Ash Dykes: The adventurer set to kayak 700km through the Congo Basin
By Ascah Mwango, September 15, 2026For most people, being dropped in the middle of a rainforest sounds like the beginning of a very bad day. For Welsh adventurer Ash Dykes, it is apparently the beginning of another work assignment.
The 35-year-old explorer and extreme athlete is preparing for his next major expedition, this time deep inside the Congo Basin, where he plans to kayak more than 700 kilometres along the Sangha River through one of the most remote rainforest regions on Earth.
The expedition is the first mission of Project 6, an ambitious plan that will see Dykes take on six expeditions across six very different environments over roughly 12 months. Each mission is expected to last about a month, meaning there will be very little time between surviving one adventure and preparing for the next.
His Congo mission is scheduled for October 2026. Dykes says he will start in Nola in the Central African Republic and finish in Mossaka in the Republic of Congo, travelling more than 700 kilometres along the Sangha River. The journey is expected to take around three weeks.
And yes, there will be crocodiles, hippos, snakes and forest elephants. But Dykes says the wildlife is not necessarily his biggest worry. Malaria, infection, extreme heat and humidity, contaminated water and the sheer distance from proper medical help could prove far more serious.
Who is Ash Dykes?
Dykes is not new to places where maps become less useful and common sense becomes a survival tool.
He first made international headlines in 2014 when, aged 23, he became the first recorded person to cross Mongolia solo and unsupported. He covered more than 1,500 miles in 78 days, travelling across the Altai Mountains, Gobi Desert and Mongolian Steppe while pulling a trailer loaded with equipment weighing around 120 kilograms.
Two years later came Madagascar.
Dykes trekked more than 1,600 miles through the island’s interior while climbing its eight highest mountains. The 155-day expedition included crocodile-filled rivers, difficult jungle crossings and encounters with bandits and military personnel. He also contracted a severe form of malaria during the journey.
That experience later became part of his work with Malaria No More UK, where he became a special ambassador.
Then came perhaps his biggest challenge yet: China.
Between 2018 and 2019, Dykes spent almost a year walking the length of the Yangtze River, covering about 4,000 miles. The expedition lasted 352 days and exposed him to everything from extreme weather and wildlife to landslides and altitude problems.
By then, Dykes had developed a reputation for deliberately choosing expeditions that make ordinary hiking look like a Sunday stroll.
His Amazon adventure was no holiday
Before turning his attention to Central Africa, Dykes headed to South America for Uncharted Amazon, an expedition into the remote interior of Suriname.
In 2024, he and teammates Jacob Hudson, Dick Lock and Matt Wallace spent 37 days in the rainforest, travelling through largely untouched territory and following the Coppename River from its source towards the Atlantic.
The expedition involved finding the river’s source, climbing Julianatop, Suriname’s highest mountain, and travelling the full length of the largely uncharted Coppename River. The team also set two Guinness World Records.
It was far from comfortable.
The group dealt with heat, dehydration, infections, poor sleep, limited food, insects and dangerous wildlife. They encountered caimans, snakes, tarantulas and a jaguar. At one stage, the team travelled for three days and nights with less than five hours of sleep in total, leaving them severely sleep-deprived and hallucinating.
So when Dykes talks about entering another tropical rainforest, he is not exactly walking into the unknown without homework.
His Amazon expedition has since become the documentary Uncharted Amazon with Ash Dykes.