I’m a huge fan of Canada as a whole but I really do have a soft spot for the West coast city of Vancouver. It’s a unique mix of shiny skyscrapers, funky food joints and is both cosmopolitan and historical. And let’s not forget the craft beer revolution and incredible day hikes nearby.

It’s the wettest October on record in Phoenix. And we, desert dwellers, love it. Sure, we’ve seen the desert after rain, it is always beautiful. But after as much rain as we got in the past two weeks, it’s not just green, it’s vibrant, it’s when I remember why I live here in the first place.

The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu is one of the most beautiful (and most famous) multi-day hikes in the world. But you have to arrange a couple of things before you go. How to get a permit and what do you need to bring? I will answer all of your questions in this article.

If you wanna know more about whether you can trek the Colca Canyon on a tight budget or not, this is the right article for you! Don’t forget to read our Ultimate Guide to Hike the Canyon. Considering that we started our 2 days/1 night trip from Arequipa, over the length of the two full…

Once in Arequipa we only had own thing on our minds: trekking the Colca Canyon. Lots of people we met on the way sometimes didn’t even mentioned the city but the canyon right away. Surely something you can’t miss if you’re around! On a relaxed sunny afternoon, after doing our deal of research online, we…

Whether before or after visiting Cusco, chances are that the white city of Arequipa will be among your destination list. The city features some nice activities and a decent night-life but what most of travellers really look forward to see, or better to hike in, is the Colca Canyon. Even though a 4-6h drive separates…

Visiting Rainbow Mountain is currently one of the hiking highlights of the Cusco area. But whether you’re planning to do it by yourself or with a tour, before you see those unique colors and desolate landscapes, there’s some things you need to know to make the most out of that hike. Here our list of…

Discovered just over a couple of years ago due to melting of the glaciers, today visiting Rainbow Mountain is nothing but the pinnacle of the hiking tourism around the area of Cusco. Up above at 5100m over sea level, the seven different colours in display are an incredible sight for all those looking to see…

Hiking in Bryce Canyon is something I can highly recommend. Walking in the canyon surrounded by the impressive red hoodoos is amazing. In this article, I’ll show you around the Queens Garden & Navajo Trail.

Now that I’m sitting on a beach in Playa Blanca, Colombia in 34 degrees, I can finally bring myself to write about our time in Peru on tour with G Adventures. Starting with our Inca trail experience… strap yourself in for this one.
For some reason, before Georgi and I left the UK back in October 2017, we thought it would be a great idea to book an organised tour through STA Travel with G Adventures. We booked onto the Andean Discovery (north to south) totalling 20 days, taking you from Lima in Per, to La Paz in Bolivia, which includes the 4 day Inca trail to Machu Picchu. (I will be writing about the overall tour soon, stay tuned.)

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock with no Wifi for 2 years, then you must have noticed the pictures of Rainbow Mountain taking over your Instagram feed by now. You’d be forgiven for thinking that these colourful pyramids had been photo-shopped to create that picture-perfect effect… but, believe it or not, this place is for real.

It’s not everyday that you get to see one of the waterfalls listed among the tallest top ten waterfalls in the world. The Yumbilla waterfall is located at a short hike from the Cuispes, a small village just next to the town of Pedro Ruiz Gallo, a very known stop before reaching the touristy Chachapoyas….

#1 Load up with snacks As mentioned in the Short Guide for Quilotoa Loop, all of the hostels will include breakfast and dinner in the nightly rate therefore you only need to get enough snacks to munch over at lunch every day. Even though small local shops can be found at each small village, stacking…

Even though hiking the Quilotoa Loop has become one of Ecuador’s best highlights, you could say that its still a relatively cheap activity that would fit the average backpacker budget. This is a short summary of what we spent during our 5 days / 4 nights hiking in the area. Riding in the back of…

Hiking the Quilotoa Loop sits comfortably among the best things to do while wandering around Ecuador. Encompassing the villages of Sigchos, Isilnivi, Chugchilan and Quilotoa (and its beautiful Lagoon), this multi-day hike is the perfect activity for those looking to discover a relatively tourist-free heart of the country. And believe it or not, the costs…

Organising Transport, Accomodation & Food on the Quilotoa loop can be quite hard as information about how and when are still difficult to find on the web. Here’s the most complete up-to-date information on bus schedules, hostel prices and food options we gathered from our beautiful 5 days hiking adventure. Let us know if there’s…

As we walked into the Visitor Center in North Cascades National Park, a ranger greeted us with two bear hides laid out on a table in front of her. Guess which one was a black bear as opposed to a grizzly. While it was a no-brainer for my daughter, she played along and pointed out the differences.

Hiking around the archaeological park of Tierradentro is a unique opportunity to discover the mysterious indigenous past of Colombia. On site there are five different sites where you can visit anything from artifacts, tribal idols, statues and hypogea (a.k.a underground tombs) while enjoying gorgeous landscapes. While statues and artefacts might not be the most exciting…

To cool down in the summer we didn’t go to the Southern hemisphere. Instead, we flew a few hours to Seattle, then drove to beautiful Mt. Baker.

The idea of Hampta Pass Trek happened with the idea of Everest Base Camp Trek in September 2018 (which is now deferred to March 2019). I wanted to check for the endurance and also the fitness that I was able to garner a similar (Himalayan Trek) before going on the most ambitious EBC Trek.

Who hasn’t read about the famous wax palms of Colombia? Located at a short jeep-ride from the well-known town of Salento, hiking the Cocora Valley is a must for all those loving hiking and breathtaking landscapes. Here follows our all you-need-to-know guide for having a blast in this beautiful place. How to Get There The…

I only stumbled upon this trail after passing it a few times while grabbing lunch on my work break. The entrance is tucked under a major highway on the edge of Dallas. So one morning before work, the weather was nice, I had on sporty sandals, and I decided, heck, why not?

One afternoon on the Oregon Coast we were looking for a new trail to explore, something we haven’t done yet. We’ve done some tidepooling in the morning, but we still had plenty of sunlight and weren’t ready to call it a day yet. By chance, we found one of the most beautiful trails I could imagine, a Nature Conservancy trail, between Otis and Neskowin.

Following the Camino Real to its final destination, the Chicamocha Canyon, can be an incredibly rewarding experience for those wishing to take up the challenge. Small gorgeous villages where time stopped long ago, old ghosts towns isolated from the world and breathtaking landscapes are just a small part of what you will experience. About the…

As mentioned in the Complete Guide to Tayrona National Park if you’re planning to spend more than just one day wandering around the Park then you’re doing the right thing! During our time there, we trekked around the park for 3 days (2 nights) and we absolutely loved every little part of it. Some paths…

Featuring breathtaking landscapes, pristine white beaches and flourishing jungle, the Tayrona National Park is a must-visit for all those wishing to see some of the Colombia’s best. Situated at a short bus ride from both Santa Marta and Palomino, the park has been developing fast over the last few years, becoming a more touristy-friendly destination…

I woke up to my last day at Big Bend National Park very optimistically. The day felt endless and so I had no doubt I would be able to accomplish every single thing on my Big Bend list. In retrospect, this is hilarious because I had five hours to try and cross off sixty miles of driving and twelve miles of hiking. Plus, you know, enjoy the views. Good luck!

I was very excited about this local hike. I’d seen one of my friends frequent it and it looked a bit woodsy and very spacious. It was a bit further north of Dallas in the city of Plano, so I invited my friend Lola for a morning hike since she was on the way.

If you’re looking for a day out that is active and free then make sure that one of these National Park walks is on your to do list!
The Noosa Heads Coastal Walk is the most recommended out of the 5 you can do through the National Park. It has some amazing view points and beaches along the way, and there are plenty of opportunities to see some wildlife. The whole coastal walk is advised to take up to 4 hours, but I would definitely leave a little longer for all of the photo opportunities.

We were given the option by our guide to hike back in to the jungle for a few hours in the morning, or we could sleep a bit longer, have breakfast, and then we would all meet again to walk to a waterfall nearby. Guess which one we chose?

For an animal lover, there is nothing quite like seeing a species in their natural habitat. Being able to see Mountain Gorillas in the wild was one of the best things I’ve ever done. For years my friend Bianca and I have dreamt of doing this and finally the time was right and the funds were there, so we headed off to Rwanda and Uganda.

The first difficulty of this hike was finding a tent to rent in Leon. Amazingly enough, even though pretty much every tour company offers overnight camping tours on the Maribios Volcanoes Chain, only “Volcano Day” tour operator allows people not on a tour to rent a tent for one or a couple of days (we…

And here we are at the border with Nicaragua waiting for our passports to receive the approval from the main immigration office. Apparently, we were supposed to send an entrance request at least one week ago, weird that no traveller nor border agent has ever told us. Finally, we manage to officially enter in Nicaragua…

With our basecamp in Matagalpa, today we’ve decided to go visit the Selva Negra and Jinotega. The bus from Matagalpa to Selva Negra (13C and 30min ride) drop us off at the official entrance of the Reserva Natural Selva Negra on the main road but from there we still have to walk a 15min more…

Things don’t always work according to plan. I guess I should’ve known from the name we were in for some trouble. Devil’s Campground (in Arches National Park) isn’t exactly a welcoming omen. We were headed from Hovenweep, taking our time exploring the beauty of Utah, and ended up having to take out one of planned stops so we wouldn’t have to feel any kind of time crunch. Unfortunately, it seems I’ll never plan perfectly because we finally got to Arches ten minutes after the visitor center closed. I was worried this meant we couldn’t check into our campground, but we decided there was nothing to do but try for it.

Usually I’m into a lot of greenery, but my visit to Arches changed something in me and somehow Arches National Park became my favorite Park yet. There was something magical about waking up in the Park and being able to race time to catch the perfect spot for the sunrise.

After yesterday’s relaxed afternoon at D&D Brewery (read Nature Walking in lake Yojoa), today we want to do something more adventurous and explore the nature surrounding the beautiful Lake of Yojoa. Upon asking at the reception, we get told that there is indeed a nice nature path (Cerro de “Las Nalgas”) to do which leads…

This morning its another early wake up. The last couple of days we’ve been exploring the picturesque architecture of Gracias, its fort, museums and super tasty baleadas but today is time to move on to our next destination: Lake Yojoa. On the 27th January, the recently voted president (cause of the many riots and protests…

One of the great things I found out about recently is the REI upcoming events page. Not only do they have the dates for upcoming classes and the quartet Garage sale (which is hands down so great), they also list local outdoorsy community service projects. When I saw they would be working on clearing some trails at the Cedar Ridge Preserve, I immediately signed up.

Ometepe Island sits in the middle of the largest lake in Nicaragua. The lake, called Mar Dulce or sweet ocean, looks like the Pacific Ocean with waves just as big as those lapping the west coast of Nicaragua. You can reach the island via a bus or shuttle to Rivas from San Juan del Sur or Granada, then a taxi or bus to San Jorge and a boat or ferry across to the island. We spent a total of $4 each for the entire trip.

(This is not a sponsored post). If you are interested in seeing Quilotoa Lake in Ecuador either via the Quilotoa Loop or just on a day trek, you would be remiss if you didn’t stay a night at the Black Sheep Inn. This lovely, family-run hotel sits at 10,400 feet above sea level, in the…

As we head into the festive season, I’ve got mountains on the mind and there’s nowhere in the world quite so majestic as the Canadian Rockies. Temperatures may be plummeting in Canada right now but it’s never too early to start planning your spring or summer adventure to one of the planet’s most beautiful landscapes.

Why are we such gluttons for punishment? It could be the wonderful rewards we receive for our efforts. Beautiful vistas tend to be our main temptations, but also the challenge in itself provides some great self-gratification for all the suffering. This time around we arrived less prepared and thus felt the punishment of altitude sickness…

Our first outing in Cape Town was a hike, and was my choice. I can’t say I regret it, but it was a rather physically demanding day that we were completely unprepared for. I heard Lion’s Head was a great hike and a wonderful way to see the city. Not being much of a hiker, I was drastically unprepared for what was to come. We used Google maps and like it happens sometimes, we passed the actual entrance to Lion’s Head. We parked at Signal Hill instead.

My husband and I just completed the Machu Picchu Inca trek this week. For months leading up to it, I was feeling anxious and scared that it would be too hard. A lot of people who have completed the trek tell you it’s doable, but difficult. Most people warn about the altitude and the infamous…

I’ve never been so challenged in my life! This trip has really helped me see past my self-imposed limits and know that we truly have no limits. I was terrified about climbing Rainbow Mountain, but this trip is all about facing my fears. So we went for it! We had a 3am wake up call…

When visiting Bali, this is one of those bucket-list excursions that will leave you utterly speechless and in awe of nature.
A popular tourist site, Mount Batur is an active volcano, situated on the North East side of the island. The last eruption was in 2000, however seismic activity was recorded a few days after our hike, hinting at a impending eruption (which has since dropped). The excitement of climbing an active volcano is certainly enough to get the blood pumping!

We continued our upward climb along the gravel road with what felt like no end in sight. Our destination: Piltriquitron, a mountain refugió seated atop the closest mountain to El Bolsón, Argentina. The name comes from Mapuche Indians who inhabited the area originally and it means the mountains that float in the clouds. The description…