We’re now well into 2019 and February is blossoming. Many of us must have pledged to ourselves to stay fit and healthy. Keeping fit will continue to remain a priority throughout the year for millions of people around the world. The February health kick is well underway, and it’s time to think about how would you like to stay fit this year. If you all are wondering what this year’s workout trend will be, then this news is for you.
Experts have stated that hiking is set to surpass yoga in popularity, so why not break into 2019 by venturing off on one of the hundreds of hikes around the world? Furthermore, this research study has also found that hiking has become the most popular adventure activity among travelers, so why not see what all the fuss is about and try a new activity this year?
With hiking predicted to be one of the hottest new workout trends, On The Go Tours have collated 30 of the world’s most popular hikes around the world and analysed the location, length, amount of steps and calories burned on each hike, to reveal the best hikes for you to try out this New Year. You can choose the hike that best aligns with your fitness goals. Check out the interactive map right here.
You may not think that hiking is the most effective form of exercise, but even a short hike around the Cinque Terre National Park in Italy can burn up to 600 calories. Alternatively, if you fancy taking on a more physically demanding trek, why not tick the 26 mile Inca Trail to Machu Picchu off your bucket-list. The Inca Trail is not only surrounded by stunning mountain scenery, subtropical jungles and Inca paving stones, ruins and tunnels, but you can also burn up to 2,080 calories on the 4 day hike.
If you’re looking for a slightly longer hike to challenge you, then why not take on the six day, 50 mile trek through Jordan’s gorgeous countryside, following the most famous section of the ‘Jordan Trail’ from Dana to Petra. Walking across high ridges, through deep gorges and amongst sculpted sandstone, this hike can burn up to 4,000 calories and takes approximately 100,000 steps to complete. Split across the six days, this is equivalent to surpassing the recommended 10,000 average daily steps by almost 7,000 a day!
The data has revealed the number of calories you can burn on each hike, which is surprisingly high, with the longest hike burning an incredible 845,040 calories, and even the shortest hike burning an impressive 600 calories. You can view the top ten long, medium and short distance hikes in the table below:
Rank | Long Hike | Medium Hike | Short Hike |
1 | Trans-Canada Trail | Arctic Circle Trail | Milford Track |
2 | American Discovery Trail |
Hadrian’s Wall Path | Santa Cruz Trek |
3 | Continental Divide Trail |
Everest Base Camp Trek |
Inca Trail |
4 | Pacific Crest Trail | Great Ocean Walk | Otter Trail |
5 | Appalachian Trail | Kokoda Track | Kalalau Trail |
6 | Te Arraroa Trail | Dana to Petra Trek | Routeburn Track |
7 | Great Himalayan Track |
Mount Toubkal Trek | Muliwai Trail |
8 | Israel National Track | West Coast Trail | Berg Lake Trail |
9 | Bibbulmun Track | La Ciudad Perdida |
Tongariro Alpine Crossing |
10 | John Muir Trail | Druk Path Trek | Cinque Terre National Park |
For those more experienced hikers, why not take the trek of a lifetime across the Great Himalayan Trails. The Great Himalayan Trails is a network of trails in Nepal, spanning 1,056 miles, that makes it possible to hike mountain ranges such as the popular trekking areas of Everest and Annapurna, as well as the more secluded treks in Dolpa and Makalu Barun. GHT is split into ten sections with several beautiful trails, meaning you can trek parts of the trail individually or take the plunge and walk across all ten sections in one go. Taking on the Great Himalayan Trail in one go is no easy feat, with the entire hike lasting 157 days, and burning up to 84,500 calories. However, with arguably some of the world’s most spectacular mountain scenery as a constant backdrop, and the opportunity to see eight of the world’s 14 peaks, the views will almost certainly be worth it.
With stunning birds-eye views of cities, mountain ranges and countryside being a key motivator in completing a hike and reaching the top, it’s no surprise that the views of hundreds of hikes, either at the top or on the way up, are documented on Instagram.
There are a huge number of hikes in the USA, Europe and New Zealand which offer beautiful scenery and more of a challenge to intermediate and advanced hikers. Some of the most popular hikes according to Instagram include the Appalachian Trail – a 2,650 mile hike located in the Eastern United States, which has over 629,599 hashtags; the Inca Trail in Peru which has 171,640 hashtags and the Pacific Crest Trail in the USA, which has almost 184,000 hashtags.
So what are you waiting for? Find the perfect hike here, grab your walking boots and reach new heights. Tell us in the comments below where are you planning to go first and tweet to us at @fuzzable