Off the beaten path travel is increasingly difficult to find as time marches on. Mass tourism is impacting everything from our favorite cities to the seas that surround them. All the while locals and the environment are often an afterthought. This series, Trailblazers, checks in with writers, photographers, filmmakers, activists and environmentalists who are passionate about off the beaten path travel.
Luke Mackin: Wild Sumatra
Luke Mackin calls himself an “American by passport,” but was actually born and raised in the Philippines and feels most at home in the Southeast Asian archipelagos. In 2010, he founded Wild Sumatra as a way to promote ecotourism and support conservation and communities in the most off the beaten path parts of the Sumatran island. He lives and focuses most of his time in Kerinci, a place he describes as a highland region of idyllic rice fields and small villages, surrounded by mountainous jungles and volcanos — home also to Kerinci Seblat National Park, one of the largest protected areas in all of Asia where tigers, gibbons, and hornbills can still be found.
Without A Path Off the beaten path travel seems to be increasingly popular. What are your impressions?
Luke Mackin I honestly am not sure if that’s true! I feel like the vast majority of travelers these days are more interested in capturing those famous Instagram shots of the same handful of places, only visiting places with lots of information online, and where internet is easily accessible. There aren’t many bloggers that go truly off the beaten path – there just aren’t sponsors available in such areas — which feeds into the lack of information online that everyone craves. Travelers also seem to want convenience. If the experience or accommodation can’t be booked easily in some app, then forget about it. Obviously, by its very nature, there aren’t many conveniences like this when traveling off the beaten path.
In Sumatra specifically, with cheap flights replacing the overland routes that backpackers used to take, tourism really dropped off in the late 90s. In the same period, tourism continued to explode in Bali with places like Kuta, Seminyak, and Ubud at or exceeding carrying capacity.
With the problems of overtourism recently being in the news in places like Barcelona, Vienna, and Thailand, and the conservation benefit that ecotourism can bring to the world’s remaining forests, now more than ever do we need those brave travelers willing to step out a bit into the unknown.
WAP Tell us about your ecotourism project.
LM So, the Kerinci region of Sumatra is really remote. There are only three roads into and out of this region, and it takes an eight-hour drive to reach the nearest city. The Kerinci Seblat National Park completely surrounds this highland valley, which is a bit like a donut hole in the center. There aren’t many places in the world where a large protected area (13,791 km2 — an area 2.5x the size of Bali), encircles a populated area on all sides. It’s tremendously beautiful and diverse as well with lush rainforests, wetlands, unique lakes and waterfalls, active volcanoes (including Mt. Kerinci – the highest in Southeast Asia), cinnamon, tea, coffee plantations, and perfectly green rice paddies. Because of its isolation, the local culture is also still really strong with traditional festivals, dress, dance, and song all being highly valued. But sadly, in spite of this richness and due to its isolation, the challenges traveling here and the lack of information online, very few visitors pass through every year.
I started Wild Sumatra in 2010 in order to support local guides and rural communities interested in developing ecotourism and to help them market their services and the region and connect with would-be travelers. With a growing population in this valley, and limited land, the economy needs to diversify beyond agriculture in order to preserve the forests and wildlife here. I feel strongly that for this to succeed, it must be community-based and led, hence I see my role as one of support and advocacy. The guides I work with are all their own bosses who I assist and work with only at their request.
WAP What inspired you to get more involved in this region and why do you want more people to visit? Are you concerned at all about bringing too many people there?
LM The remaining rainforests of Southeast Asia area really under constant threat. Sumatra has some of the largest tracts of rainforests left, filled with incredible wildlife like Sumatran tigers. But every year we see more and more lost. Besides the tragedy of seeing species completely vanish off the face of the earth, something I am passionate about stopping, there is also a very real human cost. The almost yearly issue with haze, resulting from slash and burn forest clearing, sickens and kills tens of thousands every year. Drought is more common as are landslides and flash flooding when the rains do come. I felt like ecotourism in this region, being economically disadvantaged but so rich in natural beauty, could provide a dual benefit to both these rural forest-edge communities and the conservation of one of the few truly wild places left on earth.
I’m not too concerned about overwhelming this place with tourists any time soon. As I mentioned, this region is gigantic and the barriers to coming here are pretty big for most people, so I don’t foresee mass tourism ever really being possible here. That said, we make sure to limit the amount of people that join a trek to a maximum of six, and I am constantly working with local communities to find new interesting treks to spread around the visitors that do come as well as to spread around the economic benefit.
We are also currently trying to think through and come up with solutions for the trash issue that sometimes plagues Mt. Kerinci, especially around local holidays. We do not want it to get like Mt. Rinjani, a much more popular climb for local and international tourists due to its proximity to Bali. The culture of “leave nothing but footprints” is still in its infancy in much of Southeast Asia, although I’m happy that the guides I work with and their guests take active steps to clean up after themselves and regularly after others as well.
WAP What’s been the biggest surprise you’ve experienced since getting started?
LM I certainly expected moving to and starting a business in rural Sumatra to be difficult in an abstract, naïve kind of way. But exactly how difficult, I wasn’t prepared for. From just learning the language and how to do daily life to making the right connections to the almost impossible bureaucracy, it was far more challenging than expected. I think I’m also surprised at how discouraging the work can be at times. I remember one time feeling so excited by how a community seemed to embrace the idea of nature-based tourism with seemingly a lot of traction with a particular trek and itinerary being made, only to one day get a report from one of the guides that a huge section of the trail had been completely destroyed by illegal logging, effectively ending that trek option. Ecotourism here is definitely a slow growth endeavor, and sometimes it’s just not fast enough to keep up with some individual bad actor’s greed. When that happens, it’s incredibly demoralizing – those forests are lost forever.
WAP Do you have a favorite off the beaten path travel destination?
LM Other parts of Sumatra I’ve had the pleasure of visiting have been fantastic. The Bengkulu province a little bit south and west of where I work, Rimbang Baling in Riau province and the islands around the Mandeh region of West Sumatra are all far off the beaten path, but really spectacular places worth visiting. Growing up in the Philippines, I’m also definitely partial to boarding a bangka in that country and finding some small deserted island beach to relax on and snorkel around.
WAP How can the travel industry both preserve off the beaten path travel destinations and help those areas that have been negatively impacted by mass tourism?
LM I think preserving off the beaten path destinations is all about making sure things are community-based and led and that the maximum amount of economic benefit remains within that area. Using foreign-based, profit-focused companies that don’t have boots on the ground or real relationships with local people I think is a recipe for harming the culture and environment of a place.
I feel one of the best ways to help areas impacted by mass tourism is to start to promote more off-the-beaten-path areas, like you’re doing. Most travel blogs and outbound tour operators continue to funnel people to the same spots when there is a wide world to explore filled with endless beauty and wonder.
WAP Could you offer a tip for readers who want to find off the beaten path travel destinations and travel responsibly?
LM I feel like I’ve heard the popular sentiment, “don’t plan, just go with the flow” a whole lot. But the reality is that if you’re going with the flow, you’ll take the path of least resistance and end up going where all the other tourists and backpackers are going. To really, truly go off the beaten path, it often takes serious intentionality and planning, especially in a place where you can’t speak the language. Transport is more difficult, knowing what sites are worth visiting is more difficult, finding guides is more difficult. Off the beaten path places are really everywhere. The places where most tourists go is an incredibly small list. So, it’s not really a matter of having trouble finding an off the beaten path place. Just stick your finger on a random place on a map and it’s pretty much guaranteed to be off the beaten path. But rather, the trouble is figuring out how to travel there.
Traveler forums like Lonely Planet or backpacker groups on Facebook can be a good place to get ideas, mostly as a starting point for crossing off places that are frequently mentioned and for starting research on places that are rarely mentioned. Asking locals, expats, or long-term travelers for ideas is also a good starting point. They often have spent enough time in a country to know where the hidden gems are. And again, to be responsible, find companies that are based locally, know the culture, and have a component of investing in conservation and the communities they work with.
WAP On a happier note, what’re you most looking forward to in your work and travels?
LM I really enjoy taking exploratory trips here in Kerinci. As I mentioned, I’m always looking to expand into new villages, which often means climbing some new mountain or taking some ancient rainforest trail to a hidden waterfall or hot springs known only by the people of that community. The feeling of exploration and adventure is incredibly exciting, especially when I’m lucky enough to come across wildlife that I may not have encountered before. And then seeing a community take ownership, to see the guides develop their skills, and see the tangible conservation and economic benefits that eventually start trickling in is really rewarding. It’s a slow, long-term process with lots of difficulties and mistakes — mostly by me — along the way, but that hope for a better world is what keeps me going.
All photos courtesy of Luke Mackin
