Need a high-flying thrill? How about strapping in and zooming across the tree tops at 100 mph? There are some pretty wild zip lines out there if you’re looking for that kind of adventure. Here are the most amazing ones we could find from Arizona to the United Arab Emirates.
World’s Longest Zip Line
It may have the world’s tallest building and islands shaped like massive palm trees, but the United Arab Emirates can now also claim the world’s longest zipline.
Taking off from the country’s highest mountain peak, Jebel Jais Flight, sends riders across a 1.76 mile journey (longer than 28 football fields), with the ride high above rocky terrain taking nearly three minutes.
The attraction is easy to get to. The northernmost emirate of Ras al-Khaimah is near the Oman border, roughly 75 minutes from Dubai.
World’s Second Longest Zip Line
Once a Guinness World Record holder for the world’s longest zip line, Puerto Rico’s “El Monstruo” (“The Monster”) is now a very close second, falling short by only around 2,000 feet.
Nothing to be mocked, this main attraction at Toroverde Adventure Park, in Orocovis, Puerto Rico, the zipline covers 7,234 feet (or around 1.5 miles) and rises a height of 1,200 above the jungle below. Riders have covered that distance headfirst at up to 95 mph, depending on weight. Transportation from San Juan, just 90 minutes away, is available.
World’s Fastest (and Europe’s longest) Zip Line
You’ll have to head to Wales to experience Europe’s fastest and longest zipline at Zip World. Riders fly by mountains at 100 mph, 500 feet above the ground.
Zip Across the Grand Canyon
No records, just insanely impressive views as you choose between two zip line lengths to cross Grand Canyon West at up to 50 mph, and 1,000 feet above the ground below you.
For sightseers, there’s the shorter journey, at 1,100 feet in length. A second one covers twice the distance but is a much steeper trip taking you down into the canyon.
You’ll find these new lines at Hualapai Reservation, in Arizona, which also is the home of the Skywalk, which sends visitors out above the West Rim of the Grand Canyon on a glass floor, 4,000 feet above the canyon. Prices for the ziplines start at $89 per person, with tickets covering access to the park.
World’s Longest Urban Zip Line
Leave it up to Dubai to offer up the world’s longest urban zipline. The XLine takes riders in tandem 3,300 feet over land and water across the Dubai Marina at up to 50 mph.
World’s Most Extreme Zip Line
You’ll have to head to Nepal to experience what’s considered the world’s most extreme zipline, the ZipFlyer Nepal.
During the two-minute ride, you plunge 2,000 feet down the side of a mountain, at an incline of 56%, racing up to 99 mph, with the Himalayas high above you. The price of $62 is well worth the thrill—you just have to get to the home of Mt. Everest.
World’s Largest Zip Line
Alaska’s The ZipRider, at Icy Strait Point, just outside the town of Hoonah, is considered “the world’s largest zip line,” and longest zipline in North America, moving at speeds of up to 65mph, high above the Alaskan wilderness.
What’s especially unique about this 90-second ride is that the 5,495-foot-long journey with six side-by-side cables. Most have two. This means a pretty good time for a larger family that wants to experience the thrills of Alaska’s outdoors together.
World’s Longest Zip Line Canopy Tour
Costa Rica is home to Miss Sky Canopy Tour, the longest zip line canopy tour in the world, a seven mile trip weaving through the country’s tropical forests with impressive views of mountain ridges and waterfalls along the way. Expect to pay around $65 per person.