hiking & trekking
Unknown treks in Asia: 10 offbeat trails
From remote corners of Bhutan to the lofty heights of Nepal, we profile some of the best unknown treks in Asia When it comes to exploration, ‘too late for the seas, too soon for the stars’ may best describe our current times. Legendary explorers like Drake and Magellan charted the seas long ago while Scott, Shackleton, Amundsen and their like did the same for remote lands. There’s a sense that our planet has been entirely measured and mapped; tamed, some might say. Even Everest – one of the most inhospitable places on Earth – has queues on its slopes. This is why I was thrilled last year to join a trek to K2 base camp including a crossing of Gondogoro La pass. In comparison to my earlier trip to Everest base camp, K2 felt far more remote. It left me craving for a taste of...
Best hikes in South Korea: 8 stunning trails
The best hikes in South Korea roam idyllic countryside speckled with memorials to 5000 years of highly distinctive culture and history Mountain culture runs deep in the history of South Korea. Thousands of years before modern religion made its way onto the peninsula, Koreans worshipped mountain spirits known as Sansin. Today, the population remains obsessed with mountains, but in a very different way. The post Best hikes in South Korea: 8 stunning trails appeared first on Atlas & Boots. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair s...
11 solo hiking tips for women
We ask six expert climbers, thru-hikers and trail runners to share their solo hiking tips for women who want to walk alone I’ve hiked all over the world, from challenging countries like Ethiopia and Lesotho to Pacific idylls like Rarotonga and Easter Island. I’ve done multi-day treks above 4,000 metres, day hikes under a scorching sun and gentle jaunts more like walks in the park. Throughout it all, there has been one constant factor: Peter. I’ve said in the past that it’s sexist to assume I’m not adventurous and spoken about the lack of diversity in the outdoors, but have seldom hiked alone. Peter is a staunch advocate of solo hiking, but I’ve never attempted anything longer than half a day. Fans of solo hiking speak of an immense peace and freedom that comes with hiking alone. ...
A first-timer’s guide to hiking the Highlander Velebit
Our Q&A-style guide to hiking the Highlander Velebit covers everything you need to know to get the most out your first Highlander adventure I just returned from trekking the Highlander Velebit in Croatia, an invigorating journey through a lesser-known region of Europe. The event proved to be a new way of hiking for me and has the potential to transform the future of hiking holidays. The Highlander Adventure treks offer a perfect introduction to multi-day trekking, striking a balance between guided trek and self-sufficient expedition. With most of the logistics taken care of, participants can hike their own hike and really focus on enjoying the trail. Whichever Highlander trek you choose, our Q&A-style guide to hiking the Highlander Velebit covers everything you need to know before ...
Highlander Velebit gear list: what’s in my pack
Our Highlander Velebit gear list includes everything you’ll need for five days of hiking across Croatia’s highest mountain range I recently completed the Highlander Velebit, a 104km 5-day trek across the Northern Velebit and Paklenica national parks in Croatia. The Velebit is one of Highlander Adventure’s collection of organised treks and therefore requires a slightly different mix of gear than what I’d pack for an independent trek. To help future trekkers get the balance right, I’ve put together my usual post-trip gear list of everything I packed. Where possible, I’ve included links to the gear I carried for reference. [embedded content] Highlander Velebit gear list As the trek is only five days long with four nights of camping, I encourage trekkers to go as light as possible. I kept...
Trekking the Highlander Velebit in Croatia
The Highlander Velebit is an ideal introduction to multi-day trekking and offers a true taste of European wilderness My first post-lockdown trip was to Croatia to take part in a Highlander Adventure, one of a collection of organised treks through some of Europe’s classic hiking regions, all home to magnificent expanses of wilderness. The routes – in Austria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece and Serbia – explore some of Europe’s less-visited but no less captivating areas of natural beauty. Next year the franchise is expanding with treks added in a number of destinations including Germany, Portugal and Montenegro. I joined the Highlander Velebit, a 104km 5-day trek across the Northern Velebit and Paklenica national parks. The route journeys southeastwards through the Velebit...
Best hikes in Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany
A selection of the best hikes in Berchtesgaden National Park, from serene day trips to thrilling via ferrata climbs and challenging multi-day tours Berchtesgaden National Park in the heart of the Bavarian Alps accommodates nine lofty mountain ranges as well Germany’s most photogenic body of water, Lake Königssee. Brilliant green meadows, aquamarine lakes, dense dark forests and reams of serrated peaks characterise Germany’s spectacular southern horizon. The UNESCO-designated Berchtesgadener Land biosphere is home to Germany’s finest mountain scenery and the country’s only Alpine national park. The area contains a labyrinth of superb hiking trails: well-maintained, clearly waymarked and supported by the outstanding network of Deutscher Alpenverein (German Alpine Club) huts. It is Germany’s ...
Hiking the Watzmann Traverse – a Bavarian classic
Hiking the Watzmann Traverse is a breathtaking scramble across one of Germany’s classic Alpine ridges. Here’s how to complete the Bavarian thriller One of my oldest and best friends lives in the Netherlands and over the last twenty years or so of friendship we have usually managed to meet up fairly regularly, at least once a year either in the UK or the Netherlands. Over the last few years, however, as our schedules became increasingly crowded with work, family and mortgages we’ve struggled to make the time. The post Hiking the Watzmann Traverse – a Bavarian classic appeared first on Atlas & Boots. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat...
12 best hikes in the North York Moors National Park
The best hikes in the North York Moors National Park are a wonderful way to explore the region’s rich and vibrant landscapes The North York Moors might be England’s most diverse national park. Home to striking stretches of unspoilt coast and the largest area of heather moorland in England and Wales, the North York Moors is one of the country’s foremost hiking destinations. Designated a national park in 1952 and covering an area of 1,430km2 with over 2,000km of well-maintained footpaths, the North York Moors offers a wide variety of English countryside. The park is home to rare heather moorland, ancient woodland, myriad waterways and 42km of some of the most glorious coastline in England. Here, we share the best hikes in the North York Moors National Park: 12 magnificent ways to explor...
Highlander Adventure: my first post-lockdown trip
As restrictions begin to ease around the world, Peter prepares to head out on his first post-lockdown trip: the Highlander Adventure After 100 days in lockdown, I am itching to return to the trail. As someone who is most content outdoors, I have found the restrictions particularly claustrophobic, despite devising some rather creative ways to pass the time. I haven’t spent 100 days in a single place since 2015 when Kia and I were sequestered for several months in a tiny French village with nothing more than a bakery and a corner shop nearby and no means of transport other than our bicycles. That, however, that was under very different circumstances. We had just returned from a year-long trip around the world and we needed to hunker down and focus on work. Also, we weren’t under lockdown. We...
White privilege in the outdoors: the AT hikers who broke the law
Two thru-hikers lied and broke the law this year to finish the Appalachian Trail. Should we dismiss it as a daring adventure or tackle what lies deeper? The first thing to admit before I begin is that I’m a person who follows the rules. I never cheat at games or quizzes despite being stupidly competitive. I hate being late to meetings or gatherings and I’ve even been known to Google “how late to arrive at a dinner party” because I know it’s impolite to turn up on time (the consensus is 15 minutes). Maybe this compulsion comes from some innate sense of properness but, more likely, it’s a trait inherited from my immigrant parents. They arrived in the UK in the 1960s, a time of heightened racial tension. During my childhood, I came to notice a change in my father whenever he interacted ...
10 hikes through the cleanest air in the world
From Canada’s wild backcountry to the jungles of Brunei, we take a look at some fantastic hikes through the cleanest air in the world The view wasn’t so bad. Sure, it was over the communal bin area but there was a roof so you didn’t really notice it. We had to put up some net curtains because precisely six flats and nine balconies had a direct view into our flat but that was okay – privacy was always hard to come by in London. Even the noise wasn’t really a problem. Being on the road wasn’t always quiet. It was the air. Heavy pollution, barely noticeable before we left London, left my skin shockingly grimey at the end of the day. My every-other-morning run by the River Lea would wind through a host of unnatural smells and the city’s cars were always numerous as ever. Statis...
