This page contains lists of extreme places and other destinations that do not necessarily belong to a single continent or a particular travel topic. But these next-to-impossible destinations as just as noteworthy (and fun to explore), as much as Paris or New York City.

This is where the real adventure beings!

Other Destinations

List of other destinations that span across reality and mythology and across oceans and continents.

• Lost Cities
• Lost Lands
• Afterlife Destinations
• Fantasy Worlds
• Mythical Places
• World Famous Ruins
• Holy Lands
• Famous Archaeological Sites
• World Heritage Sites
• Ancient Cities

Islands

All of the world’s islands grouped by region or types.

• Islands (Blog Topic)
• Island nations (sovereign island countries)
• Islands of the Arctic Ocean
• Islands of the Atlantic Ocean
• Islands of the Caribbean
• Islands of the Indian Ocean
• Islands of the Pacific Ocean
• Islands of the Southern Ocean
• Phantom Islands

Itineraries

• Once In A Lifetime Trip
• The Ultimate Travel Bucket List
• UNESCO Sites in the US
• UNESCO Sites in India
• US Biosphere Reserves
• US National Monuments
• US National Parks
• 50 US Highpoints
• Largest US Cities
• World’s Largest Mega-cities
• World’s Largest Cities

Extreme Places

Imagine not having a reliable map, airport or any easy transportation, and even a lodge. How would you travel, what would you do when you’ll arrive, what will you pack, and how will you make this journey? 

Sounds like an old-time adventure tale? If yes, it’s because it is one. Below is the list of some of the most extreme places on earth.

• North Pole – can be reached on an expensive tour if you are willing to freeze $10,000 USD
• South Pole
• Oceans and Seas
• Taiga
• Tundra
• Arctic Region
• Antarctica
• Fukushima, Japan – some places remain inaccessible due to the 2011 nuclear disaster
• Okinoshima island – speaking of Japan, Okinoshima island’s Shinto shrine are considered so sacred that only a few lucky souls get permission to visit each year.
• Chernobyl – the area around is still restricted due to a nuclear reactor meltdown in 1986
• North Korea – permits very few visitors and still, you are always escorted by a guard and only shown a few limited places
• Gangkhar Puensum – the highest mountain in Bhutan, considered sacred and therefore may not be climbed. Also, it is likely the world’s highest unclimbed mountain
• The Tunnel from Europe to Africa – a mythical cave from St. Michael’s cave in the Rock of Gibraltar to the Cave of Hercules in Tangiers
• Challenger Deep – the deepest known point on Earth near Guam in the western Pacific Ocean, about 11 km below the sea level
• Horizon Deep – a 10,800 meters deep trench in the Pacific Ocean, near Tonga
• Sirena Deep – a 10,732 meters deep trench in the Pacific Ocean, near Guam
• Bouvet Island — this Norwegian territory is the remotest known island in the world, located roughly 2,600 km south-southwest of Cape Town, South Africa. The seas are rough (as you see in the movie The Perfect Storm), so the “least” dangerous way to get in is by helicopter from a ship. On top of all this, you will need an official permission from the Norwegian Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice and Police. Talk about the hardships!
• The Himalayas – much of the Himalayan mountain range is unexplored, uninhabited, and full of unclimbed mountain peaks.
• Congo Rainforest – the interiors of the Congo Rainforest in Central Africa is the second largest in the world and sparsely populated.
• Sahara desert – Most of the Sahara has literally nothing in all directions. The desert is so huge that it can cover the entire United States or China.
• The Arabian Desert – stretching across many Arab countries, is very far off the beaten path. The most difficult and isolated area is the Empty Quarter at the southeast corner of Saudi Arabia.
• Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia – could be difficult to get into if you are not a Muslim (as entry is legally prohibited for non-Muslims year round).
• Northern Siberia – nothing but unfriendly wilderness for hundreds and thousands of kilometers in all directions
• Kolyma Highway, Russia – traveling along the arguably most important road in the Russian Far East is somewhat of an expedition
• Jan Mayen — a remote island in the Arctic Ocean. If you can get permission to visit, you can climb the world’s northernmost active volcano.
• Rockall — an islet less than halfway from Scotland to Iceland, claimed by four countries. Getting here entails more than 400 km of sailing through the often rough North Atlantic Ocean, and as this is a steep rock jutting up from the ocean, there are no harbors to speak of. Some people landing here have been winched down by helicopter; however, there’s no place to land safely.
• Tristan da Cunha — about halfway between Cape Town and Buenos Aires, is the most remote inhabited island in the world, with sporadic service ships visiting the island from Southern Africa (and visitors are allowed as passengers only if there happens to be spare room), but sailing your own craft there is also an option. The eponymous archipelago is considered the remotest archipelago in the world, and fittingly, one of the islands there is named “Inaccessible Island.”
• Interior of Iceland – you are better of just watching Game of Thornes as some scenes are filmed in the interior of Iceland. There is very little life of any kind here, so don’t expect any food stores or even edible vegetation. Save for the glaciers, the area is characterized as a “lava desert”.
• Interior Greenland – doesn’t have the airports or ports or any human settlements. You will need an expedition permit from the Danish authorities to visit the northern and inner Greenland. You have to bring everything you need with you, as most of the island is just a huge glacier.
• North Sentinel Island – one of the smaller Andaman Islands, is the home of the Sentinelese, who are often considered to be the most isolated group from the rest of the humanity and refuse any contact with the outsiders (frequently violently so). Any would-be visitor is banned from the island by the Indian government to provide the Islanders’ privacy and to keep them from the risk of getting infected with a disease that they may not have had developed immunity against.
• Area 51, Nevada, USA – is entirely off limits to others than authorized personnel of the U.S. military.
• Clipperton Island – an uninhabited “piece of France” in the Pacific Ocean some 1,120 km southwest from Acapulco. Bring your own boat and be careful with the reefs around the atoll. Officially you’ll need a permit from the authorities on French Polynesia to visit unless you’re a French citizen — there are no border controls, but the French Navy occasionally visits the island.
• The Darién Gap – connecting the two American continents and Panama and Colombia by land. This is a 100 km of impassible jungles and swamps which breaks the pan-American highway network from connecting the two continents. Most travelers bypass the area, either by air or by sea.
• Guadalupe Island – an island located nearly 320 km (200 miles) off the coast of Mexico. The closest most will get to the island is Great White Shark tours a few miles from the island. There are no tours onto the island, so you if want to go there, the only way would be to either swim or steal a boat and sail on your own.
• Northern Canada – travel further north is generally by charter or military aircraft only. Overall, there is hundreds of km of nothingness between tiny human settlements, extremely cold winters, and no roads.
• Nauru – the least visited independent country in the Pacific Ocean and part of Oceania
• The Australian Outback – especially parts of the western half of the country and the Gunbarrel Highway is very much off the beaten track and include hundreds of miles of nothingness. No fuel stations, services or settlements. If you go off that highway, you’re pretty guaranteed to be on your own. During the Australian summer, daytime temperatures may approach 50°C (120°F). If you are going to pass through Aboriginal lands, you may be required to obtain a permit from the local authorities.
• New Zealand Subantarctic Islands — you can only visit them on the occasional expedition cruise ship
• Pitcairn Island — the only ship regularly visiting the islands (with a population of 67) does so four times a year, and even getting to Mangareva where the ferry starts from involves an infrequent flight from Tahiti.
• Snake Island, Brazil – also known as ‘Ilha da Queimada Grande’, is an uninhabited island off the coast of São Paulo. It is literally infested with extremely venomous golden lancehead viper snakes. Travel to the island is forbidden.
• Amazon Rainforest, Brazil – deeper parts are still hard to get to and there are still some “uncontacted peoples” that have never met a person from the outside world.

Outer Space

There is Earth where we all live and then there is this vast Universe, the infinite space.

• The Universe (and Outer Space)
• Moon – the “dark side” of the Moon, which faces away from Earth, has never been visited by humans nor machines
• Space Travel
• Time Travel
• Lower Orbit Earth – you can actually visit LOE if you are a  multimillionaire or an astronaut visiting the International Space Station (ISS)

Travel Resources

• Key Travel Pages and Useful Links
• Ultimate Travel Resources List
• Travel Hacks (an ultimate compilation guide)
• Frequently Asked and Common Travel Questions Answered

Why Should I Do This?

There are actually some benefits of visiting these places or going on an expedition. Forst of all, this will be insanely epic and the craziest thing anyone would do in your friend circle. Secondly, you may help the entire mankind in general by perhaps accidentally finding something new and of value.

Below are some of the other benefits:

• Take photos and notes of landscapes few have seen before. It could make a nice book, or a plot for a Hollywood blockbuster or maybe even a cool website to inspire future explorers.
• You may even be (one of) the first person documenting the place properly.
• Watch and document flora and fauna that might be endemic to the place you visit. Who knows if you may find a new species?
• Depending on the destination you may also run into ghost towns or other undiscovered archaeological sites.
• Enjoy the beautiful night sky — since there’ll be no artificial lights, this will create an excellent opportunity for stargazing.

Lastly, be careful. No matter what you do, just remember, if you get injured or sick, there’s no ambulance or help that you can call.

July 26, 2016 12:00 am Published by Salil Jha Leave your thoughts