9 authentic Indigenous-based trips around the world

The Wodaabe people of Chad form part of the largest group of semi-nomadic people in Africa, though they reliably gather every year in one place for the colourful Gerewol Festival. This is a whirlwind of feasting, racing and dancing, though the main aim for participants is more single-minded: to find themselves a partner. During the week-long celebration, the men don complex make-up and jewellery to catch the eye during the courtship ritual, when the women will choose their future partners. Native Eye has a long-standing connection with the local community here, and its The Gerewol Festival small group tour offers rare insight into the culture of this remote part of Chad. Guests will camp close to the Wodaabe for several days and witness celebrations, rituals and ceremonies that few outsiders ever get to see.

More information: Native Eye. 11 Oct 2025; 7 nights from £2,999pp, excluding international flights.

Exodus’ Arctic Circle Aurora Adventure group tour takes travellers 200km north of the Arctic Circle, to a Swedish village of just seven people, for a unique encounter. Making your base with a local family, guests will join the Sámi community, the semi-nomadic Indigenous reindeer herders of Sápmi (formerly Lapland), learning about their culture from a Sámi guide. Spend a morning with a local family and try activities such as skiing in the forest, dogsledding and snowshoeing, then travel by reindeer sled to a kåta (traditional hut) to learn about the challenges that the Sámi face today, including deforestation, the impact of mining, and rights to land. There’s also a two-day forest expedition, with a night spent beneath the swirling northern lights (if you’re lucky) in a log cabin.

More information: Exodus. 28 Dec 2024 and Jan–Mar 2025; 7 nights from £2,899pp, excluding international flights.

The USA’s Southwest is home to some of the country’s largest and oldest Tribes, which are increasingly opening up to visitors through museums, workshops, trails and tours. Journeyscape’s Native America Country trip is heavy on all of the above, offering a self-drive adventure through Tribal lands, meeting Indigenous guides along the way. This gives you the chance to hear stories and witness ancient customs and traditions, as well as experience the region’s arresting landscapes.

Stops include the Zuni (A:shiw) Reservation, where a local guide can take you around its museum, artist’s workshops and remnants of the ancient town of Hawikku – the first place of European contact in this region. Other highlights include driving the Apache Trail, a visit to Window Rock (capital of the Navajo Nation) and a tour of Canyon de Chelly with an Indigenous guide, as you skip between Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.

More information: Journeyscape. Flexible dates; 14 nights from £3,640pp, excluding international flights.

At the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada, is the traditional territory of the Kitasoo Xai’xais, for whom the area’s native spirit bear is a sacred creature. This white-furred animal is one of the world’s rarest bear species, with an estimated 50 to 150 individuals left in the wild. Wildlife Trails’s Spirit Bear Lodge, Wildlife and Indigenous Culture tour sees you set out to glimpse one in the wild, having made your base at the Indigenous-owned Spirit Bear Lodge. Just as important, however, is what you will learn about this First Nation culture along the way. This small-group tour includes rainforest treks and boat safaris, with access to culturally significant historical sites within the beautiful Kitasoo Xai’xais territory.

More information: Wildlife Trails. Aug–mid-Oct 2025; 6 nights from £5,750pp, excluding international flights.

The Hornbill Festival in the state of Nagaland in north-east India is celebrated over the first ten days of December each year, bringing together 16 distinct Naga peoples, including the Konyak tribe – once known as the headhunters of the region. Corinthian Travel’s Nagaland and The Hornbill Festival private tour begins in Kolkata before making its way into this remote state. There are two full days at the festival, giving an insight into Naga culture, traditional rituals, art forms and how animism shapes local life. You will hear log drums and war cries, watch performances such as the high-energy Konyak bamboo dance, and spend time with Angami Elders. There’s even a chilli-eating contest in which to test your mettle – if you dare.

More information: Corinthian Travel. Trips start between 29 Nov and 3 Dec 2025; 7 nights from £2,945pp, excluding international flights.

The Karen community of Northern Thailand live in remote villages across the hilly forests that border Myanmar and Laos. Elephants have always played a role here, mainly used for transportation and logging. Then, when logging was banned, they became a part of local tourism, often suffering as a result. Those rescued by the Mahouts Elephant Foundation, which runs ethical experiences in partnership with the Karen community, are the focus of Experience Travel Group’s tailor-made Elephant Encounters in Thailand trip, which includes three nights in a Karen village, staying and eating with a host family. In between, guests can walk in the forest with a mahout guide to see the rescued elephants in their natural habitat – though no interaction is allowed. Profits go straight back into the community.

More information: Experience Travel Group. Flexible dates; 15 nights from £4,950pp, including international flights.

The Tsaatan people of Mongolia are reindeer herders who still live a nomadic lifestyle in the Taiga mountains. Their traditions and ways go back centuries, and Yellow Wood Adventures’ Tsaatan Tribe: The Reindeer Herders of Mongolia small group tour lets you connect with this community, experience their culture and see Mongolia’s rugged beauty all at the same time. Guests will travel by horseback to reach the community, camping along the way and staying in teepee tents beside the Tsaatan families for a couple of nights. The trip offers the chance to hear fireside stories and learn about ancient traditions, customs and shamanic rituals, as well as see what it means to live alongside the herd. The trip also visits Lake Khovsgol, Asia’s second-largest freshwater lake, and the Darkhad valley, home to the Darkhad community.

More information: Yellow Wood Adventures. 2 Sep 2025; 8 nights from £2,499pp, excluding international flights.

Many visits to Kenya’s Masai Mara focus on its wildlife and nothing else. It’s understandable given the natural spectacles on offer here. Yet the centrepiece of G Adventures’ Kenya: Cultural Connections, Mount Kenya & Maasai Mara small group trip is a stay at II Ngwesi, far from the rest of the safari crowds, in a Maasai-owned and -operated lodge. Bush walks, lessons on local practices and crafting with the people of the village let you spend time with the Maasai, learning about what it takes to thrive on the plains. It also ensure that everything you spend here is funnelled straight back into the local community. Plus, you will still have time for visits to Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, hikes around Mount Kenya and those all-important safaris.

More information: G Adventures. Selected dates in Feb & Apr–Dec 2025; 10 days from £5,099pp, excluding international flights.

Audley Travel’s tailor-made Discovering the Indigenous Cultures of Sarawak trip sees travellers head to Malaysian Borneo, where they will travel by canoe to a traditional longhouse – the stilted communal dwellings of the Iban people of Sarawak. As well as sampling homemade rice wine and spending the night alongside the families that live there, you can join a walk through the forest with an Iban guide to learn about medicinal plants, watch a blowpipe demonstration and eat a fire-cooked meal on the banks of the Lemanak. Near Kuching, you will also visit the Bidayuh community in the kampong (village) of Nyegol to learn more about their traditional way of life and the pepper plantations that support the Iban and Bidayuh farmers of Sarawak.

More information: Audley Travel. Flexible dates; 15 days from £3,440pp, including international flights.