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One of the biggest luxuries of living in Australia is that we’re absolutely spoilt with world-class hikes. From multi-day desert odysseys and coastal clifftop scrambles to lush rainforest loops and simple sandy strolls, they show off the beauty and diversity of our Great Southern Land. But which ones are the most eye-catching of all? While beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a new eye-tracking study has used science to find the answer. The data reveals that a remote Australian hike is among the most beautiful walks on Earth – and chances are, you’ve never heard of it.
Online retailer SportsShoes.com monitored participants' eye movements as they viewed images of more than 60 iconic hikes from around the world. They tracked both total viewing time and how quickly their eyes locked onto a landscape, combining these two metrics to determine the world’s most beautiful trails.
According to the results, The Loop Walk in Western Australia’s remote Kalbarri National Park is the eighth-most beautiful hiking trail on Earth. Participants spent an average of 1.97 seconds looking at the most recognisable viewpoint or most photographed section of the trail, with their attention grabbed in an average of 1.68 seconds – the fastest of any trail in the global top ten.
Located a six-hour drive north of Perth, Kalbarri’s challenging nine-kilometre Loop Walk showcases hundreds of millions of years of geological history. The trail traces the rim of magnificent rusty-red gorges carved by the ancient Murchison River, offering views of the water below before descending into the sandy riverbed. Hikers might be lucky enough to spot kangaroos, emus and even black-flanked rock wallabies, as well as more than 100 beautiful bird species.
The best time to tackle The Loop is during winter and spring. Summer temperatures can skyrocket to a dangerous 50 degrees Celsius, forcing the trail to close after 7am from November to March. Meanwhile, autumn is also unsuitable as heavy rains often cause high river levels to block the paths.
The Loop was the only Australian hike featured in this global ranking of the most beautiful hikes, with Europe claiming eight of the top-ten spots. France's Calanques de Marseille takes the top spot, followed by Croatia's Plitvice Lakes Trail and Switzerland's Lauterbrunnen Valley. You can see our round-up below, and read more about the scientific study here.
The world’s 10 most beautiful hikes, according to eye-tracking technology:
- Calanques de Marseille, France
- Plitvice Lakes Trail, Croatia
- Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland
- Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, Peru
- Bastei Rock Formation, Germany
- The Narrows, USA
- Étretat Cliff Walk, France
- The Loop, Australia
- Seven Sisters Cliff Walk, England
- Causeway Coast Walk, Northern Ireland