Walking and Trekking Holidays Worldwide Blog

Khan Tengri Base Camp- The Ultimate Self-Guided Trek (probably)

2012-02-12T03:52:00.000-08:00

Walks Worldwide are delighted to announce a UK exclusive. A self-guided trekking adventure to Khan Tengri Base Camp in Kyrgyzstan.

A series of "new for 2012" fixed camps all the way to Khan Tengri Base Camp now make this a realistic proposition for the serious trekker, without the need to carry your own tent, food, cooking equipment or have to hire porters (Kyrgyz porters are very expensive).

Trek, deep into the heart of the Tien Shan, the Celestial Mountains and marvel at Khan Tengri, one of the world's most beautiful and strking peaks and see Pik Pobeda too, highest in the Tien Shan. With visits to Karakol and the incredible Issyk Kul lake also, this is certain to become a favourite Central Asia adventure.

Albania- Extra June 2012 departure

2012-01-09T04:45:00.000-08:00

The June departure for our "instant smash hit" Accursed Mountains trek in Albania is already sold out. So, we've added a new departure date for June 23rd 2012 as well due to unprecedented demand. Our September departure is already guaranteed too.

Looks like Albania is the place to trek in 2012.

Also see our new 2012 Albania 'reccy' The Mysterious South.

Get high in Peru on the Ausangate Circuit

2011-10-02T04:38:00.000-07:00

New for 2012 is an absolutely amazing high-level trek in the Andes of Peru around the sacred 6000m+ peak of Ausangate.

With stupendous close up views of Ausangate itself, as well other white sentinels of the Cordillera Vilcanota this is a trip for true trekking enthusiasts.

Meet the local Qucha herdsmen, get up close and personal with tumbling glaciers, experience outlandish camp-sites by bejewelled high Andean lakes, soak in hot springs and perhaps even see the Andean Condor and the rare Vicuna too.

The Ausangate Circuit Trekking holiday is sure to thrill.

Morocco - Winter Toubkal Climb (Snippet)

2011-10-02T04:27:00.000-07:00

Now you can climb Toubkal, the highest peak in Morocco and North Africa it's snowy, winter coat with Walks Worldwide.

At £325 (Land Only), this seven trek and climb is exceptionally good value for money- check out what our competitors charge if you don't believe us.

All meals on trek are included, all accommodation (including two nights in a 3* hotel in Marrakech), and a very high guide:client ratio too to enhance your summit success.

See our new Winter Toubkal Climb here

Albania walking holiday - Travellers Tales

2011-09-28T04:47:00.000-07:00

"I got back from the Albania walking holiday yesterday. It was a genuinely exceptional opportunity to see a beautiful part of the world before the onset of mainstream tourism development. Much spectacular scenery was seen, everyone had great fun and I'm sure we will remember it for a long time. I was pleased to find that my hiking abilities were up to the task!"

Jonathan K. Freelance Travel Writer.

For Walking and Trekking Holidays in Albania - Click here.

Finland, Forests of the Midnight Sun (Travellers Tales)

2011-08-16T08:49:00.000-07:00

"Just to say that the trip (Forests of the Midnight Sun) was beyond description wonderful in every way - fantastic leader, great group ..... and the scenery and saunas out of this world .

Plus your contribution of great pre-trip info, excellent organisation and all round friendliness was the best!

I think I may even have to do the winter trip!"

Charlotte A - August 2011

For Walking Holidays in Finland - Click here

Camino de Santiago - Bigger, better and more affordable too.

2011-08-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

For many years, the Camino deSantiago has been one of our most in demand walking holidays. Now, we've more choice than ever and lower prices too for this world famous pilgrimage.

We now have SIX Camino deSantiago routes for you to choose from. All routes lead to Santiago de Compostela, and all qualify for the official Pilgrim's Certficate.

As well as the perennial favourite and ever popular The French Way and our In-Style French Way Camino, you can experience "one of the world's great travel experiences" on the historic Original Way, the southern approach on The Via deLa Plata Way, The English Way, and arguably the most scenic, ThePortuguese Way.

We've designed all our Camino Walking Holidays so you can take advantage of the budget airline flights from the UK to Santiago de Compostela .

For more details, please check our website or contact our Camino deSantiago Specialists by email or call 0845 301 4737.

Walking Holiday in Albania (Travellers Tale)

2011-07-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

"Just a quick email to say that we had the most fantastic time in Albania - it's the best holiday we have ever been on! The guide was fantastic, and had a great sense of humour and spoke excellent English, so he joined in with all the banter of the group. The group all got on really well.

We loved the accommodation - the home-stay in Nderlysa was our favourite, and all the families were very friendly. The food was excellent.

We also loved Tirana, which was buzzing by night.

I'm sure we will be booking with Walks Worldwide again in the future."

Claire and Julian G. July 2011.

Walking holiday in Albania's Accursed Mountains - Click here

Slovakia: Projekt Medved

2011-06-26T02:41:00.000-07:00

Maria's collar was programmed to drop off on 18th May which it duly did so she is now free again. The GPS position showed it to be in an area of fallen trees. It was obvious that Maria had rested up here for a number of days - maybe she was relishing her new found freedom. Around the flattened rest site was a large quantity of dung full of grass. On closer inspection there were two types of dung. Now bear dung is not something that can really be confused with much else, it is big, very big, and bluish/black at this time of year. However on one side of the rest site there were some small piles. At first we thought that these were fox droppings, but on closer inspection they proved to be the dung of a baby bear! This cub must be much bigger and stronger than the one that died as Maria was moving very quickly through the terrain when she left her little one - in fact we thought that due to the speed she was moving she could not possibly have still had cubs. It was good news that the drop-off technology worked and great news to see that she still had a cub. Although we will not be receiving data from her any more, both us here at Projekt Medved' (Project Bear) and the TANAP head ranger were quietly pleased that she can go off in peace now. She has done her bit for science and has provided us with some very good data.

Galina, caught in May, has stayed around the settlements. She lives in an area that was devastated by the storm of 2004. With the removal of the timber, much of the energy was removed from the ecosystem and also the natural barriers to deer browsing trees were taken away so the area is characterised by stunted trees and bushes interspersed by grassy patches. Although not looking too pretty this vegetation is great cover for bears and wild boar. The patches of grass are perfect for bears to graze on and pigs to dig up in peace. Galina has passed by several communities but there is no concrete evidence that she has entered any of them. In fact the relatively large village of Gerlachov is given a very wide berth on all sides. Maybe this is due to her capture and a fear that she has developed, or maybe this is support for the argument that most of these bears are not entering the area specifically to raid bins but that they live there and occasionally enter village environments. The fact that all bears look big and brown would mean that even if a different bears entered the same village it might appear that there was one particularly persistent 'problem' bear - this would be possible if there was a relatively healthy population of bears in this area. We know, from camera traps, that there are definitely 4 in the immediate vicinity as Galina had two adult cubs which were chased away by an amorous male.

We think that Viktor has also been getting amorous with a couple of forays outside his regular area away from the grass slopes that he has been feeding on. Last week he was accused of killing six sheep. We proved his innocence using the position data. Apart from that he is leading the life of a very settled bear.

We have had two cracking bear sightings. One of a pair of bears, male and female, from about 150 metres. We watched them for about 45 mins and slowly walked closer until they ambled off into the forest. We also saw a mother and two cubs from about 50 metres - these were watched for about an hour and were totally oblivious to our presence. On recent tour we did not have that much luck in terms of close sightings but we still saw a total of 6 bears in two days; we saw a mother with three cubs high up on the slopes, a large male a long distance away and a cheeky adolescent quickly crossing one of the avalanche slopes about 200 metres away.

We have also seen hares, wild boar, red and roe deer, beavers, sousliks, an adder and, of course, plenty of birds in the past few weeks

- busy times!

For walking with bears holiday in Slovakia - Click here

Morocco - The Berber Trail (Travellers Tales)

2011-06-20T04:33:00.000-07:00

"We'd like to re-emphasise our feed-back and praise for our guide in the Atlas Mountains (on the Berber Trail ), Mohammed. Similar comments for Mohammed the muleteer ..... they were a friendly and sensitive combination.

Your inclusion and write-up of Dar Tassa was spot on - we found it enormously relaxing and welcoming......

We greatly liked Riad Daria (upgrade) in Marrakech - our regret is that we couldn't stay longer.

The drivers we had...were punctual, professional and patient - no scary moments on the roads at all. Good, spacious and clean vehicles too.

We were bowled over by Morocco and Moroccans and hope to return.....And thanks to those of you we had dealings with in (at Walks Worldwide) putting together an itinerary - and for your excellent itinerary for the trek."

Blaine & Sue S. June 2011.

For Walking and Trekking in Morocco - Click here

Walking with Bears in Slovakia - Trip Report by Mark Wright

2011-06-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

"We've arrived at the ranger's cottage deep in the Tatras for two days.

Accommodation is ok, an old wood cottage straight out of Red Riding Hood. Although facilities are pretty simple it's a real privilege to be allowed up here in the midst of nature in the park - Projekt Medved (project Bear) works with the national park authorities to allow a select few tourists to stay and visit and see wildlife. There are NO other tourists up here and we have the entire park ourselves.

It's our first day and we have struck lucky. Observing the avalanche slopes between stands of fir trees we spot a solitary brown bear high on the upper slopes. Binoculars and telescope at the ready, we are delighted to see that three young cubs are in hot pursuit of their mother. We watch with fascination for a few minutes until the four figures lumber and toddle away into the dwarf pine and are then lost from view.

We walk through incredible mountain landscapes for the rest of the day, but see no more bears. Plenty of evidence on the trail of bear activity, but no more sightings today.

Tomorrow we'll be out at 5am to look for more."

Walking with Bears in Slovakia - Trip Report by Mark Wright

2011-05-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

Maths homework in the Tatras

Offered by Walks Worldwide as the 'Walking with Bears trip', Mark Wright is in the Tatras with his son Joe on a recce trip for Families Worldwide:

"As I get deeper into this trip in Slovakia I realise the importance of Project Bear. Throughout Europe, bear-watching tourists are attracted to sit in hides and wait for sightings. Bears are attracted to the hides by food being regularly placed outside the hides. The ethics and wisdom of this is very questionable; bears that become accustomed to being fed can become dependent upon such food sources and seek out places with people and problems start as bears become more aggressive and are then shot by fearful humans.

This project, where tourism works hand in hand with national parks and a research project, allows bears to be seen in their natural habitat without the need for baiting.

The project is terribly underfunded. It needs help as tourism alone may not be able to provide enough support for this worthwhile cause."

Mark Wright
Families Worldwide

Greetings from Annapurna Sanctuary, Nepal (Traveller's Tale)

2011-03-30T05:24:00.000-07:00

"We four men have just returned from Nepal. The Annapurna Sanctuary trip was a great success, and thoroughly enjoyed by all. We had good fortune to have been allocated Krishna, an excellent guide and two great porters, between them the trek went without a problem, all of us maintained good health through out. The weather was perfect too, first few days were sunny, followed by snow which made the ascent to the base camp more enjoyable, with stunning panoramas, the last days were dry. Thank you for your assistance, in making this trip very memorable indeed."
Adrian C.

For Himalaya Trekking - Click here

Kilimanjaro, view from the top (Travellers Tales)

2011-03-03T06:48:00.000-08:00

"I thought I would send you an e-mail thanking you for all your efforts in helping me organise our trip to Kilimanjaro last week. We had a fantastic time trekking and then summiting the mountain, although I would describe it as a hard walk the views were absolutely stunning.

I would also like to commend all of the support staff who made our trip enjoyable from the cooks who preformed miracles on the mountain side, to the porters who did everything with a smile on their faces and the guides who were always happy to chat about anything and everything and also proved to be the difference in me making it up to the summit."

Paul R

"Just a short note to let you know what a great trip we all had to Kilimanjaro last week. Your local agent did an absolutely great job in looking after us all and guiding us to the summit. Everyone involved from the porters to the lead guides was genuinely friendly and professional in their help and support. In fact they couldn't do enough for us - from the guides who looked after us and took numerous photos for us along the way, to the porters who welcomed us into camp each evening with warm smiles and handshakes.

In addition to the overall organisation and management (a team of 47 people to look after a party of 12!), we were very impressed with the food provided which was well beyond what we expected to be provided on a mountaineering trip.

Many thanks to you for your help and in answering our all of our numerous questions prior to the trip. I would certainly recommend both Walks Worldwide to others that are planning an attempt on Kilimanjaro."

Jim S

For Walking and Trekking Holidays to Kilimanjaro - Click here

THE WAY- Camino de Santiago

2011-02-27T04:25:00.000-08:00

April 2011 sees the UK release of the movie "THE WAY" starring Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez and James Nesbitt.

THE WAY was filmed entirely on the Camino de Santiago as Martin Sheen embarks on his own personal pilgrimage. For more on the film THE WAY, click here

If you'd like to make your own personal pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, you can with Walks Worldwide. All routes lead to Santiago de Compostela. Choose from:

The classic French Way

The Camino Portuguese

or walk "In Style" to Santiago on our Camino In Style holiday

NEW- The Tour du Mont Blanc (Snippet)

2011-02-16T02:30:00.000-08:00

Walks Worldwide have just launched their brand new Tour du Mont Blanc self-guided walking holiday.

More affectionately known simply as the "TMB", this world famous, classic alpine circuit of Mont Blanc is an absolute "must do" for any lover of proper mountain walking.

For further details of this iconic walking holiday in the French Alps - click here.

Armenia reccy trip guaranteed to run! (Snippet)

2011-02-16T02:20:00.000-08:00

Our special "reccy" trip to Armenia-Beyond the Silk Road, is now not only guaranteed to run, availability is now limited.

So, if you're thinking of joining our very own Mark Knowles as we explore the mountains of Armenia for the very first time, don't hang around as there's only one departure this year.

For more about this unique adventure voted one of the best new 2011 trips by Wanderlust magazine, click here

Traveller's Tale: Jackie & Rob on the Berber Trail in Morroco

2011-01-26T01:57:00.000-08:00

"We have now been home about three days and wanted to drop you a line about our holiday with Walks Worldwide on the Berber Trail in Morocco.

We had the most wonderful time and can't speak highly enough about how well we were looked after.

Rashide our guide was fantastic and when we said goodbye to him in Tassa Ouirgane it was a sad parting. Rashide touched something in us both.
Sharing our week with him and his culture and his people was a very humbling,charming experience.
We loved the mule and Hassam the owner too.

We loved Marrakech and can't recommend the Lakahans (Riad Lakahana) highly enough they were so charming and the price was fab. We did the town real justice,did the lot, all the museums, gardens and the fun of the markets.
Once again thank you for a great experience and holiday."

Jackie & Rob Y. January 2011.

For Walking and Trekking Holidays in Morocco - Click here

Travellers Tales: Patagonia Adventure - December 2010

2011-01-25T01:53:00.000-08:00

"We are back from our holiday that you helped to organise for us and I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your help in making it such a success. Right from the start you helped us to make the right choice based on our itinerary and budget and provided a helpful and reliable contact up until departure, answering queries promptly and politely.

The holiday went very well in terms of its organisation despite the fact that we were the only British participants and needed individually tailored arrangements until we met up with the rest of our group in El Chalten. The local rep in Buenos Aires appeared promptly and explained all the arrangements which all went according to plan without a hitch. It was very reassuring to see a driver waiting for us at each airport, ready to transfer us to our hotel. We were able to relax and feel confident that everything was taken care of. The local agency and our tour leader, Virginia, were very efficient and organised a hasty change to the programme when a planned strike in Chile threatened to leave us stranded, unable to cross the border.

All in all we felt that we had received a very personal and individually tailored service, despite travelling as part of a group and booking with an international agency. We will certainly consider booking with Walks Worldwide again in the future based on this experience."

Cathy and Barrie D. Patagonia Adventure. December 2010 - January 2011.

For details of Trekking and Walking Holidays in Patagonia click here.

Traveller's Tale: Alan T about his recent "Gokyo Lakes and Everest" trek in Nepal

2010-12-16T01:20:00.000-08:00

"Just to let you know that my recent trip of Gokyo/Cho La Pass/ Everest Base Camp /Kala Pattar was an experience to remember and but I achieved all 3 objectives plus Base Camp, so I was very pleased!!
Your local agency in Nepal are very good and the support was excellent. In particular our guide Pasang Sherpa and porter Breekh Rai are outstanding individuals and should be commended for their support, help, patience and professional and friendly attitude."

Alan T. December 2010.

For walking and trekking holidays in Nepal - Click here

Traveller's Tale: John H comments on their Trip to Ethiopia

2010-12-13T06:01:00.000-08:00

"Just back, we had an awesome trip - thanks so much for arranging everything and helping with our last minute adjustments! The whole trip was most excellent - definitely "exceeded expectations"!

Also just wanted to put in a word for our guide "Tesh" if you have any say in it then we would all highly recommend that you try and get him for future tours you arrange - he was a really excellent guide - very relaxed, not pushy, knowledgeable, great English and generally looked after us most excellently! (the cook and sous chef were great too - no stomach problems at all)."

John H. December 2010. Ethiopia.

To learn more about our Walking and Trekking Holidays in Ethiopia - Click here.

Snippet: New Armenia reccy voted one of best new 2011 trips by Wanderlust

2010-11-30T06:30:00.000-08:00

The new Dec/Jan issue of Wanderlust magazine is hot off the press and Walks Worldwide are delighted to see that their Armenia-Beyond the Silk Road trek is included in Wanderlusts " Best new trips for 2011".

This is a special "reccy" trip to uncover the secrets and explore the trails and mountains of Armenia, in the shadow of might Mount Ararat with our very own Mark Knowles.

For more about this unique adventure click here.

Snippet: Don't miss this-German Wanderlust on TV

2010-11-25T05:24:00.000-08:00

Hikers favourite Julia Bradbury dons her walking boots once more in a new TV series "German Wanderlust", starting on BBC4 Dec 1st at 8.30pm.

During the series Julia discovers for herself the delights of walking in romantic Rhineland, the stunning Bavarian Alps and the secrets of Saxon Switzerland.

Better still, get in touch with your own German Wanderlust and go there for real with Walks Worldwide. It may be new for Julia, but not for us. We've been extolling the virtues of walking in Bavaria, Rhineland and Saxony for years.

"Vorsprung Durch Trekking" as we say here at Walks Worldwide.

For Walking and Trekking Holidays in Germany - Click here

Travellers Tales: Jeff and Val in Nepal

2010-11-17T05:50:00.000-08:00

"Just wanted you to know what a fantastic holiday we had in nepal..... our trek guide Namgel and porter Gopal were both brilliant and so was Sohan in Kathmandu..... after trek everything else also went like a dream.

Thanks for everything from two VERY happy trekkers."

Jeff and Val D. November 2010

For walking and trekking holidays in Nepal - click here.

Travellers Tale: Raiders of the Lost Kasbahs - Morocco

2010-10-13T08:30:00.000-07:00

“I didn’t know how I would really feel about Morocco as the Worldwide Walks photo’s showed a very extreme and barren landscape...what they didn’t portray was the warmth and hospitality of the Berbers who inhabit the region. Undoubtedly travelling on a well thought out route with a Berber support team, camping and staying in Berber run Gites exposed us to the local people and their culture in a way that would be hard to set up for yourself without prior experience of organising this sort of trip. I found this aspect of the holiday really rewarding and heart warming.

The food was excellent, beautifully presented and plentiful...the plumbing and sleeping arrangements were full of surprises...the walking was at times demanding as the ground was very rocky but the views, when you managed to look up, were exhilarating, the landscape breathtaking (literally in my case).

I loved the trip and was amazed how quickly I grew accustomed to seeing mules used in place of cars and the walking pace of mountain life. I want to thank everyone who I walked with, and who planned and organised it for making it such an enjoyable and eye-opening experience”

Raiders of the Lost Kasbahs, Kate M. October 2010.

For all Walking and Trekking Holidays in Morocco - Click here

Snippet: Nepal 2011 - Much more for much less

2010-10-01T06:04:00.000-07:00

Don't book your 2011 Nepal Himalayas trekking adventure until you've checked out the MASSIVE price reductions we've made for ALL our amazing treks to this welcoming and magical Himalayan country.

Not only that, we've MORE GROUP DEPARTURES than ever before and MORE NEPAL TREKS for 2011 than ever before too.

Snippets: Morocco's Jebel Sahro

2010-09-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

Escape to magic Marrakech and the edge of the Sahara any time over the winter on our new Sahro Winter Sun itinerary for just £435. Group or private departures.

Walking and Trekking Holidays in Morocco - Click here

Snippets: Late Availability Walking and Trekking Holidays

2010-06-13T06:45:00.000-07:00

Looking for a last-minute walking holiday? Chosen from our range of overseas walking and trekking holidays, we have selected a handful of our favourites to inspire you...

We Regularly update our Late Availability page... so please come back and check whenever you are looking for a quick getaway!

Travellers Tale: Albania....friendly Albania....beautiful Albania

2010-05-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

Mark Knowles report on the May 2010 reccy trip"I woke very early (I'll have a word with that cockerel later) in a seemingly utopic, very rural, very isolated verdant mountain valley. For a brief moment the steep, jagged mountains carpeted in dense, green woodland that towered impressively all around echoed with just the sound of silence. I was of course still half asleep, the family of the farmstead where I was staying were already busy (things start very early in Albania) in the kitchen preparing breakfast, their sheep were wandering around doing "sheep stuff", the turquoise coloured mountain river thundered in the distance and smoke was rising willowy from the chimneys of the couple of other wooden roofed houses that call this unspoiled valley home. And, there was the sound of my still happily snoozing, fellow intrepid trekkers"

Read Mark's full trip report here...

Travellers Tale: Trekking in Nepal - December 2009

2009-12-13T06:28:00.000-08:00

"I've just returned from one of the most fantastic holidays of my life. Every day in Nepal was different from seeing the various sites of Kathmandu, the Everest flight and the wonderful trek in the Annapurnas. The organisation was fantastic with someone to meet me at every stage of the trip, and my guides were knowledgable and friendly, both in Kathmandu and on the trek. I was particularly touched by the fact that my guide on the trek came back to meet me at the airport before i left Nepal and presented me with a gift. I have e-mailed Dharma Adventures in Kathmandu to thank them for their hospitality, and I would like to thank you both for all your advice prior to my trek, and for making all the arrangements for a wonderful trip." David A.

Trekking Holidays in Nepal - Click here

Why Choose Walks Worldwide?

2008-08-10T10:07:00.001-07:00

In the maze that is the travel world it is a relief to find a company who you can trust, who can offer an extremely personal yet professional service, who are experienced in the destinations and types of trips that they sell, will be honest in their suggestions and who go just that little bit further to make sure your holiday is a success from first contact to return home. We at Walks Worldwide strive to achieve all this and it would appear from the amount of repeat clients and referrals that we are succeeding! We tend to go that little bit further to make sure your holiday is a success from start to finish. Our familiarity with our own trips comes from personal experience so we can answer your questions and advise with in-depth knowledge. Walking holidays to exotic locations need careful research - at Walks Worldwide we are active walkers and guide clients to the most suitable trip whilst also assisting in technical matters such as equipment and clothing. Most importantly however we respond quickly and efficiently to all enquiries and take a genuinely enthusiastic interest in all our clients. Using a line from the introduction to our first brochure 'we offer a range of tours enabling you to enjoy our walks in the style with which you feel most comfortable', and therein lies the key: It is YOUR holiday. Having worked hard all year everyone deserves a good holiday thus we work hard all year to make that happen!