Top 5 Adventure Travel Books
If there's one thing that we're fans of in our office (apart from travel, of course), it's reading. Each of our team are avid readers, so today, we're bringing you our top 5 adventure books.
1. Eiger Dreams
Subtitled "Adventures Among Men and Mountains", and taking its name from the fearsome Eiger mountain, the non-fiction Eiger Dreams is a collection of articles and essays by the adventure writer Jon Krakauer.
This fantastic collection covers heaps of topics, from stories of ventures in the Alps, Himalayas, and Andes, to waterfall climbing in Alaska, canyoneering in Mexico, and even the bitter rivalries over who was first to accurately measure the height of Everest!
2. In Patagonia
Written by the mercurial Bruce Chatwin, In Patagonia is one of the quintessential texts in travel writing. In his unique and charming writing style, Chatwin describes his experiences travelling around Patagonia - the enormous and diverse region in at the southern tip of South America.
This book is a fascinating insight into real life in Argentina and Chile, and gives a real sense of the meandering adventures and observations Chatwin made on his travels.
3. Turn Right at Machu Picchu
Being Choose a Challenge, we couldn't miss the opportunity to talk about one of our favourite destinations: Machu Picchu.
In this hilarious and fascinating story, travel writer Mark Adams retraces the steps of Hiram Bingham III as he became the first Westerner to "stumble across the geometric splendour of Machu Picchu" in June, 1911.
Adams' takes us from Cusco up into the beautiful Andes mountains to Machu Picchu, incorporating visits to Inca ruins at Vitcos and Vilcabamba.
4. Into Thin Air
You may be familiar with the story of Into Thin Air in the form of the plot of the fantastic film Everest (2015).
Also by Jon Krakauer, this book chronicles a disastrous 1996 expedition to summit Everest led by the New Zealander mountain guide Rob Hall, which ended with multiple deaths and injuries when the climbers - including Krakauer himself - were caught in a storm.
The story is gripping, and very, very real. It paints an accurate, visceral picture of what it's like at extremely high altitudes, and a harrowing account of one of Everest's most tragic incidents.
5. Endurance
A best-seller, Alfred Lansing's Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage documents the disaster that befell Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 attempt to cross Antarctica.
Shackleton had planned to cross the world's last remaining uncharted continent on foot, but their support ship, Endurance got stuck in dense pack ice, eventually being crushed and sunk.
The book describes the expedition, the harrowing story of survival of its crew and the miraculous rescue which allowed them to survive.
Inspired by one of these stories? Why not visit some of the world's most beautiful and awe-inspiring destinations yourself by taking part in one of our trekking challenges?
