The Most Stunning & Challenging Treks In The World (PHOTOS)

Here at HuffPost Travel we believe firmly in the power of the outdoors (perhaps, in part, because we're city dwellers). Hiking is a favorite pastime of many: From grazing the sights of the Grand Canyon to walking the towns of Italy's coast, taking in an unknown area on foot is often the best way to discover its inner-workings.

Our friends at Lonely Planet had another idea, though, when they put together a list of the most challenging and awe-inspiring treks around the world. These aren't some simple day trips, though, these are classic treks for serious walkers that takes time to prepare.

Here is their list of the most amazing, scenic and memorable treks a person can take.

Captions courtesy of Lonely Planet.

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GR20, France

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This demanding 15- day, 104-mile slog through Corsica is legendary for the diversity of landscapes it traverses. There are forests, granite moonscapes, windswept craters, glacial lakes, torrents, peat bogs, maquis, snow-capped peaks, plains and névés (stretches of ice formed from snow).

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This demanding 15- day, 104-mile slog through Corsica is legendary for the diversity of landscapes it traverses. There are forests, granite moonscapes, windswept craters, glacial lakes, torrents, peat bogs, maquis, snow-capped peaks, plains and névés (stretches of ice formed from snow).

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Trek

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Fine Amazing!

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Comments

[Hans von Meister]

06:05 AM on 03/10/2011

This is awesome. Would like to knock these out one by one!

[SharonStephens]

02:37 PM on 02/25/2011

No list like this would be complete without highlighting the Kalalau Trail on the Napali Coast of Kauai, Hawaii. It is an unforgetable experience that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world.

[Ergon]

11:48 AM on 02/20/2011

Appalachian Trail

[SaulZ]

11:42 AM on 02/19/2011

Very nice list. Thank you for sharing. I think Milford Track, Fjordland National Park, New Zealand could have made top 25 list, if not this one.

[jdrower]

08:22 AM on 02/19/2011

GR-20 is an average 7-miles a day. How is that demanding?

[Fuddgate]

09:27 PM on 02/18/2011

I've been to Los Torres del Paine as well as The Annapurna Trek and the Everest Trek in Nepal. The high point on the Annapurna Trek is the Thorung La, a pass at 17,769'.

[ShadowLurker]

01:59 PM on 02/18/2011

Northern Nuristan Province, Afghanistan should be on the list. The most beautiful, treacherous, severely-restricted terrain on the planet. But gorgeous.

[josh e washie]

12:51 PM on 02/18/2011

What about the Appalachian Trail?!

[Checkpoint Charlie]

12:54 PM on 02/18/2011

and the PCT?

[InterstellarWar]

07:38 AM on 02/19/2011

and the CDT? :-D

[SaulZ]

11:38 AM on 02/19/2011

I have been to several Himalayan, Karakorum and Hindukush trails (northern Pakistan and China), but I agree, Appalachian Trail is one of the best. I have section hiked it since my boyhood. You make new friends hiking on it, meet wildlife (deer and black bears are very real and offer great photo shots), and can venture out to visit many nearby historical cities and towns. My only regrets are that a reintroduced population of Elks did not survive here and that despite many reported sightings of Cougars, no scientific evidence of its comeback has been provided yet.

[freshwrestler]

12:41 PM on 02/18/2011

Walking from Seattle to the Aleutians. Serious trekker are at this site. Beautiful photos and check out the video of them being charged by a coastal brown bear. Awesome. http://www.groundtruthtrekking.org/Journeys/WildCoast.html They would be worth an article on the HuffPo.

[ktpinnacle]

12:20 PM on 02/18/2011

One of the best lists here at Huffpo.

[chrisbode]

12:06 PM on 02/18/2011

Any article about the world's top treks must include "The Circuit" at Parque Nacional Torres del Paine in Chilean Patagonia. Eight days of huge Andean peaks and neon-blue glaciers in incredibly remote country. If the weather's good, it'll be the most glorious week of your life; if it's bad, it's VERY bad way down there, and could leave you with PTSD. =^) Quite the adventure...

[bella citta]

01:12 PM on 02/18/2011

Bravo! What's more, unlike the Inca trail these days, there is no requirement to have an accompanying guide and porters. Freedom!

[BrianMoreno21]

11:37 AM on 02/18/2011

If they put a mini mall or Dunkin Donuts on the top of one of these trails you might actually get people who need exercise and/or who need to get out to give it a try... The Inca Trail looks awesome, that i must do!

[chrisberge72]

12:12 PM on 02/18/2011

Let them have the fitness club.

[booboo111]

11:27 AM on 02/18/2011

Challenging? Try getting through the Khyber Pass without a small army. THAT'S a challenge.

[wingwitt]

11:20 AM on 02/18/2011

I find this whole thing curious, having first hiked the Long Trail in Vermont then the whole Appalachian Trail in 49 section hikes covering 2400 miles over a 19 year period, to me to single out some obscure locations in the world in my mind is a reach. You don't have go to Timbukto to meet a challenge. If you want just a short hike in the USA for something extra, try the side trail off of the Pacific Coast Trail to go over Mount Whitney, the highest mountain in contiguous USA which I have done. It is worth it!

[blogdai]

11:14 AM on 02/18/2011

Just getting to the start of the Everest base camp trek is more difficult than the trek itself, altitude not withstanding. Jiri to Lukla is a sweaty week of climb and descend through the middle hills of Solu. Ed Hillary must have been one tough dude.