The lure of the world's most unexplored places
Some people need to conquer tangled jungles, empty deserts and mountain summits, but Chris Moss prefers to get lost in them
15 December 2020 • 10:53am
My spirit of exploration, such as it is, is most sated when I find myself a bit lost, somewhat lonely, and far from everywhere else
Credit: Getty
The end of the road doesn’t exist. I know, because I’ve spent much of my travelling life – 35 years and counting – looking for it. But what I’ve found on reaching for the handbrake at the end of Chile’s Southern Highway, arriving in the Beijing terminus of the Trans-Manchurian railway, or standing on the glorious, snowy heights of Ben Nevis in late December, is that there’s always a way to continue a journey. A faintly marked footpath, an unexpected train line, a peak in the middle distance teases like Shangri-La or Ultima Thule – and I’ve known, in my heart, that the next stage will be even better than the last.