Northern Cape
ExpertRichtersveld Helskloof Pass to Sendelingsdrift — Orange River Desert Canyon Traverse
Hell's Gorge. No shade. No mercy. No cell signal.
Trail Type: Overland Route
Alaska
DifficultDalton Highway — Fairbanks to Deadhorse via the Brooks Range and Arctic Tundra
414 miles to the top of North America.
Mongolia
ExpertTrans-Mongolian Steppe Route — Ulaanbaatar to Khövsgöl Lake via Tariat and the Orkhon Valley
No roads. No signs. Just 1,000 km of steppe.
Australia
DifficultGibb River Road Alternative — Kalumburu Road to Mitchell Falls via Drysdale River Station
Dead-end Kimberley dirt to Australia's best falls.
KwaZulu-Natal
ExpertLesotho Highlands Traverse — Sani Pass to Mokhotlong via Senqu River Valley
Roof of Africa — where tracks replace roads.
Gorno-Badakhshan
ExpertPamir Highway — Osh to Ishkashim via the Wakhan Corridor Junction (M41)
The roof of the world has a road. It barely qualifies.
Karas Region
DifficultFish River Canyon 4×4 Trail — Hobas to Ai-Ais via the Canyon Rim Desert Track
Second-largest canyon on earth. Zero guardrails.
Australia
ExpertCape York Telegraph Track — Bramwell Junction to Bamaga via the Old Telegraph Line
Gunshot Creek will decide if you're ready.
India
ExtremeZanskar Valley Winter Road — Padum to Nimmu via the Frozen Chadar
The road only exists when the river freezes.
Niger
ExtremePiste du Djado — Dirkou to Djado Plateau via the Saharan Erg de Bilma
Medieval ruins at the edge of the known world.