amcquiggan

I have traveled in several different countries (Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Italy, France, Austria, Canada, USA), and the activity that I enjoy the most and is the most memorable to me is a nice walk through wilderness with breath-taking views(no mountain climbing, but some hill walking with some solid boots). I was planning my next vacation, but I don't know where to go (we were thinking Iceland, but I am not so sure about the expense-to-enjoyment ratio).

Where are some of the best walks, with breath-taking views and serene nature, that you have ever been on?

My best walk was on an island right of the Dingle Peninsula. It was a gorgeous day. We hiked up to the top of the island for two hours and then just sat on the top of the hill looking at the coastline and the water. While we were up there a cloud rolled in, completely enveloping us, and then five minutes later it was gone. That is one of the neatest experiences I have ever had.

How about you?

cece

My husband and I do a lot of walking/hiking on our travels-here are just a few memorable European moments:
The Cinque Terre in 1990 before the crowds, Assisi to St. Francis' hermitage,The Garrotxa area of Spain, Hadrian's wall in England, The Jura mountains (we walked from Switzerland into France) and just completed a walk in Southern Tuscany from Siena to Montepulciano. Walking is just a great way to see the countryside and stay in smaller villages.

ms_go

Switzerland -- we had three incredibly beautiful walks/hikes in areas near Grindelwald, none of them involving any significant climbing.

-First Station to the Bachalpsee (the bonus was getting to watch the paragliders take off and soar over the valley)
-Murren to Grutschalp
-Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg

http://community.webshots.com/album/111416215tDqoRc

SloJan

Much of Switzerland is drop dead gorgeous. Hiking around Vierwaldstattersee (Luzern area), the Berner Oberland, The valais. Everywhere you turn, it's another beautiful view. It's almost tiring..

Some other areas we have really enjoyd hiking in are the Soca River Valley in Slovenia and along the levadas on Madeira.
Cheers,
Jan

Jocelyn_P

Not Europe, I know, but hiking through Point Lobos State Park along the California coast tops my list.

Ingo

Switzerland, Engadine, near St. Moritz:

From the middle station of the cable car to P. Corvatsch to Fuorcla Surlej (pass) where the views of P. Bernina (4049 m) and P. Roseg (3963 m) as well as the other mountains (alt. about 3500 m) with their glaciers is breathtaking. Hiked further into that great so called Roseg valley to Coaz hut at approx. 2600 m, right on a rock above and beside the glacier. Hiked down to the glacier lake and further to Roseg hotel. From there back by horse-drawn carriage to Pontresina. Was a gorgeous day with all sorts of weather: cloudy, some drops of rain, and finally the sun came out in the late afternoon.

I remember several other hikes in the Swiss Alps which were similar to that. Simply fantastic.

Amy

I've enjoyed some beautiful walks in Switzerland (Hasliberg region) and in Austria (Werfen area) without having to climb the mountains; chairlift up, then walk!

I also enjoyed Madeira's levadas and Portugal's coast for walking, but Iceland has a very special appeal for me: Thingvellir and Thorvald are beautiful hikes, and the caves and black sand beaches add another dimension...not to mention the geysers and the thermal springs for soaking after you've hiked a bit too much. Iceland to me was certainly no more expensive than Switzerland; you can easily spend a lot of money there, but you also have a fair amount of options for lodging and food that are quite reasonable.

Or, for something completely different, I also loved hiking in the Peruvian rainforest...

barbmike

I agree 100% with ms_go as I did all three of these "walks" last year. I stood very close to the paragliders as they "ran" into the sky on the top of First near Grindelwald. UNBELIEVABLE !!! Have a great trip. Mike

Patrick

I'll join you in that description of hiking in Dingle. And the memory of doing the walk between the five villages of the Cinque Terre still stands out -- but that was a number of years ago when we had the trails pretty much to ourselves. Nearly any hike we did in Switzerland was beautiful. The walk all the way around Lake Bled in Slovenia was really special and oh so easy.

While I'm not too big on major climbing, I'm an expert at taking a train or lift to the top of a mountain and walking down.

JQReports

Corsica! Lace up your boots, go and be dazzled.

Also, Cinque Terre before the crowds; around the Promontorio di Portofino; from the Santuario di Montalegro above Rapallo to Chiavari; the Isle of Skye; hiking on Marettimo; into the silence of the Cirque de Gavarnie (beyond where the hordes from Lourdes walk to); the Zingaro on Sicily's northwest coast.

JudyC

As many of previous posts, I enjoy walking in Switzerland, the most memorable one is walking down from Gornergrat near Zermatt.

I quite agree with Amy, Iceland isn't really more expensive than Switzerland, but with drastic sceneries. Especially around the southeast coast:less touristy, but with many beautiful trails.

In France, the views along Pointe du Raz (westmost point of Brittany),to me, it is more beautiful than Cinque Terre.

In Italy, walking along the mountain ranges in Parco del Monte Cucco (northern Umbria), with endless mountains drops by both sides , the views are absolutely breathtaking.

In U.K., Marloes Sand area along The Pembrokeshire Coast Path, almost surreal seascapes.

No magnificent sceneries, but nothing could be more enjoyable than walking in bluebell woods in Kent in soft green mid-spring after long winter.

pelham123

After traveling far and wide, I have to say the best hike for me is still the Matt Davis/Steep Ravine trail from the top of Mount Tamalpais in Northern California down to Stinson Beach and then back again. Amazing ocean views, beautiful redwood canyons. It is ravishing, just spectacularly beautiful.

amelia

I have to tell you that even with all the hiking we've done in the West of US (Tetons are a special favorite of ours) and the gorgeous bikes we did in Ireland (again, Ireland reminds me so much of West US--something I never expected), I adored our Swiss hikes.

We did all of Ms_Go's hikes,and we thoroughly concur. What was even a better memory is that our group sang while hiking from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg. Then we got to watch the moutain climbers tuck into the North Face of the Eiger at night and saw their lanterns blend into the stars.

Yeah!

amcquiggan

Many thanks for your replies. I have enjoyed reading them, and they have helped me in my decision process.

Just out of curiosity, for those who have been to Iceland, would you say I would be spending my money well by taking holiday there? (Remember, we love natural beauty, hikes, and low "touristy" activities.) If so, where should we focus our 10 days?

Amy

I've been to Iceland three times and would be very happy to return at any time. I've just been in the south with daytrips out (and on a three day jaunt to eastern Greenland from Iceland as well--beautiful!)
I love Iceland's unique natural beauty and the clean, clean air; it's not been at all over-touristed when I've been there, although there were more tourists there in 2001 than in 1996! There are waterfalls, lava fields, tectonic plate fissures, geysers, cliffs...a nature lover's paradise, to me.

Of course it's subjective, but Iceland is my favorite of the 30 or so countries I've been to.

chtiet

I agree about Iceland - if you decide to go, it's a great place to hike, and you won't regret it. Much wilder than the rest of Europe. We hiked in the Thorsmork area, the Skaftafell National Park area, and in my absolute favorite, Landmannalaugar. Incredible scenery, gorgeous colors, not "mainstream toursity" at all, and natural hot-springs when you're done. Truly great!

maitaitom

A couple of the hikes in Switzerland were stupendous.

Like ms_go we especially liked First Station to the Bachalpsee (with the requisite paragliders soaring overhead) and the hike from Mannlichen to Kleine Scheidegg.

However, it is tough to beat the last part of the hike up to Vernal Falls in Yosemite. It was as beautiful (if not more) than the hikes in Switzerland. I had forgotten how great Yosemite can be.

And pelham 1 2 3, kudos on your screen name. It is one of my favorite underrated and underappreciated movies.

harzer

You must have already been to the Black Forest, but I mention it anyway as it is very high on my list. Other notable areas in Germany are the Bayerische Wald north of Passau, and the very much neglected but beautiful Spessart WNW of Wuerzburg.

A pity you are not into mountains as one can not go past the Dolomites in Northern Italy (although the chairlift solution works well here too) for superb hiking amongst stunning scenery; and the very, very much neglected island of Java with its dozens of stunning volcanoes.

Harzer

Garfield

Not in Europe but in China. Located in the central province of Sichuan is a national park called Huanglong. The Fu River flows off the mountains and forms a number of terraced, colourful ponds, colours of blue, yello, white and green. The ponds are formed by the various minerals that are carried in the water. The area is very spectacular in the fall with all the colours of the season. A walk on the 9km pathway will take about two to three hours and take you to a height of over 16,000 feet.

For more information see: http://www.china.org.cn/english/kuaixun/74921.htm