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.