Adventure itself is not in your inbox. It doesn't exist in Instagram feeds or dwell in Facebook posts, as the 17 upcoming expeditions (including seven new destinations) from Secret Compass show.

Adventure is out there, lurking in the remote corners of the world's wildest places. It exists where your maps stop, where Google Earth draws a blank and where your batteries flicker and fade.

“Secret Compass orgnanises team expeditions to the world's wildest places,” said its marketing director Kerry O'Neill. “From Afghanistan to Siberia and Chad, our destinations appeal to ambitious travellers keen to experience a genuine, anything-can-happen adventure.”

"Up next is April's world-first literary journey across the Holy Land. Recreating Mark Twain's 1867 travels in the region (which resulted in his book, 'The Innocents Abroad'), our team, like Twain, will be on horseback for a new angle on an established destination."

Expeditions for 2016 – 2017 (inc. 7 new destinations)

1. Panama (03/16): a crossing of the notorious Darien Gap, hunting for petroglyphs.
2. Siberia NEW (03/16): reindeer migration over frozen gulfs with the Nenets nomads.
3. Iraqi Kurdistan (03 and 04/16): winter mountaineering to scale Iraq's highest peaks.
4. Israel NEW (04/16): literary horseback expedition in the footsteps of Mark Twain.
5. Madagascar (04/16): a cross-country 'peak to sea' trek and raft through virgin jungle.
6. Gabon NEW (06/16):ambitious pack-raft/ trek over the Equator in Ivindo Nat. Park.
7. Mongolia NEW (06/16): high-altitude mountaineering and first ascents in the Altai.
8. DRC NEW (06/16): jungle, volcanic peak and gorilla trekking in Virunga National Park.
9. Afghanistan (07/16): high-altitude trekking in the Wakhan Corridor National Park.
10. Armenia (08/16):exploration of a fabled land and its UNESCO-protected plateaux.
11. Kamchatka (08 and 09/16): trekking amongst Eurasia's highest active volcanoes.
12. Kyrgyzstan (09/16): MTB/ bike-packing expedition to traverse the Talas Range.
13. UK NEW (09/16): mini-expedition styled weekend adventure in the Brecon Beacons.
14. Sinai (09/16): minimalistic, camel-supported desert trek with the Bedouin.
15. Ethiopia (10/16): MTB expedition exploring the Simien Mountains and villages.
16. Iran (10/16): a traverse of the Lut Desert, home to the hottest place on earth.
17. Chad NEW (01/17):exploring the Sahara's volcanic heartland and its highest peak.

Team member Kellie S. said of her expedition to Panama's notorious Darién Gap jungles and rain forests, “Secret Compass runs expeditions not tours. You couldn't feel further from being a tourist, this was such a genuine experience for us all.”

“Once fit and active travellers discover Secret Compass, they have their primal need for adventure reignited” explained O'Neill. “They join a team and don't look back, with many joining their third or fourth expedition team in 2016.

“There isn't time for them to blog en route,” continued O'Neill, “they're too busy doing, moving, eating, sleeping. They generally want to escape their inboxes and to fully experience each moment.”

Team member Mark S. said of his expedition to Sierra Leone, “Secret Compass truly does offer an experience that cannot be matched in this day and age. The potential for discovery and adventure that is experienced on these expeditions is hard to fathom, as if from some epic in literature. If I hadn't experienced it with my own eyes, I might not have believed it.”

O'Neill explained, “We've got seven brand new destinations for 2016 – 2017 including Israel, Gabon, Mongolia and Chad. We've also launched a UK weekend to give people a taste for life on expedition.”

Tom Bodkin, director of Secret Compass, said, “Through our pioneering expeditions to usually wild, often remote and frequently misunderstood regions, we encourage our team-mates to share their positive stories through blogs, articles and social media once they arrive home.

“Getting our teams beyond the headlines and to the truth of a place is one of the key reasons Secret Compass is so passionate about exploration in such hard-to-access places,” continued Bodkin.

“Travelling in difficult regions has many local benefits, too. It can stimulate fledging or previously decimated tourism economies, and can bring hope to the locals who realise that the 'outside world' now perceives their home as safe to visit once more.

“We're thrilled to have gained major coverage in recent months in the Guardian (with Mongolia), in Bloomberg Pursuits (with Kamchatka) and in the Independent (with Israel and Madagascar).

“This shows us that tough, perception-shifting experiences are what today's genuine adventurers seek, and featuring in mainstream publications shows that joining a team to explore the world's wildest places really is within anyone's grasp.”

In her testimonial, team member Christine A-L. said of her expedition to Jordan, “You don't often come across a company that shares the same commitment to living life to the fullest, outside your comfort zone, while pushing your limits and going beyond the ordinary. Secret Compass is that kind of company.”

Team member Benedict J. said of his expedition to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, “The Secret Compass planning methodology is meticulous. It involves every contingency and risk assessment you can think of…and many you'd rather not think about.”

Secret Compass expedition styles range from mixed-terrain trekking and minimalist desert traverses to mountain-biking, rafting and horseback expeditions. Secret Compass welcomes applications from fit and active individuals keen to achieve the extraordinary in the world's wildest places.

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NOTES TO EDITORS

Secret Compass Expeditions

Secret Compass redefines what is possible by creating pioneering projects in the world's wildest places. It's built around a team of trusted experts who combine a passion for exploration with industry-leading professionalism. Secret Compass reignites your primal need for adventure, providing the catalyst for you to come alive and achieve the extraordinary.

Secret Compass website 
Press enquiries: 0207 096 8428
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Secret Compass TV
Secret Compass TV provides expert pre-production and in-country location management services to the TV and film industries. Clients to date include the BBC, Nat Geo, Discovery, Animal Planet and Channel 4, in countries including Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, South Sudan and Siberia.

Secret Compass TV