‘These places are for us too’: Muslim Hikers join ascent to the UK’s highest peak
The organisation’s third annual Ben Nevis trek will take place on Sunday 23 August, proving that nature and the great outdoors are here for everyone
Haroon Mota was in his late teens when he first climbed Ben Nevis more than two decades ago. The Scottish mountain has pulled him back ever since. “I got hooked on hiking when I was young, but it always felt strange how little I’d see people that looked like me in the mountains,” Mota says.
Related content
It’s what made him found Muslim Hikers, a community that brings Muslims together through hiking and outdoor adventures.
On Sunday 23 August, he will return to Britain’s highest peak as part of Muslim Hikers’ third annual Ben Nevis trek, a guided 17km ascent organised with professional mountain leaders.
“It’s about showing our communities that these places are for us too.”
The climb is open to both Muslims and non-Muslims, and organisers say it is aimed at both seasoned hikers and those attempting their first major mountain.
Muslim Hikers’ first trip to Ben Nevis took place in 2024. It has since become one of the highlights of the group’s calendar, drawing participants from across the UK and Europe.
“One of the most rewarding things is seeing just how far people are willing to travel for this event,” Mota says. “What started as a local initiative has become a national movement, with people forming friendships that stretch far beyond their own towns and cities.”
Mota started Muslim Hikers as an Instagram page during the Covid-19 pandemic to connect with other Muslims interested in the outdoors. When restrictions eased, the group organised its first walk. The response, he says, “exceeded anything I expected”.
Since then, Muslim Hikers has grown into a nationwide community, with thousands of members, regular hikes across the UK and partnerships with organisations including the National Trust, National Parks and YHA. Its routes have taken participants to destinations including the Peak District in Derbyshire and Mount Toubkal in Morocco.
For Mota, the issue is not simply that Muslims are underrepresented in outdoors activitites, but that hiking has felt culturally distant in the first place. “We didn’t grow up hiking as families, joining walking clubs or planning weekends in the mountains,” he says. “Naturally, if something isn’t part of your lifestyle, you don’t develop an appetite for it.”
Muslim Hikers hopes to change that. “Representation and belonging absolutely matter, but first we have to inspire curiosity. We have to help people see that nature is something worth experiencing in the first place,” Mota says.
“Once someone joins their first hike, something often changes. They realise the outdoors isn’t just accessible to them, it’s something they genuinely enjoy and want to keep coming back to.”
For the Ben Nevis trek, organisers have planned around prayer times, halal food and provided advice on modest clothing. Around 150 people are expected to take part.
“Ben Nevis is no joke, even in summer,” says Isma Ashraf, Muslim Hikers’ community and events coordinator. “We plan around weather, temperature drops, wind, visibility and how quickly conditions can change.”
Ashraf says some women told her they had never hiked before because they were unsure what to wear or whether they would feel comfortable praying outdoors. “Seeing them relax, settle in and enjoy the day reminds me how important these small details are,” she says.
Participants can join the hike independently for £45 or choose from a variety of fundraising packages. The event is being run in partnership with Charity Right, which provides meals for vulnerable children in Palestine and around the world.
Transport, equipment and cosst can all keep people away from the outdoors, Mota says, but “confidence is often the biggest obstacle”. “The outdoors is for everyone, but not everyone feels that message equally.”
Among those preparing for their first Ben Nevis climb is Zara Sheikh, a 28-year-old teacher from Birmingham. Ben Nevis will be her second event with Muslim Hikers, having previously climbed Scafell Pike with the group. “My parents thought I was making it up,” she says. Once they realised it was “the real deal”, they encouraged her to go for it.
Walking as part of a large Muslim group changes the nature of the challenge itself. “People often tell us they wouldn’t attempt it alone or with a mainstream club because they worry about being the only Muslim, or about feeling judged or out of place,” Ashraf says. “It turns the climb into a celebration, a shared experience with their community rather than just a mountain to conquer.”
Zohaib Hussain, 36, from Edinburgh, has climbed Ben Nevis twice before but signed up for the social aspect as much as the physical challenge. He says he is most looking forward to “meeting people and making new friends”.
The trek begins at 7.30am and takes seven to 10 hours. By late afternoon, the group is expected to be making its way back down the mountain. But, Mota says, success “isn’t measured by altitude”.
“If participants leave believing that Britain’s mountains and countryside are places where they truly belong, then we’ve achieved exactly what we set out to do,” he says.
