Talk about getting away from it all. If it's true that less than 10 percent of the world's land is more than 48 hours away from a city, then wilderness is becoming endangered. No danger of that in these incredibly remote spots, some of them unpopulated.
Cape York Peninsula, Australia
Cape York Peninsula is located in Far North Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoiled wilderness in that area. The climate is tropical and there's a heavy monsoon season from November to April. The closest city is a 16-hour drive from the tip of the peninsula.

Easter Island
Is it a warning about overexploitation or just a place with weird statues? This remote Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean is at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. It is famous for its monumental statues and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kerguelen Islands
They don't call it Desolation Island for nothing. These islands in the southern Indian Ocean are a French territory populated with inquisitive inhabitants. The climate is chilly and windy, but not severely cold. With no airport on the islands, all travel from the outside world is by sea.

Pitcairn Islands
A group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, they are best known as home of the descendants of some famous mutineers and the Tahitians who accompanied them. Pitcairn is believed to be the least populous and most remote jurisdiction in the world.

Alert, Nunavut, Canada
The northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world, it's only 508 miles from the North Pole. It hosts a military radio facility, an Environment Canada weather station and a Global Atmosphere Watch Atmosphere Monitoring Laboratory. It was named after a legendary British ship.

Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland
A settlement in eastern Greenland, its Greenlandic name means "Big House Dwellers" in the Eastern Greenlandic dialect. The region is known for its wildlife, which includes polar bears, musk oxen and seals, and the town is home to a beautiful church.

La Rinconada, Peru
A city in the Peruvian Andes Mountains by a gold mine, you'd think that would attract some folks, but perched high on a mountain, it gets a little chilly. It has no plumbing, no sanitation and mercury used in the mining process has left it contaminated. It has other issues as well.

Motuo County, China
It's the last county in China without a paved road, but that will end soon. It's located in the southeast corner of the Tibet Autonomous Region, farming is the main industry, and hairy deerhorn, gastrodia tuber and hedgehog hydnum are special products of the area. See breathtaking images of this remote place.

Tristan da Cunha
Said to be the most remote inhabited location on Earth, the islands were first sighted in 1506 by Tristão da Cunha, who named the main island after himself. It is the place where a famous French emperor was exiled and where he died. All Tristan families are farmers and own their own stock, while all land is communally owned.

McMurdo Station, Antarctica
Talk about Down Under. Nothing is under this South Pole science station, operated by the United States through the U.S. Antarctic Program, a branch of the National Science Foundation. It survives through Operation Deep Freeze. Take a virtual tour.

Palmyra, Syria
This ancient city was destroyed in 273 AD. Not as remote geographically as other places on this list, the town fell into disuse after the 16th century. Its most striking building is the huge Temple of Ba'al, considered the most important religious building of the first century AD in the Middle East. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site. See images of the ruins.

Bouvet Island
An uninhabited Antarctic volcanic island, Bouvet is 1,600 miles south-southwest of Cape Town, South Africa. The center of the island is the ice-filled crater of an inactive volcano, known as the Wilhelm II Plateau. Though no one lives there, Bouvet Island has an unused Internet country code. It is a territory of Norway, and some consider it the most remote island in the world.

Nauru
Nauru is the world's smallest island nation, covering just 8.1 square miles. After World War I, it became a League of Nations mandate administered by Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The unemployment rate is staggeringly high. The literacy rate is even higher.

Bailey Range, Olympic National Park
It's said to be the largest tractless land in the lower 48 states, and you'll need a backpack, or a helicopter, and special permission to get here. Wildlife species range from banana slugs to mountain lions to killer mountain goats. This remote wilderness should be on every backpacker's bucket list.

Kaffeklubben Island
The northernmost point of land on Earth is sometimes called The Coffee Club Island, but you'll need to bring your own java if you go. Off the northern tip of Greenland, it was first spotted by an American explorer in 1900 but was not visited until 1921.