Ideas for hiking and trekking worldwide

Over at the Vagabonding.net Q&A, a reader asks me about the worldwide trekking scene. “Having hiked the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails in the States,” he writes, “I’m hooked on walking. I’ll be starting my world travels post-Peace Corps later this year. Any recommendations for nice long trails anywhere in the world?”

The world, I tell him, is full of great hiking — so much so that, in the end, his decision may well be where not to go. If you’re looking for classic mountain treks, for example, you might consider the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, or the Inca Trail in Peru — which are both wonderful, time-honored options. Outside those trails, the Himalayas and the Andes provide countless trekking options. Europe has great trail systems, too — as does New Zealand.

In fact, you’ll discover previously unknown (to you) hikes everywhere you go in the world. Just this year, I discovered some great trails in southern Chile; two years ago I spent a week on the trails of the French Pyrenees; four years ago, I walked most of the way across Israel on well-marked and maintained trails.

Travel guidebooks are a great way to research which trails might be best for your interests. A good general trekking book, which covers classic hikes around the world, is David Noland’s Outside Adventure Travel. I’ll mention (and link) a few other trekking books below, by region:

• Lonely Planet Trekking in East Africa, by David Wenk

• Trekking in Russia and Central Asia, by Frith Maier
• Trekking in Tibet, by Gary McCue
• Lonely Planet Trekking in the Nepal Himalaya, by Stan Armington
• Trekking in the Everest Region, by Jamie McGuinness
• Trekking in Ladakh, by Charlie Loram
• Trekking in the Annapurna Region, by Bryn Thomas
• Trekking in the Karakoram & Hindukush, by John Mock
• Hiking in Japan, by Mason Florence

• Trekking in the Pyrenees, by Douglas Streatfeild-James
• Trekking in Corsica, by David Abram
• Trekking and Climbing in the Western Alps, by Hilary Sharp
• Trekking in the Dolomites, by Henry Stedman
• Lonely Planet Trekking in Spain, by Mark Dubin
• Lonely Planet Walking in Britain, by David Else
• Lonely Planet Walking in Ireland, by Sandra Bardwell
• Lonely Planet Walking in Scotland by Sandra Bardwell

• Lonely Planet Walking in Australia, by Sandra Bardwell
• Lonely Planet Tramping in New Zealand, by Jim Dufresne

• Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes, by Clem Lindenmayer
• Peru and Bolivia: The Bradt Trekking Guide, by Hilary Bradt
• Lonely Planet Trekking in the Central Andes, by Rob Rachowiecki
• Chile & Argentina: The Bradt Trekking Guide, by Tim Burford
• Trekking in Ecuador, by Robert Kunstaetter
• Explore the Inca Trail, by Jacquetta Megarry