What Lies Beneath: Australia's Blue Mountains, a canyoning treasure trove (Sue Wright/courtesy, Australia Tourism)
The Spanish Pyrenees started
drawing canyoneers to the Aragon region long before we had put a name to the sport. From May through September, the alluring
limestone slots, accessible from the outdoor base camp of Toral, provide thrills to novices and experts alike. Ordesa y Monte
Perdido National Park claims bragging rights to nearby Barranco de Lapazosa—a favorite canyon for both neophytes and
practiced canyoneers. Additionally, for day-trippin' novices, quick excursions into the Catalan Pyrenees can be organized from Barcelona.
The soft sandstone of the Blue Mountains in eastern Australia provides some of the most accessible and
extensive canyoneering in the world. With over 400 canyons within an hour's reach of Sydney, a canyoneering trip can be done in a day or
over several days. Designated a World Heritage Area, the Blue Mountains have an addictive intensity even outside of their deep
chasms. The Grand Canyon Track is a favorite for first timers to this region, or if you're eager to skip the cold, wet stuff,
check out Tigersnake Canyon for a good stay-dry alternative. For even more thrills, tack on another activity like abseiling
100 feet over Empress Falls. Claustral Canyon is more challenging and a good bet for intermediate canyoneers. Outfitter High 'N' Wild offers guided tours as well as extensive local canyon information and the difficulty levels for each of its trips. Australia's canyoning season runs from September through May.
It's tempting to go canyoneering in South Africa just to say you went "kloofing." Kloof is an Afrikaans word
for cliff or gorge, and as we did with "canyoneering," South Africans took the sport, renamed it, and ran with it. The
country's kloofing hot spot is convenient—right outside of Cape Town—and caters to beginners and
experts alike. Adventure Village, a longtime kloofing
outfitter, details the intensity of its different canyon trips. Many of the high jumps are optional (Suicide Gorge's 60-foot
leap above Riviersonderend might not be for all), so beginners can find other means to scramble down. The Steenbras
River route has an original direction: it goes up instead of down. There are a number of vertical drops, the longest of which
is a 197-foot rappel through a waterfall.
