El Caminito del Rey, Malaga,
Spain
You'll have to wait a few years to
tackle this walk—after two fatal accidents, El Caminito del
Rey is officially closed
to tourists. However, the area is now being restored and is set to
reopen to the public in 2015. The cliff-side pathway was originally
constructed in order to allow workers to cross between the
hydroelectric power plants at Chorro and Gaitanejo Falls, but its
dangerous beauty soon attracted hikers and adventure seekers. The
3.3-foot-wide walkway was built into the cliff face 330 feet above
El Chorro river, and visitors had to navigate without handrails and
over crumbled sections. Once the renovations are complete, walkers
will have protective barriers, lighting, and rails to make the
walkway safer.
Tianmen Mountain, Zhangjiajie,
China
The only thing that makes this a
cliff walk is that it's attached to the side of a cliff—but your
feet never actually touch the cliff face. Instead, test your nerves
by walking 4,000 feet above sea level with just a three-foot-wide,
2.5-inch-thick glass walkway separating you from certain death. Try
not to look down—not only will you be scared, but you'll miss the
amazing panoramic Hunan Province views.
Slieve League Cliffs, Donegal,
Ireland
If you wish to summit the Slieve
League Cliffs, you'll need to
take One Man's Path—so named because it is only wide enough for one
person to walk at a time. Slip off the narrow walkway and you'll
tumble almost 2,000 feet into the ocean below. It's definitely not
advised to try this one in misty weather (basically every day in
Ireland) or on windy days.
Chang Kong Cliff Road, Huashan
Mountain, China
A special safety harness keeps
tourists safe on this crazy cliff walk on wooden boards that were
nailed into the cliff side more than 700 years ago. Better make
sure you're really up for this pathway's challenge—there's no
turning back once you start, as the boards are only wide enough for
one person to pass at a time.
Preikestolen, Ryfylke,
Norway
There's no wimpy safety rails or
barriers at Preikestolen—it's
up to visitors to decide how close they want to get to the edge.
Also known as Pulpit Rock, this cliff is an 82 x 82-foot flat
surface that hovers almost 2,000 feet over the Lysefjord. Although
the cliff's top is flat, the hike up is steep and can take between
one and three hours.
Jiankou Great Wall, Xizhaizi
Village, China
The Jiankou section of the Great Wall of China features steep
drop-offs on each side. Add that to the pathway's poor condition,
and it's easy to see why this is one of the Great Wall's most
dangerous areas (but also one of its most picturesque).
Faro de Los Morrillos, Cabo
Rojo, Putre Rico
The white limestone cliffs
surrounding the Faro de Los Morrillos, or the Cabo Rojo
Lighthouse, are a beautiful
and fairly easy walk. But be careful about getting too close to the
edge—if the memorials to people who have died here aren't enough of
a deterrent, heed our warning that these limestone cliffs are
deceptive and what looks like solid ground can actually be just a
few inches thick and very fragile. And watch out for open holes in
the limestone that can send you plunging into the ocean
below!
Kalalau Trail, kauai
Hawaii
This trek has all the
classic Hawaiian scenery: coastal views, waterfalls, and volcanic
rocks. But the sheer 300-foot drop-offs can be intimidating for
some, especially those who have read about the trail
on Backpacker.com, which highlights the close calls that have
occurred on the precarious path. One such incident occurred in
2006, when a man slipped on the trail and fell headfirst down a
slope. He was only spared from going over the cliffs when his head
smashed into a rock, which stopped his descent. According to the
article, "The impact separated his nostrils from his face, but he
survived." They should put that quote in the tourism
brochures!
Cliffs Of Moher, Galway, Ireland
There's nothing more than warning
signs, a low stone barrier, and common sense to keep you from
walking the hazardously narrow paths along the Cliffs of Moher. But
every year, people get too close to the edges and are blown off to
fall 700 feet into the ocean. If you choose to ignore the warnings,
be very careful, as many parts of the path appear solid but are in
fact unstable and slippery. And we don't recommend taking your bike
out there—the ledge that
those riders biked on has now collapsed, which just highlights how
dangerous it is to venture outside of the designated paths on the
Cliffs of Moher.
