Crystal Mountain Trek’s Trip Rating System

Our trips are rated on a scale from 1 to 5: 1 being the easiest and 5 being the most difficult.

1 Easy: Hotel nights, non-camping journeys, optional hikes, little elevation gain or loss.

2 Moderate: Hotel nights and/or deluxe, safari-style camping, hikes of two to four hours on some days. Other physical activities sometimes include jungle walk and canoe rides and traveling long-distances by vehicle in rugged conditions.

3 Mildly Strenuous: Full-day hikes (4 to 6 hours), mountainous terrain. Significant elevation gains and losses (hiking up or down 2,-3,000 feet) on most hikes. Altitudes no greater than about 10,000 feet.

4 Strenuous: Full-day hikes, mountainous terrain, steep ups and downs (as in 3). Trips with hiking at average altitudes of 10,000 to 16,000 feet. Camps at altitudes of 9,000 to 16,000 feet. Average daily hiking is around 6 hours.

5 Challenging: Full-day hikes in mountainous terrain, steep ups and downs (as in 4). Most hikes takes place at altitudes well above 14,000 feet, sometimes as high as 18,000 feet. Camps at altitudes above 12,000 feet. Hikes on some days exceed 8-9 hours.