Hiking can be a really fun and adventurous outdoor activities to do but at the same time, it can also be scary and dangerous at times. While there are many more dangerous outdoor sports and activities to do such as mountaineering, mountain biking and others, hiking can be considered as their weaker sibling.
It may involve just putting one foot after another but the location of hiking can totally add some risky element to it. There are many dangerous hiking locations in the world where people have to defy death to successfully complete the trail. Let’s look at the 7 most dangerous hikes in the world:
1. Huayna Picchu, Peru
The Inca Trail to Machu Picchu can be a very tough hike and reports a few causalities each year. But what is more dangerous is when you start hiking on the Huayna Picchu trail. This hike is also referred to as the ‘hike to death’ because the route comprises of a lot of rotting, slippery stones and exposed edges.
2. The Maze, Utah
This is the hiking trail where the movie 127 hours was shot and is an almost impossible hike to complete. It receives 2000 visitors every year and is full of dead end gullies.
3. Mount Hua Shan, China
This is yet another most dangerous hike in the world because it consists of vertical stairways and wooden platforms which have been bolted into the mountainside. Around 100 people die every year on this hike but even inspite of this fact, hikers from around the world visit it.
4. Kokoda Track
With slippery routes, ankle deep clay muck, a lot of mist and fog, and ofcourse some dangerous ground, this track is also on the list of the most dangerous hikes in the world. Every year, many causalities are reported from this area but this does not deter hikers from trying the risk out to defy death. The governments of the area have tried to bring many modern facilities to the trail to make it safer but it still remains pretty unsafe.
5. Drakensberg traverse, South Africa
According to a statistic, almost 55 people had died before 1985 on this track and this fact alone makes this hike a chilling picture to imagine. This hike consists of two rickety chain ladders leading to a ridge where many types of animal tracks make the trail.
6. Cascade Saddle, New Zealand
This is an 11 mile hike between beech forest and alpine meadows and is a dangerous hike which has taken many lives. It may have stunning views but the slippery ground hardly allows trekkers to take a look anywhere else.
7. Aonach Eagach Ridge, Scotland
This is a 4 mile route with stunning snowcapped mountains and some of the best views of the country. The hike has a knife edge trail with grassy and steep slopes on both the sides. There are also no shortcuts to take in case the weather turns bad, which happens often.
