From Everest to the Great Wall: your guide to charity challenges

These holidays of a lifetime aim to raise money to help change someone else's life

Charity Challenge (020-8557 0000; www.charity challenge.com) is an umbrella organisation for a number of causes. It is offering the chance to complete a 17-day trek to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal to raise money for Diabetes UK (020-7424 1000; www.diabetes.org.uk). The trip takes place from 14 October until 30 October and minimum sponsorship of £2,650 is required. This includes flights, accommodation and meals.

Charity Challenge (020-8557 0000; www.charity challenge.com) is an umbrella organisation for a number of causes. It is offering the chance to complete a 17-day trek to the Everest Base Camp in Nepal to raise money for Diabetes UK (020-7424 1000; www.diabetes.org.uk). The trip takes place from 14 October until 30 October and minimum sponsorship of £2,650 is required. This includes flights, accommodation and meals.

Mencap (020-7454 0454; www.mencap.org.uk) is the UK's leading learning disabilities charity. It is offering a cycling trip along the banks of the River Nile, covering 250 miles (410km) over a week in February 2006. The minimum sponsorship is £2,250 per person, which includes flights, accommodation, meals, refreshments, a guide and bike hire. There is also a registration fee of £250.

The Anthony Nolan Trust (01555 660 388; www.anthonynolan.org.uk) was set up to recruit bone-marrow donors for those suffering from leukaemia and similar illnesses. It is offering a 10-day bike ride across New Zealand's South Island, departing on 15 October 2005. The minimum sponsorship of £3,150 includes flights, accommodation and some meals. There is also an additional non-refundable contribution of £300.

Scope (020-7619 7288; www.scope.org.uk) offers assistance to people with cerebral palsy. To help raise money, it has a Trek Namibia challenge - a 10-day tour of the Namib Desert, departing 16 September 2006. The £2,600 sponsorship includes flights, accommodation and meals. There is a registration fee of £199.

One of Europe's largest information and support charities, CancerBACUP aims to help those living with cancer and providing information and support for patients, their families and their carers. Between 26 and 29 January 2006 it is holding the Milky Way Ski challenge, which aims to conquer all the pistes of the Milky Way ski region on the French/Italian border. Skiers and boarders of intermediate or advanced level are welcome. There is a minimum sponsorship of £1,250, which includes flights, full-board accommodation, transfers, guides, ski passes and ski hire. Plus there is an administration fee of £100. For further details contact Peter Coppola (020-7920 7212; www.cancerbacup.org.uk).

From 7 to 15 September, the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) (029-2026 7008; www.nspcc.org.uk) is staging its 2005 Bikeathon, Cycle La Seine - a leisurely journey along the river through Normandy, finishing up in Paris. The minimum sponsorship is £350 and includes transport, accommodation and support services.

Great Ormond Street Hospital treats more than 90,000 children each year. Its associated charity GOSHCC (020-7916 5678; www.gosh.org) raises money to supplement the NHS funding for the hospital. One of its overseas challenges includes a trek along sections of the Great Wall of China. The trip takes place between 8 and 18 October 2005. Accommodation ranges from hotels to local village houses and the minimum sponsorship of £2,650 includes registration, flights, accommodation and meals. There is also an administration fee of £200.

Providing help in fostering and adoption, disability and domestic violence, Barnardos (020-8550 8822; www.barnardos.org.uk) runs a network of more than 357 different services across the UK. This year, one of its overseas fund-raising events is an 11-day bike ride from Vietnam to Angkor in Cambodia. The trip departs on 11 November. The minimum sponsorship is £2,600 and includes flights, accommodation and support. An additional registration fee of £345 also applies.

The Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) (020-7388 1266, www.rnib.org.uk) offers information, support and advice to some of the two million people affected by sight problems in the UK. To assist with its fund-raising it is offering a long-weekend trek in Morocco, from 22 to 26 June 2006. The itinerary includes visiting Mount Toubkal and the Sahara desert. You will be camping for the two nights of the trek. The minimum sponsorship is £1,500 and includes flights, accommodation and most meals. There is an additional registration fee of £150.

Join a trek along the Inca Trail in Peru to the ancient city of Machu Picchu to help raise money for The Meningitis Trust (01453 768000; www.meningitis-trust.org). This international charity works towards a meningitis-free world - offering support, education and 24-hour help lines as well as raising awareness about this illness. The Inca Trail challenge takes place from 18 to 27 May 2006. The minimum sponsorship is £2,700 plus a £300 registration fee. The total includes flights, accommodation and meals.