The world’s best walks: from Bay of Fires to Cortina Circuit
From the Cortina Circuit in Italy to the Hollyford Track in New Zealand and Lofoten Islands in Norway, here are some unforgettable walks and how to do them.
Sitting down to a spread of beautifully presented kaiseki delicacies in a private room at a hotel in the foothills of the Japan Alps, I’m prepared to forget that I’m on a walking holiday. Guided hiking, trekking, tramping – whatever you call it – has developed exponentially as the range of destinations widens and guest expectations rise. Why can’t you be led along trails through the world’s beauty spots in trusty old boots yet still sit pretty – in this case, dressed in traditional yukata gown with bows expertly tied by our guide – at day’s end?
These outings might range from tough traverses to mere walks in the park, and from a few days to a few weeks. My experience in Japan took me on an intriguing new route, Shio-no-Michi, aka the Salt Road, offered by Walk Japan. We experienced heat and downpours but also had taxis standing by to take us to refined digs, enjoyed private museum visits and reaped the benefit of experienced guides to paint a broader and richer picture of the walk, one we’d miss if making our own way.
Our American leader Jamie Dwyer, who has lived in Japan for two decades, interpreted more than just menus, revealing nuances of everything from temple symbolism to natural wonders, but in a way that resonated with a Western mindset so that we were never lost, on the trail or in translation.
The Salt Road follows the route taken by bearers of this historically high-yield commodity over the mountains from the Sea of Japan to the trading city of Matsumoto several hours west of Tokyo. We did it in the other direction, and without 60kg of sodium chloride on our backs or having to cajole laden oxen up precarious tracks.
For an alpine route, the ascents and descents were few and not that daunting, and we basically had it to ourselves. But the highlights were memorable banquets each night, in an eclectic array of hotels and inns, turning our group into a troupe of gambolling gourmets.
Similar guided offerings, with equally impressive lodgings and sustenance, are available in all the great hiking destinations of the world. Consider these options for stretching the legs.
1. Bay of Fires, Tasmania
With our countless kilometres of countless beaches, it’s surprising there aren’t more classic beach walks in Australia, but few can match the unique characteristics of this coastline in Tasmania’s northeast corner. The sand is both whiter and not as heavy going as you’d imagine – the trip is graded as easy – but even starker are the craggy granite boulders daubed with orange lichen. The water is rarely other than a brilliant turquoise. Tasmanian Walking Company has three Bay of Fires options. The longest, at five days, still involves about 27km on your feet, broken up by a kayaking day down Ansons River. After a first night in Launceston, the coast is followed down to Forester Beach Camp, which hosts glamping tents behind the dunes. The next day involves a creek crossing and picnic lunch beside Eddystone Point Lighthouse, then it’s on to the main prize, Bay of Fires Lodge. It has a simple design but several outstanding features: a viewing deck perfect for sundowners, outdoor tubs and even spa treatments, which must be pre-booked.
Highlight: Drifting off to sleep, replete with gourmet food and Tasmanian wine, to the sound of waves crashing on to the beach; from $2995 a person, twin-share, for the five-day walk.
2. Spicers Scenic Rim Trail, Queensland
This is not one walk but four, with a choice of 24km (two days), 46km (three days), 62km (four days) and 82km (six days) through the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Gondwana rainforest in Main Range National Park, 115km southwest of Brisbane. Depending on the itinerary, you’ll be fed, watered and cossetted in a range of camps, featuring glamping tents, cabins and eco-pods crafted by established Queensland-based Spicers Retreats. The sweet spot in the options is the four-day walk that’s rated moderate/hard, with its share of ascents and rock-scrambling, but don’t let names such as Mount Mistake worry you as there’s also plenty of easy going along old logging roads.
Highlight: The birdsong that provides a constant soundtrack on the forest trails; from $1530 a person, twin-share, for the two-day walk.
3. Hollyford Track, South Island, New Zealand
Compared with the famously polarising Milford Track next door, this three-night experience is totally on the level, shadowing the course of the Hollyford River under a canopy of cool, dark and at times damp beech forest, before crossing to the more open but just as botanically rich podocarp forest fringing the shore of Lake McKerrow. Then it’s out to the coast at Martins Bay, at a rocky promontory that’s a prime nesting and resting spot for seals and penguins, plus a morning among the dunes separating Lake McKerrow from the Tasman Sea. Lake crossings and some transfers are completed in jetboats, but on the first day a few creek crossings require you to get your feet wet. The guides from Hollyford Wilderness Experience make a full safety appraisal of the conditions beforehand. HWE operates a pair of bespoke lodges where nothing has been forgotten: private ensuite rooms, large drying zones for your gear, hot-water bottles and top-notch food with a worthy selection of New Zealand wines, served by in-house hosts.
Highlight: The transfer from Martins Bay to Milford Sound by helicopter, a stirring ride along the coast and then up New Zealand’s most spectacular waterway; from $NZ4195 ($3820) a person, twin-share.
4. Cortina Circuit, Dolomites, Italy
The peaks of what are called the Pale Mountains are almost an optical illusion; they’re so starkly white, you’d swear they were pointy clouds. But they turn fiery red at sunset, giving the range of mountains bordering Austria in Italy’s northeast an aura of might and power. There are full-day and multi-day hiking options all over this vast region, but a classic is a six-day loop from the chic resort town of Cortina d’Ampezzo that provides views well worth the at-times quad-busting ascents. The most spectacular destination on the loop is the full-day circuit of Tre Cimi, or Three Chimneys, a trio of shards rising starkly from a rocky plateau above Lake Misurina, or marvel at the panorama displayed from the Forcella Zumeles above Cortina. The itinerary from bespoke local operator Dolomite Treks includes accommodation in character-filled hotels in rustic locations, where the menus are infused with a distinctive mix of Italian and Austrian influences.
Highlight: The night in the “refuge/restaurant” – actually an indulgent eight-room inn – in the hamlet of Ospitale; from €1840 ($3162) a person, twin-share, for the six-day Alta Via 1 walk.
5. Food Lover’s Le Puy Camino, France
There are many routes to connect with Spain’s famous Camino de Santiago and many motivations for taking one, but if approaching from France, why not march on your stomach? This 10-day trip, by Australian-owned Europe hiking specialist UTracks, starts at Le Puy en Velay (famed for its lentils) in the Auvergne and finishes around Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in Basque country at the base of the Pyrenees and just short of the Spanish border. One of the least-populated regions of France, it has areas noted for cheese, truffles, spices, sausages, Armagnac and wine but it’s also dripping with natural, historical, architectural and cultural experiences, such as the knife museum in Laguiole. Transfers cut out the less interesting sections and the walking ranges from 6km to 16km each day, ending with dinners in restaurants rated as “gastronomic”, mostly in towns with rich medieval heritage.
Highlight: A Michelin-starred dinner at a wine chateau near Cahors; from $8190 a person, twin-share.
6. Cliffs of Moher and Giants’ Causeway, Ireland
If you wanted to walk this itinerary, it would take many multiples of the 11 days into which Wilderness Ireland packs a spread of the island’s finest attractions, urban as well as natural, along the west coast. It starts at Belfast and finishes at Killarney way down south, so you drive from place to place and then stroll, sometimes covering just 3km, and no day is more than 10km. The natural spectacles include the Cliffs of Moher, and Giants’ Causeway, while the most verdant day is on the historic Kerry Way through Killarney National Park. There also is exploring to be done in towns such as Galway and Derry, and you’ll walk in the footsteps of Ireland’s patron saint at Croagh Patrick, where he fasted for all 40 days of Lent.
Highlight: Traditional Irish music and jollity in a pub in the Georgian town centre of Westport in County Mayo; from $8941 a person, twin-share.
7. Lofoten Islands, Norway
This dramatic chain of volcanic atolls fringing picturesque harbours awash with fishing villages sits just inside the Arctic Circle but in summer it’s an adventurer’s dream. Besides walking along white-sand beaches and riding in Zodiacs across narrow fjords, the six-day itinerary includes as little or as much mountain ascending as you like. Most days have at least two hiking alternatives with different distances and elevation gains, or you can stick to sea level for kayaking or strolling historic villages. The itinerary includes two nights in rorbuers, traditional fishing huts now serving as high-end inns at Reine, one of Norway’s most dramatic and photographed harbours. You may baulk at the translation of Helvetestinden – Hell Peak – but the view, like from any of the summits on this trip, is worth it.
Highlight: Fishing has been the lifeblood of these islands for 1000 years, so enjoy as much of the fantastic cod and other seafood delights as you can; from $10,200 a person, twin-share.
8. Torres del Paine Patagonia Walk, Chile
Patagonia is almost primeval in its rawness, with 13 national parks spanning southern Chile and Argentina. The most stirring is Torres del Paine, three massive granite blocks – the Towers of Blue – at the centre of this wonderland of rivers, lakes, glaciers and icebergs. Guided By Nature’s seven-day itinerary covers a lot of the park’s renowned W Trek, with between three and 10 hours of walking a day, through forests and up into the rugged foothills, but it’s interspersed with Zodiac, kayak and catamaran jaunts, plus a day of ice hiking. Accommodation is mostly at the sleek Kau Rio Serrano Lodge with its breathtaking view of the towers, plus a night in a remote refugio, both respites from the potential windchill, as this is one of the breeziest spots in South America.
Highlight: The light, whether at sunrise or sunset, plays with the mountains in magical ways; from $9895 a person, twin-share.
9. Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, US
When U2 wanted a harder edge to its music, it named its fifth album The Joshua Tree, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be rocking hard on this four-day itinerary by Backroads. This is a radial trip, in that you go out each day from suave Palm Springs digs for forays into not only California’s most fabled desert national park, dotted with these eponymous spiky trees (Yucca brevifolia), but undertake descents into wild canyons and enjoy views from the Pacific Crest Trail. While there are steep sections, the hiking is rated no greater than moderate. And it’s a mere stroll on the day when the trail is around the streets to take in Palm Springs’ renowned mid-century modern and Spanish colonial architecture. Either side of the tour, take a chance to soak in any of 20 boutique spas at Desert Hot Springs, or maybe play 18 holes of golf at a lush course in Rancho Mirage or La Quinta.
Highlight: The feathered fauna is just as amazing as the flora: watch for hummingbirds, orioles and roadrunners. Beep beep; from $US3099 ($4929) a person, twin-share.
Other walks to put on your bucket list:
Kosciuszko summit walk, NSW
Attaining continental Australia’s highest point is an easy day from base camp (Thredbo), and a guide will reveal alpine subtleties hidden from the casual walker.
Queen Charlotte, New Zealand
Tramp and sail this rich network of bays and sounds at the top of the South Island.
Kruger NP, South Africa
If you ever wanted to walk on the wild side, this is your chance.
Tour du Mont Blanc, Europe
The greatest, and at times most challenging, European hiking circuit, looping through France, Switzerland and Italy.
Salkantay Trek, Peru
The destination is Machu Picchu, so be prepared for several days at high altitude.
Overland Track, Tasmania
And a word on Australia’s most famous walk. Bushfires in February destroyed one of the five bespoke lodges used by Tasmanian Walking Company on its Overland Track itinerary from Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair. TWC is running an interim program around the other lodges to still deliver as much of the Overland Track experience as possible.
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