By Chris Barclay

I first came to Yangshuo, China in 1996 on a rock climbing trip with some expat friends from Guangzhou, where I was living at the time. Back then Yangshuo was a sleepy western backpacker’s hangout, with only a few local guesthouses, and cafes serving strong coffee and banana pancakes. What drew my friends and I to Yangshuo were the dramatic limestone karst towers, perfect for climbing, and the unspoiled countryside, with its fresh air and river water so clean you could swim in it.

Everyone has heard of the Annapurna trail, Mount Everest and other Himalayan hotspots, which draw thousands of trekkers and mountaineers to Nepal every year. Now there is a new trail in development which is likely to go straight to the top of many adventurers’ To-Do list, and the people behind it hope it will, to spread the benefits of trekking tourism to little visited regions of the Himalayas.

The Great Himalaya Trail (GHT), a network of existing trails which connect popular trekking areas with areas that are less explored, is the highest and one of the longest walking trails in the world. Winding beneath the world’s highest peaks and visiting some of the most remote communities on earth, the Great Himalaya Trail, roughly 4,500 km in length, passes through lush green valleys, arid high plateaus and incredible landscapes, crossing through Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, India, and Pakistan.

By Shams Uddin, Chitral Association for Mountain Area Tourism (CAMAT)

Booni is a village 80 kilometers to the north of Chitral town. Just like the rest of the villages in the Hindu Kush region, Booni is a fan-shaped landmass formed by glacial deposit at the mouth of what is called ‘Booni Gol’ or the stream of Booni, which cultivates the tracts of crops, vegetables, fruit bearing apple, pear and grape trees, and so on. On the afternoon of July 26th, 2010, a huge flash flood that originated from Booni Zom glacier smashed road networks, telephone and water supply lines

By Eva Mossberg, TIES Travel Ambassador
Temuco, located 670 km south of Santiago, is the capital of the Arauncanía Region of Chile. The name means “water of temu”; “temu” is the name of a tree used by the Mapuche Indians for medicinal purposes. It is a town with poetic history: this is where Nobel Poet Pablo Neruda lived as a young man before travelling away from his disapproving father to Asia and beyond to further his career as a writer.

By Jenn Holderied, Owner, Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort – We are fortunate to live and play in the Adirondack Park, and believe that this beautiful protected area is something worth protecting, not only for ourselves and our children, but for the thousands of visitors who pass through this wilderness each day. As you are swimming in the clean clear waters of Mirror Lake or sipping coffee from the lake-view balcony of your guest room, we think you will agree that it is worth it too.

Nepal is regarded as one of the adventure capitals of the world, and Social Tours are local trekking and adventure specialists who are leading by example. They are fast gaining a reputation as an expert group absolutely dedicated to their principles of respect, honesty, social inclusion and environmental protection. Social Tours also played an instrumental role in developing the green circuit responsible tourism initiative, coordinate volunteer programs in the area, and dedicate 10% of profits every year to charities

Help Tourism have been at the vanguard of sustainable tourism initiatives in North East India for well over a decade. They have developed a wide variety of adventure and activity programs, including trekking in the Himalayas, tiger, rhino and bird spotting in the National Parks and Reserves networks, elephant safaris, jungle lodges, heritage and cultural tours in this fascinating and diverse region of India. Uniquely, all these programs are designed with specific sustainable development and conservation goals in mind.

Spiti Ecosphere is an endeavour to promote community-based ecotourism in the Spiti valley, a stunning high altitude desert region tucked away in the Trans-Himalayan belt of Himachal Pradesh. A passion for conservation, mountain travel and adventure brought together a collaboration of local community members and professionals from diverse backgrounds to offer a range of trekking, mountaineering, biking, rafting, cultural and spiritual adventures in this beautiful and remote corner of the Himalayas.

By Carmelina Ricciardello, Sicilian Experience – On the geographical map of Italy, at the bottom of the peninsula, lies the island of Sicily which looks like a football being kicked away by the boot of the Italian peninsula. This might be the heartfelt wish of some Italians, mainly because of the island’s historic link with the mafia. I live in a quiet little village of Sant’Ambrogio, just 5 kms from a bustling tourist town. Founder of Sicilian Experience, I’m a firm believer that Sicily can become known as a haven for ecotourism and sustainable tourism opportunities, rather than for its “Il Padrino” (The Godfather) reputation.