10 long-distance hiking trails from all over the world

10 long-distance hiking trails from all over the world

We look at some of the most beautiful long-distance hiking trails from around the world.

I'm always looking for new outdoor challenges (to add to my current bucket list of climbing the Seven Summits and sailing the Pacific Ocean). Completing some epic long-distance hiking trails sounds like the perfect challenge for me.

Spending weeks traipsing along quiet backcountry trails is my idea of ​​heaven (and I dare say Kia would enjoy the time without me too!). But which one should you choose?

Below I list some of the best long-distance hiking trails from around the world. From hiking to trailblazing, these provide perfect opportunities to enjoy the wilderness, nature and solitude that I so often crave.

Define long-distance hiking trails

How we define a long-distance hiking trail is clearly subjective. In little old Britain, anything over 50km (31 miles) is considered “long distance”! However, for an international list, I raised the bar a bit higher with at least 500 km (310 miles).

With that in mind, the list could easily be ten times longer, especially if we include all of the epic long-distance hiking trails in the US. However, since we're looking at options from around the world, I've limited the US to just one of its Triple Crown long-distance trails.

1. Appalachian Trail

Location: USADistance: 3,500 km (2,200 miles) Duration: 150-210 days

              
        Traumzeit     

The “AT” is perhaps the most famous of the Triple Crown Trails in the USA and passes through no fewer than 14 states!

Made famous worldwide by Bill Bryson's 1998 book A Walk in the Woods, which was recently adapted into a Hollywood film starring Robert Redford and Nick Nolte, the trail passes through eight national forests, two national parks, and crosses a road on average every four miles. It is easy to reach the numerous trail towns along the way.

Further Reading: Appalachian Trail Thru-Hikers’ Companion (2019)

2. GR10

Location: FranceDistance: 866 km (538 miles)Duration: 50-60 days

              
        Traumzeit     

This trail runs along the Pyrenees mountain range from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean along the French-Spanish border on the French side. Across the entire route, hikers can expect a difference in altitude of over 48,000 m (157,000 ft), including easy climbing sections. Nevertheless, mountaineering or rope work is not required; just strong thighs and a lot of determination.

Further reading: The GR10 hiking trail: Coast to Coast through the French Pyrenees

3. Great Patagonian Hiking Trail

Location: Argentina, ChileDistance: 1,500 km (932 miles)Duration: 90-110 days

              
        Traumzeit     

This is a true survival trail that involves a lot of wild camping in the Patagonian Andes. The route crosses only a few roads and even fewer towns, making navigation and logistical support a real challenge for thru-hikers.

Although not an official trail, the route includes some official horse trails as well as many local horse trails maintained by local shepherds. This hiking trail is one of the loneliest, most underdeveloped and remote - and therefore also one of the most pristine long-distance hiking trails.

Further Reading: Patagonia: The Andes, a Climber's Guide

4. Te Araroa Trail

Location: New Zealand Distance: 3,000 km (1,864 miles) Duration: 80-110 days

                
        Traumzeit     

The Te Araroa Trail (Maori for "Long Way") stretches from Cape Reinga on the northern tip of New Zealand's North Island to Bluff on the southernmost tip of the South Island and is one of the world's newest long-distance hiking trails.

Along the way, hikers are likely to encounter some of the most diverse topography in the world, including sandy beaches teeming with seals and penguins, thriving rainforests, active volcanoes, snow-capped Alpine mountains, and emerald green glacial lakes.

Further Reading: Lonely Planet Hiking & Tramping in New Zealand

5. Rim of Africa Trail

Location: South AfricaDistance: 650 km (403 miles) Duration: 55-65 days

             
        Traumzeit     

The Rim of Africa, the best of Africa's young long-distance hiking trails, traverses the rugged Cape Mountains of South Africa. The trail begins high in the Cederberg Wilderness Area north of Cape Town and ends in the northwest in the foothills of the Outeniqua Mountains along the Garden Route.

The trail follows ancient paths, existing footpaths and remote, trackless ridgelines, using a series of "nine traverses" through remote and often inaccessible regions of the Cape Mountains.

Further reading: Hiking trails in South Africa

6. Tōkai Nature Trail

Location: JapanDistance: 1,697 km (1,054 miles)Duration: 40-50 days

             
        Traumzeit     

One of the gentler and hillier long-distance hiking trails on this list goes from Tokyo to Osaka, crossing 11 prefectures along the way. The route passes Japan's famous Mount Fuji, as well as many lesser-known Japanese cultural and heritage sites, as well as vast areas of natural beauty.

In fact, the route was designed to pass through areas normally hidden from national and international tourists. Hikers can expect to pass traditional Japanese imperial gardens with cherry blossoms and maple trees, fertile hills, lush wetlands, and deep, winding river gorges.

Further Reading: Hiking and Trekking in the Japanese Alps and Mount Fuji: Northern, Central and Southern Alps

7. Great Divide Trail

Location: CanadaDistance: 1,200 km (746 miles)Duration: 75-90 days

                
        Traumzeit     

The GDT is a wild and epic long-distance hiking trail that stretches north to south through the Canadian Rockies. The trail closely follows the Great Divide, the mountainous hydrological divide that divides the North American continent in two.

The trail crosses the divide no fewer than 30 times, making for a strenuous route. It begins in Waterton Lakes National Park on the Canada-US border (where it connects to the US Continental Divide Trail) and ends in Kakwa Provincial Park, north of Jasper National Park.

Further reading: Hiking Canada's Great Divide Trail

8. European long-distance hiking trail E1

Location: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, Italy Distance: 4,960 km (3,082 miles) Duration: Unknown

              
        Traumzeit     

Officially, no one has completed Europe's longest hiking trail, the E1 trail, one of the 12 long-distance hiking trails designated by the European Hiking Association. It extends from the North Cape (Nordkapp) in Norway to Scapoli in central Italy.

The path is briefly interrupted as it crosses the Kattegat between Sweden and Denmark by ferry. There are even plans to extend the route further to the Italian island of Sicily. Maybe someone should finish this one before it gets bigger. Any takers?

Further reading: The Great Walks of Europe

9. Southwest Coast Path

Location: UKDistance: 1,014 km (630 miles) Duration: 40-45 days

                
        Traumzeit     

This isn't the most epic long-distance hike, but I wanted to add one that's more accessible to Brits. The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest hiking trail. The total height climbed over the course of the trek was calculated to be 35,031 m (114,931 ft), almost four times the height of Mount Everest.

The trail runs from Minehead in Somerset along the Devon and Cornwall coasts to Poole Harbor in Dorset, meaning there are plenty of opportunities to enjoy a bag of fish and chips.

Further reading: Hiking the South West Coast Path

10. Great Himalayan Trail

Location: Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, China Distance: 4,500 km (2,800 miles) Duration: Unknown

              
        Traumzeit     

Once completed, this will be one of the world's largest long-distance hiking trails through the world's highest mountains, the Himalayas. No exaggeration can do it justice.

Currently only a small part has hiked continuously through the Nepal and Bhutan sections and has been documented in detail. However, the planned uninterrupted path is a network of existing treks and paths that together will form the finished Great Himalaya Trail. Train.

Further Reading: Lonely Planet Trekking in the Nepalese Himalayas

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