Mountains | Venture The Planet

Staying in Remote Wakhi Villages and Riding a Yak Into the Wild Hindu Kush Mountains Where Snow Leopards Still Prowl-Wakhan Valley, Afghanistan

by Matthew Allison | Sep 10, 2011 | Mountains, Asia, Most Unique Travel Experiences, Tribes/Unique Cultures

September 2011: I went to Afghanistan for the first time in 2011 for a week to see the Wakhan Valley, a remote valley sandwiched between the Pamir and Hindu Kush mountains that is one of the most remote places on earth. The narrow strip of land that juts out from...

Tajikistan-Crossing the Pamir Highway to the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan and Exploring the Emerald Green Lakes of the Fan Mountains

by Matthew Allison | Sep 9, 2011 | Asia, Mountains

September 2011: As part of a larger two-week trip that included Latvia and the Wakhan Valley, I visited Tajikistan. I spent 9 days in Tajikistan traveling from Dushanbe across the Pamir Highway to the far east of Tajikistan, where I crossed into the Wakhan region of...

New Years Eve on the Tibetan Side of Mt. Everest Base Camp

by Matthew Allison | Dec 31, 2010 | Asia, Bucket List Adventures, Mountains, Most Unique Travel Experiences, Tribes/Unique Cultures

December 2010: On a 8-day trip, my friends Tim, Eric and I traveled to Tibet-roof the world-a high mountain plateau that historically has been one of the most isolated and unknown places to the outside world. We traveled to Tibet to learn about its endangered culture,...

An Adventure Over the Remote Papuan Mountain Jungles Into the Rarely Visited Villages of the Last Penis Gourded Tribes-Dani and Yali

by Matthew Allison | May 28, 2009 | Mountains, Asia, Expeditions, Hiking Trips, Most Unique Travel Experiences, Rainforest

One of My Greatest Trekking Adventures May 2009: I first learned about Papua and its tribes of penis gourded men from a documentary. The idea of a tribe of men wearing nothing but penis gourdes to be honest seemed absurd to me and I couldn’t believe that such a...

Back Country Adventures with Grizzly Bears in Denali National Park, Alaska

by Matthew Allison | Jul 25, 2008 | Mountains, Hiking Trips, North America, Most Dangerous Encounters, Wildlife

If someone were to ask me which American National Park is the wildest, I would say Denali National Park. First of all, it is in the State of Alaska, which automatically makes it wild, then there are the other factors that help it to solidify this designation in my...

Ancient Muslim City of Harar, Gelada Baboons and the Rock Hewn Churches of Northern Regions of Amhara and Tigray, Ethiopia

by Matthew Allison | Nov 6, 2007 | Africa, Caves/Tunnels, Mountains, Tribes/Unique Cultures

Ethiopia hands down is one of my favorite countries. One of the aspects I like most about a country is its cultural and natural diversity and Ethiopia with its mountains, deserts, Serengeti like plains, rock hewn churches, ancient Islamic walled city of Harar, and the...