The 20 Most Majestic Mountains in The World

The Matterhorn's near-perfect pyramidal peak has made it one of the most recognised mountains in the world and the symbol of the Swiss Alps.

Rising 4,478 metres above the car-free village of Zermatt, it is reflected in the Riffelsee lake during clear summer mornings.

The Maroon Bells are two peaks — Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak — in the Elk Mountains of Colorado, rising to 4,317 and 4,273 metres respectively.

The reflection of the burgundy-coloured peaks in the still waters of Maroon Lake, particularly in autumn when the surrounding aspen trees turn gold, is one of the classic sights of the American Rockies.

Granite pillars draped in twisted pines rise out of a sea of cloud at Yellow Mountain, the landscape that inspired centuries of Chinese ink painting.

Cable cars reach several viewpoints directly, so the classic misty-peaks view doesn't require a demanding climb.

Sunrise and sunset, when the cloud sea forms below the summits, are when the mountain looks most like the paintings it inspired.

Mount Fitz Roy is a serrated granite peak on the border of Argentina and Chile in Patagonia, rising 3,405 metres above the Patagonian steppe.

Its distinctive jagged silhouette, often wreathed in cloud, inspired the Patagonia clothing brand logo and is considered one of the most technically challenging climbs in the world.

Aoraki/Mount Cook is New Zealand's highest peak at 3,724 metres, rising above the Mackenzie Basin surrounded by glaciers and turquoise lakes.

The Hooker Valley Track provides one of the most accessible and rewarding walks in the country, leading to views of the mountain across three swing bridges.

A cogwheel railway climbs through solid rock to a saddle between the Eiger and Mönch, 3,454 metres up, where the "Top of Europe" station opens onto the Aletsch Glacier, the largest ice stream in the Alps.

An ice palace, observation deck, and snow terrace fill out the visit, though thin air and shifting weather can erase the view without warning.

The steep peak rising behind Machu Picchu is a climbable mountain in its own right, with narrow Inca-built stone steps switchbacking up its face.

From the summit the entire citadel unfolds below, terraces and all, with the Urubamba river winding through the valley beyond.

Only 200 permits are issued per morning slot, which keeps the trail genuinely uncrowded but means booking months ahead.

Mount Rainier is an active stratovolcano rising 4,392 metres above the Puget Sound lowlands of Washington State, making it the most topographically prominent peak in the contiguous United States.

In summer, its slopes are carpeted with wildflower meadows and it is reflected in the lakes of Paradise and Reflection Lakes.

A two-stage cable car, the bondinho, carries visitors from Praia Vermelha up over the forested Morro da Urca to the bare granite summit of Pão de Açúcar, 396 metres above Guanabara Bay.

From the top, Rio unfolds in full: Copacabana's curve, Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado, and the bay's scattering of islands.

It's one stop, one ride, and one of the most complete views of the city available anywhere.

Aconcagua rises 6,961 metres in Mendoza Province, the highest peak in both the Western and Southern Hemispheres and one of the Seven Summits.

Serious climbers spend two to three weeks on the standard Normal Route to the summit, but the mountain rewards a much shorter visit too: a half-day trek from the Horcones trailhead reaches Laguna de los Horcones, a glacial lake with a full view of the south face and glacier.

Aconcagua Provincial Park protects the surrounding high-altitude terrain.

Table Mountain's flat-topped summit, draped in its famous tablecloth of cloud, presides over Cape Town and offers 360-degree panoramas stretching from the Cape of Good Hope to the Winelands.

The mountain is home to an extraordinary number of endemic plant species found nowhere else on earth.

Africa's highest mountain stands alone on the Tanzanian plains, rising 5,895 metres above sea level as the world's tallest free-standing mountain.

Its snow-capped volcanic summit, increasingly threatened by climate change, can be reached by non-technical trekkers via several routes through dramatically changing ecosystems.

Al Soudah sits near Jabal Sawda, Saudi Arabia's highest point, in the green, cool Asir highlands near Abha — a striking contrast to the desert most visitors expect.

Juniper forests cling to terraced mountainsides, mist regularly rolls through the valleys, and a cable car descends from the plateau edge down toward the valley floor thousands of metres below.

Southeast Asia's highest peak rises from Borneo's jungle in a single dramatic granite massif, its bare summit plateau catching sunrise light above a sea of cloud.

The two-day climb passes from rainforest through cloud forest into an alpine, almost lunar landscape near the top.

Via ferrata routes on the summit's granite face offer a far more exposed alternative to the standard trail.

The Zugspitze is Germany's highest peak, and a cable car climbs almost straight from the valley town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen to its summit, where the view on a clear day takes in more than 400 peaks across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy.

A small glacier survives near the top, along with a ski area that operates into summer, and the border with Austria runs directly across the summit platform.

The Nordkette range rises so steeply above Innsbruck that a cable car runs directly from the edge of the old town to a mountain station above 2,300 metres in under 20 minutes.

From the top, the view takes in the Alpine capital below and rows of peaks stretching into Italy and Germany, and hiking trails and via ferrata routes continue further up the ridge.

Europe's highest point is a dormant twin-peaked volcano in the Caucasus, its snow-capped summit visible from the surrounding valleys long before you arrive.

Cable cars now climb much of the lower mountain, opening sweeping glacier views to more than just summit climbers.

The upper slopes remain a serious high-altitude route, glaciated and genuinely hazardous in poor weather.

A steep overnight trek up this dormant volcano rewards climbers with a front-row camp beside its base, facing directly at neighboring Fuego, one of Central America's most active volcanoes, erupting with visible lava and ash several times an hour after dark.

The climb is genuinely strenuous, gaining nearly 1,500 meters over loose scree, but reaching the summit at dawn for views over a sea of clouds is one of Guatemala's most rewarding treks.

Tanzania's second-highest peak is frequently climbed as acclimatization practice for Kilimanjaro, but stands as a serious, rewarding trek in its own right, with a technical scramble near the summit that Kilimanjaro's standard routes don't require.

The ascent passes through montane forest thick with colobus monkeys and buffalo before opening onto an ash cone and crater rim, with views across to Kilimanjaro on clear mornings.

Once one of the richest cities on Earth thanks to silver extracted from Cerro Rico, the mountain looming over it, Potosí's colonial wealth built ornate churches and mints that sit at odds with the mine's grim ongoing history — miners, some still teenagers, work the same tunnels using techniques barely changed in centuries.

Guided tours into the active mine are genuinely sobering, an unfiltered look at conditions few visitors ever encounter.