Extreme Camping: Unzipped

Dragoman's most adventurous trips for lovers of the great outdoors 

Want to wake to the sight of an elephant wandering through your African bush camp? Or go to sleep lulled by the sound of reindeer bells on the steppes of Mongolia? For lovers of the great outdoors, overlanding can be the best (and sometimes only) way to experience some of the world's best camp sites.

Travelling by bespoke trucks through Asia, Africa and the Americas, Dragoman, the world's leading overland tour operator, allows adventurous travellers to reach often remote, always stunning, locations. 

"Fifty per cent of our trips include wild camping, everything from staying with nomadic herders in traditional gers or yurts to nights spent under the stars in the desert," says Charlie Hopkinson, Managing Director.

Evening BBQ's, songs around the camp fire and toasting marshmallows are all part and parcel of the overlanding culture and for many, camping, whether on the slopes of Kilimanjaro or along ancient Inca trails, is cited as the highlight of the trip. 

Here's Dragoman's top picks for the world's best camping experiences.

ASIA

Where? Mongolia

How? Ulaan Bataar to Ulaan Bataar, 21 days

When? 21st June, 3rd July, 14th July, 23rd July, 6th August 2015

Price? From £1716 per person including kitty. Flights from £760 per person ex London.

Camping: 90% - camping, wild camps and gers/ yurts

Why? Camp out in one of the last unspoiled destinations of the world, both in traditional gers and western tents to experience a way of life that's gone unchanged for centuries.

It's one of the last unspoiled travel destinations of the world, where nomadic herders still tend to their flocks amongst vast grasslands, gers remain the accommodation of choice and it's still possible to travel for days without meeting another human being, let alone fellow western travellers. Camping for the majority of the time, you'll experience the great outdoors in all its glory. Whilst Mongolia has come a long way since the days of Chingghis Khan, its landscape, typified by the Gobi desert, glistening lakes and snow-capped mountains make this adventurous destination an outdoor lovers' dream.

Highlights: Lake, river, forest, desert and mountain camps, in traditional gers as well as western tents. Visit ancient monasteries, ruins and temples; explore Karakorum, one-time capital of the Mongol empire; hike and horse-ride through forests, grasslands and dune-fields meeting local herders and 'The Reindeer People'; experience Mongolia's largest waterfall, witness vast lava fields on top of Khorgo Volcano.

Where? Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan

Tashkent to Bishkek 16 days

When? 28th June and 16th August 2015

Price? From £1162 per person including kitty. Flights from £465 per person ex London.

Camping: 60% - camping, wild camps and yurts

Why? Unzip your flysheet to some of the most dramatic scenery on the planet, but be quick. Kyrgyzstan's high mountain passes are only open for a few summer months.

: Kyrgyzstan's mountain scenery will take your breath away, as might the glimpse of the odd black bear nearby. If you're the kind of traveller who gets a buzz out of the great outdoors, then this challenging trip into Central Asia's mountainous hinterland will get you right off the beaten track. Beginning in Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, you'll then cross the Ferghana Valley before heading for the high country of remote Kyrgyzstan and the dramatically rugged Tian Shan mountains. It's not all wide open spaces and soaring peaks, though. You'll also be immersed in the day-to-day life of local cultures, staying in a yurt and riding mountain ponies. Lake Issyk-Kul offers plenty of hiking opportunities, and you'll camp in the wilds of the Ala-Toosu Mountains before heading down to Bishkek where the trip ends.

Highlights: Wild camp for 3 nights in Kyrgyzstan National Park; mingle with herders and overnight in yurt at Song Kul Lake; watch a game of Buzkashi, goat polo; watch eagle hunter demonstration at Kochkor; Trek into the wilds of the stunningly-beautiful Jeti-Oghuz Gorge on the edge of the Tian Shan mountains.

Where? China

How? Kashgar to Xi'an 22 days

When?  13th June, 4th July, 7th July, 11th August 2015

Price from £1682 per person including kitty. Flights from £765 ex London.

Camping: 25% camping75% guesthouses and hotels

Why? Camping in China can be difficult, but this 'camping lite' trip combines guesthouses in the more built up central china, with camping in the wild west!

Discover a different side of China, one far away from the usual tourist trail amongst the tribal regions in China's remote west. Beginning at the famous market town of Kashgar, you'll follow a route which skirts the edge of the isolated Taklamakan Desert, stopping along the Silk Route at the oasis of Turpan. Many travellers to China visit the Great Wall, but few see the remote western end of it at Jiayuguan, 3000 miles from Beijing. From here the road climbs up to the Tibetan Plateau, and we visit the pilgrimage site of Xiahe before descending to the historic city of Xi'an, home of the Terracotta Warriors.

Highlights: Wildcamping on edge of Taklamakan Desert, yurt camp at Heavenly lake, visiting the Rainbow Mountains; the remote western end of Great Wall; Tibetan Pleateau, Terracotta Warriors.

AMERICAS

Where? The US and Canada

Anchorage to Banff, 24 days

When? 4th July and 6th August 2016

Price from £1654 per person including kitty. Flights from £860 per person ex London.

Camping: 90% camping

Why? Embark on one of the planet's best road trips, camping en route. On the Road? Oh yeah!

Go to sleep warmed by the camp fire, wake up to some of the best National Park scenery on the planet. With 90% wild camping, outdoor enthusiasts will LOVE this trip, packed as it is with National Parks (Denali, Jasper, Banff, to name but a few). Travelling by American school bus along Alaska and the Western side of Canada, you'll be embarking on one of the planet's great road trips, winding your way through the wilds of Alaska and the forest-covered slopes of Canada's mountain country. You will learn about the Klondike gold rush of Dawson, and experience wilderness camping out in the Alaskan unknown vastness before ending in glittering Banff, a dream for outdoor enthusiasts and just a hop away from Calgary turned into a 'Canadian Dallas' during the oil boom of the Seventies.

SOUTH AMERICA

Where? Peru and Bolivia

How? Lima to La Paz, 22 days

Why? July and August are the best times to visit the Andean region. Further north, near the equator, it's too hot and steamy. Further south, at the height of a southern hemisphere winter, too cold!

When? 31st July, 9th August, 23rd August 2015

Camping: 34% wildcamps, camping and homestays; 66% hotels and guesthouses

Price? From £1773 per person including kitty. Flights from £840 per person ex London.

Including all the Peru-'must-do's' (Paracas National Park and Ballestas islands, the Nazca Lines, Colca Canyon, Arequipa, Machu Picchu),  you'll also overland across the high plains of the Altiplano, the most extensive area of high plateau outside of Tibet. It's an awesome landscape and yet one that is experienced by far fewer tourists than north Bolivia's biggest attraction: Lake Titicaca. As well as being South America's highest (and by volume, largest) navigable lake, the lake is home to the Uros people who live on tiny floating islands made of reeds. We visit them by boat and on a later day, can visit the lake's Isla del Sol, near Copacabana, from which the indigenous people still believe the sun was born. The trip ends in Bolivia's capital, La Paz.

Highlights: trekking - and camping - in the Andes, along an ancient Inca Trail exclusive to Dragoman; staying with the local Ancascocha community.

AFRICA

Where? Kenya, Tanzania

Nairobi to Dar es Salaam 14 days

Price from £1428 per person including kitty.

When? 27th June, 6th July, 8th August 2015

Camping: 75% camping, 25% hotels and guesthouses

Sun, sea and safari: this classic trip deserves its reputation as one of the best trips in Africa. After leaving Nairobi, you head straight to the Masai Mara for an incredible 3 day jeep safari through the National Park, with fantastic opportunities to see the 'Big 5' as well as a wealth of other wildlife. The game viewing continues after you cross the border into Tanzania, with safaris in both the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro National Parks, both packed with animals and home to some truly spectacular scenery. You will camp on the slopes of majestic snow-capped Kilimanjaro and explore the local village of Mto wa Mbu. The trip ends with 5 days of blissful relaxation, first on the white beaches south of Dar, and then on the idyllic spice island of Zanzibar.

Highlights: It's not uncommon to see elephants walking through the Ngorongoro Crater camp, or going to sleep lulled by the sounds of the Serengeti.

For bookings, contact Dragoman on 01728 861133 or visit www.dragoman.com

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Media contact: For images, more information please contact Rebecca Scrase, T. 01449 677033 M. 07985 973973 E. rebecca@dragoman.co.uk