The holiday season is all about spending time with your loved ones and enjoying the time off. However, for some of you, summer is synonymous to adrenaline. If you are deciding between going climbing, diving or skydiving, follow this mini guide for the tips for the most extreme places in the world to do outdoor activities. You will find in the end some tips to keep you safe 😉
Diving between sharks, rays and morays
There are some outstanding places for diving to experience the most dangerous animals in the world. Among the most wonderful, we recommend the Galapagos Islands, in Ecuador, an ode to the purest nature. You can dive between penguins, sharks, marine iguanas, huge turtles, rays and, of course, giant tortoises. To see the Tiger sharks, Tiger Island in the Bahamas is an unsurpassable destination for nature photographers and adventurers. More extreme still, is to dive in a cage in Gansbaai, South Africa. Sharks reach several meters and it is very dangerous to swim next to them. If you can handle the experience, it is something you will never forget.
Trekking a volcano
Other intense activity is mountain trekking, but if it occurs in a volcano that also casts coloured fumes and toxic substances, then it becomes an unforgettable experience. You will need a special equipment, a guide, a gas mask and lots of energy, and it is advisable to conquer the summit before the sun goes down. Some of the most famous scenarios are Agua Volcano in Guatemala and Ijen volcano in Java, Indonesia. The latter is characterized by ejecting blue lava that can be seen when the sky is clear.
Climbing on a glacier
In southern Argentina you can find some amazing places, but one of them is without a doubt the Pertio Glacier, a glacier full of cavities, paths and vertical hollows of hundreds of meters high. It is an unequaled adventure, not suitable for claustrophobic, since in many occasions you get to climb in very narrow cavities and with little illumination. It is an activity that requires patience, since it takes several hours and you need to wait for your mates. Until your friend does not go up you can not go up, so be prepared to wait hanging, while watching incredible views.
Whitewater rafting
If you want to test yourself and fight the wind, the water and the gravity, whitewater rafting is an opportunity to prove your strength, strategy and coordination. Some of the more extreme areas are in the Copper Canyon in Mexico. It is a system of 6 guns of about 600 km of length, with several streams of diverse rivers. An experience only for veterans. Another unique spot are placed in Pokhara, Nepal, in Colorado, United States, and in White Nile, Uganda.
Skydiving in incredible places
If you have already thrown yourself into a height between 14 thousand feet and 20 thousand feet, then you can afford the luxury of looking around and appreciating the landscape. Among the places that are known as the most beautiful in the world to do skydiving, you can find Queenstown, in New Zealand, Cairns in Australia or Livingstone in Zambia, where you will see in your fall the Victory falls.
Tips for your extreme trip
Security is very important when you go on an extreme trip so we recommend 3 tips to be safe while doing extreme outdoor sports:
1. Look at the weather forecast
Even if you go with an instructor that will tell you whether or not you can do the activity, a sudden rain or a little more wind can turn your already risky experience into a real danger. A nice app for this is AccuWeather, which also gives you information in specific places like rivers, canals, waterfalls or volcanoes. If you need something more specific, Windguru gives you a complete plan of wind forecast, tides, maximum and minimum temperatures and everything you need to know to do water sports.
2. Do not be all alone
Share your location in real time with your closest friends, with the instructor, the guide or who is doing the same activity as you, so you both know at all times how to find and help you. Wave Application is our free app where you can privately share your location with whoever needs it, from 15 minutes to 8 hours, our most used option in extreme sports.
If you really are in trouble, be sure to have downloaded iSurvive, an app that in just three taps will be sending an SMS with your location to your contacts, and it will be updating it every few seconds. It also connects you immediately with the emergency services. Another possibility is RapidSOS, developed by MIT. Once you tap the screen, It will call the closest emergency services, no matter where you are in the world.
3. Protect your skin
Sun, ice or toxic gases can be very harmful to your skin and you will have serious problems when you return. It is best that you always keep your skin moisturised and protected from the sun, as well as being immunised against mosquitoes and other insects. Just in case you forget, you can use QSun, an app that measures the temperature, the clothes you wear, your skin color and tells you how much sun protection you need.
You already have the whole pack, enjoy your trip and please send a pic to our Instagram 😉
Pablo Clemente Pérez 