10 of The World’s Best Hiking Trails

These ten trails run from a slot canyon in Utah you can walk in a day to the roughly 1,850-mile Greater Patagonian Trail across Chile and Argentina. Pick the Inca Trail if you want a finish at Machu Picchu. Pick Kungsleden in Sweden for open mountain country without the altitude. Most are multi-day treks, not casual walks.

Updated November 8, 2026.

Whether you’re a strong hiker or a beginner looking for a real challenge, there’s a trail on this list for you. More and more people build a whole vacation around adventure travel, and a lot of those trips come down to one great trail. Fair warning: many of these are treks, not casual strolls. If you want to get outside and leave your everyday worries behind, here are ten of the world’s best hiking trails.

A long flat trail and a short, steep, rocky one can take the same number of hours and leave you in very different shape at the end. Anyone who has carried heavy bags up a few flights of stairs knows that short and steep can feel harder than long and flat. The trails below lean toward the steep and rocky kind. Plan for the ground under your feet, not just the miles. Weather and altitude change how hard every trail on this list is more than the map does, so check conditions before you go.

Kungsleden, Sweden

Known as “The King’s Trail,” Kungsleden runs about 290 miles (467 km) between Abisko and Hemavan in northern Sweden, per Wikipedia. It gives you a trip through some of Sweden’s most beautiful country. It skirts Sarek National Park, passes the Vindelfjällen Nature Reserve, and is well marked. Most of us don’t have a month free to spend hiking, so stick to the northernmost section out of Abisko. It is the most popular week-long stretch of the trail, and the highest pass, Tjäktja, sits at only about 3,770 feet.

The Snowman Trek, The Kingdom of Bhutan

Created by yak herders, the 216-mile Snowman Trek crosses the Bhutanese Himalayas from Laya to Trongsa. It goes over eleven mountain passes and tops out at about 17,160 feet, per Wikipedia. This is a hard hike, and a word of caution: most people who start it don’t finish. Altitude and weather are the reason, not distance. Along the way you pass Buddhist monasteries, small villages like Laya and wildlife like the Himalayan blue sheep. Snow leopards have been reported along the route too.

The Colorado Trail, Colorado, United States

The Colorado Trail runs 486 miles from the mouth of Waterton Canyon, southwest of Denver, to Durango in the state’s southwest corner. To put that in perspective, Denver is up in the north of the state and Durango is down in the southwest. It passes old mining towns and historic Native American trails, and its high point is 13,271 feet in the San Juan Mountains, per Wikipedia. If you plan to hike the whole thing, give yourself plenty of time. Thru-hikers start at Waterton Canyon and head west to Durango. If you only have a few days, the stretch between San Luis Pass and Molas Pass is the one to pick.

Buckskin Gulch, Utah, United States

Colorado’s neighbor Utah has world-class hiking too, from its famous national parks to Buckskin Gulch. The rock formations here are some of the most amazing you’ll ever see. The gulch runs more than 16 miles in southern Kane County, roughly halfway between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona, and it is one of the longest and deepest slot canyons in the Southwest, per Wikipedia. Most people walk in through Wire Pass, a short side canyon.

You can do it in a single day, though plenty of hikers spend a few days to enjoy it instead of rushing through. Don’t let that fool you. Some parts are extremely hard, like the Wire Pass section, which has pour-offs and drop-offs. The narrow walls also block enough sunlight to make the footing tricky. Check conditions before you go and be prepared.

Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

At 19,341 feet (5,895 m), Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest peak, per Wikipedia, and it has some of the most breathtaking trails in the world. The main ascent routes are Marangu, Machame, Lemosho, Rongai, Umbwe, Shira and the Northern Circuit, and Mweka is used only for the way down. Most climbs take five to nine days. Marangu is the easiest ascent and stays very popular, though it gets crowded. On the way up you pass through five zones, from bushland and rainforest on the lower slopes to arctic conditions at the top. If you’ve ever dressed for a spring day that starts frosty and ends in short sleeves, you get the idea, only on a much bigger scale. No other trail on this list packs that much change into one climb.

Greater Patagonian Trail, Chile and Argentina

At roughly 1,850 miles (3,000 km), the Greater Patagonian Trail runs through the Andes of Chile and Argentina, per Wikipedia. Jan Dudeck and his Chilean wife, Meylin Ubilla, mapped it, and it dates to 2014. The whole idea fires up the imagination. Unlike most trails here, it has no signposts. Anyone who has lost phone signal on a road trip knows that uneasy feeling of not being sure where you are, and out here you plan for it. Much of it is a web of linked routes through some of the wildest land on the continent, which is part of the thrill. This is a trail for people with strong map and trail skills, not a first long hike.

Route K, Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Plitvice Lakes is Croatia’s oldest and largest national park, declared on April 8, 1949, per the park’s own site. Route K is its longest route. The park is a maze of winding streams and deep green forest, and it’s easy to get to from the Adriatic coast. Route K winds around Kozjak, one of the park’s two biggest lakes, then follows wooden boardwalks past a chain of lakes and waterfalls before dropping into the forest. Brown bears, grey wolves, lynx and wildcats live in the park, per Wikipedia, which is rare in Europe. There’s an entrance fee, but once you’re in, the trails are yours to wander.

Sinai Trail, Egypt

Three Bedouin tribes launched the Sinai Trail in 2015 as a 220-km (about 137-mile), 12-day route from the Gulf of Aqaba to the summit of Jebel Katherina, Egypt’s highest peak. More tribes have joined since, and the route now covers 550 km (about 342 miles), per TRC Tourism. It was a new kind of trail, built by the people who live there. Bedouin guides are mandatory, and they know the abandoned mines, old chapels and desert plants that no map will show you.

Olomana Trail, Oahu, Hawaii

On Oahu’s windward side near Kailua, the Olomana trail climbs three peaks. The first is steep but manageable, with a short roped section at the top. Past it, the ridge turns narrow and crumbly. A trailhead sign posted in late 2022 listed six deaths since 2011, most of them between the second and third peaks, per Wikipedia. The payoff is the view over Oahu’s windward coast, but this is not a casual family hike. Most of us have ignored a warning sign at least once, and this is not the one to ignore. If you want an adrenaline rush, it delivers. If it’s on your Hawaii bucket list, stick to the first peak and leave the far ridge to experienced scramblers.

Inca Trail, Peru

The classic Inca Trail runs 26 miles (42 km) to Machu Picchu over four or five days and tops out at 13,829 feet at Dead Woman’s Pass, per Wikipedia. The Inca Trail is world famous, and it’s easy to see why. Snow-capped peaks, far-off rivers, green fields and subtropical jungle lead you in to one of the great wonders of the world. It really is one of the best hiking trails anywhere. Peru caps the trail at 500 people a day, guides and porters included. Every trekker must hike with a guide booked through a registered operator, and the trail closes each February for maintenance, so book months ahead.

If the trail is only part of the trip, our travel hacks for a better trip can make the getting-there part easier, and these tips for traveling on a budget help when the trek itself eats most of your savings.

World’s best hiking trails: FAQ

Which of these hiking trails is best for a beginner?

Plitvice Lakes is the easiest day out on the list, mostly on wooden paths and boardwalks. For a multi-day trip, Kungsleden’s northern section is the most forgiving. It is well marked, needs no technical climbing, and its highest pass, Tjäktja, sits at only about 3,770 feet, per Wikipedia.

Do I need a permit to hike the Inca Trail?

Yes. Peru limits the classic Inca Trail to 500 people a day, including guides and porters, and only about 200 of those spots go to trekkers. Permits are sold only through government-registered tour operators, every trekker must hike with a guide, and the trail closes each February for maintenance, per Wikipedia.

Which trail on this list is the most dangerous?

Olomana on Oahu is the most dangerous for its size. A trailhead sign posted in late 2022 listed six deaths since 2011, most of them on the narrow ridge between the second and third peaks. The Snowman Trek in Bhutan is the hardest to finish, because altitude near 17,160 feet and mountain weather turn most trekkers back.

Can any of these be done without a guide?

Two of them require one. Peru allows the Inca Trail only with a guide from a registered operator, and Bedouin guides are mandatory on the Sinai Trail, per TRC Tourism. Kungsleden, the Colorado Trail and Buckskin Gulch are usually hiked independently, as long as you can navigate, carry what you need and read the weather.