The world's most difficult places to reach – but with the best rewards
Seclusion is hard to come by these days when it comes to choosing a holiday destination, and you'll have to stray a fair way off the beaten track in order to reap the benefits. Ready and willing? Here are nine boltholes which are truly a faff to get to, but might just be worth it.
Fannar?khytta Lodge, Norway
At an altitude of 6,784 feet on a glacier up Fannar?ken mountain, this cabin is Norway's highest holiday lodge. The long trek to it is made worthwhile by the unmatched views of the Hurrungane peaks, the Sm?rstab and Jostedal glaciers, among the over 250 mountain peaks of Jotunheimen National Park, including two of northern Europe's highest.
The journey: From Oslo Gardermoen Airport (a two-hour flight from London), you’ll need to get to Otta (three to four hours away) by car, bus or train, then take a coach to either Krossbu or Sognefjellshytta, which takes another two hours. After that, it’s at least a five-hour hike to the glacier where the lodge is found. That's 13 hours of travelling. But it will be worth it.
Book:https://fannarakhytta.dnt.no/engelsk/
Skylodge Adventure Suites, Peru
Telegraph Travel's Simon Parker writes of this highly unusual capsule accomodation in Peru's Sacred Valley: "These aluminium and polycarbonate pods that cling to a granite slope above the Urubamba Valley are totally unique. With the night sky twinkling overhead as you sleep, you feel more like you're staying in a spaceship than a hotel."
The journey: Most flight routes from London include two stops and take 24 hours to get you to Cusco, the nearest airport to the Skylodge. Once at Cusco, it's a 90-minute drive followed by a nerve-wracking scramble up a cliff that takes more than an hour and requires a decent level of fitness. The next morning, guests can zipline to the valley floor. Total travel time: 27 hours.
Tikchik Narrow Lodge, Alaska
This isolated lodge is 300 miles from the nearest main road and located in neither a village or town. To get here, you'll have to board a tiny sea plane. Set deep within the 1.5 million acre Wood-Tikchik State Park, Tikchik is surrounded by undisturbed waters of Bristol Bay and the imposing Kilbuck Mountains. The main lodge area features a unique circular dining room suspended just above the 900-foot deep Nuyukuk Lake, with large windows offering panoramic views.
The journey: There are no direct flights from London to Anchorage, so the two-leg trip generally takes around 18 hours. Guests must then fly from Anchorage to Dillingham (one hour) and from Dillingham to the lodge via seaplane. Its travel instructions read: "Because we are so remote, the logistics of moving all of our guests to and from Dillingham and the lodge requires that all of our guests arrive on the same flight into Dillingham." Minimum travel time: 20 hours.
Book:https://www.tikchiklodge.com
Kokopelli's Cave, New Mexico
This is a privately owned, 1,650 square foot, luxury one-bedroom cave space in North Farmington, New Mexico, near the Mesa Verde National Monument. It's 70 feet underground, the equivalent length of a seven-storey building. Wander outside for views of the Carrizo Mountains in Arizona and the snow capped La Plata and San Juan Mountains of Colorado. The lair, cut into a 65m-year-old sandstone formation above La Plata River, is carpeted, decked out in Southwestern style furnishings, and has a stone bathtub.
The journey: The closest airport is the Four Corners Regional Airport, with limited flights coming in from Denver, Colorado. Denver is nine hours from the UK, Four Corners a further 80 minutes. Visitors will need to drive and leave their vehicle at a designated car park some way from the cave. A path of 185 steps, and a short ladder, leads from the clifftop entrance to the accommodation. Allow at least 12 hours.
Book:https://www.kokoscave.us/
Green Magic Nature Resort, India
If bugs are fine by you and knives and forks are of no importance, consider this. Set in a tropical rainforest at an altitude of about 4,125 ft is this collection of four treehouses with thatched roofs and interconnected by rope bridges. Guests can view 500 acres of surrounding greenery and dine on local fodder that's served utensil-free on banana leaves.
The journey: A 15-hour plane journey from London to Kozhikode, with a stopover (there are no direct flights), followed by a 53-mile drive to Kerala, on India's southwestern coast. Once at the Green Magic eco-resort, you can only reach your treehouse by way of an 86ft vertical lift. Minimum travel time: 17 hours.
Book: https://www.greenmagicresort.com/
Rifugio Torre di Pisa, Italy
Located quite literally on the edge of a cliff in the Italian Dolomites, you won't be bumping into any stray walkers around here. This hostel is only accessible by a challenging uphill hike between June and October, or on skiis during the winter.
The journey: Hike for at least two hours from one of three nearby villages (Pampeago, Predazzo or Obereggen), travelling about 2,224 feet up the mountain. Some equipment and a good level of physical fitness is advised. Venice is the nearest airrport. Pampeago is a three-hour drive from the city. Total travel time: seven hours, at least.
Book: https://www.rifugiotorredipisa.it/
Jules Undersea Lodge, Florida
This mini-lodge is currently the world's only fully submerged underwater hotel, sitting a few feet above a protected lagoon and filled with compressed air. You can only reach it by way of scuba diving. The lodge has two bedrooms and one common room designed to accommodate two couples or a family of six. Facilities aren't glamorous but include a hot shower, a stocked kitchen with a refrigerator, a microwave and a telephone. Your luggage and food for the stay are transported to the lodge in waterproof suitcases.
The journey: Assuming you're already in Florida - a ten-hour flight from London - cross the Overseas Highway to reach Key Largo, one of the state's offshore islands. Then kit up and scuba dive 21 ft below water to enter the hotel by its 5ft-by-7ft pool, opening at the bottom of the lodge. You'll probably need at least 12 hours.
Book:https://www.jul.com
Laggan, Scotland
Fed up of humans but don't want to leave Britain? This delightfully solitary cabin off Scotland's west coast is only reachable by boat, only on a Saturday, only when the tides allow, and only between June and September (so leave quickly or wait until next year). Surrounded by the almost entirely deserted hinterland of the Ardnish peninsula, the cottage is a three-hour walk from the nearest neighbours. There's no mobile reception and no electricity, but it is equipped with a gas cooker, paraffin lamps and a wood-burning fire.
The journey: The only way is by car to the coast near Roshven, where you will meet the caretaker, who will ferry you across on the boat. Two trips may be required depending on what supplies you are carrying. Then you'll load up a trailer dragged by a quad bike for the final drive to the cottage. It's going to take at least 12 hours if you're coming from the southern half of the country.
Book:https://www.coolplaces.co.uk/laggan
Antarctica
Fed up of humans and would like to leave Britain? Antarctica surely takes the crown when it comes to the hardest place to reach with the best reward. A voyage here is about as otherworldly a travel experience as you can possibly have, short of a trip to the Moon.
Joanna Symons writes: "With no towns or villages, no habitation bar the odd research station or expedition hut; Antarctica is just grand, icy, unpredictable wilderness. Even if you're travelling there on a cruise ship, as most people do, the solitude and the emptiness will envelop you and bring you down to scale."
The journey: You can't reach it at all in winter (between March and November), when the ice sheets become impenetrable. In the summer, a trip from London requires a two-leg flight, usually via Buenos Aires, to Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city. From there, it takes at least two days by ship to cross the tempestuous Drake Passage - which is the planet's roughest ocean corridor - and only on the other side will the huge white continent appear. There's no fixed accomodation on land but it is possible to camp in a tent, in limited numbers. Total travel time: three days.
You can also reach Antarctica by plane, but only by charter flight, weather-dependent, and only between the months of December and February. These flights are costly (starting at around ￡10,000), and are few and far between.
