The world is crossed by millions of miles of trail and some of it is extraordinary. These are the ten best countries for hiking in 2026 — ranked on trail quality, accessibility, scenery, and the overall experience of spending time outdoors there.
New Zealand
From Flights from £700 return · Available at Amazon UK
New Zealand is the closest thing to a hiker's paradise on earth. The nine Great Walks — including the Milford and Routeburn Tracks — are world-class, but the real treasure is the freedom camping culture and the thousands of DOC huts that make multi-day adventures accessible and affordable.
Both islands offer dramatically different landscapes — the North Island's volcanic terrain versus the South Island's Southern Alps and fiords. You could spend a year hiking here and not repeat yourself.
Pros
- Nine world-class Great Walks
- Extensive DOC hut network
- Freedom camping culture
- Diverse landscapes on both islands
Cons
- Long and expensive to get to
- Great Walks need advance booking
- Can be expensive for a budget traveller
Switzerland
From Flights from £80 return · Available at Amazon UK
Switzerland has 65,000km of marked hiking trails through landscapes that look photoshopped — the Bernese Oberland, the Engadin Valley, and the Valais offer alpine scenery that is genuinely hard to match anywhere else in the world.
The Swiss trail network is maintained to an extraordinary standard, the mountain huts are comfortable, and the cable cars mean access to high terrain is surprisingly easy. It's expensive, but the experience justifies it.
Pros
- 65,000km of maintained trails
- World-class alpine scenery
- Excellent mountain hut network
- Easy high-terrain access
Cons
- Very expensive country to visit
- Can be crowded on popular routes
- Weather changes fast at altitude
Nepal
From Flights from £450 return · Available at Amazon UK
Nepal is the destination that defined what trekking means. The Annapurna Circuit, the Everest Base Camp trek, and the Langtang Valley offer the most dramatic mountain scenery on earth, combined with a teahouse culture that makes multi-week trips more accessible than you might think.
The trails are busy on the classic routes but step off them and you're in genuinely remote territory. The Himalayan scale of things — peaks over 8,000m as backdrops — redefines your sense of what mountains can be.
Pros
- Himalayan scale is unmatched
- Teahouse culture makes long trips accessible
- Relatively affordable
- Multiple world-class trekking routes
Cons
- Altitude sickness is a genuine risk
- Can be crowded on classic routes
- Infrastructure can be basic
- Permit system requires planning
Patagonia (Chile & Argentina)
From Flights from £800 return · Available at Amazon UK
Patagonia at the southern tip of South America offers the most dramatic hiking scenery in the southern hemisphere. Torres del Paine in Chile and Los Glaciares in Argentina provide otherworldly granite towers, turquoise glacial lakes, and unpredictable Patagonian weather that makes every day an adventure.
The W Trek and the O Circuit in Torres del Paine are among the world's finest multi-day routes. The wildlife — condors, guanacos, pumas — adds a dimension that pure mountain scenery can't match.
Pros
- Most dramatic scenery in the southern hemisphere
- Wildlife encounters add another dimension
- World-class multi-day routes
- Southern hemisphere means accessible in northern winter
Cons
- Notoriously unpredictable weather
- Long and expensive to travel to
- Must book huts months in advance
- Wind can be brutal
Scotland, UK
From From your doorstep · Available at Amazon UK
Scotland's right to roam laws make it one of the most accessible hiking destinations in the world — you can walk almost anywhere without a trail or a permit. The Highlands, Cairngorms, and islands like Skye offer world-class wilderness within a few hours of UK cities.
The West Highland Way is one of Europe's finest long-distance trails, and Munro bagging — climbing all 282 peaks over 3,000ft — is a pursuit that keeps Scottish hikers busy for years. It's wild, it's wet, and it's brilliant.
Pros
- Right to roam — maximum freedom
- Accessible from UK without flying
- Munros provide structured challenge
- Wild camping is legal
Cons
- Weather is genuinely challenging
- Midges in summer are notorious
- Remote areas require navigation skills
- Limited infrastructure in some areas