Hiking in Hiker Paradise

In 1908, a British newspaper article named the Milford Track "the finest walk in the world," based on the reports of a poet named Blanche Edith Baughan. Baughan wrote about hundreds of waterfalls crashing down steep-sided valleys and the power of a Fiordland storm. The moniker stuck.

Today, the Milford Track is one of New Zealand's most popular walks—and one of the most famous treks in the world.

Expect rain—with 320 inches of rain a year, Milford Sound is the third wettest place in the world! But this is a place that should be seen in rain because on storm days, water rushes down the cliffs that surround the valley in hundreds of waterfalls.

Highlights include the wind-swept drama of Mackinnon Pass, an alpine pass with spectacular views, and Sutherland Falls, which at 580 meters is the third-highest waterfall in the world.