Best Mountain Quotes: For Climbing and Love For Mountains

These mountain quotes are going to instil in you the love for climbing mountains and travelling them.

The air condition of the car felt like a whiff of cool air emerging right from a timeworn refrigerator, choking my throat with every inhalation. And then, in just a matter of a few minutes, it gave a quick but restless comfort – something I was not much accustomed to.

This is how I found myself driving my sister’s car after a long trip to the mountains as I recalled a few beautiful mountain quotes I was discussing with friends while camping in Manali just last week.

In just a 5-kilometer stretch, I remember troubling about half a dozen other drivers on the road. Their indignation was quite visible through those irritated, disdained looks. They seemed to be following some sort of cultural hurried routine, while I was still much more relaxed, still experiencing peaceful blackouts – something I brought with me from the Himalayan mountains.

It’s crazy how man has developed technologies for speedy comfort, yet at the same time, he knows they’re making his life harder than ever, and perhaps a little more confusing too. But as I came down from the mountains this time, with new mountain quotes in Hindi reverberating in my head for more love and inspiration of climbing, I realized how these technologies of fast movements, which once seemed our greater luxuries, are luxuries no more.

Rather, it is the freedom from these technologies – something that only allows us to sit still and enjoy the moment – that now feels like the ultimate prize. Hence I am writing this blog today to share some of my favourite mountain and hiking quotes.

Because I know sitting still and watching the time go by has no longer remained an indulgence for those with no resources, but has become a necessity for those with enough resources, and for everyone else.

Now and then we read mountain quotes, seeking more climbing love and inspiration to step out of our confusing lives and experience moments of tranquillity. Maybe that’s why we run towards the Himalayas every weekend. They offer us a setting, a route map, to lose the world and cut through the noise, only to find some fresh energy within ourselves, and others.

So this time, upon my return, when I tried to adjust myself to the regular doings I left behind, to complete my one-month-long directionless wandering in the Himalayas, I discerned how much of those directionless wanderings (of mind and thoughts) were still required. And now, all I had were a few mountain quotes for love and tranquillity.

So if you too have recently returned from a trip to the Himalayas and are looking for some motivation to go and travel again. I am sharing some motivation.

Now let’s get started…

My Favorite Mountain Quotes

1. Climb the mountain not to plant your flag, but to embrace the challenge, enjoy the air and behold the view. Climb it so you can see the world, not so the world can see you. ― David Mc Cullough Jr.

2. Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves” – John Muir

3. He who climbs upon the highest mountains laughs at all tragedies, real or imaginary. ― Friedrich Neitszche

4. Over every mountain quotes there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. – Theodore Roosevelt

5. The mountains were his masters. They rimmed in life. They were the cup of reality, beyond growth, beyond struggle and death. They were his absolute unity amid eternal change. ― Thomas Wolfe

Travelling mountains has always remained my first love. I remember when I quit the job to travel the world the first destination I chose was mountains. I booked a one-way ticket to Bhutan and travelled for a month. And that was it. my love for the Himalayas and for climbing mountains began there. I have travelled there more than any other landscape in the world!

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6. Stop staring at the mountains. Climb them instead, yes, it’s a harder process but it will lead you to a better view.

7. Mountains know secrets we need to learn. That it might take time, it might be hard, but if you just hold on long enough, you will find the strength to rise. – Tyler Knott

8. Mountains know secrets we need to learn. That it might take time, it might be hard, but if you just hold on long enough, you will find the strength to rise. – Tyler Knott

9. Everybody wants to reach the peak, but there is no growth on the top of a mountain. It is in the valley that we slog through, the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak. – Andy Andrews

10. I think, every time I’m on the mountain, I’m just so thankful to be there. – Chloe Kim

Since it has been over 4 years now since I became a full-time Indian travel blogger I have explored pretty much every place in the Himalayas. And it is a record that every time I have travelled there I have kept new mountain quotes with me. Reciting them, again and again, bring some kind of learning in me. Hence, I am writing this blog for you today, so that you have a few of them too with you, always handy.

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11. Good things don’t come by easily. – Bear Grylls

12. The most dangerous thing you can do in life is play it safe. – Casey Neistat

13. Never measure the height of a mountain until you reach the top. Then you will see how low it was. – Dag Hammerskjold

14. Going to the mountains is like going home. – John Muir

15. The mountains were his masters. They rimmed in life. They were the cup of reality, beyond growth, beyond struggle and death. They were his absolute unity in the midst of eternal change. ― Thomas Wolfe

Travelling mountains is some kind of meditation in itself. When you are there, trekking or hiking, you see how insignificant we are in front of those colossal structures. I love reading beautiful travel quotes while trekking or something.

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16. I learn something every time I go into the mountains. – Michael Kennedy

17. The choices we make the lead up to actual experiences. It is one thing to decide to climb a mountain. It is quite another to be on top of it. – Herbert A. Simon

18. Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go. – T. S. Eliot

19. Mountains are only a problem when they are bigger than you. You should develop yourself so much that you become bigger than the mountains you face. ― Idowu Koyenikan

20. I’ve realized that at the top of the mountain, there’s another mountain. — Andrew Garfield

Out of all the places I have been to in the Himalayas, the town of Sethan remains my favourite. This is one of those rare places that I travel now and then, recalling my favorite mountain quotes. Do you also have any favourite location in the mountains you often find yourself climbing?

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21. Today, climbing has shown me a courageous, strong side of myself, a beautiful bravery. On other days I’ve seen pitiful weakness. I’ve watched myself crawl, belly-flat, across a mountainous landscape of fear. Climbing has shown me that I am all of these things: strong and weak, brave and cowardly, both immune to and at the mercy of the fear of death, all at the same time. Risk is the fee to learn these lessons. The cost is not negotiable. It is a price that, for now, I pay gladly. – Steve House

22. The mountains are calling and I must go. – John Muir

23. In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks. – John Muir

24. Leave the road, take the trails. – Pythagoras

25. You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so… get on your way! – Dr. Seuss

I clicked this picture while climbing the mountains of Auli – a very popular Ski destination in India. I often try to visit places during the offseason so that I can explore the real harmony and love of mountains. This allowed me to see the offbeat side of Auli. Do you often visit offbeat places in the mountains?

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26. I go to seek a great perhaps – John Green

27. To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles. – Mary Davis

28. Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try. – Micahel Jordan

29. Although I deeply love oceans, deserts, and other wild landscapes, it is only mountains that beckon me with that sort of painful magnetic pull to walk deeper and deeper into their beauty. – Victoria Erikson

30. For hiking is one of those things that you can only do when you have determination in you. – Unknown

Best Hiking Quotes

31. If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk. – Raymond Inmon

32. Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent school masters and teach of us more than we can ever learn from books. – John Lubbock

33. Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory. – Ed Viesturs

34. There are two kinds of climbers, those who climb because their heart sings when they’re in the mountains, and all the rest. – Alex Lowe

35. It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves. – Edmund Hillary

Other than visiting offbeat places, I do a lot of hiking and trekking myself. And when I hike, I often carry a tent with me and do solo camping. Solo camping, for me, has been the most mind-invigorating experience so far. I have gone camping almost everywhere in the Himalayas. From popular destinations like Manali to offbeat camping in Spiti Valley – I have tried it all.

Camping and hiking while reciting some inspirational mountain quotes is the best feeling in the world. Ever tried it?

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36. Returning home is the most difficult part of long-distance hiking; You have grown outside the puzzle and your piece no longer fits. – Cindy Ross

37. The mountains were so wild and so stark and so very beautiful that I wanted to cry. I breathed in another wonderful moment to keep safe in my heart. ― Jane Wilson-Howarth

38. The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain, he is inspired by it. – William Arthur Ward

39. Between every two pines there is a doorway to a new world. – John Muir

40. Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This one, again, is from Sethan – my favourite destination in the Himalayas in India. What’s your favorite destination in the Himalayas? Have you ever travelled to the Himalayan mountains in winter?

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41. Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing the lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. – Jack Kerouac

42. Deep down, at the molecular heart of life, the trees and we are essentially identical. – Carl Sagan

43. Choose the mountain you want to climb: don’t pay attention to what other people say, such as “that one’s more beautiful” or “this one’s easier”. You’ll be spending lots of energy and enthusiasm to reach your objective, so you’re the only one responsible and you should be sure of what you’re doing. – Paulo Coelho

44. When you go to the mountains, you see them and you admire them. In a sense, they give you a challenge, and you try to express that challenge by climbing them. – Edmund Hillary

45. Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. – Albert Einstein

And now, a video from my YouTube channel with more quotes…

When was the last time you experienced such rhapsodic, tranquil moments of pure stillness? When did you last visit the Himalayas?

Do you have any favourite hiking-in-the-mountain quotes other than the ones written above? Why not share them in the comments below?