Winning tip: wild camping and walking in the Pyrenees
The best ever walk I’ve been on was actually two weeks of walking, along the GR11 on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees from Candanchú to La Guingueta d’Àneu. We got the train to France, packed food for a week and restocked half way, and wild camped each night. So not only was it the best trip ever, it was also cheap and eco-friendly. Each evening we’d camp by a lake, and start our day with an (incredibly bracing) dip. It is so incredibly beautiful and peaceful, and there’s lots of friendly refuges along the way if you want a chat, a bed and hot food. The route is challenging, but doesn’t require any specialist equipment. At the end, all I wanted to do was carry on walking.
Rachel
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A tour of Iceland’s geological wonders
Starting at Skóga waterfall, the 15-mile (25km) Fimmvörðuháls hiking trail initially passes countless spectacular cascades as it follows the course of Skóga river before passing between the Eyjafjallajökull and Mýrdalsjökull ice caps. As you climb and the landscape becomes increasingly barren, you’ll soon be picking your way over ice, and lava from the famous 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull volcano. There’s likely to be high winds at the top, but you’ll be rewarded with breathtaking views of dramatic mountains, deep gorges and craggy cliffs as you descend towards Þórsmörk. A challenging but memorable hike! We used the bus service to get back from Þórsmörk. One for next summer – the trail is not open in winter.
Julia
Up and down Kosovo’s tallest peak
We went on a trip to hike up Gjeravica, Kosovo’s highest mountain at 2,656 metres. Starting from Dobërdoll, a shepherd’s hamlet in northernmost Albania, the out-and-back route started with a steep climb up to the ridge where we reached the tri-point of Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro. Following the ridge, we surveyed the pastureland of Albania and the peaks of Kosovo. Skirting lakes and pastures, the peak of Gjeravica emerged amid rocky terrain. On the final climb we passed NATO peacekeepers from Latvia. At the top, we sat for a long time gazing at views east onto the contested plains of Kosovo as the flag of the Kosovo Liberation Army waved. Soon it was time to trace our steps back to Dobërdoll, enjoying half board at Guesthouse Bashkimi (half board €40 per person).
Ryan
Biblically beautiful trail in Georgia
It doesn’t get much better than Georgia and the 37-mile (60km) hike from Mestia to Ushguli, one of the highest continually inhabited settlements in Europe. The four-day/three-night route winds through biblically beautiful countryside – all rolling green hills, grazing animals and snow-covered mountains – peppered with remote villages showcasing the ancient defensive towers unique to the region. The walk is tough enough to feel you’ve earned the views but never too hard and is straightforward to do without a guide; for two people, budget around £40 a day for guesthouses and food. Just beware the chacha (local brandy), it’s lethal!
Joanne Woodage
Eye to eye with ibex, Swiss-French Alps
On the Swiss-French border in the Alps, I recommend the little-known Tour du Ruan (four days, 40 miles/61km). Starting at Lac d’Emosson, my friends and I headed anticlockwise, over high snow-covered passes and alongside glacial lakes. We climbed the exciting Ottans Scales, looked down on eagles from ridgetops, and hiked along the Frêtes du Grenier with views south to Mont Blanc. We even came face-to-face with an ibex. This hike truly displays the grand majesty of the Alps, and is the perfect short break. You can stay in refuges along the way (72 Swiss francs a night including shower and hot meals), or wild camp above the tree line.
Alasdair
A winding path in the Peloponnese, Greece
Greece offers some breathtaking hikes, and the Menalon Trail on the Peloponnese is one of the finest, winding through eight naturally formed sections. Stretching 47 miles (75km), this ancient path, used by villagers and mules for centuries, connects settlements and monasteries. We walked the first nine-mile section, starting in Stemnitsa and ending in Dimitsana, passing through the stunning Lousios River gorge. Along the way, we encountered the 16th-century cliffside Prodromos Monastery and ancient ruins of the Old and New Philosophou Monasteries, another monastery clinging dramatically to the rockface, and still home to monks.
Shirley
Walking the Iron Curtain, Germany
The Grünes Band (also called the Iron Curtain trail), the former inner-German border, stretches 870 miles (1,400km) from the Baltic Sea to the Czech Republic. The section near Hof was ideal for a weekend trip. After a relaxing spa evening in Bad Elster, our hike from Hranice (just over the border in the Czech Republic) to Hirschberg – about 40 miles – offered solitude, nature and history. We found stories of lives disrupted by the border, visited the Iron Curtain Museum in Mödlareuth, and saw places where homes once stood. While social and economic scars remain, nature recovery is a positive legacy of the wall. Travel, accommodation and food came to about £300 pp.
Bridget
Jagged landscapes in Norway’s Jotunheimen national park
An incredible four-day hiking trip across Norway’s Jotunheimen national park from Gjendesheim to Sognefjellshytta. We started by clambering over Besseggen – an incredible ridge with deep plunges down to Lake Gjende and Bessvatnet on either side and views far across the jagged Jotunheimen landscape. The journey is wild and varying. There are moonscape-like wide plateaus and narrow clambering ridgelines, awe-inducing views of mountains, fields of cottonball seedheads and forests of gnarled birch trees that create fairy landscapes in the valleys. We traversed small streams, passed waterfalls and glimpsed glaciers while following a treasure trail of red Ts painted on rocks, trees and finger posts to reach a mixture of “middle-of-nowhere” self-service and warmly hosted DNT cabins that were cosy and welcoming, where we ended each evening with plates of reindeer meatballs. DNT (Norwegian Trekking Association)-staffed huts are about 990 Norwegian krone (£70) full board.
Julia Dorrington
