SIX EUROPEAN LONG-DISTANCE WALKING ROUTES

Europe’s mountains boast an embarrassment of riches for summer hikers.

Dan Aspel (mountainairpodcast.uk) explores half a dozen of the best.

ALTA VIA 1 | ITALY

Length: 115-120km

Duration: 10 days

Difficulty: Moderate

The Dolomites, part of the eastern Alps and situated in the north of Italy, are a truly unique mountain landscape. Characterised by soaring limestone peaks that form serrated cliffs and surreal towers in abundance, they present their geology as an open book of layered patterns and textures. There can be few regions more appealing to the eye. Fortunately, you don’t need to climb the distinctive via ferrata routes which decorate the mountains with metal pegs, wires and steps, to enjoy their beauty (though that’s an excellent choice too). This is thanks to six “Alta Via” routes which dissect the range, and particularly due to Alta Via 1. A hut-to-hut trail, it requires no technical skills but famously gives unequalled views of the region’s major peaks and valleys, including of grand mountain icons such as Civetta (3,220m) and Tofana di Mezzo (3,244m). Running from Lago di Braies in the north to La Pissa in the south, the highest point comes at the 2,752m refuge just 100m below the summit of Lagazuoi. However, the emotional highs may extend far further than that: in the preferred mid-June to early-September walking period, the valley sections below come populated with marmots and wildflowers.

WALKER’S HAUTE ROUTE | FRANCE, SWITZERLAND

Length: Roughly 200-230km (depending upon route choices)

Duration: 10-14 days

Difficulty: Moderate to Hard

Originally traversed as a summer mountaineering route by London’s Alpine Club in the 1800s, this spectacular two-week route has seen many ensuing adaptations. Consequently, in 1911 it became (and remains) a classic ski tour, and has most recently evolved into the network of waymarked paths dubbed the “Walker’s Haute Route”, which tips but never exceeds 3,000m, avoids glaciers and summits, and in benign summer conditions requires no technical climbing equipment to complete. However, it remains a prized challenge. As you navigate the heart of the alps between Chamonix (in the shadow of Mont Blanc) and Zermatt (at the foot of the Matterhorn), you’ll cross 11 mountain passes – five of which occur within two demanding days between Cabane de Mont Fort and Arolla – and potentially clock around 14,000m of ascent. More strenuous and less well-supplied by cafes and resorts than the popular and entirely circular Tour de Mont Blanc, this route has perhaps more in common with the wild ways and remote environs of its epic cousin the 44-day Pyrenean Haute Route. Generally attempted between mid-July to early-September when the passes are less likely to hold snow, hut bookings are strongly advised.

GR20 | CORSICA

Length: 190km

Duration: 14-16 days

Difficulty: Hard

Corsica’s human landscape may mingle French and Italian influences, but there’s nothing ambiguous about its geography. Two-thirds of the Mediterranean’s fourth-largest island is mountainous. Consequently, it’s no surprise that the much-revered GR20 traces a line through this challenging terrain and attracts tens of thousands of walkers per year. Regarded as the most demanding of the numbered European grande randonnées, this is a two-week expedition which involves sections of scrambling, plenty of rough red-and-white waymarked trails, and around 12,000m of ascent. It demands high levels of fitness and an awareness of mountain weather and conditions. The good news is that this is a well-established path and it’s possible to visit a refuge (or gîte) on most or all of the 16 stages – with camping permitted outside of these buildings but not officially licensed elsewhere on the trail. The north-western half, from Calenzana to Vizzavona (where there’s a convenient train station) is the more technical and mountainous, while the south-eastern half, from Vizzavona to Conca, can present challenges in the midday heat of the preferred summer months. Expect spectacular landscapes ranging from pine forests to bare and jagged mountainscapes to maquis shrubland.

LAUGAVEGUR | ICELAND

Length: 54km

Duration: 3-4 days

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

Largely barren, strangely striated and sometimes psychedelically coloured, the Icelandic highlands exert a powerful hold over travel marketing materials. But don’t let the ubiquitous popularity of this 66-degrees north island nation put you off. If you can get the weather and the visibility to enjoy it fully, then on the Laugavegur trail you’ll get to enjoy natural hot springs, deserts of ebonycoloured sands, tussocky swathes of dark greenery, white snow patches, looming glaciers, a forested finale, and a trilogy of river crossings for added spice. With so much variance packed into a route that’s only a third as long as Scotland’s West Highland Way, it’s easy to see why Laugavegur has such broad and enduring appeal. The well-marked and well-trodden route starts at Landmannalaugar, which is accessible by 4x4 track (and bus in the summer months) and home to a well-supplied 78-person hut and adjacent campsite. It finishes in the similarly remote Þórsmörk, where there are equivalent facilities. Due to snow conditions this far north, the route is typically walked between the last week of June and second week of September, though this fluctuates yearto-year. Those keen to extend the adventure can continue from the finish onto the Fimmvörðuháls trail, which winds between three glaciers, two volcanoes and the roaring Skógafoss waterfall.

KUNGSLEDEN | SWEDEN

Length: 105km

Duration: 10-12 days

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

To travel the full length of Swedish Lapland’s “King’s Trail” involves roughly 28 days of walking, from the village of Abisko in the north down to the settlement of Hemavan 460km south. So, a big adventure in a big landscape. However, the most popular section is achievable within 10-12 days and covers less than a quarter of that distance. This is the northernmost portion from Abisko (sitting 250km within the Arctic Circle, and for which the nearby National Park is named) to Nikkaluokta. The latter village is only 19km on foot from the Kebnekaise mountain lodge – an excellent starting point to ascend the 2,096m southern peak of Kebnekaise itself, the highest mountain in Sweden. This optional summit – which involves light scrambling – is a fitting finale to the route, which wanders through the vast open spaces of the Swedish north, furnished by lakes, streams, broad and muscular mountain ranges and herds of native reindeer. The path itself reaches a geographical high point at the 1,049m Tjäktja pass, is well-marked throughout and is suitable for confident hikers of all ages prepared for rain and equipped with boots and warm mountain clothing. Camping is possible, but there are a total of 16 huts along the greater King’s Trail which can provide cooked meals, bedding and basic groceries. Official tourism information is abundant, making this a very approachable choice of challenge.

STUBAI HIGH TRAIL | AUSTRIA

Length: 78km

Duration: 8 days

Difficulty: Easy to Moderate

The brilliance of the Stubai High Trail (also known as the “Stubai Rucksack Route”) lies in its flexibility. Choose to walk the full length and you’ll enjoy a technically easy (for a mountain route) adventure in the Stubai valley of the Austrian Tyrol, resting and making merry at eight separate and highly appealing mountain huts and racking up 5,000m of ascent over nearly 80km of trail. But – and here comes the stroke of genius – should you wish to cut short that attempt at any point you can simply follow a descent path from any of these huts in order to link up with public bus routes stopping at the road in the valley below. However long you choose to make your trek, the appeal of the region lies in the expansive views on the ridge walking between the huts, its accessibility (at just one hour by road from Innsbruck) and the mountainous beauty of the Wilder Freiger (3,418m) and Zuckerhütl (3,507m) peaks. This is a region with more than 100 summits over 3,000m, making it a real gem of the eastern Alps for those whose tastes run to the higher places.