The last few years have seen a sudden boom in the number of millennials opting to travel. We are moving away from the traditional practice of taking only one vacation every summer with our families, and are now opting to travel solo, with friends, and partners almost every other month. While we are now travelling more, it is impressive to see that we're also becoming better, more mindful travellers. So as the year ends, we've round up the top 5 travel initiatives that we think continue to inspire us to go beyond what a tourist sees, and pushing us to opt for more authentic travel experiences.
The Doi Host
Hosting trips in the Himalayas, Sikkim and Meghalaya, The Doi Host organises sustainable trips that run with the aim of offering authentic, local experiences. Run by Disha and Sambit, a writer and photographer duo, a trip with The Doi Host is all that you need to fall in love with travelling. They will take you on breathtaking road trips across Spiti, introduce you to homestays enveloped in remote villages of Sikkim and show you the beauty of the North East. The group is known for hosting solo travellers, so if you want to get out of your cocoon but are scared to head to remote areas alone, you know who to sign up with!
You can check out their trips and book with them here.
Bin Naqshe Kadam
Founded by Rubhen D'Sa, Bin Naqsh e Kadam (BNK) aims to make their travellers experience the true essence of travel. BNK completely debunks the myth that one needs a lot of money to be able to travel. They take you on trips on a minimal budget and show you how you can turn your vacation into a learning experience by emphasising on making the best use of limited resources, finding happiness in small moments of joy, looking for solutions to problems, trusting intuition, and most of all, going with the flow. What makes their trips even more fun is the fact that travellers don't know anything – neither the itinerary nor the destination! Their travel destination is a complete a surprise. In addition to these trips, BNK also hosts night-outs to explore Delhi called Raahe Dilli. Offering affordable and deeply immersive travel experiences, BNK has created a strong community of millennial travellers.
Check out their trips and book with them here.
Chalo Hoppo
Seeking to bridge the gap between the elusive Northeast India and the rest of the world, Chalo Hoppo helps organise trips curated around cultural experiences. With the aim to uplift the disconnected parts of the world through cultural exchanges, they take the motto of responsible travel quite seriously. This doesn't necessarily make things boring. Their offerings include skipping the fancy experience and keeping it hyper-local. Festivals like Ziro Music appear on their packages, making them an exciting choice for holiday planners. However, since they challenge orthodox ways of travelling at every step, they are not a traditional 'tour package' company, but offer an authentic peek into the local life of the Northeast.
Click here and Chalo to the North east!
Not On Map
Not on Map aims to offer cultural experiences to travellers of all budgets. They aim to bring forth the beauty of unseen India, its rustic beauty and culture. With properties in locations such as Himachal, Uttarakhand, Goa, Kerala and Ladakh to name a few, Not on Map offers its guests a wholesome travel experience. Along with the promotion of indigenous culture, Not on Map extends 80% of its revenue towards the overall development of villages.
You can book a once in a lifetime experience with them here.
Tour de Farm
Tour de Farm is India's first ever farm-stay where guests can experience the entire farming process. You get to witness it all, right from sowing of seeds to the harvesting of crops. In this stead, Tour de Farm compels you to think about food more than just a pretty looking commodity that can make your instagram feed more aesthetic. Live in a plush farm house, surrounded by breathtaking views along with everything natural and organic to truly escape the urban life. Depending upon the season you choose, you may get the chance to feed farm animals or indulge in a fruit-picking session! Sounds right out of a book, right? With Tour de Farm, you get to experiece agritourism like never before.
Head to this link to escape your life in the concrete jungle!
It's almost 2020 and it's high time that we take responsible travelling one notch higher. Let's not just travel to check of destinations off our bucket lists, let's travel to benefit local communities and each time, make our travels more meaningful. With these travel initiatives, you're to experience a new side to travel.
Have you travelled with such new-age travel initiatives? You can inspire a community of travellers by creating a blog on Tripoto here.