Photo credit: James Wheeler
The Earth is filled with wonder. There are those who live to watch the sunrise on tropical islands and those who are in paradise when they reach the snow-peaked mountain tops. The mysteries that lie beneath the sea and deep in our rain forests are still not fully known, and for every one of these remote places, there are those who are deeply dedicated to learning about them.
As wonderful and exciting as that is, there are places that are so much more unspoiled, and almost untouched by modern man that they might be the most remote travel locations on Earth. Travel to these places lets us see how Earth was when it was in its natural state. What Earth looked like, and, felt like, and smelled like before civilization, pollution, suburbs, and office complexes. Travel to a place where the effort to get there makes it unique in this day of instant gratification.
Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is a live volcanic island and the most remote inhabited island in the entire world. The nearest coast to the island is South Africa which is 2735 km away. The island is more than 3218 km away from South America.
As of January 2021, there were 224 islanders who live there, though 14 of them are currently overseas. There are 23 people staying on the island that are either expats or visitors. You will not find restaurants, hotels, taxi cabs, or theaters. But there is a gift shop where you can buy hand-spun wool and hand-made jewelry. Some of the jewelry is designed by a 100-year-old island woman from the natural materials found on the island.
Easter Island (Island name Rapa Nui)
Easter Island is technically part of Chili, but its centuries-old culture stands apart from any other land. To get to this remote island you will take a 6-hour flight from Santiago to Rapa Nui. Easter Island is 2075 km away from the nearest inhabited island and 3512 km away from South America.
Easter Island is well known for the monumental statues or moai, that are made of stone and erected across the island. These great statutes were made between the 13th and 16th centuries. Some of them are 30 feet tall and weigh up to 80 tons. But the villagers on this speck of a volcanic island far off in the sea, with no modern tools, built and erected them? The great minds of the world can only offer speculation as to how this could be. Today Easter Island remains a mysterious remote island that people dream of seeing.
Pitcairm Island
Imagine a beautiful island so remote that only around 67 people live there. Now image that the British government is encouraging, even asking you to go live there. This sounds like a dream, right? This is a reality for Pitcairn Island and people who want to go there. The waters are crystal clear and plant life is spectacular.
The Pitcairm Islands have stunning dark skies. They are free from all light pollution. In 2018 the Internation Dark Sky Association granted the (4) islands the status of an International Dark Sky Sanctuary (IDSS). There are few places in the world where you can see the stars and planets from the Earth with such clarity.
The people there are welcoming and friendly. There is a store and a few simple lodging areas for comfort but there are no hotels or airports or shopping malls. You may see an occasional cruise ship. While it is rare for a ship to include Pitcairn on their route, it is happening a bit more often and there are souvenirs of natural honey and items brought to the island for them. Supply ships deliver to the island every three months.
To get to Pitcairn Island you will fly to Mangareva via Tahiti. Tahiti offers the only domestic flights to Mangareva. From there you will take a 32-hour boat ride to paradise.
Socotra Island
Socotra Island (off Yemen) is extremely isolated. One-third of the plants and animals on this other-worldly island are found nowhere else on the earth. The strange shapes and growth patterns of the trees are unlike any others and make the island look alien to us.
You can get to Socotra Island by plane. You can fly to Socotra via flight from Seiyun, Yemen. You can fly to Seiyun from Cairo Egypt with a lay-over in Seiyun. They fly to Socotra once per week.
While Socotra is remote, it is not unpopulated. Currently, the main island has about 50,000 residents. Their ancestors date back generations. There are very strict rules about visiting so allow a lot of time to plan your trip and purchase insurance in case it is canceled and you have to begin again.
The Island has everything. beaches, mountains, caves, and rocky hiking paths. There is plenty to do for the nature lover. Just bring what you need. You won’t find surfboard rentals on the beach.
These are just a few of the wonders that are out there for all of us. We get so focused on our little parts of the world, we forget that there are other parts of the planet that are thousands of years apart from us. If you want to explore the world, look back in time. Then go to a remote place so you can experience a time when it was just you and mother nature. You might just find out who you really are meant to be.
