Laos – Conscious tourism

Laos is an enigmatic and vivid experience for the adventurous.
It is one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the region, reflecting its geographic location as a crossroads of Asia.

Dark and dreamy jungle, bright rice fields and tea leaves that cover the mountains: the landscape romantically changes shades of green.

When it comes to ecotourism, Laos is leading the way. Protected areas are in many of the more remote zones of the country, and community-based trekking initiatives combine these thrilling natural attractions with the chance to encounter the ‘real Laos’ with a village homestay, helping in this way to contribute to the local community and preserve the environment.

Do you know what ”mahout” means?
👨🏽‍🌾🐘
They are who works with elephants. It’s a truly symbiotic life because it’s a work that usually is passed down from father to son and because this boy is accompanied to his elephant since both are adolescents, to grow up together.

During my stay in Laos I visited a farm where I met 13 elephants, all rescued from an exhausting life in logging or other kind of illegal works. The visit contributes to the socialization and reproduction programmes focusing on elephants welfare and interaction. I learned the story, the behavior and relationships with other elephants of Makun🐘 a 45 yo male elephant I played and took pictures with during a nice walk into the laotian jungle.

I thought that this was a good way to support the project and make responsible tourism.

For wild elephants, instead, the main problem is logging because elephants are nomads and they need forest to eat and stay together. Logging transform a big forest into some small distant forest where elephants are confined with lack of food and where they can’t mate if not only into their own family with resulting genetic problems.
Please let’s travel all over the world but trying to make a ethical and conscious tourism 🙏🏻❤️