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Benedict Allen

FRGS is a British writer, traveller and adventurer known for his technique of immersion among indigenous peoples from whom he acquires survival skills for hazardous journeys through unfamiliar terrain.
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The only person known to have crossed the Amazon Basin at its widest, arguably no one alive has lived so long isolated and alone in so many potentially hostile remote environments. His ventures include the first documented journey of the length of the Namib Desert, and likewise he is the only person known to have crossed the full width of the Gobi with camels alone.

Famous for his technique of immersing himself among indigenous peoples, today Benedict is also widely known for establishing the adventure genre in television. By using a handheld video camera rather than a film-crew he re-defined the landscape of TV, allowing millions of people around the world to witness for the first time adventures unfolding genuinely in inhospitable conditions. Likewise, he was the first to bring us an authentic experience of remote cultures and terrain - nothing directed, staged, scripted or subject to "health and safety" restraints.

His journeys are depicted in his ten books - including two best sellers – six BBC television series, as well as other groundbreaking series for National Geographic TV, The History Channel and Channel Five.

In 2010 Benedict became a Trustee and Member of Council of the Royal Geographical Society.

Benedict Allen is only one of two living adventurers included in the Telegraph's gallery of Great British Explorers (the other being Sir Ranulph Fiennes). Some things Benedict is known for:

  • A 600 mile crossing of the remote NE Amazon aged 22-23 – during which, dying of starvation and malaria, he was sadly forced to eat his dog to survive.
  • The first recorded crossing of the Central Mountain Range of PNG, then continuing by canoe to Australia – during which he and his Papuan companions were shipwrecked and resorted to eating limpets.
  • Being the only outsider privileged to have gone through a ceremony to make him into a "man as strong as crocodile" – this involved being permanently scared and then beaten each day for six weeks.
  • The first known crossing of the Amazon Basin at its widest – a 3,600 mile journey of seven and half months, during which he was pursued and shot at by hit men from Pablo Escobar's drug cartel.
  • Making "contact" with two threatened communities – the Yaifo and Obini, before gold miners and missionaries moved in.
  • A first documented journey the length of the 1000 mile Namib Desert ("Skeleton Coast") of Namibia, with his three camels.
  • A 1000 mile lone crossing of the Gobi Desert, the longest known traverse alone on foot and requiring him and camel team to cover thirty miles a day for five weeks.
  • A thousand kilometre trek with a dog–team through the Russian Far East in the "worst winter in living memory" as preparation for an attempt to cross the Bering Strait alone.
  • Sewing his chest wound up with his boot-mending kit, and without anaesthetic – after having been abandoned by guides in the Sumatran forests.
  • Lasting more than 3 minutes in a tent of CS ("Tear") gas – three times longer than any of the "Unbreakables" – while presenting the Channel Five TV series.​


​Benedict As A Motivational Speaker

Benedict Allen has experience of surviving adversity across the remote world second to none. He uses his knowledge and experience as one of today's most prominent explorers to help others around the globe achieve their own personal targets and succeed in their own harsh environments back home.

Benedict's presentations show how over twenty years he has achieved his goals by remaining focused and utterly committed to his final objective, surviving adversity in the harshest of environments around the world. His extraordinary record of success demonstrates the importance of drawing upon the resources within and around us and also the value of teamwork – the Amazon jungle, just like the corporate world, is too big to fight alone.

Using his formidable experience of surviving against the odds, whether in creating an Arctic dog team from scratch at minus 45 degrees, crossing the 3,600 mile Amazon Basin without a map, or undergoing the world's harshest male initiation ceremony to become "a man as strong as a crocodile," Benedict gives a stunning demonstration of how we can succeed in our own jungles back home.

Talks might range from a light-hearted, after-dinner speech (such as given for Deutsche Bank clients in Frankfurt) to a keynote speech for an international conference (such as one to Intel, in Paris.) 

"Best in show? The talk titled 'Near Death' by Benedict Allen, the explorer. He sported a pale blue shirt and beige trousers, the 'relaxed, crinkled' look. Launching straight in, without notes, he recounted anecdotes from his many expeditions. Stunning images of people, animals, scenery, claustrophobic and desolate by turn, flicked upon the screen. We lived with him being shot at, learning jungle skills from children, taking part in rituals, struggling with stubborn camels and making difficult decisions. Like having to eat his dog to stay alive. 'He was my friend' He added quietly. I wondered how desperate I'd have to be to eat mine and couldn't help a huge surge of sadness.

Scary, funny, sad shocking, exciting and much more. He, in his kind and easy manner, guided and supported us through a world of experience and emotion. At the end I couldn't work out why my eyes felt peculiar – dry, sort of. Then I realized. I hadn't blinked."