Best Beginners Summits

Sunrise on Adam’s Peak

One of the most sacred summits on the planet, Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka is perfect for a first-time mountain sunrise. Spiritually speaking you can’t go any higher: named after Adam, the first man, and a holy place of pilgrimage, expect to share this summit with many mountain and religious devotees.

Although the most famous peak in Sri Lanka, it’s only the fifth-highest at just over 2,000m and not too strenuous, though expect a pleasing tingle in your legs towards the top.

You ascend at night, a magical experience as you follow paths lined with candles and tea lights, a swaying string of head torches bobbing slowly upwards. Your reward is a spectacular sunrise across the clouds – and tradition dictates you ring the bell to sound out your success.

Views from Mt Toubkal

Jebel Toubkal is popular for first-time peak baggers, and rightly so. From the heat and energy of Marrakech’s famous souks to the hot and dry valleys dotted with dusky pink villages and splashes of green.

Up past tiny stalls selling sweet orange juice pressed in front of your eyes, to the summit itself, crowned with the distinctive triangular sign at the top: this is a rewarding and satisfying trek.

Attempted in summer, it’s a non-technical walk with glorious views over the scree slopes and peaks of the Atlas Mountains. In winter, it’s a challenge with even more bite as crampons and ice axes are needed up to the snow-shrouded summit.

Trekkers on Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro: for some, the ultimate trekking achievement – for others, it’s just the beginning.

It’s often someone’s first serious trek, and although undeniably challenging, it’s not technical and accessible to fit, determined summiteers.

What makes the standalone summit of ‘Kili’ special (you can only call it Kili once you’ve summited) is the people, both your fellow trekkers – usually a mix of experienced walkers and bucket-list adventurers – and the Tanzanian guides, assistant guides and porters who look after you on trek.

From advice on your first time at altitude to setting the “pole pole” pace you’ll need to reach that famous sign, they have your backs – every step of the way.

Sunrise on Mount Kenya

Kilimanjaro isn’t the only summit. The underrated, much quieter neighbour Mount Kenyais considered by many die-hard trekkers as the more beautiful mountain: more greenery, rich with bizarre-looking endemic flora and varied wildlife, mostly monkeys and birds.

At the summit, the triple peaks make for a more unusual view – Kilimanjaro may have the bragging rights, but Kenya is the arthouse film to Kili’s blockbuster. If you want to beat the crowds, Kenya is the answer.