Taking a peak at
“Himmelspforte”, which in English means “Gates of heaven”, where you can have an apfelstrudel while lapping up the lake-decorated view.
The easy way: Most people opt for the ditsy little steam-hauled train that puffs its way up from St Wolfgang to the top.
This Schafbergbahn, the steepest cogwheel railway in Austria, was actually inaugurated way back in 1893, and not a lot has changed since. schafbergbahn.at
OPEN TOPPED Stanserhorn, Switzerland
The Stanserhorn stands in a sumptuous setting at 1,898 metres above Switzerland’s beatific Lake Lucerne, and from the top you can see the smudge of Lucerne itself.
City dwellers come here for the marmots, the hiking and hang gliding, but it is also a place to just let your soul hang.
The easy way: The Swiss have always been at t the cutting edge, and they’ve equipped the Stanserhorn with the world’s first cabriolet cable car, a double-decker with an opentopped terrace.
To make the journey extra special, cross from Lucerne to Stansstad ad on one of the lake’s s classic paddlewheel l steamers. stanserhorn.ch
FOOTPRINT Adam’s Peak, Sri Lanka
This tropical mountain stands 2,243 metres tall in the central highlands of Sri Lanka. It is sacred thanks to a mark in a rock at the summit, which locals hold to be the footprint of Buddha – or else where Adam first landed on earth after being cast out of heaven, depending on your point of view.
Anyway, there’s a Peace Pagoda half way up, a shrine at the top, and pilgrims arrive here at sunrise to witness the shadow the mountain casts on the forests below.
The easy way: There’s a staircase all the way to the top, starting from the village of Nallathanniya. Mind you, with 5,500 steps, we’re not saying that’s easy, but you’ll be surprised how many very fraillooking Sri Lankans can make it up. srilanka.travel
WELSH RAREBIT Snowdon, Wales
The highest point in Wales towers over a landscape of cold cliffs, bleak moors and lonely lakes in its own national park, but nevertheless this is supposedly the world’s busiest mountain, with some 750,000 people a year reaching its 1,085-metre peak.
Some hike up on the likes of the Miners’ Track, watched by birds of prey, but the vast majority arrive in comfort, by train, to sample the gift shop and the café.
The easy way: The Snowdon Mountain Railway dates back to 1896, and some of its Swiss-made steam locomotives are antiques. The line, which starts down in Llanberis, unlocks the landscape for those for whom it would otherwise be out of reach. snowdonrailway.co.uk
SWEET PEAK Sugarloaf mountain, Brazil
The emblematic mountain of Rio de Janeiro towered over competitors in the Rio Olympics. Named because of its resemblance to the shape in which refined sugar was sold back in the 19th century, the Unescoregistered Sugarloaf’s stand-alone location rears up over Guanabara Bay, and attracts visitors like bears to honey, despite its relatively modest 396 metres.
At the top, the intoxicating view takes in the city, the celebrated Copacabana beach resort, the famous Christ the Redeemer statue with its open arms, and open sea. The easy way: To get up under your own steam requires serious rock climbing. Happily there’s a cable car which does the journey from downtown in two stages, with a first stop at Mount U Urca to whet your a appetite, and then to Sugarloaf. Come at sunset. bondinho.com. br
HIGH DRINKS Zugspitze, Germany
Germany’s Ger highest point poi (2,962 metres) me straddles its border with Austria, surrounded by other Alpine peaks. This is a high, arid, moon-like landscape, with its own (dwindling) glacier.
But this is also Germany, remember, so of course there is a beer garden, in an elaborate mountain-top complex. Mind you, you’ll need to delay drinking if you want to reach the actual summit, a further 40-metre scramble up a steep ladder and handrail.
The easy way: A cogwheel railway runs right up through the skin of the mountain from the centre of the Bavarian resort of Garmisch-partenkirchen. Its end station the Zugspitzplatt is 300 metres below the top, so a short cable car completes the journey. zugspitze.de
HANG TALL Mount Hoven, Norway
Norway’s 1,011-metre Mount Hoven may not sound high, but its flank rises almost sheer from the Nordfjord, and to climb up under your own steam would involve a via ferrata – a route which uses steel cables and metal ladders.
The reward is a view over the fjords, watching the hang gliders launch themselves into the void.
The easy way: Loen is about four hours north of Bergen in the heart of Fjordland. The Loen Skylift is one of the steepest in the world, and at times the cable car is just nine metres from the rockface. If you want more of an adrenalin rush, there are a couple of hairy ziplines at the top.