12 Best Hikes in the World

The best hikes in the world are those that you’ll remember with the most joy. They don’t have to be long, but they could be hikes where you see amazing wildlife, come across a particularly breathtaking view, or just feel blissfully alive out in nature.

Some of us love coastal hikes, whereas others are drawn to mountains or forests. There are hikes with vertiginous drops and hikes through bucolic vineyards and rolling hills. Everybody will have their favorite. To help you plan your next big outdoor adventure, here are some of the most beautiful hikes in the world to consider for all abilities.

Horseshoe Lake Trail, Denali National Park, Alaska

Horseshoe Lake Trail in Denali National Park, Alaska

This is one of the prettiest and most popular short hikes in the vast sweep of Denali National Park, a landscape of tundra, forest, and mountains overlooked by the mighty Denali.

There are various points where you can join the trail, but when you access it from the trailhead behind Denali Visitor Center, it makes for a round trip of about four miles. You’ll hike up a short but steep hill from the trailhead to a point where the oxbow lake shimmers beneath you.

Nenana River in Denali National Park, Alaska

This popular Alaskan hiking trail then descends to the level of the lake, branching out into a loop around the water’s edge. There’s a short spur where you can divert to look at a beaver dam, while other sections lead you through dense forest, the still waters of the lake shimmering beside you. At the northern end of the loop, you’ll have views across the fast-flowing Nenana River.

Look out for moose along the way—you could even see them bathing in the lake. There’s a good chance of spotting beavers, too, as well as ducks and various wading birds.

Allow up to three hours round-trip if you’re starting from the Visitor Center, less if you’re able to join the trail further in.

Dunn’s River Falls, Jamaica

Dunn’s River Falls, Jamaica

Dunn’s River Falls is one of those classic adventures every visitor to Jamaica should try, simply because it’s both beautiful and fun.

Dunn’s River tumbles over a series of travertine rock shelves and cooling natural pools into the blue Caribbean, its banks framed by dense rainforest. The experience here involves clambering up the falls with a guide, an adventure that takes about an hour and a half. You negotiate the slippery parts by forming a human chain for stability, and there’s plenty of time to cool off in the rock pools along the way.

Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy

Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy

Brooding Etna in Sicily is not a mountain to mess with; it’s Europe’s tallest and most active volcano and erupts regularly. Still tempted? There’s certainly good reason to try a hike here, to gaze at the bleak, lunar landscapes of the upper slopes and feel the curious sensation of still-warm lava under your feet.

Etna can only be tackled with a guide, and you will need around six hours for the entire experience. The most popular area for day hikes, Etna Sud, starts with an ascent on the cable car to 8,202 feet, followed by a drive in a 4×4 to a suitable walking point, up to a maximum permitted altitude of 9,350 feet. This changes from year to year because the trails are occasionally buried in lava.

You’ll see vast expanses of black lava and hills of ash in shades of red, ocher, and gold, as well as steaming fumaroles, the smell of sulfur heavy in the thin air.

The Inca Trail, Peru

Machu Picchu, Peru

Tackling the famous Inca Trail is a hike of several days, but the Inca Trail Express route will take you to jaw-dropping Machu Picchu in a day, covering the last few miles of this world-famous hike.

You’ll start, with a guide, from the Chachabamba Ruins, one of the stops on the Cusco-Machu Picchu railway, and hike up through misty cloud forest to the spectacular ruins of Wiñay Wayna, an Inca archaeological site clinging to an impossibly steep hillside.

The big reveal comes at the Sun Gate, Inti Punku, where you’ll gaze down on ancient Machu Picchu itself, cradled by steep mountains, a sight so beautiful it will raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

Teide National Park, Canary Islands, Spain

Teide National Park on Canary Islands, Spain

At 12,188 feet, the volcano Teide is the highest mountain in Spain, and naturally, beckons to be conquered.

The mountain lies at the heart of the 47,000-acre UNESCO-listed Teide National Park and can be accessed via various hiking trails. If you’re short on time, the best way to reach the summit is to take the cable car to the upper station and follow the rocky trail to La Fortaleza vantage point. You’ll need a permit from the national park authority, and you should allow 40 minutes each way for the short but steep hike.

The rewards are many; the scenery up here, way above the treeline, is stark and dramatic, and the view into the greenish-yellow crater is mesmerizing.

Arguably best of all, though, is the astonishing perspective on the Canaries archipelago. On a clear day, you can see all the other islands rising out of the deep blue sea: to the west, La Palma, El Hierro, and La Gomera, and in the other direction, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, and Lanzarote.

Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

Almannagjá in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland

Hiking the vast, sweeping landscapes of Iceland is a joy; you’ll feel completely immersed in nature, and you can see for miles, as there are hardly any trees.

Thingvellir National Park, or Þingvellir in Icelandic, is a wild landscape of lakes, mountains, and waterfalls, the hillsides brilliant with purple lupines in summer. It’s easily accessible from Reykjavik.

One of the best Icelandic hiking trails to tackle here is the two-and-a-half-mile Oxaráfoss loop, which takes you from the visitor center through the Almannagjá gorge, a dramatic basalt rift that is widening as the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates move apart.

The Oxaráfoss waterfall cascades 65 feet over a rock shelf into a deep pool and is the perfect point to rest and take in the scenery.

Gros Piton, St. Lucia

Gros Piton, St. Lucia

You can’t miss the Pitons if you visit St. Lucia; they’re sheer-sided, twin volcanic plugs, cloaked in rainforest, defining the coastline of the island’s southwestern shore.

You can hike with a guide up the 2,619-foot Gros Piton, a challenging trek of up to six hours out and back with an elevation gain of around 2,000 feet. You will need to be fit for this one, as it’s essentially straight uphill until you reach the top lookout point, clambering up manmade stairs and steep, natural rocks.

There are plenty of rest stops, of course, the island’s lush scenery quickly revealing itself below, from bottle-green rainforest to the colorful rooftops of distant villages and the indigo Caribbean Sea.

Petit Piton, St. Lucia

From the highest point, you’ll see the sheer slopes of Petit Piton plunging into the sea, far-reaching views of St. Lucia’s scalloped coast, and across the water, mountainous St. Vincent. For the views alone, this is one of the best hikes in the world.

Good walking shoes are essential for this wonderfully rewarding hike, as are snacks and water, as you’ll need to refuel regularly.

Krka National Park, Croatia

Skradinski Buk in Krka National Park, Croatia

Skradinski Buk, arguably one of Europe’s most beautiful waterfalls, lies at the heart of Krka National Park in Croatia, cascading over a series of travertine rock shelves and plunging in dozens of white ribbons into a cool, green lake. There are several hiking trails in the park, but the circuit that takes you to the falls, an unhurried walk of around two hours, is the most popular.

This is more of a meander than a hike as it’s only just over a mile one-way, following boardwalks through sun-dappled forest and over trickling streams, all the time looking out for iridescent dragonflies and frogs. Some old watermills have been restored and turned into craft workshops, which is an interesting stop.

You’ll emerge at the lake at the base of the falls, with plenty of space from the boardwalks here to photograph the scenery.

Pulpit Rock, Norway

Pulpit Rock, Norway

Pulpit Rock, or Preikestolen, has been immortalized in thousands of social media posts; it’s that massive, razor-edge square block of rock jutting out 1,982 feet above the serene Lysefjord. There are no handrails, so this isn’t an outing for the faint-hearted. Nonetheless, this is regarded by many as one of the best hikes in the world.

You can reach Pulpit Rock on a four-hour round-trip trek of around five miles from the Preikestolen Fjellstue mountain lodge, easily accessible from Stavanger. It’s a tough walk, with boulder-strewn sections and steep elevations, but the scent of the pine forest and the gleaming water of the fjord far below are a joy.

Path of the Gods, Amalfi Coast, Italy

Path of the Gods on Amalfi Coast, Italy

Without doubt, one of the most beautiful hikes in the world, the Sentiero degli Dei, or the Path of the Gods, is carved into the mountains high above the lemon-fragranced Amalfi Coast, spanning 4.3 miles and reaching heights of 2,065 feet above sea level.

Every section of the trail is jaw-droppingly beautiful, from groves of ancient silvery olive trees to narrow terraces high above ritzy towns like Praiano and Positano. You can see the spiky rocks of Capri across the water, rising out of the heat haze.

Allow three to five hours for the trek, which is best done with a guide if you’re not familiar with the area. Prepare for a lot of steps; this is not a hike for anybody with knee problems.

Spasski River, Chichagof Island, Alaska

Spasski River on Chichagof Island, Alaska

This is an easy hike, taking about two and a half hours, or longer if you linger to observe Alaskan wildlife. It’s flat and can be tackled by just about anybody.

There are three parts to the hike, which is best done with a guide—most of the guides on Chichagof Island are Tlingit, with impressive knowledge of the local flora and fauna.

First, you’ll walk across a series of boardwalks crossing the muskeg, taking care not to step off, as you can easily sink in the spongy muskeg. Then, there’s a section through almost primeval forest, the trees draped with lichen, giant ferns covering the forest floor, and ravens calling above.

Once you reach the Spasski River, there are viewing platforms on the banks from which to look out for bears. Come in the height of summer in Alaska, and there’s a good chance of a sighting as the bears are feasting on salmon in the river. You could also see Sitka black-tailed deer, bald eagles, and woodpeckers, too.

Fira to Oia, Santorini, Greece

Fira to Oia trail in Santorini, Greece

Visiting Santorini can be an intense experience, as there’s much to pack in and a lot of people in summer. So outside the scorching peak season months of July and August, why not slow it right down and try the spectacular clifftop walk between Fira, the capital, and gorgeous, whitewashed Oia, spilling over the sheer slope of the caldera?

The six-mile hike follows the curve of the caldera, taking you north along the cliffs from Fira through pretty villages including Firostefani and Imerovigli, following cobblestone paths and dirt trails.

The views are magnificent, stretching right across the glittering caldera to the volcanic islets of Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni and neighboring Therasia.

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Pulpit Rock, Norway

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