BestMountains & Rock Formations
Iconic peaks, ridges and formations, and how close you can realistically get to each. The important distinction is between the ones you see from a road or cable car and the ones that need a serious day on foot — plus the fact that the most photographed views are usually morning views, before the cloud builds against the face.
Fitz Roy (Cerro Chaltén)
El Chaltén, Argentina
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A jagged granite spire in Los Glaciares National Park on the Argentine-Chilean Patagonian border. Notoriously difficult to climb, it towers over the trekking hub of El Chaltén.
Uluru (Ayers Rock)
Northern Territory, Australia
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A massive sandstone monolith rising from the desert of Australia's Red Centre, sacred to the Anangu people. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it glows red at sunrise and sunset.
Kata Tjuta (The Olgas)
Northern Territory, Australia
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A group of large domed rock formations near Uluru in Australia's Northern Territory, sacred to the Anangu. Part of the same UNESCO park, they are explored via the Valley of the Winds walk.
Bungle Bungles (Purnululu)
Western Australia, Australia
Torres del Paine
Magallanes, Chile
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A range of granite towers and horns in Chilean Patagonia, centerpiece of Torres del Paine National Park. Its multi-day W and O treks are among the world's most celebrated hikes.
Zhangjiajie Pillars
Hunan, China
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Thousands of towering quartz-sandstone pillars in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Hunan, China. Often shrouded in mist, they helped inspire the floating mountains in Avatar.
Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa)
South Sinai, Egypt
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A peak in Egypt's South Sinai, traditionally identified with the biblical mountain where Moses received the commandments. Many hike it overnight to watch sunrise from the summit.
Mont Blanc
Chamonix, France / Courmayeur, Italy
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The highest mountain in the Alps and in Western Europe, on the France-Italy border. A birthplace of mountaineering, it is circled by the classic Tour du Mont Blanc trek.
Piton de la Fournaise
Réunion, France
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A shield volcano on Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean, one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. Frequent eruptions within its caldera draw hikers to viewpoints along the rim.
Meteora
Thessaly, Greece
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A complex of enormous sandstone pillars rising from the Thessaly plain in central Greece, their summits bearing six active Eastern Orthodox monasteries. A UNESCO dual World Heritage site combining natural and cultural significance.
Kirkjufell
Snæfellsnes, Iceland
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A steep, cone-shaped peak on the Snæfellsnes peninsula in western Iceland, rising beside a coastal waterfall. Often called the most photographed mountain in the country.
Tre Cime di Lavaredo
Dolomites, Italy
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Three distinctive rock towers in the Sexten Dolomites of northern Italy, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Their sheer walls are iconic in the Alps and ringed by a popular loop trail.
Seceda Ridgeline
Val Gardena, Dolomites, Italy
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A sawtooth ridgeline above Val Gardena in the South Tyrol Dolomites, reached by cable car from Ortisei. Its jagged silhouette over green alpine meadows is a signature Dolomite view.
Mount Etna
Catania, Sicily, Italy
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The tallest active volcano in Europe, dominating eastern Sicily above Catania. Among the world's most active volcanoes, it is a UNESCO site with frequent eruptions and lava flows.
Mount Fuji
Shizuoka / Yamanashi, Japan
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Japan's highest peak, an active volcano with a near-symmetrical cone that is a national symbol and UNESCO World Heritage site. It draws climbers during a short summer season.
Wadi Rum
Aqaba, Jordan
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A desert valley of sandstone mountains and cliffs in southern Jordan, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its dramatic landscape draws climbers, hikers, and visitors to Bedouin desert camps.
Mount Kinabalu
Sabah, Malaysian Borneo
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A 4,095-metre granite massif in a UNESCO-listed national park in Sabah, Borneo. UNESCO identifies it as the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea; its summit is reached on a guided climb with advance booking.
Spitzkoppe
Erongo, Namibia
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A group of bold granite inselbergs rising from the Namib Desert plains in northwest Namibia, the tallest reaching 1,728 meters. Known as the Matterhorn of Namibia, the boulders shelter ancient San rock paintings and make a dramatic desert campsite.
Machhapuchhre (Fishtail Peak)
Annapurna, Nepal
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A striking twin-summited peak in the Annapurna Himalayas near Pokhara, named for its fishtail shape. Considered sacred, it has never been officially climbed to the summit.
Milford Sound (Mitre Peak)
Fiordland, New Zealand
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A fjord in Fiordland National Park on New Zealand's South Island, framed by the sheer Mitre Peak. Carved by glaciers and fed by waterfalls, it is a highlight of the Milford Track.
Aoraki / Mount Cook
Canterbury, New Zealand
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The highest mountain in New Zealand, a glaciated peak in the Southern Alps of the South Island. Its national park offers accessible valley walks such as the Hooker Valley track.
Trolltunga
Odda, Norway
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A flat rock slab jutting horizontally from a cliff high above Ringedalsvatnet lake in western Norway. Reached only by a long, strenuous day hike, it is a famous fjord-country viewpoint.
Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock)
Forsand, Norway
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A flat-topped cliff that drops sheer to the Lysefjord in Ryfylke, Norway. One of the country's most visited natural landmarks, reached by a well-trodden half-day hike.
Vinicunca (Rainbow Mountain)
Cusco, Peru
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A high Andean ridge near Cusco banded in vivid colors from layered mineral sediments. Sitting above 5,000 meters, it is reached by a demanding high-altitude day hike from Cusco.
Virunga Volcanoes
Rwanda / Uganda / DR Congo
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A chain of eight volcanoes along the borders of Rwanda, Uganda, and DR Congo in the Albertine Rift. Their forested slopes are a last refuge of the endangered mountain gorilla.
Table Mountain
Cape Town, South Africa
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A flat-topped sandstone massif overlooking Cape Town, forming the city's defining backdrop. A rotating cable car and numerous trails lead to its broad summit plateau.
Matterhorn (Cervino)
Zermatt, Switzerland / Cervinia, Italy
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An almost symmetrical pyramidal peak on the Swiss-Italian border in the Pennine Alps. One of the most recognizable mountains in the world, it rises above the resort town of Zermatt.
Eiger North Face
Bernese Oberland, Switzerland
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A peak in the Bernese Alps whose immense north face is one of the most notorious climbs in mountaineering history. The Jungfrau Railway tunnels through the mountain to Jungfraujoch.
Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro Region, Tanzania
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The highest mountain in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world, a dormant volcano in northern Tanzania. Its summit is reachable by trekkers without technical climbing.
Cappadocia Fairy Chimneys
Göreme, Nevşehir, Turkey
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Thousands of volcanic tuff pillars — capped by harder rock — eroded across the valleys of Cappadocia in central Turkey, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Many were hollowed out as homes, churches, and underground cities over centuries.
Grand Teton
Wyoming, United States
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The highest peak of the Teton Range in Wyoming, rising abruptly from the valley floor without foothills. Its sharp granite summit is a landmark of Grand Teton National Park.
Monument Valley
Arizona / Utah, United States
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A cluster of towering red sandstone buttes on the Arizona-Utah border within the Navajo Nation. Its formations are icons of the American Southwest, seen in countless films.
Denali (Mount McKinley)
Alaska, United States
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The highest peak in North America, at the heart of Denali National Park in Alaska. Measured from base to summit, its vertical rise is among the greatest of any mountain on land.
Mount Rainier
Washington, United States
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A glacier-clad active volcano and the highest peak in Washington's Cascade Range. It looms over the Seattle region and is circled by the 150-kilometer Wonderland Trail.
Antelope Canyon
Page, Arizona, United States
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A flowing sandstone slot canyon on Navajo Nation land near Page, Arizona, carved by flash floods into wave-like passages of red and orange rock. Upper and Lower Antelope are accessible only on guided Navajo tours.
The Flatirons
Boulder, Colorado
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Five steeply tilted slabs of Fountain Formation sandstone standing over Chautauqua Park on Boulder’s western edge, left near-vertical when the Rocky Mountain uplift rotated beds that were laid down flat.
Smith Rock State Park
Terrebonne, Oregon
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Sheer walls of welded tuff and basalt standing over a bend of the Crooked River in the Oregon high desert, where bolted routes put up in the 1980s made it the birthplace of American sport climbing.
Ha Long Bay Karst
Quảng Ninh, Vietnam
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A seascape of roughly 1,600 limestone karst towers rising from the Gulf of Tonkin in northern Vietnam, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The formations — riddled with caves and grottoes — are explored by overnight junk cruises.
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