Meet the native communities retaining historic traditions alive with these genuine new Intrepid experiences for 2026.
Ever been inquisitive about what life’s like for nomadic reindeer herders within the Mongolian wilderness? Or why the Torajan individuals of Indonesia bury their family members in cliffside tombs? Journey is many issues. However maybe most significantly, it’s an opportunity to expertise totally different cultures and broaden our views on the world. In the event you’re searching for some journey inspiration for 2026, these new experiences allow you to assist Indigenous communities and join extra deeply with the locations you go to.
1. Stick with Tsaatan reindeer herders in Mongolia
Deep in Mongolia’s northern taiga forest, you’ll discover the semi-nomadic reindeer herders often known as the Tsaatan (or Dukha). On the brand new Mongolia Expedition: Reindeer Herders journey, you’ll spend two nights with the neighborhood and uncover how they embrace a conventional lifestyle that’s intertwined with the land and shamanic customs. By day, assist the household chop firewood or milk reindeer, then share hearty dinners and go to sleep to the sounds of the wilderness in an ortz (teepee-style tent). The Tsaatan additionally love singing, so don’t be shy in the event that they invite you to hitch a people music or two.
2. Study forest survival expertise with the Orang Asli in Malaysia
Journey via the lesser-known elements of Peninsula Malaysia on the brand new Malaysia’s Jungle Railway Journey. The journey contains two nights in Taman Negara Nationwide Park, the place you’ll meet members of the Batek and Semokberi tribes of the Orang Asli – one in every of Malaysia’s final Indigenous teams. Regardless of rising influences from the fashionable world, they proceed their nomadic hunter-gatherer traditions and reside in concord with the rainforest. Study communal residing, survival expertise, bush meals and handmade looking instruments just like the bamboo blowpipe.
Learn extra: Stick with Mongolia’s reindeer herders
3. Get to know the Hadzabe lifestyle in Africa
Spherical up the gang for a vacation the youngsters will discuss for years on the brand new East Africa Household Safari Consolation journey. Together with safaris, tenting beneath the celebrities and assembly Kenya’s Maasai warriors, you’ll journey to Lake Eyasi in Tanzania to spend time with one in every of Africa’s final remaining hunter-gatherer tribes. Meet members of the Hadzabe neighborhood, assist with day by day actions like looking or foraging and be part of a conventional dance. You’ll additionally be taught in regards to the distinctive Hadzabe ‘click on’ language, an oral custom solely spoken by about 1000 individuals.
4. Get a style of Sami traditions in Sweden
New for 2026, the Northern Sweden by Rail journey combines Arctic rail journeys, hikes in Swedish Lapland and historic Sami traditions. The Sami are the Indigenous individuals of Sapmi, a area spanning elements of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia’s Kola Peninsula. Meet the Sami hosts of an open-air museum in Vilhelmina, the place you’ll see conventional dwellings, study reindeer herding and uncover how clothes and home goods are constructed from conceal and bone. End the expertise with a Sami-style lunch of deer meat, root greens and bread.
5. Hike via distant Zapotec villages in Mexico
Mexico may draw travellers to its Caribbean seashores and Maya ruins, however the brand new Mountaineering in Mexico: Oaxaca’s Indigenous Highlands Brief Break takes you to some really offbeat locations the place you’ll get a really feel for all times within the highlands. Hike between Zapotec villages within the Sierra Norte mountains, go to corn farms and share a meal with Senor Eli and his household. You’ll additionally be part of a workshop with Dona Martha, an area artisan, to make age-old Mexican drinks like pulque utilizing fermented agave sap and different native components.
6. Be part of the Bilbaan Cultural Expertise on Australia’s South Coast
You’ll see the bushland and seashores of New South Wales’ South Coast in a complete new mild on the brand new Melbourne to Sydney Journey. Be part of a Nation Custodian from the Eden Native Aboriginal Land Council for a cultural stroll alongside a piece of the 365-kilometre Bundian Means. This historic route as soon as supplied protected passage between the Snowy Mountains and the coast, connecting communities for commerce, ceremony and seasonal gatherings. Be welcomed to Thaua Nation with a conventional smoking ceremony, take heed to generational tales, and study cultural practices, bush meals and medicinal crops which have been used for hundreds of years.
Learn extra: Hike via Zapotec villages in Oaxaca
7. Help the Navajo neighborhood in Arizona
Arizona’s Canyon de Chelly Nationwide Monument is likely one of the longest inhabited locations within the US. On the brand new Southwest USA Canyons & Cultures journey, you’ll discover it with an area Navajo information. When you can take within the views from the rim highway, the canyon ground is restricted except you’re with a Navajo information to guard the cultural heritage of the households who reside right here. Hearken to ancestral tales, study modern Navajo life and see the petroglyphs and cave dwellings left behind by the prehistoric Puebloan individuals. Afterwards, take pleasure in some Southwestern hospitality at a Navajo-owned lodge.
8. Uncover Torajan burial traditions in Indonesia
The Torajan individuals of South Sulawesi are recognized for his or her historic perception system, Aluk To Dolo (Means of the Ancestors), and distinctive burial traditions. Uncover their lifestyle on the brand new Indonesia Expedition: Sulawesi and Toraja Tribes journey. Trek previous cacao plantations and rice terraces to a Toraja village the place you’ll stick with an area household in a conventional tongkonan boat-shaped home. Assist with the cooking, attempt your hand at weaving and go to the cliffside tombs the place the Toraja collect for feasts and rituals to honour the useless.
Learn extra: Discover Arizona’s canyons with Navajo guides
9. Spend a night with a First Nations storyteller in Canada
After looking for whales and porpoises on a wildlife cruise and feasting on lobster poutine and maple-flavoured, properly, all the things in Ile d’Orleans, the brand new Uncover Quebec journey wraps up with a particular First Nations expertise. Journey simply outdoors town to Wendake – an city reserve and the official dwelling of the Huron-Wendat Nation – to fulfill an area storyteller on the Huron-Wendat Nation Museum. Collect round a crackling fireside hearth in a conventional longhouse fabricated from wooden and bark and settle in for a night of myths, legends and music.
10. Be part of a Navajo-led tour of Antelope Canyon within the US
Most travellers stick with the Higher Canyon of Antelope Valley, however a brand new addition to the Western USA Nationwide Parks Loop takes you to a pair of slot canyons that stay off the radar. Be part of a Navajo information to navigate the Decrease Canyon, the place pink-hued sandstone partitions have been formed into wave-like varieties over tens of millions of years. Stand in a pure highlight as sunbeams pour via the crevices and be taught in regards to the geology, botany and Navajo historical past of the panorama. With smaller crowds, you may even spot a nesting owl.
Discover out what else is new for 2026 with The Items – a group of recent journeys and experiences to encourage a 12 months of journey.
Picture credit: Uncover Quebec photograph by Simon Clark
