Holiday destinations that are best explored on foot

Pick on one of these walking holidays - guided or self-guided - and discover the beauty of mindful exploration at a pace of your own choosing

Curated By: Madhu Kapparath

Published: May 20, 2017

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Walking is the great adventure that brings us slowly around to our selves and delivers us into the lap of well-being. It slows, and simultaneously, stirs up the senses at a pace that allows for a perfect contemplation of the world around us. Pick on one of these walking holidays - guided or self-guided - this summer, and discover the beauty of mindful exploration at a pace of your own choosing

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JAPAN. The Nakasendo Wayfarer
In its heyday in the 17th Century, the Nakasendo way was crowded with travellers including feudal lords, samurai, itinerant merchants, pilgrims and villagers. Now largely forgotten and quiet, the old highway provides a delightful journey through the history of Japan, its society and rural life. Starting in Ena, the walk takes you into the mountainous region of Japan’s Southern Alps, including the scenic Kaida Plateau dotted by hamlets and surrounded by fields of soba buckwheat and blueberries the area is famous for, and past the picture-postcard post towns of Magome, Tsumago and Narai, arriving finally onto the giant metropolis of Tokyo.

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At the end of a day’s walk, relax and luxuriate in accommodation at traditional, way-side inns in an ambience reminiscent of the scenes found in the great artist Hiros-hige’s woodblock prints, in distinctively Japanese surroundings of paper screens and straw mat tatami flooring and feasts of home-cooked, regional cuisine

5 days. Walk Japan

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FRANCE. Château to Château in the Loire Valley
Traversing resplendent vineyards and water courses, a trail of gentle walks take you through UNESCO’s world heritage central Loire valley, passing many of the region’s fairytale châteaux. The Loire and its many tributaries meander through the Loire-Anjou-Touraine Regional Park, an area of vineyards, rolling farmland, hunting forests and limestone cliffs into which curious troglodytic dwellings have been carved

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Crowning these picturesque landscapes are some of the Loire’s most splendid architecture and gardens, from Chinon, once home to the kings of France & England, to spectacular châteaus such as Chenonceau and Chambord, giving testimony to an intense and rich spiritual and cultural life, as well as an art de vivre that has continued throughout the centuries.
6 days. Belle France

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INDIA. MARKHA VALLEY TREK
This popular trek in Ladakh takes you through an ethereal trans-himalayan landscape dotted with ladakhi villages. Because it isn't an easy trek, you are most likely to spot some high altitude wildlife as well as experience the life of nomadic families as they herd their yaks in these big and beautiful valleys. Apart from the striking contrast of trekking in an arid cold desert valley, you get an outstanding view of Ladakh and Zanskar ranges, the 21,000 ft Kang Yissay and the 20,086 ft Stok Kangri peaks. The trek goes inside a beautiful Hemis National Park and involves two pass crossings- Gandala La (15,748 ft) and Kongmaru La (17,060 ft)

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Experience some exciting waist-deep river crossing sections on Markha River to trails going across quaint Buddhist villages and rocky canyons. The charming Markha Village is a jewel in this cold semi-arid terrain of Ladakh. This being a ‘tea house trek’, expect accommodation in parachute tents at most of the villages enroute. And witness an unforgettable way of life of the devoted Ladakhis.
9 days. White Magic Adventure

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ITALY - TRAILS OF CINQUE TERRE
Known as Italy’s “Flower Riviera” the Ligurian Riviera is a delight for all the senses. Take in stunning views of rolling waves in an azure blue sea and terraced villages that cling to the steep hillsides as you walk along ancient walking trails that plunge dramatically to the sea. Marvel at the terraced vineyards and olive groves and savour the justly famed local cuisine and wines

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The walking takes you through five fishing villages nestled into the steep coastline of the Ligurian Riviera - celebrated for centuries in the arts - that make up the Cinque Terre, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Each of the Cinque Terre villages has its own unique character and flavour: Monterosso with its seaside promenade and sandy beaches, Vernazza with its old port and vineyards in steep terraces, Corniglia with its its narrow streets and its churches high up on the cliffs above the sea, Manarola with its Via dell'Amore: "The Path of Love” and a church with its well-known rosette win-dow. And the last, Riomaggiore, with its medieval tower blocks and buildings that are all painted in bright pastel shades, complement the natural Mediterranean light.
7 days. Italian Fix

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PERU - THE COMMUNITY INCA TREK
Choose this unique and pioneering trekking route to Machu Picchu and you’ll be hiking unspoiled trails used only by the locals, avoiding the crowds that take the usual Classic route. Dragoman's Community Inca Trek takes you along a pristine mountain scenery, passing through Inca ruins and camping in remote villages as guests of the local communities

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You can even help out with some hands-on projects at the local schools, thus adding to your experiences the joy of being part of a project which provides a genuine, direct benefit to the host communities you travel through, by supporting education, income generation and environmental sustainability projects. After a comfortable overnight stay in Ollantaytambo on the fourth night, you arrive at the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu, the sacred site of the Incas that was hidden from the outside world for centuries.
5 DAYS. Dragoman

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NORWAY - HARDANGERFJORD
The southernmost of the three great fjords, Hardangerfjord is blessed by a mild cli-mate and renowned for its glorious colours, orchards of apples & delicious dark cherries and brightly painted houses. On this walk and exhilarating journey, you wander down from the forests and moorland above Voss to reach the deepest, most spectacular views of Hardangerfjord as it claws its way into the mountains of Hardangervidda.

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The retreating glaciers once overwhelmed and molded this landscape; gouging out the great coastal grooves which, with post-glacial rising sea levels, have become the fjords. A must-do when you are there is the Trolltunga, a spectacular spit of rock jut-ting out from a sheer face, about 700m above Ringedal lake in the Hardangerfjord re-gion.
7 DAYS. Inntravel

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TASMANIA - THREE CAPES TRACK
Few places on Earth remain that feel so remote, so raw, so removed from the ordi-nary as these 46 kilometres of cliff-hugging wildness in Australia's far south-east. Edging along the tops of cliffs that soar more than 300m above the howling winds of the Southern Ocean, the Three Capes track - an artwork created by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service that is rivalled only by the landscape - is truly Australia's most intriguing bushwalk.

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Be overcome with awe as whales, dolphins and fur seals appear in the drama in which the Tasman Sea is your constant. The overnight stops are at the track's architect-designed huts, where civilisation has been well and truly transplanted into the wilderness.
4 DAYS. Three Capes Track

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THE OTTER TRAIL. SOUTH AFRICA
Be warned, the trail is popular but protected, so the limited places must be booked well in advance. But if you do, it will be a rewarding experience : facing an ancient wilderness far removed from time. The Otter Trail, named for one of the animals that makes its home here, covers a 43-kilometer stretch of the Tsitsikamma National Park, situated in the Garden Route region of the Western Cape

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The trail is characterized by virgin evergreen forests, rocky contours that plunge into dramatic coastlines and a gushing network of waterfalls and rivers. These waterways carve their way through ravines to form freshwater pools amid diverse flora, South African fynbos shrubs and fungi

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And while the walks may only be a short distance - spread out over five days - there are rivers to cross, cliffs to scale and hills to climb. The upside - recovering each night in the comfort of wooden cabins, set steps away from the shoreline, to the sound of lapping waves. Who would want it any easier !
5 DAYS. South African National Parks