1. Mount Shuksan, Washington, USA
“Facilities at Mt. Shuksan Sulphide Glacier base camp offer a grand vista of Mt. Baker on a clear day, but they can be a bit breezy when the weather comes in. The peaks rise in North Cascades National Park in Whatcom County Washington, just 11.8 miles (19km) shy of the Canadian border.”
2. Toilet Island, near Placencia, Belize
“Eat your heart out Robinson Crusoe. This paradisiacal punctuation mark in the Caribbean Sea off Placencia, Belize boasts its own flushing throne, from where the king or queen of the castaways can survey their desert-island domain. It’s a long way to the shops when you run out of paper, though…”
3. Desert Toilet, the Siloli, Bolivia
“You can forget frills, privacy and shelter in this open-air latrine in the arid heart of Bolivia’s Siloli Desert, but there’s never a queue for the toilet. The Siloli, a continuation of the Atacama Desert in neighboring Chile, is famed for wind-sculpted rock formations such as Árbol de Piedra.”
4. Barafu Camp, Tanzania
“Squatting on the edge of a cliff, 4,600m up the flanks of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Barafu Camp khazi takes the concept of a long-drop toilet to an elevated level. “Pole pole” (slowly, slowly) is the standard mantra when climbing Africa’s highest peak, but that adage doesn’t apply here.”
5. Eco-Toilet, British Columbia, Canada
“Make like a grizzly and sit in the woods, on this uber green composting machine in Taylor Arm Provincial Park, a raw wilderness area on the north side of Sproat Lake in British Columbia, Canada.”
6. His ‘n’ Hers, Jericoacoara Beach, Brazil
“Since the Washington Post blabbed about Jericoacoara being one of the world’s best beaches, this erstwhile hidden gem on Brazil’s east coast has become a hotspot for travelers questing for blue lagoons, sun-blasted sand, tranquil seas and immense dunes. They’ve even had to build these his-and-hers palm-frond beach bogs.”
7. Thiksey Monastery, Ladakh, India
“Located on a hilltop about 12.5 miles (20km) from Leh in Ladakh, India, Thiksey is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Yellow Hat (Gelugpa) sect. Lamas here live quiet lives dedicated to the cultivation of the view of emptiness… but at least they have a great valley vista from their ‘panorama toilet’.”
8. Jonsknuten, Kongsberg, Norway
“This restroom on the rubbly flanks of Jonsknuten in southern Norway looks up at the peak of the 2,966 ft (904m) mountain. You have to leave the door open to enjoy the view, but the chances of being interrupted by anyone bar an inquisitive troll are minimal.”
9. Krafla, Iceland
“This ever-so-alfresco ablution station in the middle of the Icelandic outback, near Krafla Geothermal Power Station, is an enigma. No one seems to know who installed it, or why, but that doesn’t worry happy hikers who, after stumbling across it, invariably Instagram images of themselves perched on the pan.”
10. Fjallabak Nature Reserve, Iceland
“Within Fjallabak Nature Reserve in the Highlands of Iceland, on the jagged edge of Laugahraun lava field at the northern end of the popular 34-mile (55km) Laugarvegur hiking trail, is Landmannalaugar, which boasts geothermal hot springs, a mountain hut and this terrific triangular toilet with long-cooled lava lapping at its heels.”
11. Outhouse, Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal
“At 22,350 ft (6812m) high, eastern Nepal’s Ama Dablam might not be one of the tallest Himalayan peaks, but it’s possibly the most eye-poppingly beautiful. And there’s no better place to sit and contemplate its magnificence than on the perfectly positioned throne at the lodge-village of Chukhung, 6,560 ft (2000m) beneath the summit.”
12. Monument Valley, Utah, USA
“If you don’t mind a mob of wild dogs standing guard as you attend to important business, then this outhouse in the surreal surrounds of Monument Valley, amid the wind-carved sand sculptures of the Colorado Plateau, is the one for you. The Wild West valley is famous for its buttes, but some are best kept behind closed doors.”
13. Desert restroom, Djibouti
“Someone once dreamed of turning Arta Plage — a French military training area in the Djibouti desert — into some sort of Gulf of Aden oasis. It hasn’t happened yet, but they did get as far as building toilets — even if you do need the courage of a commando to venture inside.”
14. Outhouse, British Columbia, Canada
“Despite its ultra remote location on the shoreline of Haida Gwaii (formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) in British Columbia, Canada, this impressive outhouse features an automatic flush, powered by the moon, which washes all waste away twice a day.”