Global Hike/Planeta.com

Global Snapshot: Favorite Places to Hike

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In August 2003 we asked participants in Planeta's World Forum -- 'What are your favorite places to walk or hike?' Here are some choice responses:

R.J. ARMOUR -- Five choices:
1. Guided game walk in Okavango Delta, Botswana
2. Guided game walk in the Kruger National Park, South Africa
3. Drakensburg Mountains, Royal Natal National Park, South Africa
4. Fish River Canyon, Namibia
5. Lesotho Mountains, down Semonkong waterfall gorge after wild trout

MELINDA REES -- My favourite walk is in the Loita Hills, just outside the Masai Mara Reserve in Kenya. The Mara is blessed with a stunning landscape, but also its animal diversity is one of the greatest in Africa. Surrounded by the grazing lands of the Masai people, the Mara is a sanctuary for all of the "Big 5" animals, lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino and leopard. The sweet grasses and abundant water ensure a full compliment of plains game such as the impala and Thompson's gazelle, which are of course, closely followed by lion, leopard and cheetah. The deep river pools provide homes for hippo and crocodiles.

ASIA

ANNE GOUYON -- Kyrgystan is the ultimate sportive retreat in the world, a country made for trekkers, hikers, riders, mountain climbers and lovers of nature of all sorts -- the first nature lovers being the Kyrgyz nomads. Stunning landscapes of furs, glaciers, pristine mountain creeks and grassy valleys, where flocks of beautiful horses and cattle roam freely under the watch of the nomads. An idea of what the Alps may have looked like 10,000 years ago, before electricity lines, roads and telephones. I was trekking in Kyrgystan with a group of friends between 10 and 16 September 2001 -- as we came back from the peace and infinite freedom of the mountains, a few hundred of kilometers away from the Afghan border, we learned about something awful which happened a few days earlier, on September 11. In the mountains no one had a clue that something had happened, and I felt like climbing back to spend a few more nights with the nomads, hiking above blue lakes or riding a free horse when too tired for walking.

AUSTRALIA

JO-ANN PALMER -- Our place ... (four hectares adjacent to the World Heritage listed Border Ranges National Park, with about 5 kilometers of tracks winding through the various rainforest and regrowth). Other favorites ... Minjungbul Museum at Tweed Heads for aboriginal culture, and a paved and timber board walk to the Tweed River, great for spotting waders and seabirds ... Tweed Bicentennial Environmental Park on the Coast Road at Pottsville Beach. Well developed walking trails with boardwalks through wetland areas and viewing platforms by the creek. Most of the major headlands of the Tweed Coast have also recently been upgraded with boardwalks and interpretive signage. These provide pleasant, short and scenic walks ... Dorrigo National Park mid North Coast, has some wonderful walks, including a canopy "skywalk", although I think the boardwalk section of "The Pinnacle" in the Border Ranges NP is just as good. (You'll see when we finally put the pictures up - Promise!)

COSTA RICA

PETER HUTCHISON -- As a former trekking guide, sadly the only multi-day trek I've had time to do was climbing Cerro Chirripo in Costa Rica - it is certainly an impressive trek in terms of variety of landscapes and ecosystems. Many others as ideas are well known, with good options in most countries. Having spent long periods looking over maps dreaming about possibilities with time, a good map, compass and normal social courtesies the options are incredible.

ECUADOR

MICHELLE KIRBY AND ANDRES HAMMERMAN -- We love hiking right where we live! The Black Sheep Inn, Chugchilan, Provincia Cotopaxi, Ecuador is in a perfect location for numerous hikes to a variety of micro-climates and landscapes. Hiking elevations in our area range from 2600 meters (8500 feet) in the bottom of the Rio Toachi Canyon to 3900 (12,700 feet) at the top of the Laguna Quilotoa Crater. We are also a few kilometers from the Iliniza Ecological Reserve and an enormous expanse of Cloud Forest/Andean Humid Forest. Hikes range from 2 hours up to a few days and all of these hikes to different micro-climates and zones are within a 15 kilometer radius.

EUROPE

PAULO JACINTO -- I like very much the area of Asturias/Leon, more specifically the south side of Picos de Europa and the area of Bierzo-Somiedo. In fact, I have a special attraction for Spain, where there is many more places (around Pyrenees, coast of Galicia, the area of Gredos/Bejar, etc.). In my country, Portugal, I like very much the areas of Barroso, the Upper Douro Valley and side areas, and the area close to the border with Spain (from north to south) that is call Raia (in Spanish Raya). But I'm very curious about Carpatians mountains, the northern part of Greece, Ireland, Highlands of Scotland and some places in France.

MEXICO

PATRICIA KAISER -- Four suggestions. (Note that I wouldn't suggest any of these areas to tourists unless they're in a group with someone who knows where they're going) ... Nevado de Toluca - If you're unfamiliar with the trails, you can always just walk up the road - it's a gradual grade and a beautiful walk. You can park in the clearing where they collect the tolls (10 or 15 pesos, if I remember correctly). Beware of the traffic, but most of the time the traffic is moving slowly. Don't count on making it to the summit, though unless you start out early in the morning - it's quite a long way. It's a good idea to have a fleece or shirt with a high neck to cover your mouth and nose- when the cars pass you a lot of dust is kicked up ... La Marquesa - the area north of the cuota (exit at Huixquilucan, go up about 1/4 of a mile and turn right into entrance - parking fee is around 10 pesos). There are little food stands around the base (if you're willing to take a bit of a risk, the food's delicious). On the weekends, the locals have picnics in this area. Once you start climbing, very quickly you're out of the noise and hubbub and you're in the middle of a beautiful forest. If you climb high enough, you have beautiful views and can look back to the city skyline. The trails are generally not marked, but you can generally follow your instincts and pick the difficulty you desire ... Ajusco - There are many trails - ranging from tame to adventurous. Likewise here if you climb high enough you can enjoy beautiful views. Also, there are food stands on the road near the base - a bit risky, but delicious. There's a little hut at the base that has sleeping facilities (for those rustic mountaineers), bathrooms, water and snacks. They also have a map of the trails that they can show you ... Parque Ejidal San Nicolas Totolapan - There's a map of trails (a bit difficult to decipher) at the base and the cost of entry is around 15 pesos. There are many different trails - watch out for the mountain bikers! Once you have climbed for maybe a half hour, you get out of the range of most of the mountain bikers.

NEW ZEALAND

RON MARIOTT -- Queen Charlotte Wilderness Park is a large private but open to the public native wildlife sanctuary situated at Cape Jackson in the Marlborough Sounds. Explorers walking the extensive network of tracks within the Park can not only enjoy the best of the Sounds wilderness environment but also know that their visit is helping in the fight against catastrophic climate change.

NICARAGUA

RICHARD KOMP -- One of my favorite places to walk in Nicaragua is on the Isle of Ometepe. The Grupo Fenix has a microhydroelectric project at the Finca Magdalena there and I like to walk up the volcano (supposedly to be checking the penstock pipe feeding the small electric turbine). The view from some of the fields about halfway up are spectacular and you can also find Mayan inscriptions on some of the rocks, if you look closely. Lots of young people from Europe also seem to have found this place. By the way, the microhydro system furnishes all the Finca's electricity and the water is used as drinking water there and at the town below. The hydro plant extracts enough energy to cut the water pressure from the spring, very high on the volcano) to a reasonable pressure. There is no dam and only part of the water is taken so the ecology of the brook tumbling down from the spring is unchanged. A really nice, cool place to visit but I have not had time yet to go all the way to the top (I plan to stay longer next time).

USA

KIRSTY ZAHNKE -- Jefferson National Forest in SW Virginia. The habitats here are similar to the Smoky Mountain National Park, but without the crowds. It is situated at the meeting of the Valley and Ridge and the Appalachian Plateau. Beautiful mature hemlock forests and wetlands with unique ecosystems are hidden in hollows that that are so separated from one another they are like islands, great cave systems in a karst landscape, rocky outcrops with purple mountains disappearing into the sunset, birding paradise, usually great weather and hikable in all seasons, clean air and friendly locals. (Not to forget the fact that it is my back yard!)

JEFF TURICIK -- My favorite hiking experience has been hiking in Colorado in the spring. I have experienced hiking in Keyston and Aspen. The altitude can really leave you breathless as the height makes the air thin. My asthma made me take the hiking slow, but this made me appreciate the scenery , sights and smells even more. Wild flowers are blooming and the snow is still laying in patches, giving cool respite to some of the warm sunny days and quick way to relieve some heat . Moss, fir, pine and sage can really tweak your senses as the scents waft in the warm air. The most powerful sense is the quiet. Keystone is about 30-40 miles west of Denver, and there is many types and styles of lodging. Spring time is a slower season for the lodges, so there are good deals. There is lots to do in the area, and the people are friendly.

VENEZUELA

PAUL STANLEY -- At Angel-Ecotours we have a route (Uruyén - Kavak - Kavak Cave - Kavak) that we submitted a while back for a "World's Top Ten list of Walks" - it actually made the top ten. Uruyén and Kavak are two Pemón Indian settlements in the Gran Sabana region of Canaima National Park, Venezuela. What makes this walk unique? To get to Uruyén one flies over the world's highest waterfall, Angel Falls and some of the parks 160 tabletop (tepuys) mountains. These mountains are believed to be some of the oldest rock formations on this planet.