Heart
of nature

FROM FORGOTTEN FISHERMEN’S PATHS TO ANCIENT FOREST TRAILS, THE HIKE STATION’S MANUEL EHRENSPERGER WALKS ON IBIZA’S WILDEST SIDE.

The Hike Station was founded in November 2020 following a period of radical transformation in the life of Swiss founder Manuel Ehrensperger. Manu chose to walk away from the life and career he’d spent a quarter of a century building. ‘I spent 21 days hiking 800 kilometres of the Camino de Santiago alone, in total silence. It completely changed my perception of what it means to be alive in this world. I had a breakthrough in consciousness and a realisation that to go far in life, you must go light. Light in possessions, light in desires, light in money. This became my new philosophy.’

Ibiza itself was never part of the plan – Manuel found himself on the island as part of a short-lived love story. It would be a fortuitous twist of fate. Quickly realising that the Ibiza of glossy travel magazines – beach bars, nightclubs and villa parties – would never satisfy his curiosity, Manuel retreated to the heart of nature to find a side of the island he could call his own. A daily paddleboard practice allowed him to explore Ibiza’s rugged northern coastline and hiking quickly followed. It was upon discovering the island’s network of long-forgotten farmer’s and fisherman’s trails that Manu began to see a future for himself amid Ibiza’s primitive landscapes and raw natural beauty. When a guidebook led him to the farflung wilderness of Cala Aubarca and Ibiza’s fabled Na Coloms, Manuel knew that he had found his purpose.

Manu’s motto – Hike to Get High – has become the philosophy he lives by. ‘We exist in a state of near-constant overstimulation. We need to get outside to disconnect from the chaos and to reconnect with ourselves,’ he says. Since entering the transformational third chapter of his life, Manu’s extraordinary journey of self-discovery and mid-life evolution has led him to become a motivational speaker, addressing the same industries he once spearheaded and advocating for a return to our most connected selves. ‘People are afraid of change, but they must learn to reframe that perception. We are all the source of our own joy, the architects of our own future. If we can just step past the fear of the unknown, there is a whole other world waiting.’
To go far in life,
you must go light.
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