Mountaineering and scrumptious meals in Italy’s Monti Sibillini national park
All Italians race to la spiaggia in summer season, leaving the hinterland marvellously empty. Tuscany will get lots of love, however journey one area over to Umbria and Monti Sibillini national park bewitches with views of the Apennines and eyrie-like, honey-coloured hill cities comparable to Castelluccio, hovering above a plateau of brightly colored poppies, cornflowers and daisies. It’s a beautiful spot for mountain climbing, biking and monitoring down a trattoria to dig into specialities comparable to wild boar with regionally grown lentils. You’ll discover a few of Italy’s most interesting salami in butcher retailers in Norcia, in addition to black truffles on the menus of eating places such because the Michelin-starred Vespasia, which is in a Sixteenth-century palazzo. Alternatively, you might be a part of a tartufaio and their canine to move into the woods on a truffle-hunting tour.
How one can do it Natural farm Agriturismo Casale nel Parco dei Monti Sibillini (doubles from £84 B&B) has truffles and wild herbs in its grounds, and a terrific restaurant serving up native and homegrown produce.
Mountain biking and Munros in Scotland
Should you take rugged Highland surroundings and switch the amount up, you get the Cairngorms national park, a 1,748 sq. mile expanse of lochs, glens, forests and Munros. Offering the climate behaves, you’ll be itching to get open air, whether or not climbing 1,245-metre (4,085ft) Cairn Gorm or 1,309-metre Ben Macdui, recognizing capercaillie, crimson squirrels and ospreys within the Caledonian pine forest of Rothiemurchus Estate, or assembly the area’s free-roaming reindeer on a hill journey. There are wild swimming spots comparable to distant Loch Coire an Lochain, and guests can go biking on Cairngorm Mountain’s slopes. By night time, there’s improbable stargazing within the Cairngorms Dark Sky Park round Tomintoul and Glenlivet.
How one can do it A prepare from London to Aviemore takes 7-8 hours. It’s free to wild camp within the park. Or keep at a self-catering forest cabin at Cairngorm Lodges (two-nights from £264) on the park’s japanese fringes.
Alpine lake swimming and high-level mountain climbing in Austria
Between the Brandenberg Alps and the limestone turrets of the Wilder Kaiser massif, Kufstein is a full-on Alpine fantasy, capped with a medieval fortress. The truth that it’s a residing city, quite than a resort, means there’s a fantastic buzz right here in summer season. And Kufstein’s yard is gorgeous. Inside minutes, you possibly can attain Wilder Kaiser’s mountain climbing trails on a single-seat chairlift floating above treetops and meadows to the 1,256-metre peak of Brentenjoch. The panorama is dotted with lakes comparable to forest‑rimmed Hechtsee, mountain‑flanked Stimmersee and glass-green Thiersee, the place you possibly can dive into a few of Austria’s cleanest waters or lease a paddleboard.
How one can do it Kufstein is half an hour from Innsbruck or an hour from Munich by prepare. Camp by the lakes or keep on the town at historic Auracher Löchl (doubles from £175 B&B). The native visitor go provides you free use of public transport.
Switzerland’s solely nationwide park is mountain climbing heaven
With the Alps working throughout 60% of Switzerland, it’s unimaginable that this inexperienced and wonderful land has only one nationwide park. However it’s a very good one. Slamming into Italy, the Swiss national park in Graubünden’s Engadin valley is an completely wild Unesco biosphere reserve. Nature has been in cost right here for the reason that park’s formation in 1914, and because of this, it’s mountain climbing heaven. The total-day, 13-mile trek from Zernez to Lais da Macun (the Macun lakes) takes in a plateau beaded with 23 Alpine lakes. Should you want firm, join guided ranger walks, together with a wildlife-focused one within the Val Trupchun the place, with luck and binoculars, you may spot marmots, ibex, chamois, deer and bearded vultures.
How one can do it With good rail connections, Zernez is the gateway to the park and residential to the customer centre. Guided ranger hikes cost about £36. For an off-grid sleep, e-book Chamanna Cluozza (dorm beds £64). Deep in a forest, the hut is a 3½-hour hike from Zernez. Convey your sleeping bag.
Biking round Lake Constance – and thru three international locations
For uplifting views of the Alps by bike with out the uphill slog, Lake Constance is unbeatable. Central Europe’s third largest lake, it delivers a large shot of every part that makes Europe nice – Roman ruins, medieval castles, gardens, gorges, wetlands, vineyards, orchards, thermal baths and seashores the place you possibly can strip off sweaty Lycra for a fast swim or an evening spent tenting underneath the celebs. Looping across the lake and taking a few week to finish, the 170-mile (273km) Lake Constance Cycle Path, or Bodensee-Radweg because it’s identified regionally, is the biggie, rolling by way of three international locations: Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
How one can do it Keep away from the midsummer insanity of July and August for fewer crowds. Bikes and ebikes may be rented in cities fringing the lake. Konstanz in Germany is a good springboard, with good rail connections.
Turquoise lakes and Europe’s greatest ice cap in Norway
Mom nature had a wild time in Jostedalsbreen national park in western Norway, delivering a visible feast of mountain-flanked fjords, ice-blue glacial lakes and – the clincher – the 37-mile-long Jostedalsbreen, mainland Europe’s greatest ice cap. Methods to discover are many and diverse – there’s a simple four-mile spherical trek previous waterfall-wisped peaks to Briksdalsbreen, an offshoot of the mighty glacier, or a possibility to kayak, canoe and paddleboard throughout the turquoise waters of Lovatnet Lake, with rock partitions punching above. For an in depth encounter with the ice, slip on a helmet and crampons to trek throughout the Haugabreen arm of the glacier.
How one can do it On the dreamy shores of Lovatnet Lake, Sande Camping (pitches from £18) is a crazily fairly spot to pitch a tent. Breogfjell Mountain Guides run six-hour guided glacier walks (£84) from mid-June to August.
Swimming and kayaking within the Julian Alps in Slovenia
Should you assume Lake Bled is ridiculously beautiful, wait till you clap eyes on Lake Bohinj, tucked away within the Julian Alps that tear throughout Triglav national park in Slovenia’s north-west. Right here, limestone turrets and pinnacles rise like pure fortifications above forests and glacial lakes that chart the spectrum of blues and greens. Loveliest of the lot is mirror-like Lake Bohinj, the place you possibly can dive into jewel-coloured waters that attain 22C in summer season. The pebble seashore in Ukanc, on the lake’s western shore, is as beautiful a spot as any. Arrive early within the morning and also you’ll have all of it to your self as you swim, canoe, kayak or paddleboard in glassy waters.
How one can do it Pitch a tent on the shore at eco-friendly Camp Bohinj (pitches from £25). On the boathouse, Pac Sport rents out paddleboards, canoes, kayaks and picket rowboats.
A protracted-distance trek within the Dolomites in Italy
Within the fiery blush of a summer season sundown, the Dolomites are at their most entrancing, because the gold-pink gentle burnishes their buttresses, pinnacles and nice fangs of rock. You’ll be able to admire them from beneath, however you’ll get a lot nearer on the 75-mile Alta Through 1, one in every of Italy’s most memorable hikes, reaching from Dobbiaco within the north to Belluno within the south. Negotiating steep, rocky inclines is rewarded with chic views and stays at rustic huts like Rifugio Lagazuoi and Rifugio Cinque Torri, the place you possibly can dig into native specialities like polenta, venison and canederli (bread dumplings with speck and cheese), peer up at star-blanketed night time skies and get a crack‑of-dawn begin on the path.
How one can do it Whereas the stroll is definitely doable alone (e-book huts forward for summer season and pay money for Cicerone’s Alta Via 1 guide), logistically it’s simpler to hitch a tour, such because the 10-night journey supplied by Alpine Exploratory (from £2,880 guided, £1,790 self-guided).
Fortress-hopping in Germany’s Bavarian Alps
The place the Bavarian Alps muscle their manner into Austria, Füssen appears like one thing out of a kids’s story. The previous city’s alleys are stacked with gabled, frescoed homes and cafe-lined squares, and lofty castles bear the fantastical imprint of “Mad” King Ludwig II (1845-1886). Mad or not, he had a watch for a successful location, which you’ll respect while you go to the riotously turreted and just lately revamped Schloss Neuschwanstein, which was the blueprint for Disney’s Sleeping Magnificence citadel, and medieval Hohenschwangau, the place little Ludwig grew up. There’s mountain climbing, biking and swimming on the lakes round Füssen, comparable to Forggensee, Hopfensee and Alpsee. All may be reached by bus at no cost with the native Füssen Card.
How one can do it Füssen is 2 hours from Munich by bus and prepare (bahn.de). Take your choose of inns and B&Bs within the city, comparable to Hotel Sonne (doubles from £130 B&B) within the historic centre, or camp by one of many lakes.
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The last word mountain bike park within the French Alps
The French Alps punch excessive above Morzine in Portes du Soleil, 12 resorts strung between Lake Geneva and mighty Mont Blanc. Everybody raves about winter snowboarding on this chalet-lined village, however there’s tons occurring in summer season, when the steep slopes are given over to one of many world’s greatest bike parks – 400 miles (650km) of single tracks and heart-racing downhill trails. An intensive community of bike-friendly lifts hyperlinks them up properly. Should you’re up for a bone-rattling problem, sort out the Noire de Morzine from the Le Pléney cable automotive station. After you’ve stripped off sweaty Lycra and physique armour, cool off with a swim in one of many crystal-clear lakes on Morzine’s doorstep, comparable to mountain‑clasped Lac de Montriond or forest-rimmed Mines d’Or. You’ll be able to attain each inside minutes on the free village buses.
How one can do it Alpy Transfers runs common coaches between Geneva airport and Morzine (2 hours, one-way £17), prebooking is important. Morzine’s Multi Pass will get you entry to lifts, lakes and lidos for £2.50 a day. For a rustic-chic place to sleep, verify into Jardin Secret (doubles from £115) in Montriond, a self-catering micro-lodge with a solar terrace, sizzling tub and quick access to each slopes and lakes.
Strolling in Spain’s wild Picos de Europa
Spain is at its most ravishing within the 250-square-mile Picos de Europa national park within the Cantabrian mountains of the north. Right here you possibly can hike amongst jagged, lake-splashed peaks, historical oak and beech forests, and deep, wildflower-flecked valleys the place it’s silent sufficient to listen to your individual heartbeat – or maybe the cry of a golden eagle. The untamed terrain right here is greatest explored with a information. For a deep dive, Much Better Adventures arranges a difficult hut-to-hut trek, ticking off highs such because the glacial Lakes of Covadonga, the two,319-metre summit of La Padiorna and the sheer-walled Cares Gorge.
How one can do it A lot Higher Adventures’ six-night, small-group trek prices from £875 per individual, together with native guides, breakfast, dinner and stays in mountain huts and rural guesthouses.
Waterfalls, springs and caves at Plitvice Lakes in Croatia
Most individuals who head to Croatia sprint straight to the coast, however a step again from the Adriatic is the Unesco World Heritage website Plitvice Lakes national park. Towards the backdrop of the karstic Dinaric Alps, the park has mineral-rich springs, cascading falls, caves and lakes that glitter jade, aquamarine, ink-blue and turquoise. Brown bears, wild boar, lynx and wolves prowl the old-growth beech and fir forests, and clouds of blue-winged butterflies convey a fairytale contact in summer season. For a real flavour of the park, convey binoculars and observe the 11-mile Route Okay, a full-day hike that knits collectively all 16 of the lakes.
How one can do it From Zagreb, buses and FlixBus coaches run often to Plitvička Jezera in simply over two hours. There are many conventional stone-and-wood villas the place you possibly can spend the night time, together with Villa Verde (doubles from £93 B&B).
A front-row view of the Eiger in Switzerland
Switzerland’s outrageously stunning Jungfrau area is the Alps on steroids, with its crashing waterfalls, gemstone lakes, cliff-hugging villages and the glacier-capped huge three of the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau looming above all of it. You can base your self wherever in these heights and attain the summits inside minutes on classic railways and state-of-the-art cable vehicles – however Grindelwald has the sting for outside journey. As energetic in summer season as winter, the village has front-row views of the Eiger’s mile-high north face. The Eiger Express cable automotive hyperlinks as much as Eigergletscher, the trailhead for the astoundingly scenic, two-hour Eiger Trail. Or you possibly can thunder in the direction of the Eiger on ziplines, mountain carts and chunky scooters referred to as Trottibikes from the First cable automotive station above Grindelwald.
How one can do it Grindelwald is properly linked by rail and may be reached in round 9 hours from London through Paris, Strasbourg, Basel and Interlaken. Accommodations are expensive, however it can save you by tenting at riverside Gletscherdorf (pitches from £36).
Practise yoga amongst Austria’s Alpine peaks
Sky-scraping peaks, scary slopes and après-ski events draw people to St Anton am Arlberg in Tyrol in winter. However when the snow melts, the village reveals its mellower facet, with trails skipping by way of flower-freckled pastures to Alpine dairy huts like Putzen Alpe, the place you possibly can pattern a brettljause (sharing board) of native ham and cheese, and watch the bell-swinging cows come house within the honeyed gentle of late afternoon. If you wish to zone out much more from the frenzy of every day life, St Anton is correct up there with the very best locations within the Alps for a spot of peak-gazing whereas doing yoga. Choose a meadow to practise your positions or join lessons and retreats at Arlflow.
How one can do it St Anton is an hour from Innsbruck by prepare. In early September, the four-day Mountain Yoga Festival, celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2025, brings among the world’s greatest academics and yogis to the heights, with outside classes, dawn meditation, Alpine pasture hikes, talks and workshops. Run by passionate mountain lovers, Piltriquitron (doubles from £113 B&B) is a classy, welcoming lodge within the coronary heart of St Anton.
Wild swimming, wildlife and tenting in Wales
Come summer season, conga traces of hikers trot up Wales’ highest peak, 1,085-metre Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon). Should you would like to present them the slip, head south to Cefn Coed, a Seventeenth-century, off-grid Welsh farm property embedded in a wooded valley, the place the slopes of Cadair Idris roll all the way down to the shifting sands of the Mawddach estuary. It’s all about embracing the wild facet of Eryri (Snowdonia) right here, whether or not you’re placing out on foot on the nine-mile Mawddach Trail, which follows an previous slate railway monitor, practising yoga in nature, going wildlife monitoring or foraging for edibles you possibly can rework into pickles, powders and pestos. Discover your individual wild swim spots alongside the river by day, and go on a starlit stroll throughout the property to look out for owls, badgers and, on mid-summer nights, glow-worms.
How one can do it Cambrian Line trains cease in Barmouth, 4 miles from Cefn Coed, the place you possibly can camp in a clearing in oak woods (pitches £25-35), or for greater teams there’s a 12-bed bunkhouse within the farm’s authentic dairy and bakehouse (two-night stays from £350).
