Video: Crossing The Darién Gap

The Darién Gap is a rugged, remote region of nearly impassable jungle that separates Panama from Colombia. How rugged you ask? It is such a difficult environment that even today there are no roads that cross through this area, forcing travelers along the Trans-American Highway to find an alternate means around.

In the web series Hasta Alaska, which is featured on the The Adrenalist website, our intrepid adventurer enters the Gap and must find a way through. The results of those efforts can be seen in this short film below, which gives us a rare glimpse inside the interior of the Darién region, which is fraught with poisonous snakes, nasty insects and other wild beasts. This is a true-life adventure through a truly untamed portion of the world.

Hmm... after watching this, I suddenly want to go explore the Gap myself.

10 Remote National Parks For Those Who REALLY Want To Get Away From It All

Are you a traveler who truly likes to get away from it all? Then you'll definitely want to check out the list of 10 of the World's Most Remote National Parks from our friends over at the Adventure Journal. These parks, located in a variety of countries across the globe, are seldom visited, very wild and about as unique as any destination you could ever hope for. Just getting to them is an adventure.

One of the destinations that earned a place on the list was Kobuk Valley National Park here in the U.S. Located in a remote corner of Alaska, the park is just 1.7 miles of very rugged terrain and was visited by just 11,000 people in 2011. Surprisingly, that would probably make it one of the busier places on the Adventure Journal list, as most of the others are expensive places to get to or severely restrict those that can enter.

Some of the other parks mentioned include Quttinirpaaq National Park in extreme northern Canada, Rapa Nui National Park on Easter Island and Darien National Park in Panama. Each has their own unique qualities that would draw adventurous travelers in, not the least of which is their very remote locations that make it a challenge to just get in.

As for the park that is most intriguing to me, that would certainly be Central Island in Kenya. This park is a volcanic island within Lake Turkana and is said to be the home of the largest population of Nile crocodiles on the planet. It also has abundant zebra, giraffe, gazelles and numerous other wildlife. The island is so remote that it takes three-days just to get their by land and boat. AJ warns that it might get a bit hot their too, as temperatures routinely hit 120ºF/48.8ºC.

If you're looking for some interesting places to add to your bucket list, I'm sure this article will spark a few new additions. Just make sure you have plenty of cash to spend, because visiting some of these locations will put a strain on the wallet for sure.