Top 10 Most Remote Places to Live

Renowned for its beauty, Mêdog – aka Metok or Motuo County – is considered Tibet’s “Lotus Holy Land” with a population of just over 10,000. Until recently, it was the only county in China inaccessible by road. They first tried building a road over 20 years ago, but that lasted only two days before it was abandoned and sucked up by landslides, floods, avalanches and more. The only way to in or out was once a long walk, which involved a 200-meter-long suspension bridge and mountainous Himalayan terrain. In 2010, however, they finished construction on a highway that finally connected Mêdog to the rest of the world.

Greenland is already fairly remote to begin with, although nothing compares to this town. Ittoqqortoormiit is just smaller than Germany in terms of area, but fewer than 500 people live there. This may be because its name is nearly impossible to pronounce and certainly wouldn’t fit on a driver’s license. However, it likely has more to do with the cold climate and harsh weather conditions. Residents make their living by hunting things like whales and polar bears during the winter and fishing for Halibut during the summer.

McMurdo is literally at the bottom of the world. Home to just over 1,000 in summertime and about 250 in wintertime, McMurdo Station is served by three airports and is actually the largest community in Antarctica. Surprisingly, scientists and employees living at the station are able to enjoy several modern amenities, including television and a Frisbee golf course. With temperatures that rarely, if ever, go above freezing, however, it remains one of the most remote places in the world.

Palmerstone is home to 62 people, a majority being descendants of William Marsters, the man who settled the island in 1863. Finally plotted on a map in 1969, this island is visited by a supply ship a couple of times a year, there are but two telephones, and inhabitants have Internet access for just four hours a day. The island has no airport, and is dangerous for bigger boats to reach by sea because it’s situated on a coral reef. The people on Palmerstone are extremely hospitable and generous, however, and it’s definitely a great vacation spot if you can find a way to get there.

One of the last remaining wilderness regions on Earth, Cape York Peninsula is located in Far North Queensland in Australia. A popular destination for adventurous tourists, the land is home to less than 20,000 people, many of whom are aboriginal tribes. It is extremely difficult to access, though, due to hazardous weather conditions and flooding during monsoon season. Of course if you really live on the wild side, getting there should be half the fun.

We can understand living in a remote location if it’s relatively warm and scenic, such as in Australia or a South Pacific island, but in a far-flung spot in Russia?! This village has a population of 500 of what must be the toughest people on the planet. Oymyakon holds the record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in an area where people are permanently settled at-90 degrees Fahrenheit or -68 degrees Celsius, and the town has never recorded a temperature above 0 between October 25th and March 17th. It is so cold that some birds have reportedly frozen mid-flight.

Who would’ve guessed a place in the U.S. would be one of the most remote locations on earth? While small towns are common across America, Supai’s the only one located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon with just 208 people living there. It’s also the only American location where mules deliver mail, because no roads lead there – but that’s fine, because they don’t have any cars. If you want to reach Supai, prepare to ride a mule or helicopter, or attempt the difficult hiking trail. The village is so inaccessible that it was apparently missed during the 2000 U.S. census.

Located in the middle of the southern Pacific Ocean, Pitcairn Island – part of a grouping of four volcanic islands called the Pitcairn Islands – is extremely isolated, with its closest neighbors located hundreds of miles away on either side. The island’s still a territory of Britain and home to around 56 people, a mix of the descendants of HMS Bounty mutineer and the Polynesians who joined them. It’s the least populous national jurisdiction in the world with people making their living through farming and fishing. There’s no airstrip on the island, and the only way to get there is via shipping boat.

Located in northern Canada in a territory called Nunavut, Alert is considered the northernmost permanently inhabited place on the entire planet, with up to five people living there year round. This military installation is just 500 miles south of the North Pole, with the nearest town located more than 1,000 miles away. Because it’s situated at the top of the Earth, Alert gets days with 24 hours of darkness during the winter and 24 hours of light during summer. It does have an airport – which is run by the Canadian Department of National Defence – but due to the harsh weather conditions it’s not exactly a hospitable place to live.

Before we set a course for our number one pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
- La Rinconada, Peru
- Easter Island, Chile
- Socotra Island, Yemen
- Barrow, Alaska, USA
- Svalbard, Norway
- Lajamanu, Australia

Tristan da Cunha actually refers to an archipelago of small islands, which have a combined population just above 300. Boasting a beautifully mountainous landscape, the islands have no airport, which means they are only accessible by boat. All inhabitants live in a settlement called Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, which has one road. The island also only has one grocery store, and food orders must be placed months in advance because of how long it takes for cargo ships to get to the island. Located in the South Atlantic Ocean about 1,500 miles away from South Africa, over 2,000 miles away from South America and 1,200 miles away from the nearest occupied island, this location is without a doubt the most remote inhabited place in the world.

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