Carlos, Author at Walkaholic

Bergen hiking: The ultimate guide for the Seven Hills city

This Bergen hiking guide aims to be a reference with all you need to know for a great experience around Bergen. Although not the only city based around 7 hills, as you can see here, this is a very special place. A charming city, due to it’s long history, mainly related to trading and fishing. Nowadays, it’s one of the most touristic places in Norway. It’s a starting point for people who come to visit the fjords. Concretely, the 3rd longest fjord on earth, Sognefjord, is a few kilometers North from there, and is 204km long.

However, we are not going to talk about fjords this time, but about the hills of Bergen. The city was settled in a valley, surrounded by seven hills, and hiking is because of that a very common activity in the area. Probably because Norwegians are really into nature activities too.

The Seven Hills of Bergen

Although Bergen is commonly named “the city among the seven mountains”, though a bit wrongly. There are actually 9 mountains over there, which are named:

Ulriken (643m)
Fløyen (425m)
Løvstakken (477m)
Damsgårdsfjellet (284m)
Lyderhorn (396m)
Sandviksfjellet (392m)
Blåmanen (554m)
Rundemanen (568m)
Askøyfjellet or Kolbeinsvarden (231m)

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Annapurna Trekking, still a challenging experience

During the last winter I accomplished one of my childhood’s dream. See the Himalayas and do an Annapurna Trekking or an Everest Trekking.

Why did I pick the Annapurna Massif as my first adventure in the Himalayas? Easy, I got to talk with several people while on my Eastern Asian trip and all of them agreed that it was the best choice as a first contact with the Himalayas. Basically, because it has several options.

Some people go to Poon Hill, which is the easier trek. Others do the Annapurna Base Camp or the Annapurna Circuit, which are harder and take longer. And then, there are who do them all, Poon Hill, Annapurna Base Camp and the Annapurna Circuit.

I wanted a challenge, not just to see the roof of the world. But I wasn’t so sure I’d be able to make it to the end. That was my biggest fear before I finally decided to do this trekking. Happily, I ended up sleeping at the house of a trekking guide in Kathmandu. Thanks to CouchSurfing. I didn’t know he was a guide though, since he didn’t say anything about it in his profile. Continue reading Annapurna Trekking, still a challenging experience

Camí de Ronda, the longest trekking of the Costa Brava

During the past easter of 2017, I did with a friend of mine El Camí de Ronda (Catalan) or El Camino de Ronda (Spanish). It was a 5 days trek through the Costa Brava (Girona), to one of the most famous trekking routes of the Mediterranean.

This coastal path got formed during the 19th century, due to small footprints through the cliffs. But during the 20th century, it was used by the Guardia Civil (Spanish military forces) to prevent smuggling. Nowadays, this beautiful trekking route, has only leisure purposes. You can either walk it by parts or in a row.

You can start the trekking route at the North of the Girona province, in Portbou, and go until the South of the Tarragona Province, in Ulldecona. Apparently it actually goes all the way down to Malaga, in Andalusia. The difference between regions is big, and the worst one is the part of the Valencian Community, which is not signposted at all. The length of the whole route of El Cami de Ronda through Catalonia is 583 kilometers, and you could check the itinerary of the Catalan path here.

Between Llançà and Port de la Selva (Cami de Ronda) / Picture by Teresa Grau Ros https://www.flickr.com/photos/teresa_grau_ros/15401298963

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Kawah Ijen and it’s unexpected wonder the sulfur mines

When I first heard about Crater Ijen, or Kawah Ijen as Indonesians call it, I was going from the volcano Mount Bromo to Probolinggo, and then I was going to head to Banyuwangi, the nearest city to Kawah Ijen. Before going to Banyuwangi, I only knew that there was a volcano close to the town, but I did not know what was I going to see over there.

The first thing that the people I met in Mount Bromo told me, was that there were sulfur mines in the crater, that did not surprise me, since I had been in Japan during the previous months to my trip in Indonesia, and that was pretty common to see, although not the mines.

But what astonished me the most was when they told me that you could see blue flames at night, coming out of the sulfur mines. That really blew my mind! I was imagining the blue fire I had seen tons of times when I cooked at home with gas or when I prepared a barbecue with my friends, but I could not imagine to see that in a bigger scale. However, there were other facts that would make my hike to Kawah Ijen a deeper experience.

Continue reading Kawah Ijen and it’s unexpected wonder the sulfur mines

Mount Bromo sunrise and the Sea of Sand

It has an altitude of 2.329m and despite not being the tallest peak of the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, this famous volcano has attracted many tourists to Java, Indonesia since long time ago. Specially for the Mount Bromo sunrise, the biggest attraction. The native name is not Mount Bromo, but Gunung Bromo, and it comes from the Javanese translation of the Hindu God of Creation, Brahma.

How to get there

To arrive to Mount Bromo you will first have to reach Probolinggo, a city 45 kilometers away from the volcano. Continue reading Mount Bromo sunrise and the Sea of Sand