Get lost on these awe-inspiring hiking trails from across the globe
- Text by Briony Cartmell
- Photography by Lead image by Philipp Zieger // Wanderlust

Paths are formed by continual treading. When you follow a trail you’re contributing to the preservation of history; echoing the human urge to journey, to explore, and to look.
Between juggling the many pressures of modern life and navigating career paths, taking to the tracks is a powerful tool in breaking life down to its simplest form of orientation. Placing one foot in front of the other puts you, the walker, firmly in control of your chosen destiny.

Photo by Sanne Boertien and Herbert Schröer
Spiritual value does not lie in the destination, but in the experience of the journey itself. Deciding to walk is the antithesis to spending dead time in traffic or suffering a stuffy underground commute, allowing us to carve a route to mindfulness and stay conscious to sensations of the outdoors.
In Wanderlust: Hiking on Legendary Trails, published by Gestalten, contributors capture the diversity of the world’s landscapes, following routes that span from the traditional trade routes of China to mule paths, frozen rivers and dirt roads.

Photo by Quing Yu

Photo by Abhimanyu Bose
“The true beauty of trails is that they do not only exist in the world’s most spectacularly scenic places, the places fit for large-format glossy books of photography; they exist everywhere,” suggests Robert Moor, author of On Trails: An Exploration in this book’s foreword.
While Wanderlust includes helpful tips and route maps for those looking to sleep under the stars, Moor also sees the book as “a compendium of dream walks, some to be walked in our waking life, others to be walked only in the imagination.”
Whether you choose to live vicariously through these global portraits, or your crampons are waiting by the door, everyone can serve to be reminded to connect to the world around them.

Photo by Viktor Posnov

Photo by Jakub Polomski

Photo by Ashley Hill

Photo by Howard Brown

Photo by Jessica Craven

Photo by Karin Eibenberger
Wanderlust: Hiking on Legendary Trails is published by Gestalten.
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
You might like

As Kneecap and Bob Vylan face outcry, who really deserves to see justice?
Street Justice — Standing in for regular newsletter columnist Emma Garland, Huck’s Hard Feelings host Rob Kazandjian reflects on splatters of strange catharsis in sport and culture, while urging that the bigger picture remains at the forefront of people’s minds.
Written by: Robert Kazandjian

Alex Kazemi’s Y2K period novel reminds us that the manosphere is nothing new
New Millennium Boyz — Replete with MTV and endless band t-shirt references, the book follows three teenage boys living in 1999 USA as they descend into a pit of darkness. We spoke to its author about masculinity, the accelerated aging of teenagers, and the rebirth of subcultures in the algorithm age.
Written by: Isaac Muk

In photos: The people of Glastonbury’s queer heart The NYC Downlow
Elation and family — Once a year, a meatpacking warehouse nightclub springs up in Glastonbury’s South East corner and becomes a site of pilgrimage for the festival’s LGBTQ+ scene. We met the people who make The NYC Downlow so special.
Written by: Isaac Muk

Inside the weird world of audio porn
Porn without pictures — Storyline-driven and ethical, imageless erotica exploded during the pandemic. Jess Thomson speaks to the creators behind the microphones.
Written by: Jess Thomson

Coming of age in New York’s ’70s punk heyday
I Feel Famous — Through photographs, club flyers and handwritten diary entries, Angela Jaeger’s new monograph revisits the birth of the city’s underground scene, while capturing its DIY, anti-establishment spirit.
Written by: Miss Rosen

We are all Mia Khalifa
How humour, therapy and community help Huck's latest cover star control her narrative.
Written by: Alya Mooro