Travel Tips: My Top Five Mountain Destinations

In this Travel Tips series, I've already written about my favourite cities, nature destinations and beaches, among other topics. And today I'm going to be writing about another of my favourite types of travel destinations: mountains. I really enjoy trekking in the mountains and enjoying dramatic panoramic views - perhaps that comes from having previously lived in both the Alps and the Andes. In any case, spending time in mountainous places definitely makes a nice change from my current, relatively-flat base in the south of England.

Here are five of my favourite mountain ranges I've been to so far!

The Andes

The Andes are a vast mountain range that cover the entire length of the western side of South America, passing through Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. I spent several months surrounded by these amazing peaks when I lived in Chile in 2018, and I'm looking forward to seeing them again when I move back there in the coming weeks! The most memorable Andean destinations that I've visited so far in Chile include Cerro Manquehue, Cajón del Maipo, the Maule region (pictured above), and the Altiplano. I also saw some incredible views in the Mendoza province of Argentina.

Read more here and here!

The Alps

The Alps are the most famous mountain range in Europe, and can be found in eight countries: France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Monaco. Many tourists visit the region every year to hike, ski and relax next to its many picturesque lakes, such as the Wolfgangsee (pictured above). I lived in the Alps from 2017-2018, when I worked at two schools in the south of Austria, and I really enjoyed seeing different Alpine towns, cities and villages around the local area and beyond.

Read more here and here!

The Dinaric Alps

Image by Luciann Photography from pexels.com

One of my favourite family holidays was when we stayed in Slano in Croatia in 2012, and visited Dubrovnik (pictured above), and also Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. All three of these destinations are located in the Dinaric Alps, or Dinarides, a mountain range that spreads across southeastern Europe. It's a very beautiful part of the world, and I have great memories of swimming at the beach next to the hotel, which was located in a bay surrounded by mountains.

The Tatra Mountains

I had a very memorable time teaching English at a hotel in Poland in the summer of 2019, when I participated in the Angloville volunteer programme. The hotel wasn't exactly the four-star luxury that had been promised to us volunteers, but the surrounding scenery of the Tatra Mountains (part of the Carpathian mountain range of Eastern Europe) was stunning to look at. It's an area I'd be interested in exploring more of in the future.

Read more here!

The Cumbrian Mountains

The mountains found in the Lake District are the highest in England, and while they're small compared to the other mountains in this list, they're a great place to enjoy amazing natural landscapes, especially at times like this when it's difficult to travel abroad. I visited the area with my parents in 2020, and was surprised to find that it was a little reminiscent of the south of Chile, with lots of mountains, forests, lakes and waterfalls to discover.

Read more here!

I'm glad to say that I'll be back in the mountains again soon, as I've got my visa interview for my job in Chile next week, and after that, I'll just have to wait for it to be approved before I can finally go! The interview also means that I'll be spending a day in London, which will be my first little bit of travelling of the year. I plan to explore a new place or two in the city, and I'll be writing about it here next weekend!

Check out the rest of my Travel Tips here!