I once spent several weeks trekking through a particularly remote corner of the Himalayas. I started in November, which was rather late in the season, a choice I nearly didn’t survive to regret. One of the most amazing people I met was a Tibetan veterinarian, who found me lying on straw in an abandoned stone barn at 14,000 feet suffering from bacterial pneumonia.

He treated me with Yak antibiotics and saved my life. As he nursed me back to

health, we spent days talking about Tibet, about the world and about how our very different lives had intersected at that moment. That is the beauty and profoundness of travel.

TIME TO MAKE
A CHANGE

In the ancient Tibetan language, the very definition of a human being — the word groba — meant “one who goes on migrations.” Back in the Middle Ages, the English word “progress” meant “a seasonal journey.” Indeed, travel has been

a part of our shared existence throughout human history; the idea of setting out on a distant journey seems always to have been a fundamental part of our nature. We need only examine our history to know that we are part of a long tradition of wanderers drawn by the desire to explore and experience the world.

But we as modern travelers have a special challenge, a new responsibility. It is up to us to find the delicate balance between exploration and conservation, between

adventure and investment in the very things that make this world such an incredible place — the rich tapestry of our cultural and natural diversity. What we as modern-day travelers are charged with is doing all we can to protect the earth and its diversity when we travel, helping to preserve it for future generations to experience.

Another remarkable person I met, Jane Goodall, once told me that when you feel comfortable in your life, when everything seems to be going well, it’s time to make a change. This is how we discover our true potential as human beings to make a positive contribution to the world. Responsible travel is that change we can all make, each in our own way. Real adventure never ends. My advice is to go out and embrace it and consider how we can give in return as much as we receive.

Many indigenous people in various parts of the world own their own ecolodges on their own land, and protect wildlife and ecosystems in the process. Here are four such lodges you can explore — first online, then on foot.

Posada Amazonas

 

Sarara Camp, Kenya • 011-254-020-600457, www.bush-and-beyond.com

Located on 75,000 hectares of Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust land, Sarara Camp is home to the local Samburu people. Game drives, fly-camping and “singing wells” are among the offerings, and the luxury ecolodge includes individual bathrooms, lounge, dining area and pool. The local people, who’ve helped halt poaching in their area, make a good living from the lodge and conservation fees.

Chalalán Ecolodge, Bolivia • 011-591-2-2311451, www.chalalan.com The people of San José de Uchupiamonas built the minimum-impact Chalalán Ecolodge using local materials, traditional techniques, solar energy and wastewater treatment. The lodge is situated near the Tuichi River in Madidi National Park, home to more than 1,000 species of birds, 44 percent of all New World species of mammals and an estimated 38 percent of neotropical amphibians.

Kapawi Ecologe, Ecuador • 800-613-6026, www.kapawi.com Nestled on the Pastaza River, Kapawi Ecolodge is co-owned by the 4,500-member Achuar indigenous community and the private enterprise Canodros. Up to 70 percent of lodge employees are Achuar and, in keeping with their traditional architecture, the elliptic-shaped wooden dwellings in this biodiversity hotspot have no external walls and are covered by complex thatched roofs made of palm leaves.

Posada Amazonas, Peru • 877-870-0578, www.perunature.com Owned jointly by Rainforest Expeditions and the Ese’eja Native Community in the Tambopata Nature Reserve, Posada Amazonas combines traditional native architecture with modern, low-impact ecolodge technology. Visitors can see giant river otter, four species of primates, and a diversity of bird, amphibian and insect life. Guests can watch the forest from atop a 100-foot observation tower.