Mountain Bucket List

Abandoned flying-saucer monument on a Balkan mountaintop.

One of the world's highest active volcanoes.

Colonial silver city beneath the "rich hill" that bankrolled an empire.

Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse – High Alpine Road – Thirty-six hairpins climb to 2,500 m beneath Austria’s highest peak, with a view straight down the Pasterze glacier.

Climb to 5,036 m for Vinicunca's striped mineral slopes — a mountain painted in seven colours

Lonely 14th-century church beneath Mount Kazbek — Georgia’s most photographed view.

Cloud-forest valley studded with 60-metre wax palms, the world’s tallest.

Hike between medieval tower villages under the highest peaks of the Caucasus.

Korea’s most dramatic mountains — granite spires, the Ulsanbawi ridge and a cable car — blazing red in autumn.

Four 18-metre presidential faces carved into a Black Hills granite cliff — best seen at the evening lighting ceremony.

Explore Xinjiang, a vast autonomous region in northwest China known for its dramatic landscapes and diverse cultures. Trek through the Tianshan Mountains (home to the stunning Heavenly Lake and glaciers), visit the ancient city of Kashgar (with its Sunday livestock market and 1,000-year-old Id Kah Mosque), see the Flaming Mountains and Turpan Depression (one of the hottest places in China, famous for grapes and the Karez irrigation system), and discover the remote Altai Mountains and Kanas Lake (legendary for its mysterious lake monster and pristine forests).

Explore rugged peaks, glaciers, alpine lakes, and wilderness trails in North Cascades National Park.

See glaciers, wildflower meadows, forests, waterfalls, and Mount Rainier's volcanic peak.

Explore alpine lakes, high mountain roads, tundra, forests, and wildlife in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Undertake a spiritual pilgrimage to Mount Kailash (6,638m) and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet. Circumambulate the sacred mountain (52km kora) revered in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Bon, and take a ritual bath in the pristine lake (4,590m altitude) believed to cleanse sins. Visit nearby sites like Tarboche (flagpole for annual Saga Dawa festival) and Chiu Monastery (offering panoramic views of the region).

Visit Chamonix, a famous mountain resort town in the French Alps, known for skiing, hiking, and views of Mont Blanc.

Visit El Chalten, a small town in Argentina known as the trekking capital of South America, located near Mount Fitz Roy in Patagonia.

Visit Glencoe, a historic and dramatic valley in the Scottish Highlands. See the Three Sisters of Glencoe (three steep ridges formed by ancient volcanic activity), explore the Glencoe Visitor Centre (with exhibits on geology, wildlife, and the 1692 Massacre of Glencoe), hike the Lost Valley trail (a hidden glacial valley where Clan MacDonald hid cattle), and drive through the scenic A82 road with views of Buachaille Etive Mor mountain.

Summit Puncak Jaya, the highest peak in Indonesia and Oceania at 4,884 meters.

Summit Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica at 4,892 meters.

Summit Denali (Mount McKinley), the highest peak in North America at 6,190m in Alaska.

Climb the Matterhorn’s perfect pyramid — 4,478 m of mountaineering legend on the Italy–Switzerland line

Summit Spain's highest mainland peak (3,479m) in Sierra Nevada

Climb Europe's highest peak (5,642m) in Russia's Caucasus Mountains

Summit the Middle East's highest volcano (5,610m) in Iran

Climb New Zealand's highest peak (3,724m) in the Southern Alps

Climb Mexico's highest peak (5,636m) and North America's highest volcano

Yuichiro Miura skis eight thousand feet down the Lhotse Face on a parachute, and does not entirely stop.

Joe Simpson crawls down Siula Grande with a broken leg after his partner cuts the rope.