9 Greatest Travellers of All Times
1. Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveller whose travels are recorded ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’, a book that introduced Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned and dictated his stories to a cellmate.
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer, and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus showed Europeans there was a new world out there, and ushered in a new age of European exploration. Although not the first one to land in America, his voyage had a lasting European influence on the continent. Ambitious and determined, this explorer’s four voyages are a testament to his will and spirit that has inspired travellers all across.
3. Ibn Battuta
Ibn Baṭtuta or simply Muhammad Ibn Battuta was a Medieval Moroccan Muslim traveller and scholar, who is widely recognized as one of the greatest travellers of all time. Ibn Battuta started on his travels when he was 20 years old in 1325. His traveling went on for about 29 years and he covered about 75,000 miles visiting the equivalent of 44 modern countries which were then mostly under the governments of Muslim leaders of the World of Islam. He met many dangers and had many adventures along the way. Over a period of thirty years, Ibn Battuta visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands
4. Freya Stark
Freya Stark was a British explorer and travel writer. She wrote more than two dozen books on her travels in the Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as several autobiographical works and essays. She was one of the first non-Arabians to travel through the southern Arabian Deserts. Freya Stark was called ‘the last of the Romantic travellers’. This reputation has cemented her position as one of the most beloved historical travel writers. Assassins. Her tales and adventures helped inspire other travelers and showed a woman could be a traveller in an age when men dominated the field.
5. Vasco de Gama
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and, in this way, the West and the Orient. Gama opened up the ‘Spice Route’ when he landed in Calicut and established first contact with the golden Indian shore lands. Da Gama led two of the Portuguese armadas destination for India, the first and the fourth. The latter was the largest and departed for India four years after his return from the first one.
6. Captain James Cook
Captain James Cook was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. His voyages led to the discovery of the East coast of Australia and the Hawaii. As a sailor who saw action in the seven years’ war, Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted territory of the globe and mapped islands from New Zealand to the Hawaii. Cook was attacked and killed in a confontation with Hawaiians during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific in 1779.
7. Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang dynasty. He became famous for his seventeen-year overland journey to India, which is recorded in detail in the classic Chinese text Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. Like all great souls, it’s Rumored that Xuanzang had a dream that convinced him to visit India. Following his heart, he covered an overland journey which made him one of the most famous travelers of history.
8. Rahul Sankrityayan
Rahul Sankrityayan who is called the Father of Hindi Travelogue Travel literature because he is the one who played a pivotal role to give travelogue a ‘literature form’, was one of the most widely traveled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home. He traveled many places and wrote many travelogue approximately in the same ratio. He is famously known for his authentic description about his travels experiences. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of the Padma Bhushan in 1963.
Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth he was a champion skier and ice skater. He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on cross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–96. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.
2. Cristopher Colombus
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer, navigator, colonizer, and citizen of the Republic of Genoa. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus showed Europeans there was a new world out there, and ushered in a new age of European exploration. Although not the first one to land in America, his voyage had a lasting European influence on the continent. Ambitious and determined, this explorer’s four voyages are a testament to his will and spirit that has inspired travellers all across.
3. Ibn Battuta
Ibn Baṭtuta or simply Muhammad Ibn Battuta was a Medieval Moroccan Muslim traveller and scholar, who is widely recognized as one of the greatest travellers of all time. Ibn Battuta started on his travels when he was 20 years old in 1325. His traveling went on for about 29 years and he covered about 75,000 miles visiting the equivalent of 44 modern countries which were then mostly under the governments of Muslim leaders of the World of Islam. He met many dangers and had many adventures along the way. Over a period of thirty years, Ibn Battuta visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands
4. Freya Stark
Freya Stark was a British explorer and travel writer. She wrote more than two dozen books on her travels in the Middle East and Afghanistan, as well as several autobiographical works and essays. She was one of the first non-Arabians to travel through the southern Arabian Deserts. Freya Stark was called ‘the last of the Romantic travellers’. This reputation has cemented her position as one of the most beloved historical travel writers. Assassins. Her tales and adventures helped inspire other travelers and showed a woman could be a traveller in an age when men dominated the field.
5. Vasco de Gama
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea. His initial voyage to India was the first to link Europe and Asia by an ocean route, connecting the Atlantic and the Indian oceans and, in this way, the West and the Orient. Gama opened up the ‘Spice Route’ when he landed in Calicut and established first contact with the golden Indian shore lands. Da Gama led two of the Portuguese armadas destination for India, the first and the fourth. The latter was the largest and departed for India four years after his return from the first one.
6. Captain James Cook
Captain James Cook was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. His voyages led to the discovery of the East coast of Australia and the Hawaii. As a sailor who saw action in the seven years’ war, Cook sailed thousands of miles across largely uncharted territory of the globe and mapped islands from New Zealand to the Hawaii. Cook was attacked and killed in a confontation with Hawaiians during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific in 1779.
7. Xuanzang
Xuanzang was a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang dynasty. He became famous for his seventeen-year overland journey to India, which is recorded in detail in the classic Chinese text Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. Like all great souls, it’s Rumored that Xuanzang had a dream that convinced him to visit India. Following his heart, he covered an overland journey which made him one of the most famous travelers of history.
8. Rahul Sankrityayan
Rahul Sankrityayan who is called the Father of Hindi Travelogue Travel literature because he is the one who played a pivotal role to give travelogue a ‘literature form’, was one of the most widely traveled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home. He traveled many places and wrote many travelogue approximately in the same ratio. He is famously known for his authentic description about his travels experiences. The Government of India awarded him the civilian honor of the Padma Bhushan in 1963.
9. Fridtjof Nansen
Fridtjof Nansen was a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth he was a champion skier and ice skater. He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on cross-country skis. He won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–96. Although he retired from exploration after his return to Norway, his techniques of polar travel and his innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions.
So, when are you putting posters of these travelers on your room’s wall? Happy travelling!
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