Hiking Asia

When to hike Asia

In September, 48 of 51 destinations clear our recommendation criteria, more than in any other month. The area is quietest in February, with 22 of 51.

Averaged across the destinations, July is the warmest month at 20 degrees in the hiking window and January the coldest at 2. 2 of the 51 destinations lie in the southern hemisphere, where the year runs the other way.

How far apart the destinations are

The selected grid cells run from 413 metres at Kumano Kodō to 4,552 metres at Spiti Valley, with a median of 1,761 metres. Kumano Kodō clears the criteria in 12 months (all year), Spiti Valley in 3 months (from August to October).

The longest season belongs to 16 destinations, including Mount Rinjani and Lycian Way, at 12 months each; the shortest to Spiti Valley, at 3 months (from August to October).

What closes the missing months

Where a destination loses months, a critical climate component falls below the threshold at which we stop recommending a month. The main reason is snow cover for 25 of the 51 destinations, heat for 7 and cold for 3. 16 are recommendable in all twelve months.

In February, the quietest month, 29 of 51 destinations are closed, 24 of them by snow cover.

Not counted here are 11 further destinations for which we publish no recommendation. They are listed below with the reason.

Conditions in September

September is when the open destinations score highest on average. Hiking-window temperature then runs from 5 degrees at Altai Tavan Bogd to 26 at Ella, and rain falls on 9 to 99 percent of days depending on the destination.

What these figures cover

Each destination is described by one selected ERA5-Land grid cell, averaged over 1991 to 2025. The figures above summarise those 51 cells. They are not a map of the whole area or of any route, and they are not a forecast.