Guide · method
How long is the trail, really?
Published kilometres disagree because they often measure different lines. The figure on our trail pages is the 2-D length of the stored route. Official numbers are cross-checks, not replacements.
What we publish
For an OSM corridor the DataPoint is the planar length of osm:relation:<id> after the snaps the record discloses. It is not 3-D distance along the slope, not a GPS tracklog, and not an average of blogs. A * means the length is still provisional. GR20 below is a case where the OSM line sits inside the published band and the flag is off.
When official pages disagree with each other, we leave the disagreement in view. We do not pick a favourite and write it over the map.
Everest Base Camp Trek — schematic, not walking distance
This is the honesty centrepiece. There is no single OSM route=hiking relation for the classic Lukla–Everest Base Camp teahouse walk. An automatic way-chain through the Namche path grid concatenated about 125 km of village networks and was not stored. The record is a curated polyline through eight named places.
42.9 km is pin-to-pin, not walking distance. Published walking figures already noted on the record (~62–65 km one-way / ~130 km round trip) are cross-checks. Three numbers, three jobs: the schematic corridor (this DataPoint), a one-way walking length, and the usual out-and-back. Wikivoyage’s EBC page is cited on the record for itinerary days, not as this kilometre.en.wikivoyage.org · 2026-08-24
Why they differSchematic pin-to-pin versus walking kilometres versus an out-and-back — not three measurements of the same line.
Acute mountain sickness above about 3,000 m is the public safety fact on that walk. Length debates do not change it.
Lycian Way — connected spine, not the published end
The OSM line is the longest connected component of relation 51855: Ovacık/Hisarönü toward Olympos/Kumluca. Leftover fragments 178.2 km (mainly Kemer–Geyikbayırı) were not glued — joining them would invent a long connector. The stored spine therefore stops short of the published Antalya / Geyikbayırı terminus.
Published cross-checks, not this DataPoint: Culture Routes Society 760 km Fethiye/Ölüdeniz to Geyikbayırı; Wikipedia infobox ~520 km and body ~760 km; other leads 436 / 500 / 509 / 540 km depending on endpoints and variants.cultureroutesinturkey.com · 2026-08-20en.wikipedia.org · 2026-08-20
Why they differDifferent ends, different variants, and an OSM gap we would not invent a connector to close.
Laugavegur — same name, different walk
Our line is Landmannalaugar→Þórsmörk (OSM relation 1225037). FÍ’s published ~55 km is a cross-check for that highland hut trek. Current English Wikipedia infobox is 54 km, same termini. The OSM record also discloses a ~2.6 km mapping gap between the two halves, bridged by a snap and included in this length.
Wikidata Q151268 still stores length 76 km (P2043, imported from English Wikipedia, 6 Feb 2021) and terminus statements for Landmannalaugar and Skógar. Skógar is the coastal end of Fimmvörðuháls — a different continuation beyond Þórsmörk. The 76 km figure is not this DataPoint.fi.is · 2026-08-24wikidata.org · 2026-08-24en.wikipedia.org · 2026-08-24
Why they differSources are not counting the same kilometres: Landmannalaugar→Þórsmörk versus a figure stored with a Skógar terminus.
Kumano Kodo — Nakahechi (Takijiri to Hongū) — section, not Nachi
OSM tags this relation Takijiri bus stop→Kumano Hongu Taisha (tagged distance 36). That is the Nakahechi main line to Hongū, not Kohechi, Ohechi, Iseji, or the walk on to Nachi.
Tanabe’s suggested-walks page does not print a single Nakahechi total. Its published sections are Takijiri→Chikatsuyu ~16 km, Chikatsuyu→Hongu ~24.5 km, then Hongu→Koguchi ~13 km and Koguchi→Nachi ~14.5 km. This record’s published cross-check band is ~70–78 km / 4–6 days (sources disagree) for Takijiri toward Nachi including Kumotori stages. Cross-checks, not this DataPoint.tb-kumano.jp · 2026-08-24
Why they differSection to Hongū versus the full Takijiri→Nachi pilgrimage walk.
GR20 — when the numbers sit together
Relation 12484370 is GR 20 Principale, Calenzana→Conca. Yellow-dot alpine variants are separate OSM relations and were not fetched.
Published cross-checks cluster near ~180 km (PNRC Frà li monti; Wikipedia GR 20 infobox 180 km, CC BY-SA). OSM 183.6 km sits in that band with variants excluded.pnr.corsica · 2026-08-24en.wikipedia.org · 2026-08-24
Why they differMeasurement method and whether a variant is in the total — small disagreement, same corridor. This case is here so the method is not only shown when sources clash.
Also in this desk: Permit & season calendar · How hut-to-hut booking works.
Questions
How long is the Everest Base Camp trek?
This encyclopedia’s DataPoint is 42.9 km: a curated schematic village line (pin-to-pin), not walking distance. No single OSM hiking relation maps Lukla to Everest Base Camp; an auto way-chain of village paths ballooned and was not stored. Published walking figures on the record (~62–65 km one-way / ~130 km round trip) are cross-checks, not this DataPoint.
Why do sources disagree on the Lycian Way length?
Our DataPoint is the OSM 2-D length of the connected Ovacık/Hisarönü→Olympos spine (454.5 km, osm:relation:51855). Leftover eastern fragments toward Geyikbayırı/Antalya were not glued (178.2 km on the record). Published figures (Culture Routes Society 760 km Fethiye/Ölüdeniz to Geyikbayırı; Wikipedia infobox ~520 km and body ~760 km; other leads 436 / 500 / 509 / 540 km) measure different endpoints and variants. Sources disagree; the OSM line is the DataPoint.
How do you measure trail distance?
Planar 2-D length of the stored route line — for OSM corridors, osm:relation:<id> after disclosed snaps, not 3-D slope distance and not a GPS tracklog. Official or published kilometres are cited as cross-checks. When they disagree, we say so rather than pick a favourite. A schematic or partial line is labelled as such.