World's Best Hikes: Grindelwald, Switzerland

By Peter Potterfield

Today's Featured Hike: First to Lake Bachal to Faulhorn Hut

Round-Trip: 10 miles if you ride up and walk down, 2 to 3 days

When to Go: High summer is the season here, but hikable weather often extends into September, when the Europeans are back at work. The Faulhorn closes in October. Perhaps the biggest payoff for effort applied in the Alps, this ridiculously beautiful walk takes in the scenic highlights of the Bernese Oberland—including the notorious Eiger and its more impressive sister peak, the fearsome Shreckhorn—looming across Grindelwald’s fairy tale valley.

All this, and a night or two at the comfortable Faulhorn hut or berghotel, impossibly perched at 8,800 feet on its namesake peak, for just a day’s worth of hiking. And you can shave some time off that by taking a cable car up to First. Walk the whole way from Grindelwald and you’ll earn that beer you’re drinking on the terrace as the setting sun paints the Eiger’s north wall a blood red.

Insider Tip: Even if you ride the lift on the way up, be sure to walk down, and have lunch at Waldspitz, a classic Swiss mountain chalet where you’ll enjoy a tasty rösti watching snow plumes blow off the summit of the Shreckhorn so close it’s scary.

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Photograph by Patitucci Photo

World's Best Hikes: Petra Through the Back Door, Jordan

 

By Peter Potterfield

Today's Featured Hike: Dana Reserve to Petra

Round-Trip: 50 miles, 7 days

When to Go: October through April, when desert temperatures relent—a little. Go with Adventure Jordan, the local company that discovered this 50-mile route through the deserts, mountains, and peaks of Jordan.

At the top of an ancient stairway carved into the red rock, the narrow defile leads around a sharp bend, and suddenly you are stopped cold. There stands the exquisite carved façade of Al Deir, better known as the Monastery, perhaps Petra’s grandest monument. And you have it to yourself. To enter the Nabataean city of Petra in a small party at the conclusion of almost a week in the rugged wilds of the Kingdom of Jordan is a far more satisfying arrival than pulling into the parking lot with its idling tour buses ten miles away. That’s what makes the weeklong trek unique.

From the ancient city of Dana, the route leads down to the Feynan Eco-Lodge before crossing the vast arid expanse of Wadi Araba before climbing into the Sharah Mountains past iconic oasis and Bedouin camps toward Petra itself. The off-trail travel through the deserts and mountains can be grueling, exacerbated by the heat, but the hike sets you up to enter Petra in a receptive frame of mind, ready to absorb the mystical qualities of the Rose Red City.

Insider Tip: Do your research before you arrive. Time in the canyon system of Petra is precious, so it’s best to know what you want to see before you arrive. Besides the iconic sites of the Siq, the Treasury and the Monastery are mystical venues, as are the Place of High Sacrifice and the Great Temple.

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Photograph by Heeb, laif/Redux

World's Best Hikes: Fitz Roy Trek, Patagonia, Argentina

By Peter Potterfield

Today's Featured Hike: El Chaltén to Laguna Torre to Poincenot Camp to Laguna Eléctrico

Round-Trip: 36 miles, 4 to 7 days

When to Go: February to March to avoid the crowds of midsummer and enjoy stable fall weather when the infamous Patagonian winds abate

Hike among Argentina’s fabled Fitz Roy Massif, the iconic ridge where the peaks of Poincenot, St. Exupery, and 11,073-foot Fitz Roy itself rise out of the steppes of Patagonia like a vision. This grand tour gives you three views of Fitz at sunrise, with Cerro Torre and Marconi Pass thrown in for good measure. This ramble through Delaware-size Los Glaciares National Park takes you from gnarled, spooky beech forests and open plains to glaciers, roaring waterfalls, and granite monoliths afire with orange dawn light.

Insider Tip: From Camp Poincenot, hike up in the predawn hours to Laguna de los Tres by headlamp for the full impact of sunrise on the Fitz Roy Massif.

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Photograph by Reiner Harscher, laif/Redux

World's Best Hikes: Everest Base Camp Trek, Nepal

 
By Peter Potterfield

Today's Featured Hike: Lukla to Everest Base Camp

Round-Trip: 70 miles, 16 days

When to Go: Pre-monsoon (March or April) gives you the rhododendrons in bloom and lots of climber action, but post-monsoon (November) gives you drier weather. Go with guide services that use local Sherpa guides, cooks, and porters—it’s part of the experience.

Arguably the greatest of all high-mountain journeys, this stroll through Nepal’s Khumbu district lets you see three of the highest peaks on Earth (Everest, Lhotse, and Lhotse Sar) in one glance—and dozens more Himalayan giants along the way. A favorite is the view from Thyangboche, called by renowned mountain explorer W.H. Tillman the “greatest view in the world.” But it’s the deep immersion in the Sherpas’ Buddhist culture that will bring you back for the friendly villages, the monasteries, and the polyglot scene of world travelers who come for the high-octane pilgrimage to Everest.

Insider Tip: Go slow on the way up. Healthy hikers could cover 35 miles in two days, but the need to acclimatize means you’ll take ten days on the trek in to Everest, but only three on the trek out. The enforced downtime allows you to savor the experience—and the culture of people who live there.

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Photograph by Alex Treadway, National Geographic

World's Best Hikes: Grand Canyon Hike, Arizona

By Peter Potterfield

Today's Featured Hike: Rim to Rim to Rim

Round-Trip: 44 miles, 4 to 6 days

When to Go: Everybody does this hike in September to October or April to May, so go in March or November for a more contemplative experience.

Any walk in the Grand Canyon is going to rate pretty high on the Richter scale of hikes, but this route shows you both rims and the river, offers different trails in and out, and gives you enough time within one of the greatest features on Earth to actually savor the majesty of the natural architecture. Time travel through the multicolored layer cake of the Colorado Plateau for two billion years' worth of geology, from the Kaibab limestone at the rim to the Vishnu complex at the river, all on good “corridor” trails with known water sources and pleasant camps.

Insider Tip: Bomb down from the South Rim via the uber-direct South Kaibab Trail to cross the Colorado River on the Black Bridge and camp at Bright Angel camp. Then ascend through the Box, the inner heart of the canyon, up to Cottonwood Camp and the remote North Rim. On the return trek, cross the Colorado on the Silver Bridge and ascend to the South Rim through Indian Garden via the Bright Angel Trail, better suited for uphill travel.

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Photograph by Bill Hatcher, National Geographic

World's Best Hikes: Kungsleden, Sweden

By Peter Potterfield

Today's Featured Hike: Abisko Mountain Station to the Saami Village of Nikkaluokta

Round-Trip: 65 miles, 3 to 5 days

When to Go: The Europeans do it in August, when they get holiday time, so be bold and go in early September for authentic solitude and no bugs.

A hundred miles inside the Arctic Circle, Sweden’s legendary 275-mile Kungsleden (the “The King's Trail”) begins its traverse of the last great wilderness in western Europe. This mind-blowing northernmost section penetrates the vast Arctic landscape of Sweden through birch forests, open tundra, and big glaciers before crossing the shoulder of Sweden’s highest peak, 6,926-foot Mount Kebnekaise. Using the comfortable huts placed about a day apart assures you have refuge in bad weather. Sturdy suspension bridges take the danger out of the big rivers. The vibe here is “far north,” with palpable emptiness and low-angled light that stirs the soul.

Insider Tip: The route can be done in either direction, but do it north to south, as that keeps the sun on your face—no small consideration in the Arctic.

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Photograph by Bernd Jonkmanns, laif/Redux