If you’re stuck for time – or thigh power – these iconic day hikes squeeze a week’s worth of scenery into less than 24 hours…
1 FIMMVORDUHALS HIKE, ICELAND
All the island’s oddness in microcosm
LENGTH: 25km
DIFFICULTY: Tough
Iceland is wonderfully weird. And a whole lot of that weirdness is squeezed into this testing trail, which starts near the ocean and ends amid the Thorsmork mountains. Completing this in one day is tough – and some choose to take two, overnighting at the halfway hut – but it’s doable, especially if you hike in July and August when the light lasts forever and the weather is at its best.
The trailhead is above staggering Skogafoss, one of Iceland’s finest falls. It can be busy, but you’ll soon lose the crowds, hiking northwards across the river-cut grassy tundra via 20-odd more waterfalls and onto a wild plateau that seems as if it’s been dropped from outer space. This glacier-licked realm is ruled by two huge, rambunctious volcanoes – Katla and the infamous Eyjafjallajokull – which are constantly sculpting new steamy craters, lava fields and pumice piles. The views from the trail’s highpoint (1,068m) are possibly the best in Iceland, and followed by a descent into ‘Thor’s Valley’, an area of towering icy peaks, crystalline rivers and some of Iceland’s most beautiful hiking.
LIKE THAT? TRY THIS... Besseggen Ridge, Norway (17km), a classic ridge trail that runs right through Jotunheimen National Park, with access to the trailhead easily available by boat.
2 SENTINEL PEAK, SOUTH AFRICA
The quickest (and easiest) way up the dramatic Drakensberg
LENGTH: 12km
DIFFICULTY: Moderate
This story is from the June 2018 edition of Wanderlust Travel Magazine.
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This story is from the June 2018 edition of Wanderlust Travel Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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