Mongolia
DifficultGobi Desert Bayanzag Flaming Cliffs Road — Dalanzadgad to Bayanzag via the Southern Gobi Desert
Dinosaur bones and open Gobi — bring your own compass.
Surface: Sand
Namibia
ModerateSkeleton Coast Wilderness Drive — Terrace Bay to Cape Cross via the Central Namib Shore
Shipwrecks, seals, and Atlantic fog — no crowds.
Africa
ExtremePiste du Djado — Bilma to Djado Plateau via the Erg de Bilma Salt Caravan Track
Sahara's forgotten fortress. No room for error.
Botswana
DifficultNossob to Mata-Mata — Kgalagadi Transfrontier Wilderness Track via Rooiputs
Lions on the road. Red dunes. No phone signal. Perfect.
Baja California
DifficultBaja Divide North — Ensenada to San Ignacio via the Sierra San Pedro Mártir High Spine
Baja before the gringo crowds — granite, cardón, and silence.
Australia
ExtremeCanning Stock Route — Well 23 to Well 51 via the Great Sandy Desert Core
900 km of dunes, dust, and no safety net.
Kenya
ExtremeTurkana Basin Jade Sea Road — Loiyangalani to Sibiloi via Lake Turkana’s Eastern Shore
Jade desert shore. Fossil beds. No rescue coming.
Namibia
ModerateSossusvlei to Bullsport — Naukluft Desert Spine via Solitaire and Tsaris Pass
Empty Namib gravel between dunes and mountains.
Australia
DifficultGibb River Road — El Questro to Home Valley via Pentecost River and Cockburn Range
Crocs, crossings, and Kimberley red rock.
Australia
DifficultConrod Straight to Innamincka — Strzelecki Track Desert Crossing via Montecollina Bore
Burke and Wills didn't make it. You might.