What is it?

Edinburgh of the Seven Seas — known simply as 'the Settlement' to those who live there — is the only town on Tristan da Cunha, and the most isolated permanently inhabited place on Earth. Around 240 people, all descended from a handful of shipwrecked sailors, soldiers and settlers, live in brightly painted bungalows on a narrow grassy plain, hemmed in by the Atlantic on one side and a 2,062-metre volcanic cone on the other. Cattle graze on the common, potato patches stretch out along the shore, and everyone shares just eight surnames. Life follows the rhythm of the sea: crayfish boats launch when the swell allows, the whole village turns out when a ship arrives, and the shop opens when the supplies do. In 1961 the volcano erupted and the entire population was evacuated to England — and almost all of them chose to come home two years later, a decision that says everything about this extraordinary place.

Where is it?

Tristan da Cunha lies in the South Atlantic, roughly 2,800 km from Cape Town and 3,360 km from South America, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. There is no airstrip — the only way in is a six-to-eight-day ocean voyage from Cape Town aboard a fishing vessel, the polar research ship SA Agulhas II, or an occasional expedition cruise. Sailings are limited to roughly eight or nine a year, with the calmest seas and best landing chances during the southern summer, October to March.

What makes it worth it?

Very few people on Earth — often fewer than a hundred visitors a year — have stood on Tristan's black volcanic shore and looked out at 3,000 kilometres of empty ocean. Travellers describe a strange, humbling peace: no traffic, no crowds, no way to leave until the ship returns, and a community that greets you by name within a day of your arrival. You'll eat Tristan rock lobster pulled from the water that morning, help lift potatoes in the patches, drink tea in an islander's kitchen and climb toward Queen Mary's Peak past nesting albatross and rockhopper penguins. 'It's not a place you visit, it's a place that takes you in,' is a sentiment visitors repeat again and again. Years later, what stays isn't the scenery — spectacular as it is — but the realisation that a few hundred people chose this rock, and chose it again after the volcano tried to take it from them.

How accessible is it?

This is one of the hardest destinations on the planet to reach, though not because of physical difficulty. You must apply in advance to the Island Council for permission to land, hold comprehensive medical evacuation insurance, and book a berth on one of the handful of vessels that sail from Cape Town each year — often a year or more ahead. Return passage typically costs £1,500–£2,500, with accommodation in islanders' homes or self-catering cottages around £40–£70 per night, plus landing fees; budget £4,000–£6,000 all in, before flights to South Africa. Visits are dictated by the ship's schedule, so expect to stay anywhere from a few days to several weeks, and be prepared for the possibility that heavy swell prevents landing altogether. No special fitness is needed for the Settlement itself, but hiking the Base or summiting Queen Mary's Peak requires a guide, good boots, and stamina in fickle weather.