grand Col Ferret, the Arpette window (2,665 m) and the Trient glacier are some of the stages on your trip, preferably between June and September.
- Distance: 170 km
- Duration: 10 days
- Ideal period: between June and September
The Zion Narrows: Trek to the United States
Southwest of the American state of Utah, Zion National Park covers 593 km².
It owes its fame to its deep canyons carved by the Virgin River.
The Narrows, meaning “narrow passage” (who would have guessed?), is the hiking trail that allows you to follow it, mostly with your feet in the water.
It is very popular, including among families with children.
Beware of chipmunks, those little striped squirrels that try to steal your food directly from your backpack!
The red rock of the canyons and the vegetation completely surround you; the contrasts are striking.
A trek to Zions Narrows is 26 km that can be covered in one day or more, for a total altitude difference of 426 m. Many related routes are accessible.
- Distance: 26 km
- Duration: 1 day
- Ideal period: July and August
The Tour of the 3 Cirques: Trek in Reunion Island
Located in the Indian Ocean in the Mascarene Islands, 684 km east of Madagascar, Reunion Island is a volcanic paradise overlooked by the famous Piton des Neiges (3,071 m).
The Tour of the three Cirques allows you to discover all the natural mysteries of the classified cirques of Mafate, Salazie and Cilaos.
Each of them offers multiple routes for the most adventurous hikers, such as the one passing through GRR3 and connecting Marla to the Ilet à Malheur in 5 days.
But the tour of the Piton des Neiges remains the most surprising. It takes you through the three circuses in 6 stages over 63 km from Cilaos, via the Taïbit pass and the Bridal Veil Falls.
- Distance: 63 km
- Duration: 4 to 5 days
- Ideal period: between April and November
The Cinque Terre: Trek in Italy
To the west of the city of La Spezia in Italy, the Cinque Terre define the contours of part of the Ligurian Riviera, from Moneglia in the north to Portovenere in the south.
They reveal a rugged and steep landscape on which have been built terraces of culture.
Its atypical villages, Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, are embedded in the coves and on the cliffs.
Classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, the Cinque Terre are jewels to be discovered from April to the end of May, and from September to October.
In the heart of the national park of the same name, the coastal paths follow the coasts of Corsica.
A trek to Cinque Terre can be done in 6 days at a rate of 5 hours of walking, corresponding to 15 km of daily hiking.
- Distance: 80 km
- Duration: 6 days
- Ideal period: between April and September (avoid July and August)
The Great Wall: Trek to China
The Great Wall of China, the most important architectural structure ever built by man, was originally built to mark and defend the country’s northern border.
It is 6,259 km long and was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
It connects the coast north of Beijing to the Gobi Desert.
Many routes are accessible to trekkers, such as the 10-day itinerary from Beijing to the Gubeikou General Tower.
In total: 36 km and 4 to 6 hours of daily walking via Dongjiakou and the Ming tombs.
Restaurants, traditional inns and hotels punctuate your journey and make you travel lighter.
Fall and spring help to avoid polar winters and scorching summers.
- Distance: 36 km
- Ideal time of year: spring and autumn
The Ascent of Kilimanjaro: Trekking in Africa
Three extinct volcanoes, Shira, Mawenzi and Kibo, push Uhuru Peak to the African skies, reaching an altitude of 5,891 m.
Kilimanjaro is the roof of the continent and one of the greatest challenges for hikers around the world.
From the overheated lowlands at its feet, to the cloud forest, until the snowy ground above 5,000 m, it offers a magnificent fauna and flora.
A trek in Kilimanjaro is has several accessible routes classified according to their level of difficulty, the 60 km Machame route being the most suitable for acclimatization.
Accommodation is traditionally provided in tents.
Altogether, 6 to 10 hours of daily hiking await you until Uhuru Peak, with positive elevations ranging from 730 to 1,200 m.
- Distance: 60 km
- Duration: about 10 days
- Ideal period: from January to early March or from late June to October
The Kalalau Trail: Trek to Hawaii
The Kalalau trail is an 18 km long hiking trail.
It connects Ke’e Beach and Kalalau Beach, along the coast Nā Pali on Kauai Island, Hawaii, in the central Pacific Ocean.
It crosses a lush tropical vegetation on a mountainside, and overlooks the ocean, revealing at the same time sumptuous scenery of green cliffs.
Impossible to reach any road from Kalalau Beach, so count 3 days of hiking to complete the 36 km round trip of the trail.
And don’t forget your camping permit!
Passed the crowd at the beginning of the tour, you can enjoy the emerald waters of the Hanakapi’ai waterfall.
- Distance: 36 km
- Duration: 2 to 3 days
Baltoro Glacier and K2 Base Camp: Trek to Pakistan
A trek in Pakistan is enough to make you dizzy!
In the heart of one of the most breathtaking concentrations of high mountains in the world, approach the majestic K2 (8,611 m), Broad Peak (8,047 m) and Hidden Peak (Gasherbrum) (8,068 m) after a period of acclimatization at Concordia, from the K2 base camp at 5,135 m altitude.
From Islamabad, allow 22 days to reach and return from the two glaciers that form the Concordia: Godwin Austen and Baltoro.
The result: a unique 360° panorama over the entire Karakoram massif, dominated by the K2.
Nearly 10 hours of walking are planned on the same day for the ascent and then the descent.
Choose summer for this feat.
- Duration: 12 to 14 days
- Ideal period: July and August
The Torres del Paine Circuit: Trekking in Chile
Located between the Andes Cordillera and the Patagonian steppe, Torres del Paine National Park in Chile has seen a steady increase in visitors in recent years, doubling between 2005 and 2016 to 211,886 visitors in that year.
In other words, you will not be alone on your W circuit. W circuit? This is the other name given to the Torres del Paine trekking trail because of the W drawn by this circuit through the incredible biodiversity of this vast territory of 242,242 ha.
It takes 6 days, from Laguna Amarga to Paine Grande camping.
About camping: remember to reserve your place in all those you will meet during your trip. 80 km on foot, it deserves a good night’s rest.
- Distance of the W trek: 80 km
- Duration: 6 days
- Ideal period: from the end of October to March (from May 1st to September 30th: possibility to do it with a guide only)
Overland Track: Trek in Tasmania
Beyond the Bass Strait, 199 km off the southeast coast of Australia, Tasmania has paths where devilish marsupials cross the yellow-throated honeyeaters.
Cast off and head for the Overland Track, a 65 km long hiking trail that runs through Tasmania nature reserve from the top of Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair.
On the program: the Waterfall Valley moss carpet, the Forth River springs cascading down the Lemonthyme Valley, the Pelion Gap and its emerald forests.
And why not also conquer Mount Ossa, Tasmania’s highest peak (1,615 m).
- Distance: 65 km
- Duration: 6 days
- Ideal period: from November to April
Canadian Rockies: Trekking in Canada
The 1,200 km long Canadian Rockies extend west of the country between the U.S. border and the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Larches, subalpine firs and Engelmann spruces populate their forests, home of black bears, elk and coyotes.
There are many accessible routes, such as the one from Moraine Lake at 1,885 m above sea level, located in Banff National Park in the famous Ten Peaks Valley.
Direction: Jasper National Park further north and the three summits of the Bald Hills.
- Distance: à la carte!
- Ideal period: July and August
The Annapurna Tour: Trek to Nepal
The Annapurnas are six, and they have nothing to envy to the highest peaks in the world.
Annapurna I sits at 8,091 m and dominates this mountainous massif of the Himalayas in Nepal.
It was the first summit of more than 8,000 m to have been climbed in 1950 by two French mountaineers: Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal.
The great Annapurna Tour is more than 200 km covered in 20 days through rice fields, high valleys, terraced fields, rhododendron and conifer forests.
But also via a pass at an altitude of more than 5,000 m: the Thorong La Pass.
Choose the period from November to March for your escape.
- Distance: 200 km
- Duration: 20 days
- Ideal period: between November and March
There is also an alternative circuit that is worth to look into it and that is the Manaslu Circuit considered by some as “The NEW Annapurna Circuit”. Check this page for more information.
The most beautiful treks in the world are more than just an experience. They are another vision of life, a bubble of feelings that go on forever.
They are also the ones you have not yet thought of. Feel free to leave us your comment at the end of the article.
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The Annapurna Circuit Trek is widely regarded as one of the finest high-altitude trekking trails in the world. In the lower Annapurna region, lush forests, terraced fields, and densely populated settlements can be seen. At the same time, the upper-trans Himalayan region is arid, barren, and sparsely populated. The lower region is mainly inhabited by Hindus, while most upper regions are home to people following Buddhism.https://peregrinetreks.com/annapurna-circuit-trek/