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9 sustainable experiences in Latin America
From horseriding with Argentinian cowboys to planting trees in Peru, here are nine ways your next trip to Latin America can benefit the environment and local communities
1. Explore primary rainforest in Costa Rica
Costa Rican rainforest (Shutterstock)
Sustainability and environmental awareness are at the heart of Costa Rica’s tourism ethos, with the country receiving the UN s highest environmental honour, the Champions of the Earth award.
Exodus Travels’ Discover Costa Rica tour spends two nights in the south of the country at Esquinas Rainforest Lodge, which is 100 per cent carbon-neutral.
The lodge is set within 47 hectares of primary and secondary rainforest that was saved from logging in 1992. It is also surrounded by more than 3,000 hectares of untouched primary forest. The lodge is an excellent example of how to successfully combine conservation, environmental research and community development in a rural area. Most staff are
A journey into Chile’s ancestral heartland, the perfect place to go a little slower
The country s Lake District offers labyrinthine waterways, roads less travelled, and a chance to get to know the Mapuche people
Volcán Villarrica
Credit: Getty
“When a child is born, we bury the placenta under a tree and that helps to decide the child’s fate,” said Regina, as we sauntered around Feria Walüng, the Mapuche market and farm. “It also means we don’t cut down any trees.”
As autumn sunlight crept through spindly silver birches, the market’s makeshift food stalls and the sturdy rucas (traditional houses) nearby were speckled with white. Volcán Villarrica towered ominously overhead, chicks fluttered underfoot, and a nonchalant sow let out the odd grunt as a busy litter clambered over her head.