While Europe is home to some incredible mountains, they don’t compare – in height and difficulty – with the mountains in South America or Asia. But if you are looking for adrenaline – and you have the skills and fitness for it – there are some hard and dangerous hikes on our continent.

For the purpose of this article, “hard” doesn’t mean long. I will be covering the long hiking and walking trails in a different article. In this article “hard” means: experience needed, adrenaline junkies invited to check them out.

Via Ferrata, Italy and Austria

Via Ferrata (the Iron Way) was used in World War I by specialized troops. But before that, Europeans would use ladders to make their way through it. Nowadays, the hikes through the Dolomites has steel cables, suspension bridges, walkways and ropes. While everything is well maintained, your safety depends on your ability to secure your carabiner setup to the cable supports. The are various difficulty level of hikes on Via Ferrata, but all are dangerous and can be deadly.

The Grand Randonnée 20 (GR20)  , Corsica , France

The Grande Randonnée spans across the 165 km ridge of the Corsican Mountains and offers many interesting and challenging trails. Trail 20 is one of the most difficult and challenging in Europe, with pre-fixed chains helping the climbers. The climb should only be attempted in summer.

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La Lanturi, Romania

La Lanturi (At the chains), as the name suggests, is a dangerous part of a mountain hike located in the Piatra Craiului Mountains, in Romania. To get to this are, you need to hike the following trail: Zarnesti (Brasov County) – Plaiul Foii (849 m) – Refugiul Spirla (1.440 m) – La Zaplaz (1.698 m), which can take up to 2 hours and is marked with a red tape. That’s where the chains start. The hike is recommend only to experienced hikers and it has medium to hard difficulty. It is considered one of the hardest mountain hikes in Romania.

Aonach Eagach Ridge, Scotland

It is Scotland’s most iconic hike. A 4 mile route wouldn’t seem too dangerous , right? Well , it is. The route follows Glen Coe Valley, across the mountains and offers stunning views of the country. The weather is always a gamble here and the hike doesn’t offer any shortcuts if the weather turns for the worse. Add knife-sharp edges and a steep incline and there’s your hike.

To be on the safe side, continue the hike up to Sgorr nam Fiannaidh peak. Once you get there, the way down is easy. Stopping on the way to the peak is an invitation for accidents.

El Caminito del Rey, Spain

This dangerous hike in Spain is closed to the publichas reopened for the public (for the third season) after been closed for renovations for 15 years following an accident. Located in Malaga province, El Caminito del Rey is perched on a cliff, 100 feet up in the air. The hike is only 2 miles and it started life as a path for the local hydraulic plant workers.

Photos credits:
Via Ferrata
GR20
Aonach Eagach Ridge