Diego Garcia, a remote and militarised atoll in the central Indian Ocean, lies 1,100 miles from the nearest major landmass and is one of the most inaccessible places on Earth.
The island, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), is disputed by Mauritius and remains strictly off-limits to visitors.
Located just south of the equator, Diego Garcia is the largest of the 60 small islands that make up the Chagos Archipelago.
Though owned by the United Kingdom, the atoll’s sovereignty has long been contested by Mauritius, which claims it was wrongfully detached when the Chagos Islands were carved out to form the BIOT in 1965.
Its strategic military importance cannot be overstated.
The island is home to a joint UK-US military base, and as such, public access is prohibited.
Its remote location, combined with its high-security status, makes Diego Garcia one of the most isolated and restricted places in the world.
The island’s modern history began when Portuguese sailors, led by Pedro Mascarenhas, stumbled upon Diego Garcia in 1512.
Britain attempted to establish a colony there in 1786 and failed. The French soon took control, using the atoll as a leper colony before introducing coconut cultivation using slave labour in 1793.
Following the Napoleonic Wars, Diego Garcia was transferred to British rule and remained part of Mauritius until it was detached in 1965 to form the BIOT.
Since then, the island’s indigenous population, the Chagossians, was forcibly removed to make way for the military base, sparking decades of legal battles and international controversy.
Diego Garcia’s isolation, both geographic and political, has kept it off-limits to the outside world for decades.
Only military personnel and contractors are allowed to set foot on the island, and tourism or civilian travel is strictly forbidden.
