Green and cool – quirky hiking ideas by Green Pearls
“ A good traveler leaves no track.” (Laozi, Chinese Philosopher)
When we walk we don’t produce any CO2 – the only thing we leave behind are our footprints. More and more travelers enjoy the outdoors in their free time: taking deep breaths, relaxing their minds and escaping the daily routine.
For those of us who need some inspiration, Green Pearls has combined some fresh ideas with classic routes to turn walking tours into amazing experiences.
With these five ideas you will want to go grab your hiking boots and get going!
Finding treasures with a „Herb Fairy“
Our Mountain Hotel Rehlegg in the Alpine National Park near Berchtesgarden in Germany offers such an impressive choice of summits and routes that many guests are lost without the personal recommendations from the host family Lichtmanegger. If you have just returned from a challenging day tour, maybe to the majestic Watzmann peak, and feel like taking it a little slower the next day, host Stephanie will book you on the moderate but enchanting Herbal Walk. The hotel’s very own „herb fairy“ Doris, will take guests to the hayfields and show them the region’s wild herbs and flowers. We recommend an „Alpine Meadow“ treatment in the evening, for example the one combining harmonizing lavender with purifying yarrow, to give you a sense for the healing effect that many of those plants have.
Birdwatching and Culture
There’s one thing that most visitors of Aguas Calientes in Peru want to do: walk the Inca Trail up to the magical ruin site of Machu Picchu. Many people do not realise that the rich forests of the Urubamba Valley have much more to offer than just culture. The team at our Inkaterra Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel attracts its guests with elaborate excursions that explore the Andean Cloud Forest. The bird watching tours with an on-site biologist are especially popular: The rich colours of the hummingbirds, quetzals, toucans, parakeets and swifts and their beautiful songs reveal that nature holds some very precious treasures.
Roller skate to the Ligurian Sea
Elena, our host at the green Relais del Maro in Liguria enjoys to chat to her guests and is famous for her personalized recommendations. If she learns that some skating enthusiasts are staying with her she reveals a secret tip: skaters can roll from San Lorenzo al Mare to San Remo along a former railway track. And the best thing about it? Almost the entire 24 kilometres are flat (rather a rarity in Liguria). The trail has been especially developed for skaters, cyclists and pedestrians. It runs past little beaches and pretty coastal villages. In San Lorenzo and on many other stops along the road you’ll conveniently find rollerblade rental locations and, by the way, you can totally cheat on the way back and jump on the bus…
Sneak-walking in the Kenyan Savannah
If your accommodation is situated in the middle of a wildlife sanctuary, any outdoor activities must be carefully planned, just like they are at our eco-Lodge The Sleeping Warrior in the Soysambu Conservancy in Kenya. In the hilly volcanic landscape surrounding the lodge with its impressive lakes, nature walks are escorted by well-trained nature guides who sensitize their visitors to the exceptional encounters with rare animal species in their natural habitat. Valerie, the host, says that her guides often have to remind their guests that they can in fact walk normally instead of tiptoeing through the savannah. But if all of a sudden thousands of flamingos land at the shores of the Elmenteita Lake while you are out walking, a white pelican struts past or maybe even one of the endangered Rothschild giraffes is spotted, pure awe for the wonders of nature is endless and you automatically want to become invisible.
Milking cows and alpine sleep-overs
Some kids are simply not made for walking – but our Family Country House Hotel Stern near the Mieming in Tyrol has the prefect remedy: after detailed planning with the local boy scouts, hotel owner René, mountain guide Petra and Golden Retriever Zara take their smallest guests (6 years and older) and their parents for a walk to the Marienbergalm and prepare for an exciting night under the stars. The kids learn how to build a fireplace, make up a wood fire stock and put up their tents – so exciting! After a delicious dinner of roasted potatoes, sausages and veggies it’s story time by the cosy fireplace. The next day starts with a healthy breakfast on the alp: the little explorers can taste milk that they milked from the cows earlier – well, at least the early birds who managed to get out of their snuggly sleeping bags by 5:30 in the morning… With such a wonderful program those little legs will manage the three hour walk back easily. Right?
