12 of the world's greatest walking trails for an epic adventure

Pack your hiking boots and set off on an epic walking adventure this year along one of these memorable routes, writes Thom Breathnach

Discover the great outdoors on these walking trails

This article was first published on April 5, 2025

Inca Trail, Peru

Length: 42km | Duration: 4 days

Difficulty: strenuous

Arguably one of the most bucket-listed backpacking hikes on the planet, Peru’s iconic Inca Trail, set high in the Peruvian Andes, lives up to the lofty hype. The legendary trail takes you through some of the civilisation’s incredible archaeological ruins, with a large portion of the stairs still intact. You’ll get your steps in — there are said to be over 70,000 steps on the trail alone. For a more off-the-beaten-track route, I’d recommend the Lares Trail, which takes you through remote mountain valleys dotted with grazing llamas and traditional Quechuan hamlets. The ultimate crescendo for either option is arriving at Machu Picchu, with many trips reaching the breathtaking lost city at sunrise.

• Book it: G Adventures offer four-day guided Inca Trail trips from €739 (excl. flights); gadventures.com

Sentier des Fromageries, Switzerland

Length: 15km | Duration: 5hrs

Difficulty: moderate

Switzerland may be chock-a-block with heavenly hiking trails, but a deliciously bite-sized one to consider for your next Alpine visit is this charming Cheesemaker Trail at the famous town of Gruyères. Wanderers can choose between two equidistant routes, which lead from the dairy-obsessed town up through lush alpine meadows, evergreen forests and valleys, peppered with bell-clanging cows. Hikes are self-guided and reach their peak at mountaintop dairy, where you can enjoy a ttour and tasting. Wrap up back down in the castellated old town of Gruyères, where local menus of raclette awaits.

• Book it: Check out myswitzerland.com for more.

Camino de Santiago, Spain

Length: 780km | Duration: 30-35 days

Difficulty: moderate

The most famous walking holiday of them all, the very word camino has lent itself to the tourism lexicon for any overnight walk in Ireland or beyond. There are myriad iterations of the route nowadays, from the original Primitivo pilgrim route from Oviedo to the Portuguese camino, but all trails ultimately lead to the shrine of Saint James in Santiago De Compostela. Most popular is the “Camino Frances” from Jean-Pied-de-Port in the Pyrenees through Basque country and northern Spain’s rugged coast to Santiago. Most tourists tend to take it in chunks over the years. Either enjoy it DIY or join guided tours where accommodation — and crucially, baggage transfers, are all included.

• Book it: Six-night trips including breakfast, accommodation and luggage transfers from €525pps; shandontravel.ie

Mount Kilimanjaro Trek, Tanzania

Length: 64km | Duration: 7 days

Difficulty: strenuous

Discover Africa’s most famous summit via Rongai route, the northern route of the mountain known for its drier, kinder climate. Starting from your gateway base of Moshi, trekkers will zigzag up to the 5895m summit as spectacular savannah scapes and sunsets spill around you.

• Book it: Trailfinders offer a seven-night guided Kilimanjaro Route from €2,354pps (excl. flights) which includes meals, hotels and full-service camping en route. trailfinders.ie.

Nakasendo Trail, Japan

Length: 540km | Duration: 20-22 days

Difficulty: moderate

Think of Japan and you might think of millions of commuters zipping through the Shibuya Crossing but there’s a far more serene side to traditional Japanese life and the Nakasendo Trail is one of the best ways to experience it. Self-guided tours along

the 400-year-old route which connects Tokyo and Kyoto, where you can wander from village to village staying in traditional shukubo temple lodgings or ryokan inns along the way.

• Book it: Responsible Travel offer a two night self-guided Nakasendo Trail experience from €1,250pps (excl. flights) which includes accommodation, train transfers and a step by step itinerary. responsibletravel.com

Appalachian Trail, USA

Length: 3,536 | Duration: up to 200 days

Difficulty: moderate to strenuous

Claimed to be the world’s longest hiking only trail, the “AT”, taking in 14 states along the US East Coast, is one of America’s true outdoor paradises. Campsites and primitive shelters are the most popular bases to overnight but you can also do back and forth trips from some of the trails most popular hunts from Hot Springs, North Carolina to Damascus, Virginia. Route highlights include the Great Smokey Mountains and Shenandoah National Park while the 100 mile wilderness which leads to the northern terminus of the trail, Mt Katahdin in Maine is a dream section to take a chunk out of, not least in the fall. Just mind the moose.

• Book it: See appalachaintrail.org for infinite trail inspiration.

West Highland Way, Scotland

Length: 154km | Duration: 6-8 day

Difficulty: moderate

Arguably the UK’s most beloved hiking route, the West Highland Way winds hikers through some of Scotland’s most spectacular scenery, sandwiched between the towns of Milngavie to Fort William. Though a week is required to take in the full trip, many hikers take a night or two and you can even pick up an official passport to log your progress. Highlights include Loch Lomond and traversing the wild expanse of Rannor Moor while being wowed by stunning sites such as the peak of Buachaille Etive Mor. Great public transport also makes this a fine option for those who fancy a few days in the great outdoors via Glasgow.

• Book it: Seven day self-guided trips with B&B hotel accommodation from €885pps (excl. flights); orbisways.com

Cinque Terre, Italy

Length: 40km | Duration: 5 days

Difficulty: moderate

To give your hiking boots the bella vita treatment, lace up for a trip to Cinque Terre, Italy’s exquisite urban Unesco site perched along on the Ligurian coast. You’ll wander along the cliffs, beaches and cobbled streets of the five towns of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, breathing in some of Europe’s most romantic trails.

• Book it: Seven-day fully guided trip based on half board accommodation from €1,759pps (incl. flights); tdactiveholidays.com

St Olav’s Way, Norway

Length: 643 | Duration: 32 days

Difficulty: moderate 

When Norwegians ditch the snow shoes for the hiking boots they are spoiled with some of Europe’s most incredible hiking terrain. St. Olav’s Way is the country’s most significant pilgrim route and follows nine different routes from capital Oslo to Nidaros Cathedral of Trondheim. Today, the 600km stretch between Trondheim and Oslo is the most popular, particularly in summer when you can enjoy great scenery under (almost) midnight sun, where you can visit some charming sites like a medieval pilgrim farmstead and where you can soak in the heritage while fuelling up on moose tacos.

• Book it: Plan your DIY trip via pilegrimsleden.no

Tour du Mont Blanc, France

Length: 170km | Duration: 10-12 days

Difficulty: atrenuous

What was originally formed by shepherds moving their flock from valley to valley, is today one of Europe’s most epic outdoors experiences. Trails to circumnavigate Europe’s highest mountain typically start at the French village of Les Houches in the scenic Chamonix Valley and border hop into both Italy and Switzerland before looping back.

The blockbuster route is certainly one for the more sure-footed (you’ll need to scale fixed ladders on occasion, for example) but there are also few options to leap-frog sections via cable car.

• Book it: Hike with macsadventure.com from €1,035pps (flights excl.) for a four-night tour.

Oukaimeden to Tachdirten, Morocco

Length: 8km | Duration: 5hrs

Difficulty: moderate

Don’t overlook Morocco’s Atlas Mountains if you’re looking for a walking getaway with sunshine, culture and spectacular vistas guaranteed. Guided tours across the range are increasingly popular and take the heat out of map reading and orientation in the North African sun.

Some of the best routes include the Tizi n’Addi mountain pass which you’ll discover after meandering mule paths through traditional Berber villages. At an altitude of over 2,000m, a decent level of fitness is required for these routes, but refuelling on hearty tagines along the way will aid any recovery.

• Book it: TD Active Holidays offer a seven night guided Atlas Mountain walking tour on a half board basis from €1,699pps (incl. flights); tdactiveholidays.com

Tatranska Magistrala Trail, Slovakia

Length: 72km | Duration: 7 days

Difficulty: moderate

Slovakia is one of the lesser-trundled walking destinations for Irish travellers, but with some excellent mountain ranges and great budget airline connections to Bratislava (and nearby Krakow), the country should certainly be on everyone’s rambling radar. The country’s High Tatras mountains, which form part of the greater Carpathian range and fold into neighbouring Poland, are a hiking paradise in summer and feature a well developed hiking infrastructure for tourists. The trail is the country’s most beloved route which can be discovered by hotel-to-hotel hiking or overnighting in traditional mountain huts.

• Book it: Local specialists Slovakia Explorer offer guided treks in the range with rates from €599pps B&B for a three night trip (excl. flights). slovakia-explorer.com.