Interview: Lucy Shepherd on why we should all be living adventurously

Hammock camping set up in the Darien Gap

Hammock Camping 101 with Rick Morales

Secret Compass Expedition Leader Rick Morales talks all things sleeping in a hammock Rick Morales is an expedition leader in Panama, who leads Secret Compass Darien Gap expeditions. If there’s… read more

How memorising an Atlas led to a career as an Expedition Leader

Interview with an Paramedic and Expedition Leader with almost two decades of experience Luca Alfatti is qualified as an Advanced Paramedic, he is also an expedition leader here with us… read more

HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2021

As we step into a new year, we like to showcase and celebrate the commercial projects we’ve been able to safely work on in 2021, which has made a remarkable year… read more

HOW TO THINK LIKE AN EXTREME TV SAFETY ADVISOR

Insights from Will Smith’s Welcome to Earth Series 2 with SC safety advisor Dave Lucas The new Welcome to Earth series launched last week and it’s a pretty big deal.… read more

THE BREATHING SHIELD

There’s perhaps no item of clothing more universally useful in the outdoors than the humble waterproof jacket. Today, a performance shell that works in the harshest conditions won’t come cheap,… read more

THE GEOGRAPHY PEOPLE AND MYTHOLOGY OF AFRICA’S HIGHEST PEAK

Broadly considered the most accessible of the seven summits, Mt. Kilimanjaro is common place on adventure bucket lists around the world. But how much do you really know about Africa’s… read more

Paragliding over Angel Falls

HOW IT FEELS TO FLY OVER ANGEL FALLS

After five full days of hiking to get there, it took just 15 minutes to descend, dropping nearly 1,000m into the Venezuelan treetops from atop a massive plateau in the… read more

THE EDGE OF THE EARTH

In Siberia’s far north, a remote peninsula known as the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Region sits within the Arctic Circle. It’s isolated. Roughly 2000km north-east of Moscow and separated by the mighty… read more

A PATH LESS TRODDEN

As the most accessible peak of the Seven Summits, the path to the roof of Africa is pretty well-trodden. It’s a trekking peak and a bucket-list item within the grasps… read more

THE PRIVILEGE OF NAMING MOUNTAINS

For many it’s the ultimate goal in mountaineering. At the very least, claiming a first ascent provides a minimum of a lifetime worth of bragging and – if you can bear… read more

Win Two Tickets for ATFF

WIN TICKETS TO ATFF!

To celebrate The Adventure Travel Film Festival’s 7th birthday, the kind folk behind the action have given Secret Compass two tickets to give away to the London Festival. Two passes… read more

Starlight screening Mill Hill School

The Adventure Travel Film Festival is Coming

The 2017 Adventure Film Festival is almost upon us and as always the guys have curated a belting list of films that’ll without doubt have you packing your bags.

Treating jungle feet

THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO JUNGLE FOOT CARE

from choosing the right boots to techniques for avoiding trench footImmense isolation, off-the-scale humidity, searing heat and an overload of exotic hazards. In no environment is foot care more paramount… read more

Alpine Adventures in Greenland's Schweizerland Alps.

6 ADVENTURES TO UP YOUR ALPINE GAME

Whether your eye is on that first 5000m+ summit, using crampons and ice axes for the first time or gaining the knowledge to plan your own expedition, here are six expeditions to… read more

The day's first rays of light make it over the mountain tops to grace the backs of the expedition team members ascending to the summit of Mt. Halgurd

MOMENTS LIKE THESE MAKE ALPINISM ADDICTIVE

Upon the unzipping of tents, the serene mix of sublime weather conditions and stillness that comes with a 4am start high above the snow line, hinted at a successful day… read more

INTERVIEW: ALPINE EXPERT PHIL DE-BEGER

After leading two Secret Compass expeditions in Iraqi Kurdistan he’s briefly back in the UK before he heads out to Georgia for our Alpine Skills Expedition in May, so we caught up with… read more

MSR tents in the Mount Halgurd region of the Zagros mountains in Iraqi Kurdistan on an expedition with (c) Secret Compass

KURDISTAN SUMMIT SUCCESS

Mount Halgurd is the highest peak in the region’s Zagros ranges. It is the highest mountain wholly within Iraq (Cheekah Dar is reputedly 4m higher but straddles the Iranian border,… read more

BOOTS AND CRAMPONS

Packing the right kit is an essential part of any expedition and using the wrong kit in extreme locations can have sever consequences, putting your safety at risk and jeopardising… read more

THE DARIEN GAP

“
There is definitely a reason Secret Compass runs expeditions not tours. You couldn’t feel further from being a tourist, their expeditions are such genuine experiences. The guides were absolutely 110%… read more

THE TRANSPANAMA THRU-HIKE

Panamanian Rick Morales has done what very few trekkers would even dare to attempt, let alone imagine: mapped out a new hiking trail across the length of his country. As… read more

DESERT FOOTWEAR GUIDE

Blisters are a fact of life on desert expeditions. Even those who ‘had never had one before’ or say ‘I never get blisters’ get them. The rough ground, hot temperatures… read more

Team Rubicon Haiti

OPERATION TROGON

In 2016 Secret Compass expedition leader Paul Taylor joined Team Rubicon on Operation Trogon in Haiti, working to assist those affected by the most powerful Caribbean hurricane in several years. A disaster… read more

EXPEDITION CLOTHING

In this quick video, Secret Compass’s director Tom Bodkin shows you what you need to take with you on an expedition into the jungle across desert or through savannah-styled terrain.

MADE IN MADAGASCAR

The best thing about the expedition for me was seeing parts of the world you would never see unless you hiked there.  Only a few people will see the sights… read more

EXPEDITION RUCKSACKS

Want to buy a new rucksack for your next expedition? In the latest of our expedition kit advice videos, Tom guides you through the different sizes and back systems of… read more

Panama Exped in action

Down in the Darien

expedition snapshot

TREK TRAINING TIPS

to get you expedition ready

Sinai Desert landscape

SECRETS OF THE SINAI

expedition snapshot

Summit in Madagascar

MY FIRST EXPEDITION

new to Secret Compass? Read on…

Madagascar in May

exploring the eighth continent

Chad Emi Koussi volcanoes and mountains with trek group

Chad’s Heated Heartland

to Tibesti and Emi Koussi

12 NEW EXPEDITIONS

media release: 27/02/17

PANAMA’S LAST ROADLESS PLACE

media release: 27/02/17

Raft Uganda's Murchison Falls image with Glen Downton

MURCHISON FALLS

rafting challenge: accepted

DESCENT OF THE MOA

packrafting in Sierra Leone

The hottest place on earth…

and other facts about Iran’s Lut desert

Inspired by Iceland?

trek the iconic Laugavegur Trail

FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH

leading treks in Afghanistan

DIGITAL DETOX IN THE SINAI

media release: 20/02/17

BUSH SURVIVAL IN NAMIBIA

media release: 12/02/17

Alpine Skills on Georgia'a Mount Kazbek with Secret Compass and Phil de Beger

LET’S GET HIGH…

Georgia: a 5000m+ summit

Rab sleeping bag image Image © ukbackpacker.wordpress.com

SLEEPING ON EXPEDITIONS

Not sure what to buy on the sleeping bag front for your pending adventures? Expedition expert Tom Bodkin, director of Secret Compass, talks you through the different types of sleeping… read more

Footwear for expeditions

EXPEDITION FOOTWEAR

Buying new boots for an expedition? From jungle boots to desert boots and from trekking boots to mountaineering boots, expedition and adventure expert Tom Bodkin (director of Secret Compass) shares… read more

IRAN: LUT EXPEDITION HITS HEADLINES

media release: 01/02/17

Packrafting metres away from a wild African jungle elephant on the river bank of the Kongou river, Gabon

GO FOR IT IN GABON

an amphibious adventure

Amazing scenery of North Korean national park

IN IMAGES: NORTH KOREA

Inside the Secret State

Rafting in Gabon

RAFT PNG’S EPIC WATUT

whitewater course on an epic river

North Korea statue

NORTH KOREA LAUNCHED

media release: 18/01/17

(c) boomsbeat, Tatev Monastery, Armenia expedition

ARMENIA’S #TRANSCAUCASIAN

media release: 15/01/17