Extreme places
The coldest, wettest, highest and most remote places people live, and how to actually get there.
Coober Pedy: the outback town that lives underground
An opal-mining town 846 km north of Adelaide where people live in dugouts to escape 48 °C heat. Underground churches, a spaceship from a film set, the Breakaways, and the Stuart Highway fuel gap.
La Rinconada, Peru: the highest town on Earth, and the hard truth about going
A gold-mining town at about 5,000 m under a glacier, with no sewers, mercury in the water and a lawless reputation. What La Rinconada is, and why most travellers shouldn't go.
Longyearbyen, Svalbard: life at 78° North
A town of about 2,800 people where the sun disappears for 111 days, polar bears roam outside town, and burials have been banned since 1950. How to get there and what to do in each season.
Mawsynram and Cherrapunji: the wettest places on Earth, in the monsoon
Nearly 12 metres of rain a year, a waterfall that drops 340 m, and bridges grown from living tree roots. How to visit Meghalaya's rain capitals, and when to go.
Oymyakon: a winter in the coldest village on Earth
−67.7 °C on record, −46 °C on an average January day, 922 km of winter road from Yakutsk. How to reach Oymyakon, what the cold does, and what to know about Russia in 2026.
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