Such too were the reasons why whl.travel, the global online travel-booking network of mindful local travel experts, stepped up to sponsor it, working from within its extensive network of local partners to find fitting ecotourism prize material for the winners.

Participants were given a limit of 1,000 words and five evocative photographs through which to tell their stories. They were also required to provide tips about ecotourism in their selected destinations or reflections about how they might help better preserve that particular destination through ecotourism practices.

See the promotional video here:

.

.

And now the winners have been identified. From dozens of submissions, a shortlist of 10 finalists (determined by public vote) was reviewed by a panel of judges that included representatives from The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), Tourism Concern, MyNatour and the WHL Group, the parent company of whl.travel.

Ethan Gelber, the Chief Communication Officer of the WHL Group, said (see the video directly below) that he was looking for three qualities when determining the best of the ecotourism travel blog contest finalists: the first was “how much time and effort was taken by the person to think about what an ecotourism experience is”; the second was “how carefully they made a choice of the experience they wanted to live through”; and the third was “whether or not the experience was as rich as they thought it would be.”

And now the winners have been announced and decided on their prizes:

.

.

FIRST PLACE: A Garden Lady in India’s Cold Mountain Desert by Shivya

As her prize, Shivya will escape to the highland region of the Albanian Alps. Hosted by Outdoor Albania, the whl.travel local connection in Albania, Shivya will set off on a five-day guided trek through some of the country’s most vivid scenery. With overnights spent in the traditional houses of the Albanian highlanders, daytime activities include a ferry trip along Lake Koman, a visit to the Valbona Valley and a trek to the Theth Valley surrounded by high mountain passes and peaks.

SECOND PLACE: Reef to Rainforest by Hobbers

Hobbers will head deep into Estonia’s Soomaa National Park (soomaa translates more or less as ‘land of the bogs’). Surrounded by vast floodplains and crisscrossed by rivers, she and a companion will enjoy a wilderness experience in an area known for its canoeing, ‘bog-shoeing,’ beavers and berry-picking – all courtesy of Soomaa.com, an operator based out of Estonia.

THIRD PLACE: My Trip to Mali – Halt in Terya Bugu by Mario Difra

Mario will travel from his home in Italy to southwest Laos, a region replete with jungles, raging rivers and outstanding cultural heritage. Once there, he will embark on a high-flying treetop adventure by zipline, followed by a Mekong cruise to the World Heritage Site of Wat Phou – all made possible by Teamworkz, the whl.travel local connection in Laos.

.

The three ecotourism packages that were not selected were a rainforest adventure in Ecuador made possible by the Yachana Lodge, the whl.travel local connection in Quito; a Galapagos Island tour through Yacu Amu Experiences, the whl.travel local connection in the Galapagos; and a visit to Sana’a and Soqotra in Yemen with Eternal Yemen, the whl.travel local in Yemen.

The village of Thethi is found in an incomparably beautiful setting

Laura paid her first visit to Albania six years ago and immediately fell in love with the country’s spectacular scenery. She visited beautiful deserted beaches in the south of the nation, where she got to know the passionate people, and rugged mountain ranges in the north, where she connected with hospitable locals. Travelling through the country she saw the enormous potential for tourism that Albania had and was particularly drawn to the Albanian Alps. Realising that most residents would not have the means to promote Albania’s outdoor opportunities to travellers from abroad, she decided that she wanted to do something for the locals.

Opening up the North

Together with her Albanian partner, Gent, Laura started Outdoor Albania, a tour operator specialising in sustainable travel. From the beginning, their aim has been to give their clients a ‘life-seeing’ experience rather than a sightseeing excursion. For the past five years, they have focused mainly on promoting the Albanian Alps and the North. This pristine area has hardly changed over the last 50 years due to its rugged landscape, which kept much of it isolated throughout the 500-year occupation by the Ottoman Empire, the Italian invasion of 1939 and many years of communist rule. Thanks to a network of local families who run village homes and guesthouses, Outdoor Albania now leads travellers to the heart of this amazing and untouched region.

A typical Albanian village house in the village of Vermosh in the Albanian Alps

One of Laura’s favourite places in northern Albania is Thethi, a village surrounded by mountains, rough limestone formations, dense forests, canyons and waterfalls. The harsh natural environment has always made living here hard for the locals, but you wouldn’t know this from their warmth and hospitality.

A Real Local Connection

One of the families in Outdoor Albania’s Thethi network is the Carku family. A woman by the name of None Age – also known as Mother Carku – operates a village house along with her son Mehill and his wife Valbona. For an experience of Albanian culture and rural life, there is nothing like an overnight stay at their Carku Guesthouse or other village homes, like the Terthorja Guesthouse, as it helps locals earn an income through community-based tourism. To Laura, a stay in a village home ensures a unique cultural experience and guarantees that the money spent goes directly to those who need it.

When entering the traditional stone house of the Carku or another family, all guests are welcomed warmly. At the Carku Guesthouse, while guests appreciate the fragrance of thick pinewood planks and sip homemade raki in the garden, Mother Carku prepares a delicious meal with fresh home-grown vegetables and home-baked bread.

Mother Carku oversees life at the Carku Guesthouse of Thethi, Albania

Unique to the Carku village house is that it was the first to open its doors to visitors during the late 1990s, when the community tourism projects were initiated. The guesthouse became a regular meeting place for locals to share their experiences and visions for the future. Serving as an example, the Carku family has been able to demonstrate to the community the immense potential it has to offer.

An Eye for Nature Preservation

Next to meeting local people and experiencing their culture, Laura believes that preserving nature is a fundamentally important aspect of local travel. Consequently, Outdoor Albania endeavours to make tours nature-friendly, always striving to promote protection of landscapes, bio-habitats, traditions and monuments. Furthermore, they provide environmental education for local inhabitants, committing them to the protection of their natural and cultural heritage.

Laura and Gent try to involve as many local residents as possible in their business, using local guides, winemakers, drivers and porters on all of Outdoor Albania’s tours. They have also started the Outdoor Albania Association to implement a wide range of sustainable tourism projects.

Laura (centre) and others from the Outdoor Albania team pay a visit to the family of Nacaj Guesthouse in Vermosh in the Albanian Alps

Laura enjoys collaborating with the locals she meets and seeing the small benefits brought to them through community tourism initiatives. She loves hearing the enthusiastic, colourful, and amusing stories of her guests after a tour or a stay in one of the village houses. For her, local travel became the way to show visitors the ‘real’ Albania, a country with a stunning natural environment, ancient culture and rich national heritage.

Outdoor Albania is the whl.travel local connection in Albania. Please contact them for more information about local travel in Albania, including hotels, tours, activities and a lot of insider tips.

The original version of this article was published on the Outdoor Albania blog.