Crampons And Caviar

Farhad Heydari September 18, 2006

 

Mongolian jerboas are harmless -- they're essentially mice with hypertrophied hind legs, much like kangaroo rats. But if they get into your yurt, they can cause trouble. So when you're traveling with International Expeditions through the Gobi, steer clear of them. You might also want to keep an eye out for wild Bactrian camels, and Argali mountain sheep.

The globe has grown smaller. Adventures that once raised eyebrows -- bungee jumping in New Zealand, say, or rain forest hopping through Costa Rica -- just don't compare with reaching the North Pole via a Russian nuclear icebreaker, or venturing through the Five Stans (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan).

Consider Palawan, a remote and secluded island-rich region in the Philippines where Pioneer Expeditions, a startup travel firm, is making its first fortnight-long sojourn in early November; several active volcanoes are involved. "We're aiming to provide something that's fresh and different and for people to genuinely go home with a priceless experience," says Philip Beale, 45, a Briton who with his partner Adrian Gray founded the company earlier this year.

See our slideshow of 10 adventures you can do in style.

All of their trips are strictly one-offs, whether it's a river safari on Tanzania's Rufigi, or traversing Greenland's windswept Liverpool Land (yes, that is an actual place). "We started the company because we realized that clients were bored with trips that kept repeating themselves," says Beale, a lifelong explorer. "The adventure-travel market had gotten a bit dull and boring, and we just wanted to focus on adventures that no one has done before."

They're not the only ones in the market for unexplored territory. A select handful of high-end adventure companies are offering experiences in places few have ever seen. Not Tanzania, for instance, but Mozambique. The Libyan Sahara, rather than the Tunisian. And while these trips usually require some physical stamina, you will be well taken care of. Some trips include fondue.

We scoured the world of high-end adventure outfitters to find 10 trips that kindled our cubicle-bound imaginations. Some offer trips to areas that used to be politically verboten (Libya, Mozambique), while others take a fresh approach to classic journeys (The Silk Road, The North Pole). And while Somerville, Tennessee, is admittedly no Timbuktu, it's listed for another reason entirely. Enjoy.

See our slideshow of 10 adventures you can do in style.

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