While visiting foreign cities, the importance of wandering through museums and seeing iconic monuments is often stressed to you by family and peers. There is an undeniable amount of history behind places like The Louvre or monuments like Big Ben. Famous icons that represent an entire culture must be seen and respected. But guided tours and monument selfies shouldn’t be the extent of your explorations while abroad. It is also worthwhile to take a step outdoors and see what a city’s surrounding nature has to offer.

You can do this by researching nearby natural landmarks or national parks. In Belfast, my study abroad group hiked through Tollymore Forest at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. The forest was beautiful and it was so nice to see such rich, untouched landscapes. It also got our legs moving after a long train ride and allowed for us to step outside of the museums for a bit.

Hiking while on any vacation will not only give you great landscape photo ops, but also a better understanding of the land that you are visiting. In places like Belfast, some land is very sacred and holds just as much history as a monument in a town square, so don’t be afraid to switch up your itinerary and head outside of the city you are exploring. Hiking also can bring people closer together. You will find that relationships with your traveling companions will blossom by spending time together in an unknown setting because you’re looking out for one another. Not to mention that research has repeatedly shown how spending time surrounded by nature is a natural cure-all. You will learn more about the people you are with, the countries you are visiting, and most importantly, yourself.

photo credit: Philip McErlean Developing Shower via photopin (license)