Overlanding / Expedition Driving in September

The Peruvian altiplano between Cusco and Puno, running at 3,800m elevation along the shore of Lake Titicaca, is one of the world's most dramatic high-altitude driving environments. Cross the border at Desaguadero into Bolivia and the routes extend across the salt flats of Salar de Uyuni and south through the Atacama. From Cusco alone, the circuit toward Puno takes in colonial churches, pre-Inca ruins, and altiplano landscapes that are genuinely unlike anything at lower elevation. The remoteness is real; mechanical preparation and spare parts matter here.

Morocco's southern routes offer one of the most accessible genuine desert overland experiences in the world. From Marrakech the route over the High Atlas drops into the Draa Valley, passes the kasbahs at Ait Benhaddou and Ouarzazate, and continues into the Sahara at Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes. The piste roads south of Ouarzazate are graded and manageable in a competent 4x4 with moderate off-road experience. For more serious terrain, Foum Zguid and the Chegaga dunes to the west involve real sand navigation. The whole circuit from Marrakech and back can be done in a week; two weeks gives time to explore properly.

Iceland's F-roads are what overland travel looks like without concessions to comfort. These are highland tracks designated for 4x4 vehicles only, crossing rivers without bridges, climbing into volcanic fields, and passing through landscapes that have no visual equivalent elsewhere. The Kjolur route bisects the island's interior. The Landmannalaugar area gives access to rhyolite mountains and geothermal springs. The Sprengisandur track is a full-day crossing of the central desert with no services. None of this is accessible in a conventional car, which is what makes it genuinely remote in a European context.

East Africa has the most mature overland infrastructure on the continent, and Nairobi is where it centers. From here you can run a self-drive safari circuit through the Masai Mara, Amboseli at the foot of Kilimanjaro, Samburu in the north, and Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley. Cross-border circuits extend into Tanzania to the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater. The Nairobi 4x4 rental market is established and professional, with properly prepared Land Cruisers stocked with recovery gear, camping equipment, and rooftop tents available from specialist operators. This is the region where overland travel as a discipline was essentially invented.