6 Adventure Escapes in Some of Earth’s Most Remote Places

From an almost–lost world concealed in a Vietnam jungle to an off–the–grid Arctic basecamp with a year–round population of zero, there are still nooks and crannies on our planet where few have ventured. Check out six of the most remote places on Earth – but don’t expect Google Maps to help you here.

1. Trek inside the largest cave on Earth, Hang Son Doong. Hidden in Vietnam’s Phong Nha–Ke Bang National Park, the “Mountain River Cave” opened to the public in 2013 and is so vast that it has two jungles, a river and multiple microclimates. Adventure tour company Oxalis operates the only expeditions, in partnership with the British Cave Research Association.

1. Camp in Siberia’s remote Yamal Peninsula. The name means “the end of the world” with the Nenets, an Indigenous group of nomadic reindeer herders. On an Intrepid Travel expedition, you will sleep in a chum (yurt), learn to make stroganina (a sashimi–like delicacy of sliced frozen fish or meat) and experience life in the frozen tundra, where the mercury sometimes drops to –50°C.

1. Board a yacht for the wild coasts of the Kimberley. Located in northwestern Australia, Kimberley is considered the country’s last frontier. Although the area is three times the size of England, only about 35,000 people call it home. A Pelorus expedition will take you, via yacht or helicopter, around the ancient landscape to glimpse Indigenous rock art, archeological sites and fossilized dinosaur tracks.

2. Scout whales way, way off the grid. During peak season, roughly 2,000 belugas – one of the world’s largest congregations – converge in Cunningham Inlet, off the coast of Somerset Island, Nunavut. No one lives on the island year–round, but you can sleep right beside the beluga site at the Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge, the northernmost fly–in lodge on Earth – 800 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, to be exact.

3. Try to find artist Max Siedentopf’s sound installation, Toto Forever. Your mission is to find a display of six speakers placed upon white columns, connected to a solar–powered MP3 player cranking “Africa” by Toto on an infinite loop. The specific location is a mystery; the only official clue is that it’s somewhere in the Namib desert.

4. Take an expedition to parts unknown. With luxury travel company Black Tomato’s Get Lost service, you won’t learn your remote destination until you are en route. Decide your environment of choice (polar, jungle, desert, mountain or coast), and they will design a game–like bespoke trip for the adventurer in you: Be prepared to plot your path to daily check–in points.