EVEREST. KILIMANJARO. FUJI. Famous the world over, these are just some of the peaks that have inspired adventurers for centuries. Not all the famous mountains make for good hiking, and, fortunately, not all the good hikes are famous. Or difficult.
Kinabalu (Malaysia), Victoria (Burma), Inthanon (Thailand), Sinai (Egypt), Usambara (Tanzania). There are thousands of other less imposing massifs can be rewarding adventures as well.
70kms of walking tracks. 1600 plant species. 360 bird species. 1metre wide mushrooms. And a very freindly dog. Mutinondo Wilderness, Zambia.
Views from Mahan, central Iran.
In Ethiopia's mountains, landslides are common. This road north to Axum is often named as the world's most dangerous.
From the Kalambo Falls above, water flows down (to?) the Zambezi, where it eventually forms Victoria Falls.
On the steep hills in Rasht, Iran, the roof of one house forms the balcony of the one behind it.
Mountain huts line the paths in the hills north of Tehran. Unfortunately, the food is typically ordinary!
A view from the end point of our hike in Tanzania's Usambara mountains.
The sun burns the sky on our final night hiking in the Usambara mountains, the most relaxing place we found in Tanzania.
Mount Sinai, Egypt, where Moses received the Ten Commandments from Moses.
The valley around Petra is part of a range which runs from the Dead Sea to the Aqaba Gulf, Jordan.
The "strongest of all places in the region" was how Greek historian Polybius described Gadara in 218 BC. Located in northern Jordan, it looks out on the Golan Heights and Lake Tiberias.
It is possible to hike from Jordan's Dana Valley to the great Petra, over (I think) three days.
Short hikes around the monuments of Petra, Jordan, allow beautiful views of the surronding valley and hills.
Japan's Mount Fuji overlooks a cricket ground.
A farmer stands in his fields in Tanzania's fertile Usambara mountains area.
In the hills of central Turkey, sun breaks through onto travertine terraces, Pammukale.
Capadocia, in central Turkey is famed for its "fairy chimney" rock formations. Many of them have been turned into homes.
A mighty gorge in Southern Kazakhstan.
Superb views in Kazakhstan's Sayram Ugam National Park.
Sayram Ugam National Park, Kazakhstan.
Sayram Ugam National Park, Kazakhstan, a wonderful spot for hiking and horse riding.
Charyn Canyon, Kazakhstan, is a few hours from Al Mata.
A rock formation balances in Kazakhstan's Charyn Canyon.
A mountain pass, somewhere north of Cape Town, South Africa.
My overnight bus from Mongolia to Bejing passed the Great Wall before dawn, so I got off and walked the 2-3km to the entrance. I enjoyed a couple of undisturbed hours alone, while the tour groups in Beijing were finishing their breakfast.
Delphi is an ancient town in the south of mainland Greece.
Keli Mutu has three craters, all with different colours. In the 1990s, before budget airlines, getting here involved many days of boats and buses across Indonesia, from either Bali or West Timor.
Rice farming in a scenic part of a scenic island, Bukittingi, Sumatra, Indonesia.
A road winds through a park in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Outside Gondar, in Ethiopia's north, cows graze on a soccer pitch with a well worn centre.
Erta ale, an active volcano in Ethiopia's Danakil Depression, the hottest place on planet earth. Afar tribesmanhave been known to kill tourists who visit this spectacular moonscape envirornment.
Passengers waiting for a truck to ferry them to town, in Ethiopia's beautiful Simien Mountains National Park.
The Simien Mountains is Ethiopia's premier hiking destination, with a new breathtaking view coming every hour or so.
The Cordillera region on the Philippine island of Luzon is home to one of ancient man's greatest engineering feats, thousands of kilometres of stone rice terraces carved into the mountains around the time of Christ.
Banue town is central to some of these UNESCO marvels, while these are located outside Bontoc town.