We’ve all marvelled at beautiful photos of the world’s most stunning tourist locations. There are the Maldives in South Asia, or Bora Bora, a small island in French Polynesia, known for its turquoise lagoon. There’s the Hawaiian Islands, with their beaches and colourful lifestyle portrayed in Lilo & Stitch, and La Fortuna in Costa Rica, which is adorned with a stunning waterfall and is now a very popular place to hike.
But it gets better. There are still places on this glorious earth that are not just magnificent, but have also maintained their wild nature, and have been relatively untouched by human life.
1. KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, RUSSIA
The Kamchatka Peninsula, located in the far east of Russia. This magnificent land has been named ‘the land of fire and ice’ due to its volcanic ranges. It is estimated that there are 120 volcanoes on the peninsula, one of them being the largest active volcano in the northern hemisphere. Kamchatka is home to more than 15,000 brown bears, which are always on the hunt for salmon.
Whilst there is 104,000 miles of mostly unpopulated land along the peninsula, the seas surrounding it are popular for fishing and fur-trapping. There are organised tours here, but it is hard to go alone so it is still relatively unvisited. Tourists are at risk of bear attacks in the summer and avalanches in the winter.
2. NORTHERN FOREST COMPLEX, MYANMAR (BURMA)
The Northern Forest Complex in South East Asia runs along the border from India to China and spans more than 12,000 square miles.
Due to Burma imposing a military coup in 1962, which led to decades of isolation, these forests have been preserved in their natural stasis. The jungle has remained dense and avoided industrial intervention with no roads or paths.
The Northern Forest Complex boasts the largest tiger preserve in the world, Hukaung Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, in the heart of the forest, nearly 8,500 square miles in. It’s also home to bears, elephants, and an array of birds.
With Western governments lifting restrictions on their sanctions, there is worry that foreign intervention will cause environmental damage to the forest. Hunting also poses an issue to conservation.
3. TSINGY DE BEMARAHA NATIONAL PARK, MADAGASCAR
‘Tsingy’ is Malagasy for ‘where one can walk on tiptoes’. This is a very suitable name for this park, which features sharp, disjointed and fascinating limestone formations. They were formed due to erosion over millions of years and have maintained their appearance due to minimal human interference.
The roads are not very efficient leading up to the park, and the terrain is hard to navigate which contributes to its difficulty to explore. It is also rich with wildlife, with species that are endemic to the region.
4. SƠN ĐOÒNG CAVE, VIETNAM
The world’s largest cave is located in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam.
A local named Ho Khanh discovered the cave accidentally in 1990 and it was investigated in 2009 during an expedition by Howard Limbert and Deb Limbert of the British Cave Research Association (BRCA). It has been open to the public since 2013.
Geologists estimate it is between 2 and 5 million years old. Inside, it has an enchanting forest, rich with vegetation. Some call it the Garden of Eden.
5. NORTH SENTINEL ISLAND, INDIA
An example of a relatively untouched human society on Earth is located in the Andaman Islands, in the Bay of Bengal in India. This island is inhabited by the Sentinelese people, an indigenous group who are isolated from the rest of society. They are thought to have descended from the first group of humans to leave Africa, meaning the island has been untouched by any other humans for 60,000 years. It is estimated 50-500 Sentinelese people are living on the island. The tribe are thought to live in huts made of palm leaves, and they have javelins for weapons.
It is relatively untouched because of the dangers it poses to outsiders. Most instances where outsiders have attempted to interact with the indigenous tribe has been met by the tribe with hostility and arrow-throwing.
In 2018, John Allen Chau, a Christian missionary, made it his mission to reach out to the tribe but was shot with arrows. His continuous attempts to reach out cost him his life.
The tribe are vulnerable to visits from outsiders as they have not been exposed to most of the diseases that we have. In 1880 when a group of them were kidnapped and taken to Port Blair by Maurice Vidal Portman, they became sick and two of them died. Portman’s sadistic treatment of them is probably has made them hostile towards outsiders. By no means would they necessarily act this way if they hadn’t been so badly disrupted. Other instances have now led to a 3-mile exclusion zone being made around the island.
The island itself is surrounded by coral reefs and forests.
6. TEPUI, VENEZUELA, SOUTH AMERICA
The tepuis in Venezuela are utterly isolated table-top mountains, made of sandstone, that give a magnificent platform to unique life that suits its cooler climate. There are even species that are only found on certain tepuis, including frogs that are of great interest to scientists.
They reach up to 3,000 metres tall, and being so high they can be surrounded by mysterious clouds that flow silently, accentuating them. It is no wonder that it is often called the lost world, after Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 fantasy novel.
In the language of the Pemon people who live in the Gran Sabana, tepui translates to ‘home of the Gods.’
7. SOCOTRA, YEMEN
Looking like something out of a science-fiction film with its striking dragon blood and bottle trees (known as desert roses), Socotra is located between the Guardafui Channel and the Arabian sea. It is home to 800 species of flora and fauna and 225 species of birds, 6 of which are endemic. There is a natural pool on the edge of a cliff, and several insects that are also endemic.
The dragon blood tree gets its name from the resin that oozes out of it, and there is a legend that gladiators used it to speed up the healing of their wounds.
It is certainly clear to see why it was made a Unesco World Heritage site in 2008.
8. UNTOUCHED AREAS OF THE OCEANS
Despite the fact it covers about 71% of the earth’s surface, most of the ocean is unexplored, as only around 20% is accessible to us. This means that there is a staggering amount of the ocean that is yet to be explored.
So much so, that mars has been more explored than our oceans. Due to the amount that is yet to be explored, scientists have estimated that there are between 700,000 and 1 million species in the ocean, and about only 2/3 of these species have been discovered.
The midnight zone, where sunlight can’t reach, is down at 3280 feet. At these depths, animals can’t see, and there are scalding underwater volcanoes and vents.
In 2019, the deepest dive in history was recorded in the ocean by Victor Vescovo who descended 35,853 feet. The record before this was in 1960, by oceanographer Jacques Piccard and Lieutenant Don Walsh who reached 35,797 feet below the surface. The pressure at these depths is dangerously high for humans, and they have been described as ‘chilly but peaceful.’
The deep ocean is equally immensely difficult and dangerous to explore as it is mysterious and extraordinary. There are most likely thousands of marine species yet to be discovered.
Whilst a lot of earth seems taken over by human interference, there are still relatively untouched places. These are examples of the damage that has been done elsewhere in contrast and what humans are capable of destroying. But they also offer hope and positivity in working towards restoring other places on earth. It is bitter-sweet.
Our earth is so beautiful. She is nurturing, shape-shifting, and most importantly home to all manner of species. Let’s look at these remaining wild places as a true inspiration and incentive to look after it all, and to do all we can collectively to restore what has been damaged. The examples included in this article are sustained relics of an earth we once had everywhere, and an earth that needs our help in looking after.
National Geographic photojournalist Martin Edström puts it eloquently by stating “places like these are part of our heritage that need to be preserved.”