On my second last day in Wales, we finally took to Mount Snowdon to get the majestic view that everyone had been raving about for 9 months prior. We set off in a cab to the mountain’s base, in the quaint town of Snowdonia. We set off on the Llanberis path, which closely follows the tourist train up the mountain for the first half of path or so. Lots of sheep, green grass, and mild slopes led to steeper inclines as we ascended the mountain.

  Near the top, the path united with the train tracks again, and Emily managed to get some shots of me with some train action going on in the background.

Getting to the top was nothing short of extraordinary. We were so lucky to get one of Wales’ more clear days, and with that our horizons extended as far as being able to see Ireland (from a very, very, VERY far distance). Of course, we ran into some sheep friends at the top as well, which were adorable and fluffy as usual.

On my hiking meter, on a scale of walk in the park to Mount Everest, I would give it about a 6/10 in difficulty. The incline of the slope we climbed varied with our location on the mountain, and the views definitely made the hike considerably easier than it would have been otherwise. Make sure your whole body is working before you hike, though! Emily was recovering from a recent ankle sprain during a cobblestone mixup in Scotland and struggled at some of the steeper parts of the climb.

It took us about 2.5 hours to get up, and 1 to get down, just in time for the last bus of the day….. at 4:20 p.m. (Tourists traveling by transit….. TAKE NOTE)!

If you want to experience North Wales and all it’s glory, Mount Snowdon is the hike for you. I know I’ll be back once I return to Wales.

Note: this post is a recapture from when I studied abroad for the year during 2013-2014. It was rewritten to enhance the included media and writing quality for this blog. The original post can be found here.