24 Unforgettable short walks (< 1 day)

This 7-mile each way trail, departing from the South Rim, is a popular (but long) single day hike that gets you out into the scenery, down to the canyon floor. There are resthouses and distance markers en-route. Remember – it’s a fairly easy walk down, but harder work to come back up.

For just over forty years Arenal was one of the world’s safest active volcanoes to visit – a rumbling cone set in lush forest, spewing out lava that glowed red in the night.

Today, Arenal sleeps but remains truly spectacular – oozing hot rivers and springs, with a near-perfect cone, fuming puffs of gas, and shrouded in black ash. On its slopes, lush forest fringes crumbling, congealed lava fields, and the trees are rich in wildlife – including peccaries, ocelots and capuchin monkeys.

The forests are beautiful, cut with numerous wildlife trails and dripping with waterfalls. There are spectacular views of the mountains’ perfect cone at every turn – framed by rainforest trees.

The entire area is protected as a national park, a larger conservation area and a series of private reserves – all part of the 204,000-hectare Arenal Conservation Area.

Over the years, a series of luxurious hotels and a string of hot river spas grew around its flanks and ecotourism parks with canopy walkways – at toucan’s eye level – were built in the beautiful cloud forests around the mountain.

It’s illegal and potentially dangerous to summit the mountain itself, but there are great hikes in the area; trails run across lava fields through pine woods filled with peccary and parakeets. Other trails lead to waterfalls like the 75m-high La Fortuna, which drops into a refreshing, clear-water pool that you can hike to and swim in.

There’s a range of other bucket list things to do in and around the national park too.

Canopy walkways offer monkey-eye views and the park environs have some of the country’s longest and fastest zip lines. There’s also rainforest river kayaking, tubing and white-water rafting, mountain biking and canyoning.

It might be known affectionately as ‘the Ben’, but don’t think a tramp up Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles, is a walk in the park. Its summit, at over 4,400ft, can be clad in snow in summer, the weather changing in a second as you zigzag up the rocky Mountain Track. However, around 125,000 people make it each year and the sense of achievement – and the views – are second to none. ‘The Ben’ is the most challenging but rewarding Munro ‘to bag’.

Go prepared though, it can be cold on the summit even if it’s sunny below so take a fleece and waterproofs. On sunny days beware of dehydration, wind and sunburn.

One of the most unique and beautiful bridges in the world – though surprisingly unsung outside New York. Designed by German immigrant and noted bridge-builder John Roebling and completed in 1883, it charms with elegant arches and artful cables.

With a raised wooden pedestrian and cycleway separated from vehicle traffic, it makes for a scenic stroll to Brooklyn across the East River, while looking back at spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline.

You can cycle across too – make it part of a longer route around Manhattan’s southern tip and along the Hudson River.

For dazzling views over Dubrovnik’s old town rooftops and the Adriatic, this 2km stroll around the battlements is an absolute must.

Among the best-preserved city fortifications in the world, they date back to the 13th century but were reinforced when the Ottoman Turks threatened in the 15th century.

Standing up to 24m high and 6m wide, they have deterred would-be aggressors for many centuries, but today they’re a major tourist attraction.

What this 55sq mile National Park lacks in size, it makes up for in its distinctive, eye-catching geology. Weathering and erosion of the sedimentary bedrock, has created thousands of ‘hoodoos’ – thin spires of rock – collected around natural amphitheatres. The superb 8-mile, 3-hour Fairytale Loop hike takes in all the best views.

If you have only a day to spend in Athens, you can cover most of the city’s ‘greatest hits’ by wandering through the Grand Promenade that rings the Acropolis.

Designed to link all the main sights of ancient Athens in a single pedestrian zone, beautifully landscaped walkways are punctuated by exceptional monuments. There are contemporary attractions, too: al fresco cafés, street art, and friendly stray dogs.

Start at Hadrian’s Arch. Wander along Dionysiou Areopagitou, pausing to take in the ancient amphitheatres Herod Atticus and the Theatre of Dionysus, and the modern Acropolis Museum.

Continue on Apostolou Pavlou passing the rock of Pnyx on your left where the Athenian citizens used to gather listening to orators from Themistocles to St Paul.

A longer, signposted diversion at the junction of Dionysio Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou leads you to the alleged ‘Socrates’ Prison’, and to the top of Philopappou hill with bird’s eye views of the ancient sites below.

Back on Apostolou Pavlou and in about 500 yards you’ll spot the ‘Thission’ (a misnomer as it was a temple to the god Hephaestus), one of the best-preserved Doric temples anywhere in Greece.

Here you can divert into the Agora, the ancient Greeks’ shopping mall and civic hall as well as its fine museum where you can see ceramic voting slips, reminders of the city’s democratic past.

Backtrack to Thission and finish at the overlooked cemetery of Kerameikos, which has an amazing collection of tombstones and statues.

The monumental Great Wall of China is a defense work stretching from ocean to desert across the vast expanse of China’s northern regions. In the strategic uplands around Beijing, the Wall was built from bricks and stone, with crenelated battlements and watchtowers. Elsewhere it was more simply fashioned from tamped earth.

The Great Wall is actually a series of walls built during different eras of Chinese history, but the first unifying wall was constructed by China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, from around 220 BC. Much of the wall that remains standing today was reconstructed using stronger materials during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

Later sections of the Great Wall – including Badaling, the first section to be opened to tourists – stand on average 8m tall and just under 6m wide, designed to allow five horses to ride abreast or ten soldiers to walk shoulder to shoulder.

The nearest stretches to Beijing have been restored and are now among the world’s most visited tourist spots. Unrestored sections, sometimes called the ‘wild wall’, remain in a precarious state of ruin, with an estimated thirty percent already lost to the vagaries of weather, earthquakes and human activity. Around Beijing, the undulating mountain landscapes are as inspiring as the defensive ramparts themselves.

This heart-stopping trail along the Na Pali Coast of Kauai Island is the US’s wildest hike, an eye-watering scene of rugged valleys, white-sand beaches and waterfalls. For most, it’s 4-miles (one way) to the 300ft-high Hanakapiai Falls. Experienced hikers (with permit) can go 7 miles further to pristine Kalalau Beach to camp overnight.

This 3-mile trail, high on religious significance, leads up to the rocky summit where Moses is believed to have received the Ten Commandments.

Most tours start in the early hours, to see the sunrise and the dramatic colour shifts in the surrounding desert landscapes.

The trail starts at the beautiful 6th-century monastery of St. Catherine, built to protect the biblical ‘Burning Bush’ where Moses received instructions to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

The historic Royal Botanic Garden is the oldest scientific institution in Australia, stretching back to the First Fleet, and featuring 30 hectares packed with exotic and native plants.

But what makes this a stand-out amongst botanical gardens is its location, in the most scenic part of the city, right on the harbour. A footpath starting at Sydney Opera House will take you alongside the harbour and through the garden, for a fantastic one- or two-hour walk.

Look out for giant eels in the pond, loud, squawking cockatoos, and huge roosts of giant (and harmless) fruit bats, which hang from many of the trees; they’re a compelling sight.

The Sentiero degli Dei, a 4- to 5-hour hike, lives up to its name as it traverses the Mediterranean’s most spectacular stretch of coastline, south of Naples. This narrow path hugs the precipitous cliffs and slopes of the Lattari Mountains, which plunge straight into the Mediterranean far below.

Cappadocia’s signature walk is a fairly easy (barring one scramble section) 4km stroll through fantastical, magical landscapes.

Starting in either Goreme or Uchisar, the path takes you into a wooded chasm with natural arches and tunnels, and leads past rock-carved pigeon cotes, idyllic orchards and vegetable plots.

Poor signposting and that scramble section make the walk unsuitable for the elderly or young, but for the fit and able it’s a must.

A 6-mile hike along the rim of Santorini’s caldera, this relatively easy three-hour trek is one of the most memorable in the whole of the Aegean. The route links Fira, the island’s capital, with Oia, its most picturesque village.

Walking the caldera – the rim of a sunken volcanic crater – is the best way to appreciate the island’s unique geography and to soak up those spectacular landscapes. As you walk, you’ll see whitewashed houses perched on vertiginous slopes, and colourful, striated caldera cliffs that plummet into the azure sea.

Towering more than 3,000-feet above the city, Table Mountain defines the skyline of Cape Town. And while going up by cable car is an easy option for the unfit, hiking the mountain slopes is a far better way to appreciate the flora, fauna and fine views of this World Heritage Site.

There are dozens of routes on, up and around the mountain. The most popular, independently-tackled route is the well-marked Platteklip Gorge (a challenging 2- to 3-hour hike). If you want something more adventures – like the forested trails that lead up the eastern slopes above Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens – book a guided hike. Guides will teach about the local fynbos and the Cape Floral Kingdom as you ascend.

The true summit is at Maclear’s Beacon, but keen hikers should allow time to discover the quieter trails that explore the ‘Back Table’ to the south.

This dramatic gorge, with soaring Canyon Walls of up to 1,000 feet, is the narrowest part of Zion Canyon – at places, it’s just 30 feet wide. It’s a pretty 1-mile walk from the start, then a further 5 miles walking in the Virginia River (the most spectacular part).

Rising up from the silent desert floor, this gargantuan, ochre-hued monolith is both ethereal and mesmerising – its colour changes depending on the season and time of day. The 10km walk around its base is Uluru’s signature experience and the best way to experience the rock.

Getting up close, you begin to see the complex and intricate beauty. Each part of the walk reveals something different; erosion has cut fissures, gorges and galleries into the sandstone, some containing centuries-old rock art, while some provide shelter for wallabies, possums or bats. You’ll even feel it – the thing has presence.

Along the way, local guides recount the rich, beguiling dreamtime legends that swirl around it. There’s wildlife here too. Despite the arid conditions, the area is rich in flora, ranging from acacia woodlands to grassed claypans.

Originally built in the Roman period as a defensive structure, and still encircling the old city today, York’s 4m-high, 3.4km-long city walls are the best-preserved city walls in Britain.

Open every day, they’re a unique – and free – way of seeing the city; the chance to look down from above and knit together the Roman Streets, Minster and medieval rooftops gives a real sense of the city as it would have been hundreds of years ago.

The imposing stone towers that were the original fortified entryways into York still remain at Bootham Bar, Micklegate Bar, Monk Bar and Walmgate Bar. As you walk, look out for the arrow slits, musket loops, sculptures and mason’s marks, as well as the wonderful rooftop views.

Some said genius, others madness. In 2009, the remains of an elevated freight railway line on the West Side were converted into one of the world’s most unusual and interesting parks. Snaking serpent-like north to south, from 29th Street to Gansevoort Street, the 10-25m-wide platform, stocked with native wildflowers next to the old tracks, is already a New York institution.

It’s great from top to bottom but if pushed for time, do the stretch from 20th Street to 14th Street through the wild grasslands. There are also sundecks, water features, and some of the best views and architecture.

All-in-all a compulsory stroll that combines terrific design, gritty urban architecture and river views.

At 300m deep, Turkey’s most dramatic gorge makes for a wonderful walk and wade along some 4kms of its full 18km extent.

At the sheer-sided entrance, where the Dargaz River runs strong, raised walkways lead to the trail where the water in places rises to the chest, with some moderate clambering.

After returning along the canyon, retire to one of the charmingly rickety waterside eateries clustered beyond the entrance, where the stream runs wide and shallow.

Or hire a tube to float and bounce downstream for a few kilometres in the company of experienced guides, expecting the odd bump and bruise if the water is low.

This 4.5-mile circular walk around Lake Buttermere, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, starts and ends in pretty Buttermere village, and takes in wonderful views of the craggy peaks of Littledale Edge, Dale’s Head and Mellbreak, skirting the shores of beautiful Lake Buttermere. Ideal if you want to be surrounded by mountain scenery without actually having to do any climbing.

Halfway around at the southern tip, you’ll pass the ‘Sentinels’, the Lake District’s most photographed trees. Also look out for the ‘lone tree’, another highly-photographable feature.

A great way to enjoy the Everglades without much effort – this short, 0.8-mile paved walkway and boardwalk winds through a mix of forest and freshwater sawgrass marsh; expect to see alligators, turtles, anhingas, herons, egrets, and many other birds, especially during the winter. The trail starts at the Royal Palm Visitor Center, about 4 miles from the park entrance.

Stretching more than four miles, the Strip might well have the densest concentration of flash, whizz, bang sights in the world. Here, the buildings sparkle (so much so, that when flying over Vegas, the city resembles a ball of light in a sea of black). It’s home to some of the world’s biggest hotels, with a total of more than 60,000 hotel rooms lining the iconic avenue, and nearly 200,000 slot machines!

A journey from one end to the other yields enormous dancing fountains, pirate ship battles, and erupting volcanoes – and better yet, most of it can be enjoyed for free.

It may look pretty innocuous but Vesuvius, the background to many a painting of Naples, is an active volcano and still commands respect and fear. Now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, it’s possible to walk all the way up to the cone and experience fabulous views of Naples from the top.

Along the way, take time to marvel at the wonderfully rich diversity of plants thrown up by the volcanic soil.

Running from a plateau in the White Mountains all the way down to the Libyan Sea, Samaria Gorge is one of the longest and most spectacular canyons in Europe.

Well-trodden and well-maintained, the 16-kilometre trail goes through incredibly diverse scenery. You might spot some of the 450 species of flora and fauna, alongside freshwater springs, abandoned villages, and isolated chapels. Look out for the increasingly rare kri-kri goats, an endangered breed endemic to Crete.

It’s possible to hike a much shorter route, if you start at the end point: the coastal village of Agia Roumeli, where you can cool off with a plunge into the Libyan Sea.