Mountains

There seems to be no official definition of what constitutes a mountain, although we all recognise that they are higher than hills and mostly have a peak!  Using parameters of ‘height over base’ calculations, Asia is the world’s most mountainous continent with a cover of 64%, mountains cover 25% of Europe, 22% of South America, 17% of Australia and just 3% of Africa.

Created by plates under the surface of the Earth crashing together, mountains can be dated by the rock formations that lie deep within them.  The highest in the world is of course Mount Everest at 8,850m (29,035ft) which spans the border of Nepal and China. Not surprisingly the other nine of the top ten highest peaks are also in Nepal and Pakistan.  Many mountain treks are available around the world, including around the Himalaya, ask me for details.

Many mountains are extinct volcanoes and some are actually mostly buried in the Oceans, such as in the The Azores. On Hawaii’s ‘Big Island’ Mauna Kea would have been the tallest mountain in the world if you measured it from the base below the water making it a total of 33,476 feet!

In winter, mountain ranges offer a variety of winter sports including skiing, snowboarding, sledging and skating.  In the summer, particularly in The Alps and Pyrenees of Europe, there are many gorgeous hikes through flower covered slopes in Switzerland, Austria, France and Spain to name a few.

Africa’s tallest mountain, Kilimanjaro is a popular challenge to keen hikers.  Most routes up the mountain spend about five nights camping on the way, there are a few longer routes – the slower you go the better you acclimatise and this applies to any mountain climbs of course.  Elsewhere in Africa, mountain hikes can be enjoyed in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, the Drakensberg of South Africa and the little known Mulanje Massif in the south of Malawi.  Of course mountains are not always barren at the top – the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda and Congo are covered in thick forest and home to the endangered Mountain Gorilla.

The Americas are home to the Rocky Mountains which stretch down the spine of North America, hiding bears and pumas in their midst and the high Andes in South America. The Andes are great for adventurous treks and horse riding and meeting the native people of these high altitude plateaus.

If you want to take part in a mountain climb, ski down them or just look at them from below, contact me to put together the perfect itinerary taking the mountains of your choice …… Where in the world would you rather be?