Who is Levison Wood?

Condé Nast Traveller. “Levison Wood | the 50 Best Travellers in the World.” CN Traveller, Condé Nast Traveller, Dec. 2016, www.cntraveller.com/article/levison-wood. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.

Background

Levison Wood was born in Staffordshire, England in 1982. During young adulthood, Wood enjoyed solo backpacking and eventually became a military paratrooper for Afghanistan (Emraldstay.com). 

After leaving the military, Wood began his career as an Explorer which allowed him to pursue several adventurer facets such as photography and writing ("Levison Wood...").

Adventures

Wood's most iconic trademark is his thousand-mile treks across impressive and dangerous regions, such as African deserts and the Middle East. Wood's most famous voyages include his walk along the length of the Nile River and the Himalayans Mountains.

Wood began his journey along the Nile River at the end of 2013 ("Levison Wood..."). The 4,250-mile walk took him a total of nine months to complete (Levison). During the trip, while in Uganda, sadly Wood lost a companion to heat stroke (Condé Nast Traveller).

Later, in 2015, Wood walked the 1,700-mile-long journey along the Himalayan Mountains (Levison). This expedition required Wood to pass through hostile countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan (Condé Nast Traveller). Additionally, during this trip because of the intense terrain Wood broke his arm (Condé Nast Traveller).

Publications

Over the course of his Explorer career, Wood has documented his adventures through photography, film, and literary publications. Today, Wood has published 12 books each covering the details of many of his daring adventures (bnadmin). Two of his most popular books are An Arabian Journey and Eastern Horizons (bnadmin).

Present Goals

According to a recent interview, Wood said that his current goals revolve around habitat and environment protection (Emraldstay.com). As of 2024, Wood stated that he was working on compiling a documentary that would capturing the beauty of trees, including glimpses of the largest and most ancient trees in the world (Emraldstay.com). 

Summary

Levison Wood is an icon in the travel and adventuring sphere. Because of his ambitious love for our world, Wood chose to experience its beauty through across-land journeys, contrary to modern tourism.

Wood's story and travel-style is inspiring because it shows the average person that they don't have to stick to their first career or initial adventure plan. His example of pure and rough tourism is inspiring to any travel lover today.

Finally, Wood has used his fame to change the world through environmental protection awareness and conservation efforts.

Comment below about your longest hiking trip!