Colorado Landmark Considered One of the Most “Physically Demanding” Hikes on Earth

Not too many people in the United States have heard of the Manitou Incline. Indeed, a lot of Colorado residents haven’t heard of it.

But if you’ve ever hiked it, you’ll never forget it.

Now, a British gymnasium has dubbed it the second most “physically demanding” landmark on earth.

In June, the British health club chain PureGym compared tourist attractions around the world that require considerable exertion. For the most part, they were landmarks with a lot of stairs.

Old places. You know, castles and stuff.

“Many people will know the feeling of climbing hundreds of stairs and reaching the top of a viewpoint feeling like you’ve just completed a gym class, so we wanted to take a closer look and find out which landmarks are the most physically demanding overall,” PureGym wrote of its list.

The Manitou Incline—near Colorado Springs—is the cleared line of a narrow-gauge funicular railroad that was built in 1907. The railroad was washed out in 1990. Local organizations have repurposed it as a hiking trail with huge wooden sleepers on each step. The Incline has an average grade of 45 percent and is as steep as 68 percent in places.

To find world’s most physically demanding landmarks, the PureGym looked at several factors including the number of steps required to “experience” the landmark, the average temperature at the landmark, and the elevation gain. Using these numbers PureGym then built a score out of 100 for each landmark.

The most demanding was the Flørli Stairs in Norway. The Manitou Incline was second, and Poenari Castle in Romania was third.

There were only three US landmarks on the list: the Incline, the Saint Augustine Lighthouse in Florida (18 ^th ) and Cape Hatteras Light Station in North Carolina (22 ^nd ).

"Over the 1.42-kilometer distance, hikers gain 613 meters in elevation, so your legs will definitely get a good workout from this one!” PureGym wrote. “Anyone looking to take on the Incline for themselves needs to make a reservation via the City of Colorado Springs website, due to overcrowding of the attraction. With a score of 63 out of 100, the Incline finds itself in second place in our rankings.”

The full list is below:

1. Flørli Stairs, Norway: 4,444 steps, exertion score of 76

2. Manitou Incline, U.S.: 2,768 steps, exertion score of 63

3. Poenari Castle, Romania: 1,480 steps, exertion score of 58

4. Konpira-san Shrine, Japan: 1,368 steps, exertion score of 50

5. Arthur’s Seat, Scotland: 3,200 steps, exertion score of 48

6. Sigiriya, Sri Lanka: 1,200 steps, exertion score of 46

7. Park Guell, Spain: 1,984 steps, exertion score of 43

8. Petra Monastery, Jordan: 800 steps, exertion score of 41

9. Castle of the Moors, Portugal: 500 steps, exertion score of 41

10. Batu Caves, Malaysia: 272 steps, exertion score of 40

11. Vindhyagiri Steps, India: 660 steps, exertion score of 39

12. Sydney Harbour Bridge, Australia: 1,332 steps, exertion score of 39

13. Guatapé Rock, Colombia: 740 steps, exertion score of 35

14. Seville Cathedral, Spain: 700 steps, exertion score of 35

15. Heaven’s Gate, China: 999 steps, exertion score of 34

16. Monolithos Castle, Greece: 120 steps, exertion score of 34

17. Christ the Redeemer, Brazil: 220 steps, exertion score of 31

18. St. Augustine Lighthouse, U.S.: 219 steps, exertion score of 30

19. Dubrovnik City Walls, Croatia: 1,080 steps, exertion score of 30

20. Florence Cathedral (Duomo), Italy: 414 steps, exertion score of 28

21. Sagrada Familia, Spain: 504 steps, exertion score of 27

22. Cape Hatteras Light Station, US: 257 steps, exertion score of 27

23. Palazzo Vecchio, Italy: 223 steps, exertion score of 27

24. Tokyo Tower, Japan: 600 steps, exertion score of 27

25. Skellig Michael, Ireland: 618 steps, exertion score of 26

More on the list can be found here . It also offers tips should you want to challenge yourself on one of these landmarks.