The Most Insane Extreme Travel Adventures On Earth
Why do we even need a bucket list you might ask? It’s simple. To remind us to get out and see the world of course. To challenge us to dream of bigger adventures. Sometimes this bucket list is about learning how to do something new, perhaps it’s about encountering wildlife, or conquering the iconics (as Tom Marchant from travel expert company Black Tomato says) or perhaps it’s simply a question of uncovering the epic.
So, until we can safely go to space (we see you Richard Branson and Virgin Galactic), we’ll leave that off the list. For the rest, we’ve come up with some of the world’s best exploits of places undiscovered, continent by continent, so you can start creating your very own list.
Africa
Safaris are pretty insane, of course. Seeing wild animals, like African lions and leopards, all up close and personal has its very own thrill. The smell of the wilderness, the majesty of an animal, the sheer size of that damn rinocerose - it taps into something primal in all of us. At Angama, in Kenya’s Mara Triangle, they are now offering private self-drive safaris where you’re able to traverse all over their reserve. Don’t worry about staying on the roads, the remote lands will show you where to go. Robots doing something cool again!
Off the east coast of Africa is where North Island hides in the Seychelles. And when you want to dream up a way to ball out like no other, this totally exclusive-use private island is available with all its luxurious services (including a private butler of course). It’s in this part of the Indian Ocean where some of the most remote, and most undiscovered diving in the world, is possible. Think giant Aldabra tortoises, whale sharks and schools of fish that have never seen humans. But, if lounging in the sun with a cold beverage in your hand in one of the most remote paradises in the entire world is more your speed, this will do nicely.
North America
A crazy adventure doesn’t always have to involve a passport and not showering for a week, extreme adventures abound close to home. God bless the Rockies, and if you’re an expert on the slopes - on ski or board - your next-level snow dreams are all possible. At Colorado’s Telluride, Helitrax the offer some of the most extreme experiences you can have up in the white mountains. Heli boarding and skiing takes you to some of the most remote, uncharted terrains in the world - uncombed, and unexplored. With powder so light and fresh it’s like experiencing snow for the first time.
Asia
Mongolia, home to the warrior Genghis Khan, is mostly made up of the Gobi desert and, well, nothingness. Just the stark beauty of nowhere. Imagine exploring some of the most remote terrain in the world the way that Mister Khan would want you to traverse the whole country, of course, by horseback. Even though Mongolian horses are a little smaller (don’t call them ponies), they’ll carry you for the week-long journey across Asia’s most untrodden district. Wild Frontiers will take care of the logistics and sleeping in a yurt on the edge of the world is about as unplugged as you can get.
Yeah, there’s mountains too, if that’s your thing. Only the highest and most extreme mountain range in the world of course. If you want to trek high in the mountains of Nepal, the best way to do it is to find the less stomped paths of the Himalayas. So remote that very few travelers have ever had access to this part of Nepal, but this is where Black Tomato comes in. The travel company has created an extraordinary expedition that will have you climbing and mountaineering some of the most rugged terrain on the globe like a pro Sure , it’s gonna be brutal going up, but parahawking (yup, an actual thing that combines paragliding and falconry, seriously) down over the mountain once you’re make it up to the summit will make that climb worth it.
South America
The Amazon is emerging as the next untouched destination to uncover. A gigantic forest of intricate waterways and plants that have yet to be named. Not to mention some of the craziest and most deadly animals in the world. Leave it to Aqua Expeditions to take you deep into this rainforest to fish for piranhas. Whether or not these bloodthirsty savages are actual as deadly as myths might suggest could be an exaggeration, but being able to find yourself in one of the most unexplored, and wildest places on earth, well the adventure starts right there.
Europe
At the top of the frigid world, to the very north of Sweden and Norway, is where the Vikings had the Northern Lights. Today you can trek up north and still experience their majesty. Renowned global adventure company Abercrombie and Kent has a new journey that includes rally car ice racing, safaris by snowmobile, and some awe inspiring interactions with the Sami, the Arctic's indigenous nomads. A dog sleigh is also available to take you for that private picnic in the snow somewhere (or nowhere really). If winter wonderlands are your thing, start planning now. Hopefully you like pickled fish.
Antarctica
Speaking of winter wonderlands, it’s freezing, well below freezing in fact, all the time. It is Antarctica after all, perhaps the most extreme place on earth. But if you’re properly covered in all things REI you’ll be able to kayak and deep dive around the drifting icebergs. Quark Expeditons arranges a trip where the legendary Drake passage is traversed, the arctic circle will be crossed, whales will be spotted from a paddle board and you’ll get to sleep in tents on the seventh continent. The whole peninsula has wildlife like no other, and you’ll find them just snowshoeing around. Being able to drop the old “Yeah, I just got back from Antarctica” in casual conversation at a bar is probably worth the price of the trip alone.