Field notes · Our worldwide survey
How many via ferratas are there in the world?
Our research recorded 3,568 leads. An editorial shortlist led to the evaluation of 299 experiences and the selection of 100. This was not an exhaustive evaluation of every complete profile.
Recorded leads · 6 August 2026
The starting point for our worldwide research.
Our research draws on OpenStreetMap, specialist directories and leads from earlier research. The dossier for our 6 August 2026 edition contains 3,568 normalised candidates: entries put into a consistent format so they can be compared and examined.
The starting materials include 4,672 OpenStreetMap objects, 2,097 normalised OSM sites and 1,798 raw directory entries. These figures refer to different sources and stages of the work. Adding them together does not produce a count of unique routes.
One itinerary may appear under several names, consist of several mapped sections or include alternative lines. Our 3,568-lead corpus still contains duplicates, segments, false positives and entries that have not been investigated. It measures the scope of the initial survey; it does not establish the existence of 3,568 distinct via ferratas.
Read our method and the scope of the surveyexperiences evaluated
An editorial shortlist, followed by evaluation.
The 299 evaluated experiences came from an editorial shortlist built through successive research rounds. Profile completeness was not the only filter: eligibility and anticipated editorial interest also influenced selection before scoring.
An intermediate audit examined 343 candidates and retained 252 as eligible, excluding 91 from the via ferrata scope. Later research and additions brought the evaluated list to 299. These figures describe stages of the work, not an exhaustive review of all 3,568 leads.
The research log also records candidates rejected before scoring. For example, Kesselfall Klettersteig in Kleinarl was not advanced because it was considered insufficiently distinctive to enter the Top 15. That was a shortlisting judgement, not the result of a scored comparison against every other route.
We have not established that all other profiles were incomplete. The 299 are the shortlist actually evaluated for this edition. Evaluating every complete profile would require identifying candidates outside this list and applying the same scoring framework to them. We do not claim that this work is complete.
Our 6 August 2026 edition
selected experiences
100 experiences selected across 29 countries.
The selection then moves through 150 finalists: fifteen in each of ten categories. We retain ten experiences per category to make up the Top 100. The ranking compares story, distinctiveness, intensity of experience, travel interest and the strength of the evidence.
This distribution makes room for different kinds of experience. It also explains why our Top 100 is not an unconstrained ranking of all 299 candidates. Technical difficulty and social-media popularity do not determine the score.
So how many via ferratas are there in the world? Our work provides a survey of 3,568 leads, a documented evaluation of 299 experiences and a selection of 100. It cannot establish an exhaustive worldwide total of unique, verified and open routes.
To continue your research, explore the map of our 100 experiences across 29 countries. Filter by country, open the profiles and consult their sources. A destination missing from the ranking may still have via ferratas: our selection helps identify distinctive detours, rather than listing every route in existence.
Explore the map of 100 experiences