Trekking

Bishkek has a gorgeous backdrop of snow capped mountains. Within an hour you can go from staring at drab Soviet era monuments in downtown Bishkek to be trekking on a mountain side, gawking at cragged peaks and crossing mountain streams. One of the most easily accessible areas is the Ala-Archa Canyon about 40 km south of Bishkek. There are several great trails which can be done as a day trip, including the six hours loop in the wooded and pretty Adygene Valley. Otherwise, there are plenty of multi-day trails leading up to passes, glaciers, and peaks (climbing gear and skills needed), where Semenov Tianshanskii (4,895 m) is the highest.

Trekking outside Karakol means trekking in the Terskey Ala-Too mountain range, which is part of the Tian Shan range. The three most popular valleys are Karakol Valley, Arashan Valley and Jeti-Öghüz Valley, which are all connected to each other through mountain passes. The scenery is just spectacular with racing rivers, alpine lakes, and snow-covered peaks above 5,000 m. There are lots of tough-looking, but very friendly, shepherd families with their herds of sheep, horses and cows in the area. It's usually fine to camp in an undisturbed spot – but beware of the shepherd dogs, they are vicious. In Arashan Valley, which is famous for its hot springs, there are even simple lodges at Altyn Arashan, making it the perfect destination for those without camping and cooking equipment. Trek in and make Altyn Arashan the base while doing day trips into the neighbouring valleys.

Nam Ha Protected Area is not only covered by the jungle but also rivers, grassland, fields of dry rice, small villages on stilts for Nam Ha is inhabited by some of Laos' ethnic tribes. UNESCO is involved in developing ecotourism in Nam Ha, like trekking, river rafting and village stays, so travellers can visit this magnificent area and local communities can benefit from it. The area ranges from lowland to peaks over 2000 m and boasts an impressive range of roaming animals like Asian elephants, cloud leopards, leopards, and even tigers - but don't count on seeing any of these. Birds, on the other hand, are plenty and with a bit of luck (and a good guide) it should be possible to spot a few.

As with many places in Lesotho, Morija is more a collection of houses than a real village. It's quasi-famous as the site for the first European mission in Lesotho and semi-famous for the Morija Museum and Archives. But the real attraction is its location on the slopes of the Makhoarane Plateau where there are spectacular views over the Maloti mountains. You can enjoy even more of the beautiful landscape on treks, either on foot or pony, through pine forests to mountain lakes and some dinosaur footprints.

During summer the main thing to do in Liechtenstein are bike cycling and hiking. There plenty of trails suitable for day trips, in addition with a few longer treks. You can even take the chairlift from Malbun up to the top of Mt. Sareiserjoch (2000 m) and start the hike from there. Even though the mountains are not better in Liechtenstein than neighbouring Switzerland and Austria (they are actually smaller in Liechtenstein), the scenery is as pretty with jagged peaks and green alp meadows, where bell ringing cows are grassing.

For national parks in Madagascar, this one is a little bit different. Where in most parks people first come for watching typical Malagasy animals and endemic fauna, in Andringitra it is all about hiking and beautiful scenery. It takes a while to reach the national park because the road is rough and you need a 4x4 to get there. Whether you opt for a day hike or go on a longer trek with the ascent of Madagascar's highest climbable mountain: Pic d'Imarivolanitra (formerly known as Pic Bobby), you will be able to enjoy some beautiful and diverse landscapes. In the lower regions, where there are still villages, you have the red earth and rice fields, but in the higher regions, the scenery starts to look more like a moonscape.

This national park is on everyone's itinerary when travelling down the Route Nationale 7 - the classic route in Madagascar. Out of the plains of Western Madagascar rises the Isalo massif. This arid plateau of mainly sandstone formations is home to several unique plants such as the Pachypodium. There are many deep canyons where you can find oases that bring with them a lush vegetation and pools with or without waterfalls that are great for swimming, especially after hiking in the hot climate. You can do day hikes of all lengths or explore Isalo more in depth on a longer camping trip. In and around some of the forests at the canyons there are also several species of lemurs such as ring tailed lemur, Verreaux's Sifaka and the Red-fronted Lemur.

Forget Morocco and Egypt. If you really want to follow in the footsteps of the ancient caravans, Mauritania is the place to do it. Camels were essentially pack-animals, and the caravan traders would not ride, but walk alongside their camels. So strap your bags to a few camels and follow your nomad guide into the desert. These treks are easy to arrange in both Atar and Chinguetti, but most will set out from the latter. From short sunset walks and overnight stays in the sand to multi-day treks – Ouadane and Terjit each take five to seven days from Chinguetti and are the most popular destinations. For the beyond hardcore, Tichit is a mere three weeks walk away. Should all the walking worry you, it is possible to bring an extra camel to carry anyone who tires. If you prefer your camel with leather seats and A/C is it also possible to arrange 4x4 trips around the region in Atar. These tend to be shorter and more expensive, but cover more ground – and the desert here offers everything from oases over cave drawings to meteorite crash sites.

The hike starts at the Pohn Alamwahu Protestant church in Kipar. It follows a 4x4 track through the jungle. It's a tranquil hike with chances to both see and hear exotic birds. The track slowly becomes more rough as the jungle get more dense, until it's just a jungle trail. The trail pass a little house to the right and soon start to ascent. As the picture reveals, we never reached the waterfall. We hiked for 1.5 hours and were still climb up, so we don't actually know how far the waterfall is.

Only an hour's drive outside Marrakech, the Atlas Mountains are located. The mountain range extends over 2500 km of North Africa (Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria) and is over 4000 m at its highest point. There is ample opportunity for a day trek, but there may be very uneven terrain, so it is a good idea to bring real hiking boots. There are lots of little tacky souvenir stalls and "coffee shops" at the beginning of the trek, but when you get past them, there are several beautiful waterfalls in the mountains and a beautiful view of both small Berber villages and snowy peaks.