Antarctica experiences for your life's most epic trip

Antarctica might sound like a place that is straight out of some fantasy, but the place is very much real. It has been gaining popularity in the travel community as well, especially with those who like going offbeat. While it is one of the most expensive travel destinations in the world, it sees a steadily growing interest from ardent travellers. If it has been on your wishlist as well, these are some of the best otherworldly experiences that you can indulge in. World of caution: Antarctica is one of the planet's most pristine as well as ecologically fragile places and over-tourism is strictly not advised. Go here with a trip organiser that vouches for ethical, sustainable tourism, and double check for all their policies.

A regular cruise will take you across Drake Passage twice, and it has a rather infamous reputation with the sea being rough here. But then, this is one experience that you should not miss, and this is why.While you can take a helicopter ride across Drake, it is revered as a rite of passage by those into adventuring and exploring. Modern tech has also made it easier to predict weather and ships always skip the worst of weather days here, so the ship journey is deemed safer as well.Of course, crossing Drake Passage in a ship is also a very fun journey, with a number of interesting talks and preparatory lectures right before you set foot in Antarctica.

Deception Island is an active volcano and makes for a very surreal scenery, something that you will never find anywhere else on the planet. This is the place where you can spot ash-layered glaciers, volcanic slopes and more. This is also where you can visit an abandoned whaling station; Deception Island is also home to lakhs of chainstrap penguins.

A crazy adventure, scuba diving in Antarctica is what you should sign up for if you like extreme adventure experiences. It, of course, is not an experience for beginners and one must have cold water diving experience and logs of these dives, medical clearance, diver's certificate and more.

If diving down cold water does not look like your thing, iceberg calving would as you just have to soak in the sights that are around. Ships tours include watch tours of glaciers around, and calving is the process of chunks of ice falling off these glaciers. It usually happens at Harbour's head, and is a sight you won't see anywhere else in the world.

Polar plunging is a very popular thing to do in Antarctica and is a part of most tours. If you have your medical certificates and health in check, you can sign up for it as well. The water here is, of course, extremely cold and yet, it still has people coming in elated after plunging in the water! So yes, this is an experience that's fearsome yet challenging and enjoyable enough.

Now, this is one of the easiest and coolest things to do in Antarctica. Whale watching at the Gerlache Strait here is deemed as one of the most famous wildlife experiences in the world and is something that's every wildlife photographer's dream. Travellers usually have to get aboard a dinghy to get closer to the water and watch these majestic animals at play.

Antarctica is also the place that has more than just whales, and presents a lot for wildlife lovers, photographers and conservationists. Of course, the penguins here are the stars of the wildlife world, and can even be seen happily looking at the photographers, often getting near them as well! Take your best photography gear along.