We all love traveling, but there is a list of countries that we are sure you would not travel to, whether because of fear, prejudice, or because they simply do not appeal to you. But James Willcox likes adrenaline, madness (and maybe recklessness). He is an agent and director of a specialized travel agency called Untamed Borders and has traveled to the 35 most dangerous countries in the world. The surprise is that there are three of those “super dangerous” countries on the official “do not travel” list that caught his attention and that he would definitely return to.
Not just any tourist
Willcox does not like improvising. He founded Untamed Borders to organize expeditions to “complex” regions of Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Middle East, Africa, and they are designed only for experienced travelers. Before each trip he analyzes government reports, talks to security experts and local NGOs, and decides whether the risk is worth it or not.
He is quite cautious because shit can always happen, and it is important to first know where you are moving.
Afghanistan
The first place he mentions is Afghanistan, talking about this country for him is too emotional, as someone who has visited many times and has built real connections there. Not everything that appears on TV is real, and even it is a “dangerous” place, most citizens are not.
For years, his agency promoted tourism initiatives focused even on skiing and sporting events in Afghanistan, something almost no one imagines. Willcox insists that the country is not only conflict, also history, cultural diversity, and hospitality.
He mentions places such as the Buddhas of Bamiyan or the Minaret of Jam, symbols of a millennia old heritage that rarely appears in the news. For him, Afghanistan is one of those countries trapped in a single narrative, unfairly.
Yemen
The second destination he would return to is Yemen, another name that usually generates automatic rejection for being in a constant conflict zone, but Willcox has no doubt he would return for Shibam, the “Manhattan of the desert”.
Skyscrapers made of mud, buildings more than 500 years old that are still standing in the Hadramaut Valley. A World Heritage Site, by the way. And despite the political situation in the country, there are areas where life continues normally.
For Willcox, Yemen holds one of the most unique architectural expressions on the planet. And precisely the isolation has allowed many of these places to remain almost intact.
Libya
Last but not least, Libya, specifically the Jebel Acacus in the south. A spectacular desert, recognized by UNESCO, full of rock paintings and rock formations. Here Willcox warns that he never travels to active conflict zones and that his routes are limited to areas he considers stable and controlled at any given time.
The Jebel Acacus is one of the great archaeological treasures of North Africa, and yet almost no one has heard of it. Fear and the political situation have erased it from the tourist map.
Traveling against fear
These countries are on the official “do not travel” list and are places that certainly do not sound tourist friendly for us, but Willcox does not dispute those warnings he knows they are real and understands them, but he believes they generalize as if an entire country were a single homogeneous reality, when we know that is not the case, neither in these places nor anywhere else.
Not for everyone
It is clear that this type of travel is not for everyone. It requires experience, a lot of cultural respect, and a very fine reading of the local context. It is not mass tourism, it is conscious tourism that helps break stereotypes.
Willcox does not intend to deny the risks of those countries, but he proposes just to meet places without prejudices! How dangerous is a place we know nothing about?