Whether to experience new adventures or not stand the overcrowding of many tourist areas, every day they are plus those who choose to know the world in a different way. Others want to contribute their grain of sand to a community or to the planet.
In any case, here we propose four ways to make alternative trips in accordance with nature and respectful of the culture that is visited.
What do you need? A light backpack, good shoes and a travel guide or signal on the cell phone to use the maps. It is not even necessary to book accommodation before leaving: the idea is to choose a destination and plan a route with all the places you want to visit.
There is no country you go to where you don’t find backpackers. If you travel in this way, you will also be able to forge new bonds and ask these people what route they are taking, which is great because you can redesign your path at any time with updated information.
This type of trip is a good option if you want to collaborate with the community you visit. Your contribution can be financial, or you can also work on a project. The goal: to learn about the social, cultural, economic and political reality of the community that receives you.
Some of the volunteer travel options are:
– Development projects in indigenous communities
– Health or educational campaigns
– Protection of the environment or emergencies in the face of an ecological disaster
– Recovery of local fauna or flora in danger of extinction.
Some volunteers decide to contact the organizations installed in the communities directly, but there are also sites that show the different offers for the volunteer to contact their host and manage everything necessary to travel.
This is the best option for free and lonely souls who love the ‘silence’ of nature. Of course, it is necessary to know the regulations of the chosen place because in many places free camping is prohibited or restricted.
In the group of alternative trips we also find ecotourism. It is a way of traveling that respects the environment that can be done in different ways: visiting an ecovillage or participating in a volunteer trip.
An ecovillage is a small population in which all the people who inhabit it have the common goal of being sustainable at a social, economic and ecological level.
Its motivation is respect for nature, the use of renewable energies, and food and economic self-sufficiency. Some ecovillages have accommodations prepared for visitors, people interested in their way of life who want to share some time in company.
Houses in an ecovillage near Lake Tiberkul in Siberia
And you, which of these options do you like the most? Tell us in the comments!
Sources:
OXFAM