Flanked by clifftop Byzantine castles, with gorges twice as deep as anything on the Zambezi, the rivers of the Kackar mountains, in northeastern Turkey, are regarded by rapids-addicts as a top-three must-raft destination. In August, they are Grade 3, but in May, with snowmelt flooding the narrow gorges, they can reach an exhilarating 5 —one below unrunnable. The rafting specialist Water by Nature (01226 740444, www.waterbynature.com) has one week — with five days’ rafting on the Coruh and Barhal Rivers — for £1,155, including all meals, transfers, equipment and flights with Turkish Airlines to Erzurum via Istanbul. You camp when rafting, with the last night spent in a small hotel in Erzurum. Guided trekking extensions are available.

MOST SCENIC JOURNEY

Haute Route, Alps

The indomitable grandaddy of Europe’s long-distance footpaths, the Haute Route passes beneath a who’s who of 13,000ft Alpine peaks, including Mt Blanc and the Matterhorn, crossing 11 breathtaking passes on its way from Chamonix to Zermatt. High as you are — you’ll hike the equal of a Ben Nevis a day if you do it in the standard eight days — there’s nothing technical about it, so pack Keve Reynolds’s invaluable Chamonix to Zermatt: The Walker’s Haute Route (Cicerone £12.95), and you’re away. Alternatively, Exodus (0870 950 0039, www.exodus.co.uk) has a 14-night Walker’s Haute Route tour, tackling it in 10 days, for £884, including most meals, luggage transfers, guiding, transfers and flights to Geneva.

WILDEST ESCAPE

Riding, Finland

Most riding holidays in Europe are a languorous waltz between gastro-inns and picnic stops, but this is a rough, ready peasant polka, just a quick trot from the Arctic Circle, galloping through forest thick with moose and reindeer. The summer snowmelt makes for seriously exciting crossings through swollen rivers — beginners should break in their jodhpurs elsewhere. As should fans of pampering: accommodation is in log cabins and huts, and riders are expected to tack-and-groom unaided. In the Saddle (01299 272997, www.inthesaddle. co.uk) has eight nights, full-board, from £1,029, including the five-day ride, two nights’ B&B in Helsinki, transfers and flights to Kuusamo via Helsinki.

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()BEST BRITISH ESCAPE

Sea kayaking, Scotland

With fjord-like bays and mighty sea cliffs, Skye is a place you could tour by Ford Escort and still feel swamped by magic. Jump in a sea kayak, then potter about its seal-covered skerries and wild, abandoned beaches, with weird, gnarly pinnacles glowering down at you through the early-morning mist, and that magic becomes almost frighteningly immense. Nowhere on the island is it more palpable than at Loch Scavaig, surrounded by an amphitheatre of Cuillin peaks — inaccessible except on foot or kayak. The Scottish outdoor adventure specialist Wilderness Scotland (0131 625 6635, www.wildernessscotland.com) has five nights’ kayaking and camping in Loch Scavaig and Loch Slapin, with plenty of time factored in for ascents of some of the magnificent peaks around the bay, including Bla Bheinn and Sgurr na Stri. Kayaking experience is essential. Prices start at £495, full-board, including equipment, guiding and transfers from Inverness, but not flights. Airlines serving Inverness include BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) and EasyJet (www.easyjet.com).

STEEPEST LEARNING CURVE

Climbing, Mallorca

Warm, dry and fabulously sunny, with limestone cliffs that act like superglue on the fingertips, Mallorca is one of the best places in Europe to learn the climbing ropes. Based in a villa, with pool, near medieval Pollensa, Serac Outdoor Sports (0191 519 4495, www.seracoutdoorsports.co.uk) has week-long courses for all abilities and ambitions, tackling anything from Grade 3 single pitches (the owner, Andy Hedgecock, says his five-year-old has managed worse) to 10-pitch, 900ft cliffs that plunge vertically into the surf. Courses cost £685pp, full-board, including transfers, but not flights.

Fly to Palma with EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), Excel Airways (0870 320 7777, www.xl.com) or BMI Baby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com).

TOUGHEST CHALLENGE

Cycling around Mt Blanc

You climb the equivalent of Everest in four days, with a 93-mile final day across three 5,000ft passes that figured in last year’s Tour de France. Punishing and cruel, it was just about the best four days of my summer last year, with wonderful sweeping descents through classic mountain villages, and lung-bursting passes with awesome views of Mt Blanc — not to mention hard-earned après-pedal in remote Alpine villages along the way. GPM10 (00 33 6 62 62 90 22, www.gpm10.com) has five nights, full-board, from £495, including support vehicle, guiding and transfers from Geneva, but not flights. Airlines flying there include BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), EasyJet (www.easyjet.co.uk) and BMI Baby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com).

BEST NEWCOMER

Mountain-biking, Slovenia

Cutting right across northern Slovenia, the remote Karavanke Alps are crisscrossed by mule trails and ancient tracks that had largely grown over — until now. Local mountain-bikers have hacked back the weeds to create a staggering network of single-track paths that must rate as one of the best — and most challenging — in Europe. From your base in a sleepy farming village in the Upper Meza Valley, days are flexible — masochists can hit the ridges with local guides, while sensible cyclists can pedal from farm to farm with UK-qualified instructors, enjoying greetings that make Chamonix look like the Bronx. CycleActive (01768 840400, www.cycleactive.co.uk) has seven nights, B&B, for £590, including most dinners, professional guides and transfers from Ljubljana, but not flights or bike hire. Fly with Wizzair (www.wizzair.com), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com) or Adria Airways (020 7734 4630, www.adria-airways.com).

Prices are per person, based on two sharing in summer. Flights, where included, are from London. Contact the operator for regional departure options

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