11/05/2020
Almost every Adventure activity in mountains start and ends with walking up to your desired destination. This may be a short leisure walk or a lengthy and arduous journey. Both these are classified as Hiking and Trekking respectively. By and large the words Hiking and Trekking are wrongly used interchangeably.
So whats the difference between Hiking and Trekking.
1. HIKING: A one-day leisure walk that is generally on a predefined trail, path or road is called hiking. Generally the distance traveled is between 5 to 20 Kms. i.e. Trail 5, Dunga Gali Track, Mushkpuri Track etc. Some features of hiking are:
a. Leisure activity for novices with friends and family.
b. Ranges between 5 to 20 Kms.
c. Single day activity but in rare cases may be overnight.
d. On well-defined tracks, paths or roads.
e. Participants are appropriately geared up to include some snacks, water, energy bars etc.
TREKKING: It involves a long arduous walk in wilderness and natural environment that is stretched over multiple days. i.e. Concordia Track, Shunter pass track etc.
a. Hardcore activity for professional and experienced trekkers.
b. Ranges from 15/20 kms and beyond.
c. Usually stretched over days.
d. Mostly cross country activity in the wilderness.
e. Participants are well geared up and equipped for overnight stay to include dress, tentage, food, equipment etc.
