Launching off a mountain is probably not high of your trip plans, however if you happen to've ever had even a passing daydream about hovering via the air and touchdown on a ski slope, the world of utmost sports activities might provide you with a brand new motive to journey.
I've tried a few of these sports activities, like winter paragliding within the French Alps. It was within the ski space Alpe d'Huez the place I discovered myself strapped to Didier, an expert tandem paraglider. “I’ll pull up the kite after which” – dramatic pause – “we’ll ski off the mountain” he instructed me. Excusez-moi? Earlier than I knew it, we have been strapped collectively and hovering at 2115m (6940ft), touchdown lastly on the ski slopes like rock star extras in a James Bond movie: stirred, and just a little shaking. I (now) know the French Alps are a heavenwards freeway for paragliding fanatics chasing swirling thermals, giving vacationers a brand new motive to go to. Chasing these sorts of thrills could also be the easiest way to search out your subsequent journey vacation spot too.
From ski mountaineering to cliff diving, kite foiling and wreck diving, right here's a success record of unmissable excessive sports activities which might be assured to provide you a rush of adrenaline.
1. Kite foiling
Kitesurfing is without doubt one of the most beginner-friendly sports activities on the market, with colleges from Bali to Bermuda filled with like-minded sea lovers. However for these searching for their subsequent large thrill, kite foiling has joined the fray. On this variation, you step into foot straps on a board that sits on a hydrofoil. Suspended above the water line, riders can go a lot quicker – assume 45 knots (51mph, or 82km/h) – and in lighter winds.
The place to attempt kite foiling: Head to Eastney Seashore close to Portsmouth, England, the place the 2024 Summer season Olympic kite foiling qualifiers have been held, and take a category on the Andrew Simpson Centre. Amp up the thrill at stylish El Gouna on Egypt's Crimson Sea (only a 30-minute drive from Hurghada Worldwide Airport) or Jericoacoara in Brazil, which each obtain cross-shore winds.
2. Wreck diving
Heading underwater is extra intense when the vacation spot is the shadowy stays of a ship, aircraft or different construction sunk under the floor. Sri Lanka's HMS Hermes tops many a wreck diver's must-see record. The primary purpose-built plane service, it sank in 1942 to its present resting place at a depth of about 55m (180ft). As wreck diving grows in reputation, some locations are scuttling retired ships to make synthetic reefs, reminiscent of these round Recife in Brazil and the Witconcrete in Belize.
The place to go wreck diving: Denmark's Baltic Coastline is a treasure chest for wreck diving, due to the low salt ranges which have helped protect WWI-era wood cruiser and steamship wrecks. In Langeland and Bornholm, rookies can be part of excursions with native dive colleges.
3. SailGP
Welcome to the equal of Method 1 on water. On this sequence of high-speed races strung throughout 14 iconic places from Auckland to Rio de Janeiro, elite athletes on 12 nationwide groups race similar multimillion-dollar F50 catamarans, making the high-speed contests a real check of ability.
The place to look at SailGP: Sydney Harbor in Australia is without doubt one of the OG occasions, attracting 1000’s of worldwide followers for a full weekend of up shut spectating on a midharbor island full with a bar, luxe meals vehicles and DJ beats.
4. Cliff diving
At Polignano al Mare in Italy's Puglia, numerous launch themselves from a platform 9 tales above the Adriatic as crowds watching from the close by rocks collectively maintain their breath. It is only one cease on the Crimson Bull Cliff Diving World Sequence, but it surely's arguably essentially the most awe-inspiring, with swimsuit-clad opponents passing by eating places and thru personal homes to entry the positioning. Alongside the beautiful environment, the athletes' aerial consciousness and the bodily energy essential to hit the water at near 10 instances the pressure of gravity are certain to impress.
The place to attempt cliff diving: Exterior the aggressive excessive, you possibly can take a cliff diving tour with the W Algarve. Or head to the Greek Cyclades and go to Milos and Koufonissi (Koufonisia), the place rock formations plummeting into deep indigo waters lure novice and knowledgeable rock hoppers alike.
5. Ski mountaineering
With apologies to heli-skiing and mountaineering, ski mountaineering is arguably the last word winter sport, and it’s heading into the highlight as a brand new addition to the 2026 Winter Olympics slate. Skiers flip the script and begin by racing up a mountain, then ski again down. Relying on the course, ice axes, harnesses, ropes and crampons might come into play to dial up the problem.
However there's no have to go straight for the gold. As a result of each snowboarding and mountaineering know-how are required, you possibly can progress via the talents at your individual tempo and finally end up at literal mountain highs.
The place to attempt ski mountaineering: There's no fast YouTube tutorial to ski mountaineering, however an abundance of ski areas supply skill-building courses, together with the women-only Ski Goddess programs in France's Châtel and Arc'teryx Academy's mountaineering clinics held in world-class mountain cities reminiscent of Jackson Gap , Wyoming and Chamonix, France. Non-public classes can be found with large mountain icon Chris Davenport in Aspen, Colorado.
6. Ice plunging
You don't have to be a star athlete to take an ice plunge – you simply want dedication. In Finland's Levi, Norway's Bodø, and even Denmark's seaside Copenhagen, youngsters as much as octogenarians take icy dips on the common. Devotees in chilly areas world wide have lengthy been immersing themselves in freezing water to scale back irritation, construct resistance, stability the nervous system and enhance cognitive operate and temper. Wind up the expertise in a close-by sauna for an endorphin-zinging thermal shock that's accessible to many.
The place to take an ice plunge: Leap in at any of the highest locations for chilly plunges across the globe, however the floating Arctic Tub in Swedish Lapland is unmatched. The midriver round constructing resembles a chicken's nest and maintains an open-air ice pool. Or e book a spot on the Scandi Home Levi, the place you possibly can drop right into a frozen river via a custom-cut gap.
7. By way of ferrata
In case your journey insurance coverage doesn't cowl jaw-dropping base leaping in Mürren, Switzerland, then clip into the by way of ferrata carved throughout craggy Bernese peaks 4000m (13,123ft) above the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Italian for “iron method,” the by way of ferrata follows a mountain path consisting of rungs, rails and cables notched into the rock face. It was developed throughout WWI to help with troop mobilization via the Alps, however now it’s a heart-thumping route via areas in any other case reserved for mountaineers.
The place to hike a by way of ferrata: The Italian Dolomites are the non secular dwelling of the by way of ferrata. Keep at La Perla Resort in Alta Badia's Corvara and take the mountain-loving household's recommendation on a few of the extra benign paths across the valley.
8. Excessive snorkeling
You don't want an air tank to get excessive; simply head to Iceland. This mystical land of lava and supercharged splendor, the place geysers gush and glaciers ruthlessly rip the panorama, affords infinite actions to stoke any adventurous soul. Not least amongst them is dry-suit snorkeling within the Silfra Fissure. The rift between the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates is breathtaking. Think about floating in a large diamond, over an underwater panorama thousands and thousands of years within the making, the place algae wafts like chiffon, and it's clear why this expertise is like no different.
The place to attempt excessive snorkeling: If chilly water isn't your factor – Silfra clocks in at 4°C (49°F) – however spectacular snorkeling is, cruise over to Million Greenback Level in Vanuatu, the place a former US navy base was bulldozed into the ocean, making a haunting, liquid graveyard of eternally parked 4WDs and equipment.
9. Downhill mountain biking
It's biking, how onerous might it’s? When it entails barreling down single-track traces that includes wood ramps plus pure obstacles like midpath rocks, let's simply say this pastime will not be for the fainthearted. Did we point out the velocity? For skilled downhill mountain bikers, brakes aren't actually a factor.
The game affords a completely new lexicon to be taught (“grippy” filth), tools to purchase (full-face helmets to maintain that filth out of your eyes) and far-flung tracks throughout the map (Tasmania's Derby). Begin slowly, however you might quickly succumb to the habit of downhill.
The place to attempt downhill biking: Sea-level Miami unexpectedly has trails galore, just like the little-known 11.6km (7.25-mile) monitor for novices at Amelia Earhart Park in Virginia Keys as much as the drops at Hollywood North Seashore Park. Consultants flock to the mom lodes in Utah's Moab and Colorado's Snowmass, the place chairlifts ferry bikers as an alternative of skiers in the summertime months.
10. Lengthy distance mountaineering
Step it up a notch! Deal with Corsica's Grand Randonnée 20 (GR20), which is to hikers what the North Shore in Hawaii is to big-wave surfers, minus the after-parties. Because the coaching floor for the French International Legion, the 12-day path is known for making or breaking hikers. Earn your stripes throughout almost two weeks of heaving ascents and descents throughout the scorched, mountainous inside of the island the French name le terre sauvage (the wild land).
The place to go lengthy distance mountaineering: The best place to realize long-distance mountaineering chops is on the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain, an internet of well-supported trails that result in town of Santiago de Compostela. It may be traversed in bite-size chunks, like the ultimate seven-day part, all the best way as much as a 30-day trek from St-Jean Pied de Port. Saunter into the dawn solo or join with an operator like World Expeditions or Intrepid Journey.
