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IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL - INCLUDING PEOPLE - THEN CONSIDER ADDING THESE 10 INCREDIBLY REMOTE PLACES TO YOUR TRAVEL BUCKETLIST.
While you may feel like you are all alone in your house, apartment, condo, van or what have you, you most likely are not. In many places, the absence of people is hard to find. Hence why some of us choose to escape the bustle of civilization and get lost in nature for a bit.
But for some people being in self-isolation is not new. Even in this highly populated world of ours there are still places that have been relatively untouched by man (a miracle really). Below you will find 10 of the most remote places on this wonderful planet.
1 | Tristan da Cunha, Britain
Made up of a group of volcanic islands in the south Atlantic Ocean between Africa and South America, Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world.
Home to just 250 people, the namesake and largest of the islands is still only 11 square kilometers in diameter (and roughly 98 square kilometers total). To reach the island, and the only permanent settlement of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, you have to take a boat on a six-day journey from the nearest port: Cape Town, South Africa, which is a mere 2,161 kilometers away.
The climate of Tristan da Cunha is quite wet and windy. In fact, about 66 inches of rain falls annually along the north coast. The islands - though extremely empty of people - are actually a well-known habitat for animals such as elephant seals and seabirds.
You can learn more about the Tristan da Cunha islands here.
2 | Cape York Peninsula, Australia
This large remote area is located in the far northern state of Queensland, Australia. In fact, the Cape York Peninsula is the most northern point in Australia as well as the largest unspoiled wilderness in the country.
The peninsula is home to various types of ecosystems, including savannas and tropical rainforests. And due to its remoteness, lack of development and people (only about 18,000 people live there, with 60% of that population being Aborigines), it is recognized and preserved for its global environmental significance.
While there is an overall lack of people, the Cape York Peninsula is home to a plethora of animals - including around 40 species that are endemic to the area (or only found there). That list includes the eastern brown snake, which is incredibly venomous. And if the eastern brown snake doesn’t deter you this might: there are two types of crocodiles in the area, one freshwater variety and one saltwater. The latter of which is said to stalk and kill humans for food.
You can learn more about the Cape York Peninsula here.
3 | Oymyakon, Russia
While it doesn’t take the prize for the most isolated inhabited place on Earth, it definitely takes the title for the coldest. This small Siberian town (population: 500) lives in bitingly cold temperatures practically year-round. In fact, the average temperature is -58° F, though there have been instances where the temperature has dropped to around -90° F. Burr. It is actually said that if you stood outside naked, it would only take one minute for you to freeze to death. Because of the cold, the townspeople cannot grow crops, so instead, they subsist on reindeer meat, frozen fish and ice cubes of horse blood mixed with macaroni.
If you are looking to venture out to Oymyakon yourself, then you will have to first fly to either the town of Yakutsk or Magadan and then drive 580 miles along barren roads. In fact, Oymyakon is closer to the Arctic Circle than the nearest city. And be aware, that the town has no hotels or restaurants, so expect to get cozy with a local family if planning to visit.
You can learn more about Oymyakon here.
4 | Siwa Oasis, Egypt
Isolated right in the middle of the western desert of Egypt, this beautiful town has somehow been able to preserve its culture and history thanks to it being just so hard to get to (think a minimum 5-hour bus ride from Cairo).
The Siwa Oasis, though rather small (it is 6 miles long and 4–5 miles wide) is home to about 200 natural springs. Today, the beautiful town is inhabited by Berber-speaking Sudanic people who still live in traditional mud-brick houses. While the oasis is a somewhat popular tourist spot, it has a long and interesting history. In fact, in ancient times, the Siwa Oasis was the site of the Amon Oracle, which even Alexander the Great visited during his time in Egypt. Besides the ruins of the oracle, there are also fragments of ancient temples within a couple of miles of the oasis.
You can learn more about the Siwa Oasis here.
5 | Chang Tang, Tibet
Nicknamed “The Roof of the World,” the Chang Tang region in the high reaches of Tibet - where the elevation can range anywhere between 4,000 and 7,000 meters - is pretty darn tough to reach.
To start, you will either need to take a train or a plane, both of which take a long time and cost quite a bit. But the effort is entirely worth it - especially if you are looking to totally immerse yourself in a pristine wilderness that stretches for over 700,000 square kilometers (or roughly the size of Germany, Poland and Lithuania, combined).
While the size is incredible, what really makes Chang Tang feel so remote is the fact that it is almost entirely uninhabited. In truth, while the namesake Chang Tang people and their nomadic herding culture do call the region home, there are only about half a million of them. Instead of people, you will more likely encounter the area's diverse wildlife, which includes snow leopards, Tibetan wild ass (kiang), Tibetan brown bears, blue sheep, Tibetan sand foxes, black-necked cranes, and wild yaks.
You can learn more about Chang Tang here.
6 | Longyearbyen, Norway
Located on the remote far north Arctic island of Svalbard is the tiny metropolis of Longyearbyen. This colorful town, which is actually the world’s northernmost town, is home to only 2,400 residents that can be split into 53 different nationalities (talk about a melting pot).
While the town of Longyearbyen only has about 40 kilometers of roads (some of which are only for snowmobiles), it does have all of the major urban necessities you could need; including a grocery store, hospital, library, post office and multiple hotels. It also has a small university where every student has to learn to use a firearm due to the high number of resident polar bears.
To get to Longyearbyen, which also claims the title of having the most northerly airport in the world, you have to take a 3-hour flight from Oslo, Norway.
Learn more about Longyearbyen here.
7 | Supai, USA
Who would have thought there would still be some untouched wilderness in the United States (especially in the mainland USA). But somehow a place like Supai, located in the deserts of northern Arizona, has held on.
Today, you can only reach the town by helicopter (very expensive), horseback, or on your own two feet - even the postal service still has to use mules to bring the mail in. The small town, which is home to 208 people - all of whom are members of the Havasupai Indian Tribe (a group that has called the area home for over a thousand years) - is approximately 8 miles away from the closest road on a relatively steep trail.
If you are curious to learn more about Supai or to visit for yourself, make sure to check out the Havasupai Indian Tribe website.
8 | Pitcairn Island, British Overseas Territory
Pitcairn Island - or officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands - is a British Overseas Territory situated roughly 3,300 miles from New Zealand.
Due to the incredible distance from New Zealand (and everywhere else), no plane or helicopter has ever landed on Pitcairn Island. Instead, to reach the island you need to take a 32-hour yacht ride. Rough.
Even though Pitcairn Island is actually made up of four separate islands - Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie, and Oeno, together they only have a combined land area of about 18 square miles (or 47 square kilometers). Henderson Island is the largest of the four (it accounts for 86% of the land area), but only Pitcairn Island has people living on it.
Interestingly enough, all of the island inhabitants are from a biracial ethnic group that is descended mostly from nine Bounty mutineers and a handful of Tahitian consorts. Today, the islands are only home to 47 individuals.
You can learn more about Pitcairn Island here.
9 | Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland
Founded in 1925 by settlers from the Tasiilaq and West Greenland tribes, the small town of Ittoqqortoormiit - which means “Big-House Dwellers" in the Eastern Greenlandic dialect - is about as far away as you can get from any other inhabited area of Greenland. Which is saying something, as only 56,000 or so people live on the landmass anyway.
In fact, Ittoqqortoormiit is so far west, that it is two hours ahead of all of the other settlements in Greenland, including the capital city, Nuuk. Similarly, the closest human presence to the town is the Danish Sirius Patrol, which is an elite military group that uses dog sleds to get around.
Today, 345 people call Ittoqqortoormiit home. Most of the inhabitants live off of hunting and meat production from polar bears and whales. Though, recently, tourism has started to boom in the area, thanks mostly to its interesting fauna and its relatively close proximity to Iceland.
You can learn more about Ittoqqortoormiit here.
10| Desolation Island, Antarctica
With a name like Desolation Island, you would kind of suspect that this place is very (very) remote. And you are not wrong.
Technically, Desolation Island is known as the Kerguelen Islands. This small archipelago, which is made up of 300 different islets, is located in the far southern Indian Ocean near Antarctica. In fact, the islands are so far south that the closest major landmass is the far southern tip of South Africa - and even that is still 2,000 miles away. And because of the distance, and the relatively rough landscape between the two points, the islands are usually only accessible by ship four days a year.
Today, Desolation Island is mostly home to French researchers, who first started living on the island in the 1950s.
You can learn more about Desolation Island here.
As you can see, there are some truly remote places on this planet. While many of these places tend to be either cold and dark, or islands that are extremely far away from any other major landmass, in some cases, finding a remote place to call home is as simple as heading off into the middle of the desert.
If you have any questions about these 10 extremely remote travel destinations then please leave a comment below or reach out to us directly.