Rising more than 1444m above the valley floor of the Yosemite National Park in California lies a famous granite rock formation known as ‘Half Dome’. Deriving its name from its unique shape – a sheer face on one side while the other three sides are smooth and curved, it was nicknamed as Tis-sa-ack, in the local language of the Ahwahnechee people. This literally translates to the ‘Face of a Young Woman Stained with Tears’, which is due to the brown lichens that form dark stripes along the rock faces.

Though Half Dome was deemed as ‘perfectly inaccessible’ by Josiah Whitney of the California Geological Survey in the 1870s, there are numerous rock climbing routes that will take you to the peak today, with the most popular being the Cable Route. However, while the hike might be the most challenging, it is also deemed as the most gratifying, because at the very top there is a large, open area, where climbers can relax and be rewarded with breathtaking views of the gorgeous surroundings.