All Alone: The 8 Most Secluded Places on Earth

The world often feels like it’s getting smaller each day, especially as technology continues to connect us. Still, despite the leaps and bounds of human ingenuity, there are places in the world that are so remote, that few people even know they exist. These remote places are some of the most interesting and harsh environments on the planet, but people still live there! Today, we are going to take a look at the 8 most secluded places on Earth. Even a plane ticket isn’t enough to get you to most of these destinations. Let’s get started!

The 8 most secluded places on Earth

We’ve found 8 of the most secluded places on Earth, each with their own rationale as to why they made it on our list. Some are tiny island paradises, while others are remote and frigid landscapes. What makes them similar is their extreme remoteness from human civilization, plus their secluded nature. People live at each of these locations, even to this day. Let’s take a look at these wild spots.

Tristan da Cunha

The small island chain of Tristan da Cunha is on our list as the most remote place in the world. It is officially listed as the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, with the closest settlement located 1,514 miles away. The islands are located in the south Atlantic Ocean.

Tristan da Cunha is an island chain, although there is only one primary island that people inhabit. Currently, around 250 people live on the 38 square mile island and are considered citizens of the British Overseas Territories. Inhabitants are 1,732 miles (2,787 km) from the coast of Cape Town in South Africa, 1,514 miles (2,437 km) from Saint Helena, and 2,487 miles (4,002 km) off the coast of the Falkland Islands. Additionally, the island doesn’t have an airstrip. In order to get to Tristan da Cunha, a six-day boat trip is required from South Africa.

Pitcairn Island

The remote island chain of Pitcairn is famous for being the least populous national jurisdiction in the world. This tiny volcanic island chain is located in the south Pacific. One of the most famous islands of the four total is Easter Island, well-known for the large head sculptures that are scattered throughout.

Incredibly, the island’s population is recognized as an ethnic group directly descended from mutineers aboard the HMS Bounty in 1789. The last known record was taken in January 2020, resulting in 47 known permanent inhabitants. The original inhabitants of the island were Polynesians who likely left around the 15th century.

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station

The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station may just be the most remote location on our list! As a secondary point, it is likely the most secluded place on Earth. What makes this location so interesting is that it isn’t actually a town or settlement but a research base located in the center of Antarctica.

The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is owned by the United States and is the most southern thing under the jurisdiction of the United States, although it isn’t under the sovereignty of the States. The station is so far south that it is the only inhabited place on Earth where the sun is entirely visible for six months and totally dark for six months.

Longyearbyen

The town of Longyearbyen is known as the world’s most northernmost settlement (with a population greater than 1,000). It is located on Svalbard, a Norwegian-owned archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The land is mostly uninhabited and is home to glaciers, polar bears, and Svalbard reindeer.

Longyearbyen translates to “The Longyear Town,” and it was established in 1906 by the Arctic Coal Company. Due to its isolation, Longyearbyen is home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a vault that acts as a secure backup of the world’s crop diversity in case of a worldwide catastrophic failure.

Oymyakon

Although Oymyakon isn’t the most remote place in the world, it is certainly the coldest! Oymyakon is officially the coldest permanently inhabited settlement on Earth. This small locality is located in the far northeast of Russia, deep in Siberia. The town is named after the Oymyakon River, which likely comes from the Even language, meaning “unfrozen patch of water” and “place where fish spend the winter.”

The temperatures of Oymyakon have reportedly reached as low as −96.2 °F. The only colder temperatures in the world are in Antarctica, with a recorded −128.6 °F.

La Rinconada

The town of La Rinconada may just be the most secluded place in the world in regards to height. This town of 16,000 is located in the Andes Mountains of Peru and sits at 16,700 feet above sea level! The incredible elevation makes La Rinconada the highest permanent town in the world.

The town itself varies from 16,100 to 16,700 feet above sea level, depending on where you are. Regardless, you are guaranteed to be over 3.0 miles above sea level, no matter where you are! With the extreme elevation, no trees grow in the area. The area is built around local mines, and the rising price of gold has caused La Rinconada to grow in recent years.

Iquitos

The second town we’ve looked at in Peru, Iquitos isn’t as high or far away as some other places in the world, but it is really inaccessible! Iquitos is known as being the largest city in the world that cannot be reached by road.

The city is the 9th most populous city in Peru and the largest metropolis in the Peruvian Amazon. The only ways you can reach Iquitos are by plane and boat. Iquitos has been inhabited for a very long time, mostly by indigenous people groups. The surrounding jungle makes travel to this city impossible by anything but boats and planes. As such, Iquitos serves as the port city to the deep jungle and tribal villages of the northern Amazon region.

Siwa Oasis, Egypt

Egypt has massive stretches of desert within its borders. The Siwa Oasis isn’t super remote, at least by distance to civilization. It is, however, totally cut off from almost all modern civilization and development, primarily due to its location.

Siwa Oasis is located in the deep regions of the Sahara and often hits temperatures as high as 115°F. People have lived around this oasis since 10,000 BC, mostly because of the 200 freshwater springs that are spread across the small area. The region is accessible, but it is essentially a step back in time as you walk through kershif buildings.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Mesa Studios/Shutterstock.com