World’s BEST hikes, ranked
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, “What is your favorite trek?” This is such a difficult question to answer. It’s like asking which is your favorite kid? Each trek is different. Some have the classic big mountain views, others are remote and wild, whilst others are all about the challenge and reward of completing it.
In an attempt to answer the question, or at least provide some insight to others looking to complete some of these treks, I decided to rank treks based n a few very scientific (aka – I just made them up) criteria, giving each criteria a score of 1-5. I’ve only added a few of the top classic treks for now, ut will add more over time.
Each trek, includes a link to a gallery of photos to help you make up your own mind on which one to tackle next. Check back often for more rankings.
One of the most frequent questions I get asked is, “What is your favorite trek?” This is such a difficult question to answer. It’s like asking which is your favorite kid? Each trek is different. Some have the classic big mountain views, others are remote and wild, whilst others are all about the challenge and reward of completing it.
In an attempt to answer the question, or at least provide some insight to others looking to complete some of these treks, I decided to rank treks based n a few very scientific (aka – I just made them up) criteria, giving each criteria a score of 1-5. I’ve only added a few of the top classic treks for now, but will add more over time.
Each trek, includes a link to a gallery of photos to help you make up your own mind on which one to tackle next. Check back often for more rankings.
RATINGS DEFINITION
| Rating | Accomodation | Difficulty | Scenery | Crowds | Wow Factor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Basic accommodations, in bad locations (trash, bugs, etc). | Too short, too easy. Did I walk something? | Kind of same ol’ same ol’. Lots of trash. | Too crowded. | Totally underwhelmed based on expectations |
| 2 | Basic. Good location, but too crowded. | Little short, a little easy, but decent. | Some good viewpoints, but not much. | Crowded, but manageable. | Yeah it’s nice, but i’ve seen better. |
| 3 | Good accommodation in good locations. | Good distance, manageable difficulty, but I’d like something more. | Great. Not overly diverse, but a little spoilt by tourism, trash, etc. | Manageable, but I can find space to walk alone. | Kind of what i expected. |
| 4 | Lodges, or camping with amazing views/location. | Long, hard, quad killer. Why am I doing this again? | Some epic views. Very little trash. Some diversity. | Few people. I can walk alone for hours. | This is pretty special. |
| 5 | Beautiful, classic mountain refugios, or solitary camping with views to die for. | Perfect distance and difficulty (usually around 10 days). | Incredibly diverse. Pristine. Epic views. This is what I get out of my tent for. | Solitude. I’m alone for days! | OMG. Is this even real? |
TREK RANKINGS
| Accomodation | Difficulty | Scenery | Crowds | Wow Factor | Overall Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everest Base Camp | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| Annapurna Circuit | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 20 |
| Kilimanjaro | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 13 |
| Torres del Paine - O Circuit | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| Tour de Mont Blanc | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 21 |
| Inca Trail | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| Milford Track | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| Camino de Santiago (French Way) | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 18 |
| Roraima | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 18 |
| Routeburn Trek | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 14 |
| Havasu Falls | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 17 |
| Subways | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 18 |
| Kumano Kodo (Nakahechi Route) | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| Overland Trek | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 |
| Via Podinesis | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| Camino Portugese | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 16 |