By Michelle Salater
Your soul craves wilderness—the exultation at a mountain summit, the hard spray of whitewater as you hurtle over a waterfall, humpback whales bobbing beneath your kayak, spider monkeys swinging overhead in a jungle canopy ...
Your body craves a little conversation afterward, a fine dinner, cognac swirling in a snifter and not a plastic sippy cup.
The answer: eco-tours that tread lightly, conserve the environment, improve the local economy—and keep body and soul together.
Miraculously Unspoiled: Alaska
Alaska is a nature lover’s playground. Picnic under the Northern Lights, trek the Davidson Glacier and watch bears bathe in the river or wrestle on the shoreline. If you’re feeling especially brave, sea-kayak among humpback whales, orcas and otters at Point Adolphus. For a list of reputable eco-tour companies, visit the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association’s website at www.awrta.org.
Gift from The Past: the Grand Canyon
Beyond grand, and far more than a gouged-out valley, the Grand Canyon is a place of mystery. A river runs through the records of the millennia, its light reflecting across the steep, rough walls along the shores. Floating the Colorado River, you’ll see soaring eagles and majestic bighorn sheep and hear the call of the canyon wren as you glide through five of the seven life zones and three of the four desert types found in North America. Check with Outdoors Unlimited, www.outdoorsunlimited.com, to find a tour for any level of experience (or inexperience).
Belize, The Gentle Jungle
In Belize, you can experience life in a lush jungle without putting yourself in mortal danger. Sleep among the toucans in eco-friendly cabins with rustic thatch and colonial tile roofs. Ride a horse on jungle trails as spider monkeys swing through the trees. Canoe past Jesus lizards sprinting across the water or cool off under a waterfall in a tranquil pool surrounded by Mayan ruins. For more information, visit Maya Mountain Lodge and Tours at www.mayamountain.com or www.travelbelize.org.
Unlocking Key West’s Secrets
Paddle soundlessly through the shallow crystal waters of the backcountry, with stingrays, queen conch and colorful coral just below your camera lens. Blue Planet Kayak Eco Tours offers excellent trips through Key West’s exotic red mangroves islands, past nesting osprey. Take a starlight tour that departs at sunset to view nocturnal octopus, moray eel, squid and lobster. Owned and operated by an environmental scientist dedicated to protecting the fragile mangrove waters, all tours are led by guides with marine-science experience. Visit the website at www.blue-planet-kayak.com.
Monteverde, On Cloud Nine
A mecca for bird and plant lovers, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica offers 24 kilometers of trails to explore. Home to 420 different orchids and more than 400 species of birds (30 kinds of hummingbirds alone), the reserve gives you the chance to spend all day exploring and never see the same species twice. For a glimpse of the elusive and brilliantly colored resplendent quetzal—god of the birds—hire a nature guide. Visit www.monteverdeinfo.com for details.
