If you are seeking for some thrill, for some adrenaline pumping, for some death defying adventures, and for some things that you will only do once in your life, here are some adventure travel destinations:
Conquering the Sahara
The Sahara Desert is an ocean of sand roughly 8.5 Million sq. km. spanning North Africa. If you are daring enough to conquer it, you have to deal with about 4,838 kilometers of extreme conditions with the Atlantic Ocean at one end and the Red Sea on the opposite end. Aside from the daunting unearthly amount of sand, you have to overcome dust storms, extreme heat, thirst, and some hostile tribes.
You have several options. You can go on foot, or ride camels, or take the risk with 4×4 vehicles. Do not forget to pack a good amount of survival essentials since help will most likely not come when you needed it most. You will travel for days without seeing anyone except for some nomad posts and camps of other explorers.
Diving with the Great Whites
You will not be sitting comfortably in your living room watching Jaws but you will be in the same waters without the protection of any cage with the great white sharks. They are the biggest sharks known to man and they are among the best predators in the open waters. If it will comfort you a little, their big appetite and razor sharp sets of teeth does not have homo sapiens as their primary target.
Aside from your diving equipment, you will need a ton of guts to dive with these sharks. It is a humbling, scary, and fulfilling adventure.
Take the Salcantay Route going to Machu Picchu
The mystique city of Machu Picchu in the mountains of Peru offers hikers a good pilgrimage. Most trekkers take the Inca Trail but do what most people don’t. If you are planning to go to Machu Picchu, take the less taken Salcantay Route which brings you to coffee plantations, villages, orchards, and around several thousand heights. The long journey will bring you through different ecosystems. Once you have conquered this trail, you will see Machu Picchu from a vantage point not seen by most travellers.
Ski on the K2
K2 is the second highest mountain in the world at 28,251 feet just next to Mt. Everest. K2 though is statistically more trecherous and has claimed more lives. If you are an advanced skier, you might want to go up the peak and then be brave enough to turn around and slide your way down. It is next to crazy as you will have to deal with extreme winds, unpredictable terrain, and avalanches. So far no one has conquered skiing from the top. The closest that has ever been tried is 250 feet from its summit.
Hike through the Triple Crown
Walking thru these trails means conquering a gruelling, unimaginable, and all the superlative adjectives you can add to a distance of 12,391 kilometers. Walk through the Pacific Crest, to the Appalachian, and through the trails of the Continental Divide and you have walked the distance about one third around earth.
Only a hundred or so have done this feat and it takes years and several pairs of boots. Dare to take the walk of your life and you will go through coast lines, volcanoes, lush forests,desert and meet the different moods of mother earth.
Discover the deserts of Morocco on a camel
Most will recommend visiting the old cities of Tangier, Marrakesh, and Fes but what will be more exciting is to discover the desert while riding a camel. Live a few days like Lawrence of Arabia and follow the routes of ancient caravans. Discover the beautiful landscape of Morocco with all of its smells, colors, sounds, and texture.
Surf at the Shipsterns Bluff
South off the coast of Tasmania in Australia is the dream world for extreme surfers. At this point, the waters of the earth are the wildest. The Shipsterns Bluff gives you waves of 8 feet at the smallest and around 20 feet when it decides to be a monster. Try to catch this deadly wave and be ready for anything. One wrong move and you might end up near the rocky field or the treacherous rocky clliffs. Even the best surfers are dwarfed by the difficulty level of the break.
Climb down to the mouth of Marum Volcano
If you have to unleash the crazy daredevil in you, one great adventure is to go down the mouth of the Marum Volcano in the South Pacific. Don a heat proof gear and come up close with the lava spewing from earth. There is no guarantee how you will come out of the dangerous situation as everyone knows the unpredictability of an active volcano. It will be super hot. There will be dangerous gas everywhere. There will be tumbling and flying rocks, hot volcanic rocks that is. There will be explosions. It is definitely an insane journey.
Swim with the giants in the waters of Galapagos Islands
If you are planning an adventure between July and October, try to book a trip to the Galapagos Islands. You might have heard it as a good place to see a wide diversity of animal life but the waters around it gives you an opportunity to see huge whale sharks and hammerhead sharks. Aside from seeing bus size sea creatures, you will also have as company penguins, sea lions, schools of fish, and the rest of the gang.
Climb the El Capitan in the Yosemite Valley
The Yosemite is said to be the birthplace of climbing in the U.S. but conquering the El Capitan is one of the greatest challenges for mobers. Go to route known as The Nose. Legendary climbers have conquered this route but mere mortals may take around five days to negotiate the pitches.
Cross the Amazon
Feel like being an Indiana Jones? Conquer the Amazon and meet the taratulas, jaguars, river monsters, and jaguars that call it home. The river gives you a good 6,347 kilometer journey. It is one of the last frontiers of mankind and trully, it will give you the adventure of a life time.
Rafting at the Grand Canyon
Looking at it from above is different from dealing with the waters down its feet. If you feel like experiencing extreme white water rafting, Grand Canyon offers a ferocious ride. You will literally hear the strong smashing current from afar before seeing them and feeling your heart like escaping your rib cage. You will come up close and personal with 20 feet waves and waters that flip boats as easy as flipping cards. The journey though is statistically safe with more injuries being reported while on shore. Face the challenge of the river and see about 2 billion years of earth’s history passing quickly by your eyes.
Bike from Alaska and go to Argentina
From the Prudhoe Bay of Alaska to the Tierra del Fuego of Argentina, you will encounter the most challenging mountain ranges, thousands of kilometers of highways, and more than a dozen countries. If you are a good biker, you can do it in as short as two years. It will not be a trip really but it will be a lifestyle for you. Aside from the distance, you have to deal with flat tires, hostile environments, and unfriendly drivers. This journey will have you cross paths with different cultures, thousands of sceneries, and the whole cacophony of emotions.
Dive into the Blue Holes
The Blue Holes of the Bahamas is trully picturesque from above. But what if you dive into these inland caves. The small passageways and extreme features of the environment gives you no space for any mistake. The caves give you a glimpse of another world. You will see big halls of stalactites, fossils of extinct crocodiles, remains of prehistoric humans, and remains of other sea creatures.
Dive into the Silfra
At this point in Iceland, the big plates that forms that North American continent meets the plates of Europe. This rift is filled with the clearest waters in the planet and is a favorite spot for divers. You will not see much marine life but swimming through the great bones of the planet will give you such a thrill.
