Trekking

The Waitukubuli National Trail is a 185 km (115 miles) trekking trail which travers Dominica from north to south in 14 steps, each doable in a day. Most sections can be done individually, so if you don't want to do the whole trail, you just pick whatever sections you want. The trail takes in the main sights in Dominica and goes through local villages, farm lands, rainforest, and the Morne Trois Pitons National Park, Dominica's only UNESCO World Heritage Site. The trail is well marked with signs and blue and yellow ribbons.

Free is a good price. Easy is (often) the right amount of effort. And awesome is an excellent standard. Put all three together and you get the wonderful El Cajas National Park. One of the most easily accessible parks in Ecuador, El Cajas is a short hop from the town of Cuenca, using public transport. Despite having to register in the park (for safety), getting free maps and birding guides and having the best marked trail system in the country, El Cajas still does not charge an entrance fee. With some 270 lakes and lagoons at 3,100-4,450 meters above sea level, the 285 km² park has plenty of opportunity for short walks, extended hikes and multi-day camping expeditions. And the only other visitors you'll have to share the place with are a few wandering llamas. Easily one of the best parks in the country.

Right at the northern tip of Kalsoy Island stands this small unmanned lighthouse. You can only reach it by hiking a hour from Trøllanes through sloping grass land with grassing sheep (of course). The views along the way, and particularly at the top at the lighthouse, are stunning. Far below crashes the sea against the rocks, while the vertical cliff walls are home to bird colonies. There is a outcrop even further out with even more fantastic panoramic views, but be careful for the trail is narrow with steep slopes on both sides.

An amazing 5 km walk which first follows some of Fiji's most beautiful coastline for then goes through a lush valley before ending at a gushing waterfall with a cool natural pool. A second hidden waterfall can be reached if you swim between the sheer walls to the last pool right below the big waterfall. You can jump from both waterfalls, but let a local show you first. The trail is well beaten and pass villages, white sandy beaches, black sandy beaches, and across rivers. About halfway are some black rock "mushrooms" where the coral base has been eroded. You have to come back the same way, making it a 10 km hike, which normally takes about three hours for the return journey, but you could easily spend more time swimming.

The Pyrenees is a rather small mountain range, but every top and every valley offer amazing nature and great trekking opportunities. In summer the French Haute Pyrene (High Pyrenees) is lush with an ever-changing carpet of alpine flowers covering the slopes. Peaks and high passes can in the early summer still be covered in snow, which will then feed the many alpine lakes and roaring mountain streams through out the summer. Staffed refuges (huts) are abundant and offer food and a bed within a day's hike, so you don't have to lug tent and cooking gear. If you have the time and stamina it's possible to trek the GR10, Grand Randonnee, that traverse the full length of the Pyrenees from the Atlantic Ocean to Mediterranean Sea, an 866 km trek taking about fifty-something days.

The trek up to glacier Chalati is the other fine day trek you can do from Mestia (the other is up to the cross at the view point). First, you need to cross the bridge behind the town square and follow the river, such that it will be on your left hand side, to the airport. This leg is the least interesting part of the trek, as it follows the road and can be quite dusty. Keep following the river and you will soon enter the green Mestiachala valley. Here, you will need to cross the raging river on a hanging bridge and follow the trail through the forest. There will be coloured marks on rocks to follow. The last section is over the rocky base right at the foot of the glacier (1815 m) where all the melting water is gushing out. The trek takes about eight hours round trip.

There are few images more iconic of the region than the Tsminda Sameba Church silhouetted against the snow covered Caucasus Mountains. The site alone is worth the trip to Kazbegi (aka Stepantsminda). But this tiny mountain village has much more to offer. Firstly, accommodation choices are largely limited to home-stays. For a few dollars, locals take travellers into their homes, feeding them, sheltering them and making them part of the family for a couple of days. Beyond that, the area around Kazbegi has numerous excellent hiking experiences from simple day hikes to hard-core mountain climbing. While it can be visited as a day trip from Tbilisi, Kazbegi is without question much better for those who give it the time it deserves.

High above Mestia village, crowns a cross that is just barely visible to the naked eye. It is a hard 2.5-3-hour trek up there and the same back, but the views (on a clear day ) are just spectacular. From the cross (2193 m), the most prominent peaks you have in view are the twin peaks of Mt Ushba (4700 m), Bachgurani (3837 m), Tetnuldi (4858 m) and, across the valley, Mekhnazhi (3559 m) and Lahili (4008 m). There are several trails up to the cross, but the jeep trail that winds around the backside is probably the most rewarding since the view just gets better and better as you walk up. There is apparently an alpine lake 2-3 hours (one way) further trekking towards Mt Ushba, but you need to start early to be able to make it back before dark.

The Peloponnese peninsula and, more specifically, the center called Arcadia is a beautiful hiking area. The area is dotted with small stone villages where nowadays only a few old people still live. It is a typical Greek landscape with plenty of olive trees. There are several day hikes you can do. One day hike starts at the renovated 17th century Filosofou monastery, which you can visit at the start of this hike. You have to have legs and arms covered to enter but these clothes are locally provided (and make a good picture). The hike then takes you through the Lousios gorge, following and criss-crossing the Lousios river. The end of the hike is near the archaeologic site of Roman Gortys.

If you want to cool down on a hot Peloponnese summer day you can head to the sea, ... or maybe better head for the Neda Gorge.
The landscape is spectacular and the great thing to do here is river trekking. You can do it organized where you wear wetsuits and you hike, clamber the rocks and swim in the pools for several hours. Alternatively, you can just hike through the last part of the river trek where near the end you can hike and swim through a bat-filled cave and up to some small waterfalls. A short trail at the end of the gorge leads up to another but even more idyllic waterfall for some more swimming and relaxing in and by the cool water.