Ecophiles

Video Courtesy of Scuba Diver Life Every year Humpback Whales migrate to the crystal clear waters on Tonga. Here they mate and give birth to newborn calves. They spend two to three months here raising their calves, teaching them how to breach and feed. The Tongan archipelago of 176 islands boasts pristine beaches, stunning coral atolls, active volcanoes and untouched rainforests.

Have you ever experienced the real Cancun? The Cancun beyond the pristine beaches and high-end resorts, where most people are not living in paradise but rather extreme poverty. Forty years ago Cancun was a collection of fishermen’s shacks, it has since grown into one of Caribbean’s most popular tourist destination. While this growth has been a boom for Mexico, it’s left many living far from paradise.

With 23 miles of beach to choose from, Daytona Beach in Florida is a sunny, welcome respite from the winter. If you’re thinking sand, surf and selfies, this stretch is a photogenic choice. While it’s known for motor racing, try it the eco-friendly way – walk, bicycle, swim and soak in the sun.

Sixty miles from New York City, in Hamilton, NJ, lies a 42-acre landscaped park featuring contemporary sculptures from renowned American and international artists. The brainchild of sculptor and philanthropist Seward Johnson, Grounds for Sculpture opened to the public in 1992. The facility works to make contemporary sculpture more accessible to greater numbers of people from all backgrounds; to offer them an artistic experience in nature.

It occurred to me on a recent trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico that there is a free, easy, and universal secret to having the best trip of your life no matter the destination. How could I have failed to pinpoint this tried and true method before? It is literally the only thread between all of my trips that has without a doubt given me the best stories, the most local experiences, and lasting friends.

Meet Ferdinand – a coffee farmer, father of seven feisty children, and a gospel music lover. After training, he planted small shading trees on his coffee farm and now the water in the streams is cleaner. Other farmers are learning sustainable practices from Ferdinand. Coffee farming requires a lot of water and in rural Rwanda, where roughly one in four people lack access to a safe water source, many communities rely on rivers and streams to drink, wash, clean, farm, and play.

The human capacity for hurting animals is something we simply can’t fathom at Ecophiles. Our co-founders have grown up in India and seen the plight of elephants as they are made to earn their livelihoods – begging on the streets in insane traffic, in temples, circuses and offering rides to tourists. We’ve sworn to never ride an elephant and we hope you will too – instead volunteer and spend some meaningful time with them.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a destination that’s on the verge of making its epic-ness known to the world. Beyond the iconic Pagodas and the scenic floating Gardens of Inle Lake – it’s the rich diversity and its sublime mystery that makes Myanmar irresistible. After the recent earthquake which left some of Bagan’s ancient structures damaged, Myanmar’s local communities are working together in rebuilding and healing.