Walking has been one of humanity's most powerful means of expression, a way to explore the world, promote peace, raise awareness and push the boundaries of human endurance. From Cold War peace marches crossing multiple continents to solo circumnavigations lasting years, the walks listed here represent some of the most remarkable feats of human determination ever recorded. Whether driven by political conviction, spiritual purpose, environmental concern or the simple urge to discover, these walkers share one thing: the decision to put one foot in front of the other, mile after mile, across the world.
Group Walks
The longest group walks on record — defined as expeditions involving three or more participants who covered most of the distance on foot — have often been motivated by peace activism and social causes.
The longest group walk on record covered 11,000 km (7,000 miles) between March 1984 and November 1985. Known as the Walk of the People – A Pilgrimage for Life, it called for an end to the Cold War. Walkers departed from Point Conception, California, traversed Texas and the Deep South to New York City, then flew to Dublin and continued on foot toward East Germany, Hungary and eventually Moscow.
Between April 1982 and December 1983, a peace walk of about 20 core participants led by Jesuit Fr. Jack Morris and Fr. George Zabelka — the pastor for the airmen who dropped the atomic bombs on Japan in 1945 — covered 10,500 km (6,500 miles) from Seattle to Washington D.C., then through Europe and the Middle East, concluding in Bethlehem in the West Bank.
From December 1960 to October 1961, the Committee for Non-Violent Action, led by pacifist leaders A.J. Muste and Bradford Lyttle, organised a walk of approximately 9,500 km (5,900 miles) from San Francisco to New York and on through Europe. Unlike most comparable projects, the group successfully obtained permission to walk through the Soviet Union.
Between March 1981 and October 1983, a peace walk of 8,900 km (5,500 miles) departed from Bangor, Washington, reaching Boston before continuing through the United Kingdom and toward East Germany. Some participants spent nine months negotiating for visas to walk through Czechoslovakia and Poland.
Between April 1982 and August 1984, writer and activist C.B. Hall led a group on a 8,900 km (5,500 miles) walk from Seattle to New York and across much of Europe. They were not permitted to walk in Eastern Europe but obtained visas to meet people in East Germany, and some members visited Moscow to meet with Soviet Peace Committee officials.
From April 1980 to May 1981, HikaNation was a 14-month cross-country backpacking trip of 6,898 km (4,286 miles) from Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to Cape Henlopen, Delaware, passing through 14 states and Washington D.C.
Between December 1994 and August 1995, Japanese Buddhist monks of the Nipponzan-Myōhōji-Daisanga led a 5,000 km (3,100 miles) walk from Auschwitz, Poland, to Nagasaki, Japan, passing through war zones in Bosnia and troubled regions of Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Iraq, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. More than 1,000 people from different nations joined at various points.
In 2014, former Iowa state representative Ed Fallon led the Great March for Climate Action, a 5,000 km (3,100 miles) walk across the United States to raise awareness of climate change, with about 30 core participants.
In February 1978, several hundred Native Americans and supporters marched 4,800 km (3,000 miles) from Alcatraz Island in San Francisco to Washington D.C. to affirm American Indians' land and water rights, in what became known as the Longest Walk. Similar marches were organised in 1980, 1984, 2008, 2011, 2013 and 2016.
Between April 2006 and April 2007, four musicians and artists walked 4,800 km (3,000 miles) from Venice Beach, California, to New York to encourage creative pursuits.
Between March 2019 and May 2020, Alexander Gabyshev, a Siberian shaman, walked approximately 3,200 km (2,000 miles) from the Republic of Sakha toward Moscow with the declared goal of performing a ritual to cause President Vladimir Putin to resign. Russian authorities detained him and committed him to a psychiatric institution in May 2020, in a move criticised by Amnesty International and other organisations.
Among Indian group walks, the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra (January–March 2024) covered 6,200 km (3,900 miles) from Thoubal, Manipur, to Mumbai; the Bharat Jodo Yatra (September 2022 – January 2023) covered 4,080 km (2,540 miles) from Kanyakumari to Jammu and Kashmir; and the padyatra led by Chandra Shekhar (January–June 1983) covered 4,260 km (2,650 miles) from Kanyakumari to Rajghat, New Delhi.
Solo and Duo Walks
The longest recorded solo walk was completed by Canadian Jean Béliveau, who walked 81,400 km (50,600 miles) between August 2000 and October 2011, passing through 64 countries and wearing out 49 pairs of shoes. Setting out from Montreal, he raised awareness for children who suffer from violence and returned to Montreal to a welcome of several hundred people.
Mildred Norman, who renamed herself Peace Pilgrim in 1953, walked continuously back and forth across the United States from January 1953 until her death in a road accident in July 1981, accumulating an estimated 70,000 km (43,500 miles). She stopped counting after reaching 40,000 km (25,000 miles).
Italian Nicolò Guarrera walked around the world between August 2020 and September 2025, covering more than 36,000 km (22,400 miles) across Western Europe, South America, Australia, India, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Turkey and the Balkans, pushing a stroller named Ezio carrying all his supplies. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean by boat and completed his journey at his home in northern Italy.
Spanish adventurer nicknamed "Nacho Dean" walked 33,000 km (20,505 miles) between March 2013 and March 2016, crossing 31 countries to raise awareness for environmental causes. He survived violent attacks in Mexico, Peru and El Salvador.
British veteran Chris Lewis walked the entire coastline of the United Kingdom — approximately 32,000 km (19,894 miles) — between August 2017 and July 2023, raising over £500,000 for the armed forces charity SSAFA.
George Meegan, a British adventurer and former Merchant Navy seaman, hiked 30,608 km (19,019 miles) between January 1977 and September 1983, from Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America to the northernmost point of Alaska — a journey he described as a "celebration of freedom."
A Russian walker from St. Petersburg covered 26,900 km (16,700 miles) between August 1894 and September 1898 in what some consider the first true walk around the world, starting from Riga and passing through South Russia, Iran, Armenia, Siberia, Mongolia, Japan, the United States, France and Germany.
Steven M. Newman, 28 years old, from Bethel, Ohio, walked 24,959 km (15,509 miles) through 21 countries between April 1983 and April 1987, in what Guinness World Records recognised as the first documented solo circumnavigation on foot.
Brothers John and David Kunst walked 23,260 km (14,450 miles) from Minnesota between June 1970 and October 1974, in the first verified walk around the Earth according to Guinness World Records. John was shot and killed by bandits in Afghanistan; David survived and completed the journey.
Prem Kumar, founder of social service organisations in India, walked 16,900 km (10,500 miles) between October 1982 and August 1986, covering multiple countries to raise awareness for peace and development.
A Russian adventurer from St. Petersburg (Sergei Lukyanov) walked 32,000 km (20,000 miles) between April 2015 and February 2017, crossing 25 countries and 4 continents unaccompanied.
A Japanese walker covered 12,000 km (7,500 miles) along the Silk Road from Xi'an to Rome between June 1994 and November 1996, documenting the journey in a 622-page book.
Pablo Nemo, a Spanish adventurer, walked 15,000 km (9,300 miles) from Cape Town to Cairo between November 2021 and January 2024, crossing 11 African countries unassisted.
Shihab Chottur, from Kerala, India, walked 8,639 km (5,368 miles) from his home state to Mecca to perform the Haj, between June 2022 and May 2023.
Alexandre Poussin and Sylvain Tesson walked approximately 5,000 km (3,100 miles) from Bhutan to Tajikistan in 174 days in 1997, crossing some closed borders secretly.
Avdhesh Sharma walked 4,200 km (2,600 miles) from Thang, Ladakh — the northernmost village in India — to Cape Comorin in 127 days in 2021, the first person to complete this route on foot.
Long-Distance Runs
Irish ultrarunner Tony Mangan ran 50,001 km (31,069 miles) between October 2010 and October 2014, starting and finishing at the Dublin Marathon, passing through North America, Central and South America, Australia, Asia and Europe. He ran to raise funds for a charity supporting people with depression, pushing a stroller named Nirvana carrying his belongings.
British runner Robert Garside was cited by Guinness World Records as the first person to run around the world, covering 48,000 km (29,826 miles) between October 1997 and June 2003, passing through India, Tibet, China, Japan, Australia, South America, Mexico, the United States, Africa and Turkey.
Wheelchair Expeditions
Canadian wheelchair athlete Rick Hansen pushed his wheelchair through 34 countries on four continents between March 1985 and May 1987, covering 40,100 km (24,900 miles). He wheeled along the Great Wall of China and met Pope John Paul II at the Vatican. The project raised $26 million for spinal cord injury research.
A former Russian athlete walked and wheeled 32,000 km (20,000 miles) across 25 countries between April 2015 and February 2017, departing from and returning to St. Petersburg.
Source: Wikipedia, List of longest walks, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_walks