Mountains and great volcanoes

The towering, oft-smoking Klyuchevskaya Sopka is the Northern Hemisphere's tallest active volcano (4,750 m). You might therefore expect the nearby village of Klyuchi to be at least slightly geared towards tourism. Not so. This collection of wooden cottages and dirt lanes is situated inside a closed area requiring a permit to enter and has not a single hotel, although a vulcanologist who has lived and worked here for over 35 years has a couple of dormitory rooms he rents out to the odd traveller that passes through. From the village there is a track leading to a vulcanologists' cabin at the base of the volcano. In winter you will probably need skis or a snowmobile to reach it though and in summer there are lots of bears in the area, so watch out! One bus a day makes the ten-hour journey to Klyuchi from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky along a road that starts off as low quality asphalt before petering out into a dirt track. On the way there is a river with no bridge: in winter the bus drives across the ice, in summer there is a ferry and for a while in spring and autumn neither bus nor ferry can cross!

The highest point in Spain is actually not on the mainland, but on the island of Tenerife. Here the volcano Teide rises 3,718 m into the sky and is visible from all over the island - if the weather permits. Though Mt Teide last erupted in 1909, it's still active and minor earthquakes do happen. There are several roads leading up the volcano and it's possible to drive all the way up to 2,356 m, where a cable car can bring you further up to the upper station at 3,555 m (tickets can be prebooked online). The last 163 m you need to hike on foot (remember to book a hiking permit online). A large part of the volcano is a natural park and an UNESCO World Heritage Site, and offer some great hiking opportunities through the volcanic moonscape. Even if you don't want to hike, a road trip across the volcano will still give you amazing sights of the snow covered peak of Teide, along with other odd rock formations, in addition to panoramic views over the rest of Tenerife and the neighbouring Canary Islands.

Irregardless of religious allegiances, nearly everyone has heard of the story of Noah. Told by God to expect some rain, he built a massive ark to save two of every animal. Eventually, as the waters subsided, the ark came to rest on dry land. Today, many theologians believe that the ark came to rest on the slopes of Mount Ararat in Eastern Turkey. Quite a sight for the religiously inclined. However, the mountains has plenty to offers others. Climbing Mt. Ararat is quite popular in the summer months, although it has to be done as a tour due to he number of permits required. And for those not wanting to exert themselves, the snowcapped mountains seemingly erupting for the valley floor is wonderfully photogenic. Ararat has something for everyone.

Snowdon means Snow Mountain, therefor the lack of Mt infront of the name. It's the highest mountain in Wales and the highest mountain in UK south of the Scottish Highlands. There are two ways to scale Snowdon; either take the scenic train from Llaberis all the way to the summit (who says cheating?) or hiking along one of the six trails leading to the summit. The most popular trail is the Llaberis, starting from the train station in Llaberis. It normally takes 3-4 hours one way, but can be done in 2.5 hours (one way) if you set a good pace.

This mountain is one of the seven summits, the highest mountains of each continent. With an altitude of 6,194 m (20,320 ft), it is one of the most difficult ones to climb because of its altitude gain (for Mt. Everest, the base of the mountain is much higher) and the cold weather. There is some dispute about its name, officially called Mount McKinley, but locally known as Mount Denali. This disagreement is purely political. You don't have to climb this mountain to enjoy it. If the weather is clear you can see this mountain from Anchorage and it stays pretty much all the time in sight when you travel up North on Highway 3.

The highest mountain in Indochina (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) might seem as a easy trekking peak due to the not so impressive height of only 3,143 m, but don't be fooled. The are several routes to the top, but every track is difficult and involves a overnight stay unless you do commando raid (record is around 10 hours up and down from Heavens Gate at 1,949 m). A lot of scrambling on slippery rocks and zigzagging through dense bamboo forest is the norm, and expect bitterly cold and wet nights. To get the full experience, it's highly recommended to descend on the southeast side into the Sapa valley over multiples days. Coming down from the top covered in dense forest and trekking into the farmed valley with rice terraces and villages is a rewarding finish.
Since the beginning of 2016 you can just take the almost 6.3 km long cable car straight from Sapa.