Adventure Travel: Popular Overland Routes

What is the ultimate overland trip? Some say it's London to Cape Town, others say Edinburgh to Beijing. The truth is, you could spend a good numbers of years traveling overland routes and never get bored. Here are some of the more popular routes to get you thinking about your overland trip.

Europe to Asia

The majority of overlanders start their journeys and Europe and continue on to Asia. For lovers of rail-travel, you can travel from Eastern Europe to Moscow and get on the Trans-Siberian railway. At 9,288 km, this is the longest rail journey in the world. It takes 7 days to make it to Vladistok. From there, you can head south into China or Mongolia.

Other travelers prefer to walk in the steps of Marco Polo by following the Silk Route from the Mediterranean to China. You can take the northern route via Russia and Kazakhstan, or the southern route via Turkey, Iran, Pakistan and India. For a variation on the southern route, head south to the tip of India instead of north to Urumqi, China. Currently, the section of road between the Iran border and Quetta, Pakistan has been deemed unsafe for private vehicles by Pakistani authorities, but for the daring you can still ply the route by public transport.

For a side trip or an alternate route, once get you to Pakistan take the Karakoram Highway (KKH) up through western China. The road goes all the way to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, but a military base on the border may prevent you from actually crossing into the country.

Asia to Australia

If you're in China, consider heading south to do the Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand circuit. Traveling in these countries is cheap, and you can even move on to Malaysia afterwards. The truly adventurous will then get themselves all the way to Australia by island hopping and riding the 4,343 km Indian Pacific Railway from Perth to Sydney.

Europe to Africa

London to Nairobi, Kenya, and London to Cape-Town are both popular overland journeys. Travelers usually leave London between November and March to set off for these Africa overland adventures. The traditional route goes across Europe, to Turkey and through the Levant to Cairo. From Cairo you follow the Nile River south through the continent. Be aware of political and humanitarian situations along the route before committing yourself to this journey, as it is not always possible.

Some people travel along Africa's western coast, but this involves crossing large stretches of the Sahara desert in Morocco, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It is on this route that you can visit the fabled middle of no-where town of Timbuktu. Send all of your friends a postcard and head south to francophone West Africa in Senegal.

Wikipedia: Overland Travel

Go-Overland.com