Visiting a rainforest is a unique nature experience. During the day, these unique biomes burst with a busy buzz and bright flashes of colour, while at night, the air comes alive with the shrieks and calls of the forest’s many nocturnal creatures. Amidst all this natural beauty, it’s important to tread lightly. Rainforests are home to an estimated 40 to 75 percent of all the world’s plants and animals, including many still just being discovered.

For centuries, high-minded travellers, wise men and ladies alike, have sought out the world’s mountains, revelling in the challenge of the climb and capturing in photographs and ink the terrific views and exaltation that come at the end of long and strenuous hikes. Ridge-rambling adventurers are, if anything, more numerous today than ever before. Fortunately, mountain treks abound, gauged to hikers of all abilities.

Resorts, such as the Shanti Maurice A Nira really make the most of the incredible white sands and turquoise gradients that characterise Mauritian beaches. The resort goes to great lengths to operate in harmony with its surroundings, and serves to complement – rather than compete with – the natural beauty of its location. Built using natural materials, the Shanti blends into the landscape perfectly.

Global Basecamps, in collaboration with Maasai Wanderings, contributes to a variety of ecotourism and community outreach programs in Tanzania. In 2004, Maasai Wanderings visited a Maasai village called Ilkurot (which means “dusty place”) just north of Arusha, and saw that the schools were in desperate need of supplies and repairs, and there was no nursery school.