Some journeys are famous for their length as much as their scenery: a 450-kilometre mountain trail in Swedish Lapland, a footpath through 14 American states, a road from Chicago to the Pacific and a river that carries a fifth of the world's river water to the sea. Here are seven great journeys on four continents, with the facts you need to plan a section of each.

Historic Route 66 sign beside a road beneath a colourful sunset
Historic Route 66 sign beside a road beneath a colourful sunset.

1. Kungsleden, Sweden: the King's Trail

The Swedish Tourist Association’s Kungsleden guide describes a trail of just over 450 kilometres between Abisko and Hemavan in northern Sweden. It passes through four national parks, Abisko, Stora Sjöfallet, Sarek and Pieljekaise, and is well marked, with bridges over the difficult river crossings.

A mountain path and broad valley on the Kungsleden trail in Swedish Lapland
A mountain path and broad valley on the Kungsleden trail.

The trail divides naturally into five sections: Abisko–Nikkaluokta, Nikkaluokta–Saltoluokta, Saltoluokta–Kvikkjokk, Kvikkjokk–Ammarnäs and Ammarnäs–Hemavan. STF runs 16 mountain huts spaced 10 to 20 km apart, plus mountain stations at Abisko and Kebnekaise. The one gap is between Kvikkjokk and Ammarnäs, where there are no STF huts, only limited other accommodation, so plan that stretch with extra care.

2. Appalachian Trail, United States

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy gives the trail's length as 2,197.9 miles (about 3,537 km), from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine's Baxter State Park, through 14 states. Virginia has the longest share, 557 miles.

Appalachian Trail, United States

More than 3,000 people attempt a thru-hike each year and about one in three finish; most start in Georgia in spring and reach Maine in autumn, taking around six months. Hundreds of access points and more than 250 three-sided shelters make the trail just as good for a day walk or a weekend backpacking trip. Our hiking guide covers the benefits of time on the trail.

3. Route 66, United States: the Mother Road

US Route 66 was established on 11 November 1926 and ran 2,448 miles (3,940 km) from Chicago to Santa Monica through eight states: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. John Steinbeck called it "the Mother Road" in The Grapes of Wrath (1939). It was removed from the US Highway System in 1985, but long stretches survive.

Route 66, United States

More than 250 buildings, bridges, road alignments and other sites along the route are on the National Register of Historic Places, and the National Park Service travel itinerary highlights over 100 of them, from historic motels and filling stations to cafés and neon signs. Our road-trip planning guide helps with the packing.

4. The Amazon, South America

The Amazon carries more water than any other river, about 20 percent of all river water reaching the oceans, and its basin covers some 7 million km², roughly 40 percent of South America. It rises in the Peruvian Andes and runs about 6,400 km to the Atlantic in Brazil. No bridge spans it, so river boats are still the main way to travel.

The Amazon, South America

The two great river ports are Manaus in Brazil, about 1,500 km upstream, and Iquitos in Peru, some 3,600 km from the sea and still reachable by smaller ocean-going ships. The river guide explains the wider geography, and Iquitos is the classic Peruvian gateway for lodge stays and river cruises.

5. The Great Wall of China

China's 2012 national survey measured the remains of the Great Wall system at 21,196 km, including walls, trenches and passes built from the 7th century BC onward. The best-known brick and stone stretches are Ming dynasty work (1368–1644), and the Wall became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

The Great Wall of China

Near Beijing, Badaling was the first section opened to visitors and drew nearly 10 million people in 2018, so a daily cap of 65,000 now applies. Mutianyu offers about 2.25 km of restored wall along steep ridges, while Jinshanling runs for about 11 km with 67 watchtowers. Unrestored Simatai, above a gorge, shows the Wall in its raw state.

6. The Inca Trail, Peru

The Classic Inca Trail covers 42 km from Km 82 (Piskakuchu, about 2,600 m) to Machu Picchu. It climbs to 4,215 m at Dead Woman's Pass (Warmi Wañusqa) and passes the Inca sites of Runkuraqay, Sayaqmarka, Phuyupatamarka and Wiñay Wayna before the final steps up to the Sun Gate, Inti Punku, where Machu Picchu appears below.

The Inca Trail, Peru

The trail is part of the Qhapaq Ñan, the Inca road network listed by UNESCO in 2014. Only 500 people a day may start it, around 200 of them trekkers and the rest guides and porters; advance permits are required. Plan around February, when the trail closes for maintenance.

7. The Skeleton Coast, Namibia

Namibia's Skeleton Coast runs for about 500 km along the Atlantic edge of the Namib Desert. The cold Benguela Current brings dense fog for much of the year, rain rarely tops 10 mm annually, and the heavy surf has wrecked hundreds of ships, among them the Eduard Bohlen and the Dunedin Star, whose 106 passengers and crew were all rescued after she ran aground in 1942.

Skeleton Coast, Namibia

The name comes from the whale and seal bones that once littered the beaches and from those wrecks; it was popularised by John Henry Marsh's 1944 book on the Dunedin Star. Inland, the land changes from gravel plains in the south to high dunes north of Terrace Bay, and fog-fed succulents support a surprising desert food chain.

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