10 of the best long-distance trails for hikers around the world

By Jack Davidson, for CNN
6 minute read
Updated 3:04 AM EST, Mon January 12, 2015
Highlights along the 3,510-kilometer Appalachian Trail include a section through North America's most diverse forest.
The Appalachian (U.S.) —
Highlights along the 3,510-kilometer Appalachian Trail include a section through North America's most diverse forest.
Courtesy of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Featuring 240-million-year-old rocks, the South West Coast Path's prehistoric UK cliffs feature spectacular formations like Durdle Door and Ladram Bay.
The South West Coast Path (UK) —
Featuring 240-million-year-old rocks, the South West Coast Path's prehistoric UK cliffs feature spectacular formations like Durdle Door and Ladram Bay.
Michael Fouracre
Tramping the length of Te Araroa, as the Kiwis would say, from the gentle bays of Queen Charlotte to the volcanic Mount Tongariro, takes at least three months.
Te Araroa (New Zealand) —
Tramping the length of Te Araroa, as the Kiwis would say, from the gentle bays of Queen Charlotte to the volcanic Mount Tongariro, takes at least three months.
Ben Curran
Spanning 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Rocky Mountain spine of North America, the Continental Divide Trail takes hikers across arduous but spectacular terrain.
Continental Divide Trail (U.S.) —
Spanning 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Rocky Mountain spine of North America, the Continental Divide Trail takes hikers across arduous but spectacular terrain.
Tom Gathman
Africa's Baker Historical Trail is a collection of shorter trails, historic wagon roads and swathes of wilderness to pioneer.
Baker Historical Trail (Sudan-Uganda) —
Africa's Baker Historical Trail is a collection of shorter trails, historic wagon roads and swathes of wilderness to pioneer.
Julian Monroe Fisher
The isolation and scarcity of water over long sections of the Oregon Desert Trail pose a serious challenge for hikers.
Oregon Desert Trail (U.S.) —
The isolation and scarcity of water over long sections of the Oregon Desert Trail pose a serious challenge for hikers.
Brent Fenty/Oregon Natural Desert Association
Stretching 3,830 miles, the Grand Italian Trail was forged in 1995 during the first Walk Italy. The route runs through the majestic Dolomites and rich Tuscan vineyards to the jaw-dropping Amalfi Coast.
Grand Italian Trail (Italy) —
Stretching 3,830 miles, the Grand Italian Trail was forged in 1995 during the first Walk Italy. The route runs through the majestic Dolomites and rich Tuscan vineyards to the jaw-dropping Amalfi Coast.
Gino Cianci Fototeca/ENIT
The high route on the Great Himalayan Trail it peaks at a breathless 6,146 meters (20,164 feet).
Great Himalayan Trail (Nepal) —
The high route on the Great Himalayan Trail it peaks at a breathless 6,146 meters (20,164 feet).
Great Himalaya Trail
Japan's northernmost island is roughly the size of Austria. A complete tour of the Hokkaido Nature Trail takes seven months and is best divided by either side of winter.
Hokkaido Nature Trail (Japan) —
Japan's northernmost island is roughly the size of Austria. A complete tour of the Hokkaido Nature Trail takes seven months and is best divided by either side of winter.
Walk Japan Limited
This cross-Panama route takes hikers from Colombia to Costa Rica, and promises encounters with remote indigenous tribes like the Kuna and Embera.
Trans Panama Trail (Panama) —
This cross-Panama route takes hikers from Colombia to Costa Rica, and promises encounters with remote indigenous tribes like the Kuna and Embera.
Puerto Coquira
10 of the world's most amazing long-distance trails

Story highlights

At 4,500 kilometers, Nepal's Great Himalayan Trail is the longest and highest mountain trail in the world

The Grand Italian Trail takes considerable planning and roughly eight months to complete

Only 150 people attempt to thru-hike the Continental Divide Trail each year

CNN  — 

Long distance trails inspire contradictory tales of solitude and camaraderie, deserted river beds and mountain plateaus, pleasure and pain.

The idea of covering thousands of miles on foot is itself barely believable. Perhaps that’s what makes these adventures so memorable.

Cheryl Strayed’s memoir of her 1,000-mile trek along the U.S. Pacific Crest Trail was so enthralling it made it to Hollywood.

“Wild,” a film based on her account and starring Reese Witherspoon, was one of the most talked about releases at the end of 2014, with Witherspoon even nominated for a best actress award at the 2015 Golden Globes.

If you’d like a piece of that action, or simply crave dehydrated food, days without washing and multiple, life-threatening encounters, then here are 10 other epic hikes ripe for big screen treatment.

Who would play you?

1. The Appalachian (United States)

Distance: 3,510 kilometers (2,180 miles)

The Appalachian is the grand dame of long-distance trails.

One third of North America’s holy hiking trinity, the Triple Crown – the others being the Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails – it’s the most iconic, famed for its “thru hikers” who attempt to complete it in a single season.

Its 5 million steps follow the Appalachian Mountains from Mount Springer, Georgia, to Mount Katahdin, Maine.

The range was once a natural border to the 13 colonies held by powerful Native American tribes like the Iroquois and Cherokee, before independence gave rise to westward expansion.

Among the highlights: the idyllic, overgrown tracks through Great Smokey Mountains National Park in North Carolina, North America’s most diverse forest.

More information at: Appalachiantrail.org