Ridges, ranges and high valleys where the trailhead is the village and the village still has working farms.
Mountains stay quiet because they are slow. The trains do not arrive, the buses run twice a week, and the weather still decides whether the road is open. A list of the high places worth the effort.
European Alps and Pyrenees
Val Maira, Italian Alps
Cuneo province, Occitan-speaking valley, with the Percorsi Occitani long walk and a string of small guesthouses (the locanda Lou Pitavin, the rifugio Carmagnola) that take you in for a flat fee.
Hautes-Pyrenees, France
The Cirque de Gavarnie is busy but the parallel valleys (Estaubé, Troumouse) hold the same scale with a fraction of the people.
Picos de Europa, Spain
Limestone massif rising sharply from the Atlantic. The Cares gorge walk is famous. The trails on the Sotres side are not.
Balkans and Caucasus
Theth and Valbona, Albanian Alps
The day hike between the two villages is one of the great walks in southern Europe, and the guesthouse network in both places is run by families that genuinely host.
Tusheti, Georgia
Reached by what's still rated as one of the most dangerous roads in the world (the Abano pass), with stone watchtower villages and a strong shepherd culture.
Asia
Spiti Valley, India
High desert north of the main Himalaya, with the monasteries of Key, Tabo and Dhankar and roads that close half the year.
Gobi-Altai, Mongolia
The west of Mongolia, with Kazakh eagle hunters in Bayan-Olgii and the Tsambagarav peaks. Travel is by 4x4 and patience.
Americas
Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru
Smaller than the Cordillera Blanca and arguably more spectacular. The 8 to 10-day circuit is one of the great treks in South America.
Patagonia's Aysén region, Chile
Below Torres del Paine in latitude, above it in obscurity. The Carretera Austral runs through it.
