The Pyrenean Haute Route (HRP)
Trekking from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean across the Pyrenees on the Haute randonnée pyrénéenne (HPR)
Tag: National Park
HRP part 3: Crossing high passes
Between Parzán and Salardú are the highest mountains of the Pyrenees and the highest passes of the HRP
Rainy summer in the Eastern Alps
What a weather. Anyone who has spent this July in the Alps can tell you a thing or two about it: It rains, rains, rains. Instead of hiking and climbing mountains every day, I end up spending most of my time waiting for better weather. And the weather forecast turns out to be completely useless: … Continue reading “Rainy summer in the Eastern Alps”
Watzmann traverse
The scramble over the ridge of the Watzmann is probably the most beautiful mountain tour in Germany.
Triglav, Krn and Soča
My walks through the Triglav National Park in the Julian Alps in Slovenia led to impressive views of rugged limestone mountains and small mountain lakes and along the beautiful mountain river Soča.
Nechisar National Park and Dorze
Lakes, zebras and woven huts East African Rift in Ethiopia
Autumn in Saxon Switzerland
A short photo trip in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains to Bastei, Königsstein and Schrammsteine.
Traversing Corsica on the GR20
Hike across the island on one of the most beautiful treks in Europe through the wild mountains of Corsica.
Traversing the High Tatras
Hiking through a small but fine high mountain range from Poland to Slovakia: In 3 days past the lake Morskie Oko, over the via ferrata Orla Perć and to the peaks Rysy and Kôprovský štít.
Iztaccíhuatl
On the third highest mountain in Mexico with a magnificent view of Popocatépetl
Chiapas
Mayan ruins in Palenque, view on the Sumidero Canyon, colonial city of San Cristóbal de las Casas (Mexico)
Yucatán
White beaches with turquoise sea, grand Mayan ruins, colourful colonial towns and the fascinating cenotes (Mexico).
At the Prebisch Gate (Pravčická brána) in Bohemian Switzerland
A day hike combines the impressive rock arch in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains with a boat trip through the Edmundsklamm gorge.
Iguazú Falls
At perhaps the most spectacular waterfalls on earth (Argentina/Brazil)
Valles Calchaquíes (with Quebrada de Cafayate, Cachi and Los Cardones)
Colourful canyons, pretty colonial towns and cacti in the triangle between Salta, Cachi and Cafayate (Argentina)
Talampaya and Ischigualasto (Valle de la Luna)
Bizarre rocks and the oldest dinosaurs in the world (Argentina)
Calenques near Cassis
The narrow and rocky bays Calanque d’en Vau, Calanque de Port Pin and Calanque de Port-Miou
Mayon
The perfectly shaped volcano from different angles (Luzon, Philippines)
Taal Volcano in Lake Taal
An explosive volcano near Manila and an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island in the sea.
Trekking in Tusheti
Villages, towers, shrines in a remote mountain region in the High Caucasus (Georgia)
Lake Skardar
The largest lake in the Balkans (Montenegro, Albania)
Durmitor
Mountains in Montenegro
Krka, Trogir, and Split
Waterfalls and Antiquity in Croatia
Velebit
Karstified mountains in Croatia
Plitvice Lakes
Karst landscape with lakes and waterfalls in Croatia
Everest Three Passes Trek
Trek over the passes Renjo La, Cho La and Kongma La to Everest Basecamp, and to vantage points such as Gokyo Ri, Ngozumba Tse, Kala Patthar and Chhukhung Ri.
Langtang-Trek and Gosainkund
The Langtang Valley, in the mountain range closest to Kathmandu, is the destination of this popular trek in Nepal. Vantage points such as Tsergo Ri, Kyanjin Ri and Morimoto Base Camp are worthwhile, with views of large glaciers and some six-thousand-metre peaks. A side trip leads to the Gosainkund mountain lakes.
Perito Moreno National Park and trek to Cerro San Lorenzo
Lonely wilderness, Patagonia as you imagine it: The scarcely visited national park in Argentina offers impressive views and solitude and the third highest mountain in Patagonia towers above the steppe as a wall of ice and rock
Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego
Hikes at the “End of the World”: Views, bays and bogs in Tierra del Fuego National Park (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina)
Punta Arenas
Penguins, wrecks and craters — Excursions to Isla Magdalena and along the Strait of Magellan to Pali Aike (Patagonia, Chile)
Torres del Paine Cirquit
The Cirquit, a complete circumnavigation of Torres del Paine including the “W”, is the most famous trek in Patagonia (Chile)
Perito Moreno Glacier
A walk on perhaps the most fascinating glacier in the world in Los Glaciales National Park (Patagonia, Argentina)
Trek to Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy
Hunting for the best light at the most beautiful vantage points at the foot of the famous granite mountains in Patagonia (Argentina)
Bariloche
Hikes in the hinterland of the “Argentinian Saint Moritz” (Nahuel Huapi Traverse and Cirquito Chico)
Conguillio National Park and climbing Llaima
Hikes through rustic forests, up to the snow-covered Sierra Nevada past araucaria, views of lakes and the Llaima volcano, and finally an ascent of Llaima itself.
Villarrica and Huerquenes
A view into the crater of Villarrica and a hike to lakes and araucaria (lake district in Patagonia, Chile)
Puyehue
Tracing the latest volcanic eruption in Chile
Puerto Varas in the Lake District of Chile
The lake district with its green fields, dense rainforests, countless lakes of all sizes and towering volcanoes and mountain peaks (cf. The Formation of Mountains) is, so to speak, the southern end of civilisation in South America: a little further on, the sparsely populated wilderness of Patagonia begins. I fly to Puerto Montt and drive … Continue reading “Puerto Varas in the Lake District of Chile”
Rügen
Chalk cliffs in Jasmund National Park
La Palma: Hiking Ruta de los Volcanes and Ruta de la Cresteria (GR 131)
The GR 131 hiking trail on La Palma combines the Ruta de los Volcanes with the Ruta de la Cresteria for a four-day hike, an island crossing that is scenically and geologically spectacular (Canary Islands, Spain)
Traverse of Teide and Pico Viejo
The most beautiful way to climb Teide is to traverse Montaña Blanca, Teide and Pico Viejo with an overnight stay at the Refugio de Altavista
Tenerife
It was about time that I paid a visit to the Canary Islands. After all, Teide is the highest hotspot volcano after Hawaii’s and much quicker to reach… However, there are also a few important differences to Hawaii, for example, a stratovolcano like Teide is not exactly typical of a hotspot, nor are the large … Continue reading “Tenerife”
La Gomera
Valle Gran Rey, Garajonay and Roque de Ojila (Canary Islands, Spain)
Angel Fall
Journey to the highest waterfall in the world at the Tepuis of the Gran Sabana, Venezuela
Roraima Tepui
Hike into the “Lost World” of the Roraima Tepui: a table mountain on the Gran Sabana in Venezuela, with bizarre rock formations, endemic species and a lot of rainfall
Amazonas Cruise
Journey on the Amazon: By boat from Tabatinga (Brazil, border with Colombia) to Manaus
Valle de Cocora
The supposedly tallest palm trees in the world and many hummingbirds can be seen in the Valle de Cocora in the Zona Cafetera in Colombia
San Agustín
Pre-Columbian steles in San Augustin (Colombia): grimaces with pointed teeth and magnificent headdresses
Amboro National Park
Now a bit of jungle, I thought, in the Amboro National Park situated in the Sub-Andes, a fold-and-thrust belt pushed ahead by the Central Andes. So I took a night bus from La Paz towards Santa Cruz, but it didn’t stop in Bellavista, although I had told pretty much everyone on the bus company that … Continue reading “Amboro National Park”
Sajama and Lauca
Three high volcanoes and a few lakes in the national parks on the border between Bolivia and Chile
Nevado Pisco
Climbing Nevado Pisco (5752 m), a spectacular panoramic mountain in the Cordillera Blanca in northern Peru
Alpamayo Trek
Trekking in the Cordillera Blanca in Peru: In 10 days around Alpamayo and its beautiful neighbours
Climbing Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador: climb Cotopaxi and hike on Rumiñahui
Norwegian Fjords
The most beautiful fjords in Norway: Viewpoints like Preikestolen on the Lysfjord, views of the Geirangerfjord, hikes high above Eidfjord and Nærøyfjord.
Rondane and Jotunheimen
Hike to Storronden in Rondane National Park and a trek over the Besseggen Ridge and across Jotunheimen National Park to the Fannaråken hut (Norway).
Sarek
Trek across the inaccessible Sarek National Park in the heart of Lapland, Sweden
Hiking the Malerweg through Saxon Switzerland
Multi-day hike through the Elbe Sandstone Mountains
White Desert
In the White Desert near Farafra, one feels transferred into a painting by Dali. Everywhere you look, wondrously shaped knobs of white chalk lime. With imagination you can find faces, animals, flames, tables and more. You don’t even need imagination to see the mushrooms. Sometimes the ground looks like snowdrifts, which look especially crazy when … Continue reading “White Desert”
Sinai
Deep blue water full of coral reefs, with reddish granite mountains towering behind. So beautiful that this is the third time I’ve come to this coast. In places, the granite rocks are criss-crossed by swarms of black dykes like a zebra pattern. Nuweiba is almost deserted, the camps and restaurants are empty and the few … Continue reading “Sinai”
Makhtesh Ramon
The “crater” Ramon in the Negev Desert in Israel was not formed by a meteorite impact, but by erosion of a fold
Masada
At the ancient fortress overlooking the Dead Sea (Israel)
Dana
An old village above a gorge, bizarre sandstone cliffs and gnarled juniper trees in southern Jordan
Wadi Rum
By jeep, camel and on foot through a desert of rocks and sand in the south of Jordan
Petra
Fascinating ruins from antiquity in an equally fascinating landscape in Jordan
Trekking Mount Kaçkar
The Pontic Mountains, which stretch along the coast in the north of Turkey, have their highest heights just before Georgia, before turning into the Lesser Caucasus (see also The Formation of Mountains). The Kaçkar Mountains are also called the Pontic Alps; dark, rocky crests, needles of granite, blue cirque lakes, boulder fields. I could imagine … Continue reading “Trekking Mount Kaçkar”
Borjomi and Vardzia
Hiking in Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park and cave monasteries in Vardzia
Nemrut
A strange royal tomb from antiquity in Anatolia (Turkey)
Cappadocia
Fairy-tale volcanic landscape full of old churches (Central Anatolia, Turkey)
Iceland
On the Ring Road through Iceland, with the trek from Landmannalaugar to Skogarfoss and other hikes
Chiapas…Tikal…Gracias…
¡Zapata vive! The occupation of the colourful colonial town of San Cristobal de la Casa in Chiapas (Mexico) on 1 January 1994 was the start of the EZLN rebellion. Today, Zapatista dolls and Subcomandante Marcos shirts can be bought on every corner here, because the guerrillas had finally conquered the hearts of the left in … Continue reading “Chiapas…Tikal…Gracias…”
Chitwan
This national park lies in the lowlands, on the fringe of the Ganges plain. From a canoe I see marsh crocodiles and the long-billed gavials, as well as various birds. The jungle walk was less impressive, but at least we saw deer, a king cobra and (through binoculars) a sloth bear trolling in a clearing … Continue reading “Chitwan”
Szechuan
Teahouses and pandas in Chengdu, salt and dinosaurs in Zigong, temples and mountains on Emei Shan and the giant Buddha statue in Leshan (China)
Zhangjiajie: the sandstone towers of Wulingyuan
Surreal landscape in Hunan (China)
Bromo and Semeru
Volcanoes in the East of Java: Views into the Tengger Caldera with the steaming Bromo and ascent of the active Semeru with up-close ash eruptions
Merapi
On the volcano with active lava dome (Java, Indonesia)
Taman Negara
Jungle in Malaysia
Perhentian Islands
Diving and snorkelling on an island in Malaysia
Halong Bay
Cone karst island world in the north of Vietnam
Hidden Tiger
Safari im Ranthambore Nationalpark
Kerala
A man who comes to Kochin immediately forgets his wife, because of the beauty of the city. So they say. Indeed, there is something about the cosmopolitan flair with a mix of Portuguese, Dutch, British, Jewish and Indian culture. The city, situated on a narrow peninsula, is very green and the best thing is that … Continue reading “Kerala”
Expedition to Oldoinyo Lengai
Fieldwork for my diploma thesis at the World’s only active carbonatite volcano
Excursion: Volcanism Southern Italy
More than 2 m of pumice was deposited on the first day of the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius. The weight caused roofs of buildings to collapse, but people died in the pyroclastic flows (surges) that came down the mountain towards the end of the eruption. A caldera formed during the eruption, and Mt. Somma … Continue reading “Excursion: Volcanism Southern Italy”