Strap on your boots and step out on one of these European hiking holidays!
For the pilgrim’s journey: Camino De Santiago, Spain
Distance and length: 53 km, four days.
If you fancy slipping briefly into a pilgrim’s shoes, this four- day taster of the famous camino is a revelation. This spirit lifting hike zooms in on the final leg of the Camino Francés (French Way). You’ll penetrate the rural heart of Galicia in northern Spain, twisting along forest track and country lane, up and down hill and over stream from Melide to Santiago de Compostela.
When the stars come out, you’ll hit the sack in a casa rural (country cottage) or simple guesthouse. Going self- guided with route notes means you can tailor your hike: walk with friends, enjoy the buzz of being with like-minded pilgrims or risen the pink-tinted dawn to hike alone with your own thoughts and footsteps.
You’ll start in Melide, an endearing town of cobbles and chapels – one with the oldest medieval facade in Galicia. The town is a foodie hotspot: feast on pulpo á feira (boiled octopus), spicy local chorizo, buttery cheese and almendrados (almond cakes) before hitting the trail.
Quietly beautiful landscapes unspool as you journey west over the next couple of days, treading in saintly footsteps through
shady forests of oak and chestnut, vividly green, cow-nibbled pastures and warm-stone hamlets gathered around a single cafe or albergue (hostel). It all paints a bucolic picture of Galician life.
On the fringes of Santiago, Lavacolla is where pilgrims used to do their ablutions in the river, preparing for arrival. Tall eucalyptus trees line the way to Monte do Gozo (Mount Joy), where you’ll get your first view of the cathedral’s spires. Then it’s the final push to UNESCO World Heritage Site Santiago de Compostela, where you can join exhausted and euphoric pilgrims for 12 pm mass in the resplendent Romanesque cathedral that is the city’s beating heart. Not bad for a long weekend hike, huh?
BOOK: Camino Ways has a three- night, self-guided Camino Francés short break, including B&B accommodation; caminoways.com.
For serious adventure: Lofoten Islands, Norway
Distance and length: 69 km, five days.
Nature unleashes its full force in the Lofoten Islands at 68 degrees north. Hitting all the intrepid notes, this five-day trek tosses you deep into the wilds of the High Arctic. Granite mountains whoosh above cream sand beaches that fizz away into a sea of frosty turquoise and sapphire blues. Given the epic backdrop, the coastal villages you’ll pass seem as tiny as toys, with their red rorbuer (fishermen’s cabins) propped up on stilts.
Starting in Leknes and hopscotching between the islands of Moskenesøya, Flakstadøya and Vestvågøya, this hiking break turns up the drama and adventure. The elements are ever-present as you climb mountains as pointed as witches’ hats, gazing in breathless wonder at the fretwork of islands below. You can wild camp on flour-white beaches and listen to a bonfire hiss under the bright glitter of stars or the never-dying light of the midnight sun.
Special moments? There are many, but you’ll need to earn them. The stomp up to Blåtinden (Blue Peak), with front-row views of Vestfjord to the south and the Arctic Ocean to the north, is unforgettable. As is the ridge-top scramble up to 738-metre Justadtinden (Vestvågøy’s highest peak) and the ascent to Ryten, which peers across the great sweep of Kvalvika Beach. The clincher is Reinebringen, where you’ll puff up 1 500 steep steps, hacked out by Nepalese sherpas,
for top-of-the-beanstalk views of Lofoten’s jagged spine.
Beyond the hiking, come prepared for a proper back-to-nature experience: wild camping, beach dinners and shockingly cold swims in the Norwegian Sea.
You’ll be trekking for five to six hours a day. Shared two-person expedition tents are provided, but you’ll need to bring (or rent) a sleeping mat and bag. You’ll also need a 50- to 75-litre backpack and sensible gear for the terrain (wind- and waterproof layers, boots and bug spray).
BOOK: Much Better Adventures has a six-night Adventure Hiking in the Lofoten Islands trip, including B&B accommodation, meals and tour guides; muchbetteradventures.com.
For culture: Malta & Gozo
Distance and length: 65 km, eight days.
Some Mediterranean islands get more love from hikers, but you’ll fall hard for Malta and Gozo on this week-long break.
The trip takes you deep into silent countryside, along cliff-rimmed, wave-beaten shores and to medieval cities of honey stone, built for the Knights of St John. The food is special too, with specialities like pastizzi (pastry pockets filled with ricotta or pea mash), ftira (Maltese bread) and tangy, wine-pickled, peppered ġbejna (sheep cheese).
After landing in Malta, a half-hour ferry ride takes you to Gozo – the greener, more rugged and peaceful of the two islands. Hiking here comes with a shot of history, as you roam the alleys of Victoria’s rampart-wrapped citadel for spirit-lifting views across the island. Gozo’s coastal path then bombards you with natural beauty – from the Wied il-Mielaħ rock arch to Xwejni’s chequerboard salt pans, hand-harvested since Phoenician times, and the Ta’ Ċenċ Cliffs, nosediving into a sapphire sea.
Chapel at Dingli Cliffs, Malta
Back on Malta, the day hikes are a nicely nuanced mix of landscape and culture. You’ll make your own memories, but exploring the walled city of Mdina (which starred in fantasy drama Game of Thrones), visiting the 5 000-year-old megalithic temple of Ħaġar Qim, striding along the sky-high Dingli Cliffs and diving into island history in Valletta will undoubtedly be highlights.
The glittering Med is rarely out of sight on this coast-hugging stomp – at its loveliest in spring when wild flowers perfume the landscape and the beaches are empty. In summer, the cicadas strike up and the sea is tempting for cooling off between hikes.
You’ll be walking for around five to six hours a day. While much of it is gentle, come prepared for rocky ground
and the odd stiff incline.
BOOK: Explore has a seven-night Malta and Gozo walking trip, including B&B accommodation and tour guides; explore.co.uk
For dramatic scenery: Vikos Gorge, Greece
Distance and length: 26.5 km (plus up to 21 km of optional detours), six days.
Savour unspoilt north-west Greece on a self-guided tour from Kipi through the Vikos Gorge – the country’s answer to the Grand Canyon.
The first leg stretches 9 km to Monodendri, undulating across ancient stone bridges on cobbled mule paths.
Day two follows local trails up to Oxya viewpoint – passing limestone rock formations and vast meadows, carpeted with wild flowers and butterflies – or to Agia Paraskevi Monastery, with breathtaking gorge views.
Day three is the tour highlight, descending 400 metres to the foot of the Vikos Gorge, the deepest canyon in the world in proportion to its width. Paths are rocky and uneven, but there is plenty of tree cover as you wind through this vast chasm, stopping to take a dip in the gorge’s bracing river. Walk level with the river, ascending to look down on the wild, white water gushing and foaming below, and up at the soaring orange and grey jagged rocks, dotted with green vegetation and dappled with sunlight. Your hike soundtrack is a meditation tape mix of rushing water, chattering birdsong and buzzing insects, the occasional bark ofstray dogs drifting on the breeze as you near sleepy Vikos village.
You descend again into the gorge for a final 5.5 km leg, crossing the river and climbing the other side to Papingo, a village carved from the mountainside’s local grey rock. On your arrival, it’s time to relax, taking a dip in the ice-cold natural rock pools outside the village. Or if you still have some energy, tack on an optional 8.6 km walk to a viewpoint where you can see the entrance to the gorge and the vast mountains.
BOOK: Ramblers Walking Holidays has a six-night, self-guided Vikos Gorge trip, including B&B accommodation; ramblersholidays.co.uk
For fab food: Black Forest, Germany
Distance and length: 62 km, three days.
This mountainous pocket in south-west Germany seems like it’s leapt from the pages of a folk tale – secluded valleys cocooned in forest, wild rushing streams, alpine hay meadows and dark-timbered farmhouses. It’s also a walker’s dream, laced with over 200 km of marked tracks through scenery that feels gloriously remote, but is well served by rustic inns and public transport (free with a guest card from your hotel).
With a base in the ‘gingerbread’ village of Todtmoos – renowned for its spiced Lebkuchen biscuits – you can venture on day-long hikes that range from easy to strenuous. Ease in your walking boots on the 12 km Lebkuchen Trail, which starts with a climb through fir and pine, filling your nostrils with the medicinal tang of balsam. The path weaves back and forth across a stream, before opening out into meadows knee-deep in wild flowers.
Or tick off a 20 km stage of the Schluchtensteig, the long-distance Black Forest Gorge Trail that combines rolling pastures, a panorama of the Swiss Alps and the wild, galloping waters of the Hohwehra Gorge. Picnic huts – some with homely curtains – punctuate the footpaths, along with ‘sky-loungers’, chunky wooden chairs that prompt you to put your feet up.
While the walking is sublime, the cherry on the (kirsch– soaked) cake is a regional cuisine that is the perfect pay-off for woodland wanders – think venison, cured ham and lake trout. Slip off your boots, sink an icy wheat beer or elegant Baden wine and enjoy a fairy-tale ending to the day.
BOOK: Macs Adventure has a four-night, self-guided Walking and Wellness in the Black Forest holiday, including half-board
accommodation; macsadventure.com
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Feature Image: Unsplash
