10 Incredible Medicinal Plants Found in the Peruvian Amazon

“In the forest, we have a pharmacy,” says Hemiterio Quispe Hidalgo, gesturing to the wealth around him enthusiastically. “We need to protect it.”

Hemiterio—an employee at Refugio Amazonas, a Rainforest Alliance Verified™ lodge in the Madre de Dios region of Peru—has just finished leading a guided walk through his hotel’s medicinal forest. Now, take a virtual walk with him and discover 10 medicinal* plants found in the hotel’s forest garden:

1. Cordoncillo is a plant with anesthetic properties. We chewed its leaves and discovered that our tongues were numb for nearly 30 minutes.
2. Shapumvilla is said to have coagulant properties and is used to stop bleeding.
3. The root of the wasai tree is good for the kidneys. They are ground up and prescribed as a diuretic.
4. Pusangade venado is thought to bring good luck to hunters. Its leaves are also used as camouflage.
5. The bark of the tawari tree is used to treat infection, cancer, tumors and inflammation.
6. The aromatic sodo plant is thought to help cure addiction, including alcoholism.
7. Locals believe that pusangade motelo has a calming effect on individuals suffering from anxiety.
8. A walk through the forest can leave you with a number of mosquito bites—the cordoncillo plant will take the redness away and reduce inflammation.
9. Cola de raton (in English, “rat’s tail”) is said to help with digestion. Hemetrio said that it “works quickly,” warning that anyone who takes the tonic should remain very close to a bathroom.
10. Women with ovarian cysts might consider taking canelilla. It is also used to increase the likelihood of pregnancy.

*This is only a list of plants found in the Peruvian Amazon and thought to have medicinal properties. It should not be confused with medical advise.

A Simple, Sustainable Life

Eight years ago, Fernando Claude and his wife Amory felt the urge to leave the big city and find a simpler existence. While many of us harbor this distant dream, Fernando and Amory actually did it–they sold all of their belongings, moved to the remote island of Chiloé off the central coast of Chile and began their new life. With no running water, no jobs, and only an old military tent for shelter, they found happiness living in harmony with nature. Eventually, they built Chepo Adventures EcoLodge so that they could share their experience with others. We spoke with Fernando about the decision.

Why did you decide to open the lodge?

In our early fifties, my wife and I moved from the big city of Santiago, Chile, to live on Chiloé Island. We didn’t know anything about nature–we were city people! We wanted to build ‘our life project’ in Chiloe and live completely self-sufficiently for two years without spending any money at all.

With that goal in mind, we arrived in Chepu and started living in an old military tent, spending our days building a little shack, growing our own vegetables, collecting rainwater and producing a little electricity with a small wind generator. We used the advice of an old farming manual. What we couldn’t produce, we traded for with our neighbors.

During this two-year process, we learned a lot about sustainability, nature, construction, renewable energies and more. It was a trial-and-error education! Our lives and spirit were reloaded with energy and optimism and the best thing of all is that we began to know and understand nature. When you live in the city, nature is something distant, but when you are able to experience how wonderful it is, you begin to understand and be amazed by it. Once you love nature, you feel the urge to protect it.

For the first time, we felt like we owned our destiny. One day, some tourists requested to rent our kayaks, and they liked the area so much they asked if they could camp on our property. It was then that we decided to set up a small campsite and kayak rental service as a way to earn a little money. In the past eight years, it’s grown into a full-fledged lodge.

What makes your location, Chiloé Island, special?

In 1960, an earthquake caused the ground to sink a few meters, creating a haunting and beautiful sunken forest in the Chepu River Valley. You can kayak between the logs and tree branches and observe the wildlife that has adapted to this unique ecosystem.

Chiloé is a magical island full of culture, mythology, traditions and blessed natural beauty. The wooden churches built by the Jesuits were named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and you can also find some interesting historic Spanish forts.

What kinds of wildlife can guests expect to see at your hotel?

Our place is rich in bird life, with more than 100 different species. It’s common to see cute river otters escorting your kayak along the river, as well as other mammals like the coipo, a large semiaquatic rodent. You can find also one of the smallest species of deer walking in our garden, the pudú.

Tell us about your electric kayaks. 

Electric kayaks were an innovation created by bird and mammal watchers. Their electric motor uses deep cycle batteries that are recharged only with wind and solar power, so they do not have any carbon footprint and don’t contaminate the water. They are also completely silent, so animals are not scared off. The kayaks have two comfortable seats and you can safely carry photographic equipment.

How does your business benefit the local community?

We always try to have good relations with our neighbors and involve them in tourism activities. We hire local people to work with us and buy local produce as much as possible, such as honey and vegetables. We hire local boaters for bird watching tours and transporting our guests down the river.

What are some of your noteworthy sustainability initiatives?

Nature is our main supplier. Our electricity comes from the wind and sun, and our hot water from solar heaters. All of our water comes from the rain and is filtered by the soil. We separate our garbage and compost our organic waste.

We are committed to protecting the environment in all of our activities. Our latest innovation is a computer software program that we designed ourselves to control our use of water and electricity. With this new technology, we can teach our guests and help them understand their impact. We assign them a certain quota of electricity and water for their daily use, and they report how much water and electricity they use on an LED screen in their rooms. For us, technology and sustainability goes hand-in-hand.

Why is sustainability so important for your hotel?

We have two main reasons. First, we are located in an area with no water supply–the one and only source of water is rain. Therefore, we must be sustainable in order to have a secure water supply during the dry summer months.

Second, we truly believe that a sustainable way of life is the only way. We share our experience with our guests and show them how much can be saved with very little effort. We are sure that after their visit many of our guests will continue the sustainable practices they’ve learned.

Learn more about Chepu Adventures EcoLodge on SustainableTrip.org, a database of eco-friendly hotels and tour operators in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Mirror of the Sky

Every year thousands of tourists flock to Lake Atitlan to soak up its unmatched beauty and surrounding natural and cultural resources. The stunning lake, often called a “mirror of the sky,” is one of Guatemala’s most visited destinations. Along its edge sits a very special, sustainable hotel: Jardines del Lago Hotel and Convention Center. We spoke with Patricia Ajcalón–a development and sustainability specialist at the Rainforest Alliance Verified™ hotel–about Jardines del Lago’s work to conserve the local environment and support local communities.

Why did Jardines del Lago begin to implement sustainable tourism practices?

We realized the environmental importance of our location.

Tell us about some of your sustainability initiatives.

We take measures to save electricity and lower water consumption. For example, there are energy-saving lighting systems in all hotel facilities and solar heaters for the showers. We’ve installed alternative ventilation systems so we can limit the use of air conditioning and we are reusing the water treated within the hotel to irrigate the gardens.

We use biodegradable products and buy products in bulk to reduce the amount of waste generated. All of our organic wastes are converted to compost that we use as organic fertilizer in the gardens, while all inorganic wastes are sent to the municipality’s collection center. We also use efficient vehicles to reduce our CO2 emissions.

On the social side, we provide all legal benefits to our employees plus additional benefits offered by the hotel owner, and we support socio-cultural events held by the surrounding communities.

What additional support do you offer to local communities?

We provide cash or in-kind donations and we often allow community members to use our facilities at no cost for social and cultural activities. We also buy natural shampoo and soap for our guests from a women’s organization in the department of Solola.

In addition, we communicate our sustainability initiatives to primary and secondary schools and universities, provide a space for learning and give lectures on sustainability.

Lake Atitlan is one of the most beautiful sites in Guatemala. How does your hotel take care of the lake and the wildlife that depend on it?

We conducted a lake cleanup rally with the our entire staff and we participate in other initiatives organized by the Municipal Environmental Commission of Panajachel.

How can your guests get involved?

In all of our hotel facilities, we post signs to raise awareness among guests and visitors about saving water and electricity. We also have cards inside the rooms that guests can place on the sheets and towels that they want to have washed and replaced. That helps us save water and detergent.

The hotel’s corridors have marked bins so that everyone can help with sorting waste. We also ask guests to respect the cultures and customs of the communities near the Lake Atitlan watershed and to not introduce exotic species at any site they visit.

There are a number of hotels in the area. Why should guests choose Jardines del Lago?

We stand out for our sustainability activities and our perseverance for continuing improvement. In addition, our facilities and grounds are unique; no other hotel can offer the panorama that you will enjoy from our rooms and gardens.

The Rainforest Alliance offers training to tourism businesses–including hotels and lodges–to provide them with the tools and techniques they need to run efficiently and sustainably. Businesses that have completed our program earn the right to use the Rainforest Alliance Verified™ mark. Support sustainable tourism on your next trip to Latin America or the Caribbean by choosing an eco-friendly hotel listed on SustainableTrip.org.

 

It’s Turtle Time

The Pacific leatherback turtle is one of the ocean’s largest and most magnificent reptilian species. Sadly, without expanded conservation efforts, its last population stronghold could vanish in the next 20 years. It’s not the only turtle threatened with extinction, either. All seven species of sea turtles, from loggerhead to hawksbill, have an unfortunate place on the endangered species list.

Fortunately, sustainable tourism is playing an important role in turtle conservation. Here, we highlight five Rainforest Alliance Verified™ hotels doing their part to protect sea turtles:

This baby leatherback turtle could eventually weigh 2,000 lbs.

• Secrets Marquis Los Cabos manages a sea turtle protection and release program in Mexico.  Each year, turtles come to nest on the hotel’s beaches from the months of May to August. Guests are invited to help guide newly-hatched turtles to the ocean.
• In Nicaragua, where locals have long collected olive ridley turtle eggs for food, Hotel Utz Tzaba is offering a sustainable economic alternative. The hotel buys the eggs from collectors, incubates them for 45 to 55 days and releases the hatchlings in the sea.
• Nicaragua’s Los Cardones Surf Ecolodge protects four species of endangered sea turtles, relocating their nests to a hatchery and caring for the turtles until they break through their shells. Guests here are also invited to participate in the turtle release program.
• Parque Maritimo El Coce–also located in Nicaragua–incubates turtle eggs in artificial nests and ensures their safe release after hatching.
• Mexico’s Dreams Los Cabos Resort and Spa  trains its staff in the protection, handling and release of sea turtles to ensure that its beaches provide a safe haven.

The Rainforest Alliance works with hotels, restaurants and other tourism businesses to help them improve their environmental, social and economic practices. Our standard for tourism operations has been recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Through training and technical assistance, we teach them how to operate sustainably and verify their progress toward this goal. Those enterprises that meet our requirements are eligible to receive promotional benefits, including the use of the Rainforest Alliance Verified™ mark.

In Peru, Sustainable Tourism Revives a Forgotten Andean Community

Not long ago, Mullak’as Misminay was a forgotten Andean community situated in the middle of the Sacred Valley of the Inca. The 500 families who lived there struggled to earn a decent income through subsistence agriculture and textile production, missing a huge opportunity to earn a secure livelihood through sustainable tourism. With help from Condor Travel, a Rainforest Alliance Verified™ tour operator, Mullak’as Misminay residents have made incredible strides. Today, they are a powerful example of the potential of community-based rural tourism to change lives. Since 2008, Condor Travel has helped the community to generate new revenue from tourism while promoting the cultural identity of its people. We spoke with Daysy Ángeles, a project manager at Condor Travel, about the community’s transformation.

Tell us a little about the project. 

Thanks to sponsorship from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB-MIF) and the Dutch Cooperation Agency (SNV), Condor Travel has helped the Mullak’as Misminay people to develop an “experiential tourism” offering that allows visitors to learn first-hand about the community’s way of life while helping local residents become skilled providers of lodging, food and guided tours.

We have provided training in basic hospitality and cuisine techniques to participating local residents, and we are developing a program to improve agricultural and textile techniques to strengthen their capabilities so that their products can gain access to new markets. We are also investing in improving the area’s infrastructure, including organizing and optimizing signage for tourist attractions, facilitating distribution and access to drinking water and food, and financing improvements to bathrooms, kitchens, room furnishings and dining areas in houses that will receive visitors. The project also includes training programs, enhanced equipment, and better marketing for porters, artisans and farmers.

Why did Condor Travel decide to support this community initiative?

We have had a close relationship with the Mullak’as Misminay community since the 1990s, when we started to hire local men to work as porters, cooks and assistants for adventure routes like the famous Inca Trail to Machu Picchu. Then we began a philanthropic support plan to help them in matters of health, education and family, which strengthened the trust between the company and the community. Finally, we got the chance to implement the inclusive business project in experiential tourism, creating new “win-win” opportunities for the business and the community.

Tell us more about the families benefiting from the project. 

The project aims to benefit 300 families by developing inclusive businesses in economic activities such as tourism, agriculture, crafts and portaging. We are working on the construction of a water storage system with the municipality, IDB-MIF and SNV, which will improve access to water for drinking and for irrigation, increasing the social and economic impact of the project.

Condor Travel’s Mullak’as Misminay project placed third in the 2013 Responsible Tourism Showcase at this year’s Educational Travel Conference.  What did that recognition mean to you?

This international recognition comes after five years of constant work on the project, so it is certainly an incentive to further improve and expand the benefits to other communities of Cuzco.

How did the community react to the award?

The community received the news very enthusiastically! The people see it as a reward for their efforts to learn and launch a new business that is opening new opportunities for their families. The recognition also included a monetary award that will be used to give some scholarships to young people in the community who are being trained in Cuzco.

How do you involve tourists in your sustainability efforts? 

Through the experiential tours, visitors learn about and experience the community’s way of life. For example, after a traditional welcome with music, they are encouraged to participate in tilling the land, using traditional farming techniques. They also learn about how local plants used as healing folk remedies and in making natural dyes, and how textiles are made by hand using ancient techniques.

This project was implemented by Condor Travel’s nonprofit association, Wings. Can you tell us more about Wings? 

Condor Travel founded Wings to promote and implement corporate social responsibility and sustainable tourism programs, and to channel aid and donations from our strategic partners who want to support low-income communities through responsible tourism.

Wings is also a platform to promote volunteerism in the communities of Cuzco, and to disseminate the challenges and benefits of inclusive businesses in national tourism networks and private sector unions.

How does Condor Travel benefit from its commitment to sustainability?

Condor Travel has created a high-quality, innovative tourism product that generates unique experiences for its customers. We’ve noticed an increase in sales for these kinds of products, which motivates us to design new programs involving communities.

In addition, with the efforts that we implement to care for the environment (such as using less paper and energy), we generate significant savings and help raise environmental awareness among our collaborators, which has repercussions on their family life.

What’s next for the Mullak’as Misminay project?

We hope to expand the project’s benefits to other sectors of the community–for example, by improving the water supply, we can strengthen agriculture. Wings is expanding its areas of work, including new communities in its corporate social responsibility program and promoting the destination to volunteers to support the development of new sustainable tourism programs in the area.

Our general goal is to continue working under the guidelines of sustainable tourism at national and international destinations, so our next step will be to involve the regional Condor Travel offices in South America in these projects.

Visit www.SustainableTrip.org to learn more about sustainable tourism operations like Condor Travel that are good for people, wildlife and the global environment.

In Ecuador, An Entrepreneur Makes Sustainable Tourism Accessible for Disabled Tourists

Alfonso Eliécer Morales has spent his life turning adversity into opportunity. Despite an accident that left him unable to walk, he has excelled as an athlete: playing on Ecuador’s National Wheelchair Basketball Team in the 1989 Special Pan American Games; participating in the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta; and creating and riding in the first wheelchair tour of Ecuador. Morales has also become a disability advocate, lecturing at nearly a dozen national and international events, and serving from 2005 to 2009 as a councilman for his community. Today, Morales owns and operates Hostal Familiar Las Grandillas, a Rainforest Alliance Verified lodge in Baños, Ecuador that caters to disabled tourists. 

Alfonso Morales at his hotel, Hostal Familiar Las Granadillas.

We spoke to Morales about his personal and professional journey.

How did your accident occur?

I was [on the job] driving a tractor when a nearby mountain collapsed and trapped me, fracturing a spinal vertebra. I was 20 years old.

When did you decide to become an athlete?

During my childhood, I loved climbing trees, hiking to discover nature and helping with daily tasks. I especially enjoyed being in the water and I excelled in swimming at my school. In 1990, three years after the accident and a painful rehabilitation process, I had finally gotten used to the wheelchair. So, I took part in and ended up winning the Quito Latest News track meet. This motivated me to participate in other national and international events. Sports helped me join in and overcome the constraints of my new lifestyle.

Why did you decide to become a tourism entrepreneur?

Three years after the accident, I was feeling more independent in my daily life. I returned to my hometown of Iluchi, in Baños de Agua Santa, which has always been a popular tourist destination. My grandmother gave me a very nice, strategically located and scenic piece of land in the community, and a few months later a highway was built nearby. At that point I said, “This is where I will make my home and my lodge.”

What inspired you to build a handicapped-accessible hotel?

Here it is very hard to find lodging accessible to travelers with disabilities like mine–and those that do exist are four or five star hotels that are too costly for most of us. This motivated me to offer an alternative.

How did your family and local community react to your plans?

Initially, they doubted that I could build this dream, mainly because of the financial investment that would be required. However, they knew it would be a success because of the setting, the landscape and the location. We are in the countryside, but with only 20 minutes of walking we can get to and from the city. In the end, everyone helped me somehow.

Was planning and promoting your hotel a challenge?

It hasn’t been easy. It was challenging to make contacts and publicize the community as a tourist destination – even though we are a tourist town, not all of its attractions have been well promoted. Gradually, people have gotten to know us and my own satisfied customers spread news about the project by word of mouth. It was also difficult to apply for one bank loan after another to complete the hostel. Fortunately, the project is seen as interesting and unique, and one with potential.

The view from Hostal Familiar Las Granadillas.

What makes Hostal Familiar Las Granadillas special?

Our location is advantageous–we are in a rural area but very close to the city and surrounded by three tourist trails. We also have an exceptional view of the southern part of the city, Santa Rosa de Runtun mountain, the La Virgen waterfalls, the Mintza mountains, Tungurahua volcano with its occasional eruptions of ash or water vapor, the Pastaza River, the Callejón Andino Oriental (East Andes Alley), the mountains of Sauces and the mountains of Pucara.

Our facilities are  also spacious: we have gardens, aquariums and a small collection of antiques. But what makes us stand out is the personal attention we give our visitors, whom we see as members of our family.

What other attractions bring tourists to the Iluchi community?

This community is very safe and the people are very friendly and unique in their traditions and solidarity. Illuchi is also a leader in organic farming and it is very close to the city. It has all the basic services thanks to the hard work of our community leaders and the access road is well maintained.

Why did you decide to adopt sustainable tourism practices?

I grew up in the countryside, so I identify with tranquility and the natural environment, and I am aware that I must be part of its conservation and cause minimal impact with my business. The training and ongoing support of the Rainforest Alliance encouraged me to become aware and to make more of a commitment.

Tell us about your hotel’s sustainability efforts.

The tables, furnishings and planters are made of wood that was left over from the building of our house. The wood used in our fireplace is a (non-traditional) eucalyptus species, or wood recycled from the greenhouses or the river. We use energy-saving light bulbs and fill the aquariums with rainwater. We light fireplaces with grease and oils recycled from the cafeteria. We recycle organic waste, plastic, and glass and use recycled pots as lamps, vases and flowerpots. We deliver recyclables to underprivileged people in the community so they can sell them and in return, they help us for half a day doing gardening.

We also hire local staff and buy food produced in the area. Our successful incentive plan called “Sweets or Fruits for Bottles” invites children of the community to bring in plastic bottles and empty glass jars, and in return we give them a fruit or candy. Students from the community are allowed to use our wireless internet connection free of charge. Finally, we provide free lodging to people who provide training to our community.

What messages do you hope to share with people touched by disability?

I try to convey my experiences very humbly so that people going through a similar situation know that nothing is impossible despite the difficulties; anything is possible if we know how to dream and work with faith and love for ourselves and others. Family is very important in this process, but mostly it has to do with willpower.

As part of this work, I developed a recreational tourism and independent life training plan for people with disabilities and their families. The program lasts from one week to three months and consists of activities related to creating an independent life and a little training in sustainability. The goal is to create citizens who are free, capable, aware and interactive.

What future plans do you have for your company?

We have many plans, particularly for expanding our space, providing better service every day and improving our processes for sustainability and the quality of life of my staff and customers.

Visit www.SustainableTrip.org to find other hotels and tourism destinations that are beautiful and beneficial. 

A Life in Balance with the Environment

Reynaldo Ochoa is an inspiration to the people of Manu in the Peruvian rainforest. He has dedicated his life to living in balance with his environment. By encouraging farmers to adopt responsible practices and enabling families to grow fresh organic produce, he is helping to forge a sustainable future for his community.  “It was clear that we needed to change our way of life. To think more about our future,” explains Reynaldo.

Across the region, Reynaldo helps farmers to plant trees alongside their crops—enabling the forest to regenerate and improving the quality of the soil. “Without trees the earth becomes barren and our crops will not grow,” says Reynaldo. “The trees we plant provide shade, absorb carbon from the air and put nutrients into the soil.”

In 2008, Reynaldo began a bio-garden program to show local families how to grow their own vegetables year round—to date, he has started over 350 gardens and planted more than 30,000 trees. Today, members of his community have an improved diet and a supplemental source of income through the sale of excess produce.

Reynaldo works with the CREES Foundation based at the Manu Learning Centre. A Rainforest Alliance Verified^TM lodge and research station in the heart of the Amazon, Manu is one of the most eco-friendly centers in the Amazon region. Hotels and tourism businesses that have completed the Rainforest Alliance’s sustainability training are eligible to earn Rainforest Alliance Verified status.

 

Report from Mexico: A Community Committed to Forest Conservation

Mexico is the fifth most biodiverse country on the planet and home to a wide range of flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth.  It is particularly rich in forest species – including over 1,000 native tree species — but has one of the world’s highest deforestation rates. The Rainforest Alliance is working with community foresters across the Central American country to stop the destruction, helping to secure a sustainable future for their forests, their children and their cultures.  Recently, our senior manager of communications, Stuart Singleton-White, visited a community of foresters in Oaxaca, Mexico. He writes…

The Ixtepeji Community Forest Park sits 8,000 feet up in the Serra Madre Del Sur Mountains.  To reach the park we drove 45 minutes out of Oaxaca, climbing increasingly windy mountain roads trimmed with crops and pine forest.  This was not a ride for the timid or squeamish.  Looking out from the bus window, I found myself facing a sheer drop with the valley hundreds of feet below.  I was thrilled I wasn’t driving, particularly when trucks full of logs hurtled toward us as they descended the mountain.

The spectacular views from the winding road.

The community forest park covers 52,811 acres (21,372 hectares) and is run by the local Zapotec community – previously, it was under the jurisdiction of the Mexican government.  Today, almost 80 percent of Mexico’s forests are owned by local communities, meaning that communities have a greater say in how their forests are managed and more control over the economic activities that take place on their land.  For the Ixtepeji, who have a community-nominated committee to manage many of those activities, sustainable logging is an important source of income. The community has earned Forest Stewardship Council certification through the Rainforest Alliance for its commitment to responsible forest management.

Cows freely graze on the property.

This means that the area of the forest open for timber extraction, approximately 9,474 acres (3,834 hectares), is operated on a 10-year rotation with selective extraction taking place in each area once a decade. While the community does plant trees, a great deal of the management focuses on the natural regeneration of the forest.

This portion of the park has been set aside for logging.

But it’s not only timber that provides an income for the community.  Another 4,754 acres (1,924 hectares) is managed to allow the sustainable extraction of other forest products such as ferns, bromeliads and moss — a vital component of any Mexican family’s nativity scene.

Bromeliads are harvested for additional income.

In 2003, the community set aside 2,965 acres (1,200 hectares) of the park for the development of an ecotourism enterprise, situated in the heart of 6,229 acres (2,521 hectares) of fully protected forest. Today the development includes nine family-sized cabins and a block of eight rooms, perfect for tourists who are there to hike, bird watch or simply relax in a beautiful environment.

The community’s ecotourism operation.

What I saw in Ixtepeji was a great example of sustainability in action.  This is forest management that isn’t simply preserving protected forest.  It is a dynamic and productive environment, conserving the best in biodiversity while ensuring a community is able to work in harmony with nature.  The community is able to provide livelihoods to its members for the present and future while keeping its roots planted deep in the ancestral soil.

Learn more about the Rainforest Alliance’s work with community foresters in Mexico and sustainable tourism operations.

Thank You for a Wonderful 2012!

You make our work in sustainable agriculture, forestry, tourism, climate and education possible — and we’re so very grateful for your support. Here’s to an even better 2013!

It’s (Not) the End of the World as We Know It

According to the Mayan calendar, today marks the end of a 5,125 year cycle and the beginning of a new era.  We think that makes the coming year an ideal time to explore the Mundo Maya and all that Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador have to offer.

The ruins in Tikal.

Here are some tips to help you plan the perfect trip:

1) Get off the beaten path

While most tourists in southern Mexico flock to the ruins of Chichen Itza or Tulum, the lesser known Mayan ruins are well worth a visit. Surrounded by dense, overgrown forest, Calakmul, for example, was once one of the largest and most powerful Mayan cites (250 – 695 AD) and rivaled Tikal (located in present-day Guatemala) for supremacy among the southern lowland Mayans. The ruins occupy ten square miles within the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the largest tropical forest reserve in Mexico and serves as prime habitat for jaguars, ocellated turkeys and 358 bird species.

2) Be an early bird

Beat the crowds—and the heat—by arriving early in the morning. There’s something striking about seeing archaeological sites without the distraction of the masses, and you’ll likely see more wildlife before the midday sun bores down.

3) Consider your impact

The Mayan ruins are thousands of years old and in various stages of deterioration. One person climbing on a stone may not cause any visible damage, but millions of tourists stepping on the same spot each year can cause significant erosion. To ensure that these ruins last for generations to come, respect all roped off areas and signs, and pay all park entrance fees. That money goes directly toward the protection and preservation of these cultural landmarks.

4) Immerse yourself

The Mayan World isn’t just a relic of the past. Living descendants of this ancient civilization still practice many of their ancestors’ traditions. Take the opportunity to engage with them, learn from them and see the Mundo Maya come alive. You’ll be amazed by the rich customs, sacred shamanic rituals, cosmology, medicinal plants and traditional recipes.

5) Hire a local guide

If you’re not an archaeological expert, local guides can enrich your experience by revealing the history and meaning of the architecture and petroglyphs. They can also connect you with regional experts and lead you to under-appreciated spots.

Visit www.SustainableTrip.org to find tour operators and accommodations in the Mundo Maya that are good for people, wildlife and the planet.